Chapter 7 - Trait approach to personality

Question 1

Aristotle

Answer 1

first written description of personality traits/ dispositions (individual differences In different traits –> important determinants of whether a person behaved ethically)

Question 2

Hippocrates

Answer 2

physical illness caused by the imbalance of bodily fluids, humors (including blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm)

Question 3

Galen

Answer 3

4 humors = in balance , healthy
> melancholic temperament
> choleric temperament
> phlegmatic temp
> sanguine temp

Question 4

Wundt

Answer 4

changed categorical types into trait dimensions, placing individuals along dimensions of mood stability and strength of emotions

Question 5

trait

Answer 5

dimension of personality used to categorize people according to the degree to which they manifest a particular characteristic

Question 6

two assumptions underlying the trait theory

Answer 6

1. personality characteristics are relatively stable over time
2. traits show stability across situations (some internal consistency in the way how individuals behave)

Question 7

Sheldon’s somatotypes

Answer 7

endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph

Question 8

somatotype

Answer 8

personality based on physique and temperament

Question 9

endomorph somatotype

Answer 9

round body,
temperament: Viscerotonia (love of relaxation and comfort)

Question 10

Ectomorph somatotype

Answer 10

light boned, slight musculature
temperament: Cerebrotonia (need for privacy, restrained, inhibited)

Question 11

Mesomorph

Answer 11

large, bony, well defined muscles
Temperament: Somtotonia (physical assertiveness, competitive, keen on physical activity)

Question 12

Lexical hypothesis (Galton)

Answer 12

suggests that it is the individual differences between people that are important that become encoded in single terms
> frequency of use is also connected with importance

Question 13

Gordon Allport - personal dispositions

Answer 13

represent the unique characteristics of the individual, emphasize the uniqueness of each individual
> cardinal traits, central traits, secondary traits

Question 14

Gordon Allport - cardinal traits

Answer 14

single traits that may dominate an individual’s behavior (obsessions or ruling passions)

Question 15

Gordon Allport - Central traits

Answer 15

five to ten traits that best describe the personality

Question 16

Gordon Allport - Secondary traits

Answer 16

concerned with an individual’s preferences, not part of their core personality, may only become apparent in certain situations

Question 17

Cattell’s definition of personality

Answer 17

characteristics of the individual that allow prediction of how they will behave in a give situation

Question 18

Cattell = traits

Answer 18

conceptualized as being relatively stable, long-lasting building blocks of personality
> constitutional (genetically) vs. environmental-mold traits

Question 19

three different types of traits (Cattell)

Answer 19

1. ability traits (how well you deal with a particular situation)
2. temperament traits
3. dynamic (motivates us and energize our behavior –> attitudes, sentiments, ergs)

Question 20

common traits (cattell)

Answer 20

shared by many people (intelligence, sociability, dependency)

Question 21

unique traits (Cattell)

Answer 21

rarer, specific to the individual

Question 22

surface traits (Cattell)

Answer 22

collections of trait descriptors that cluster together

Question 23

Source traits

Answer 23

major source of difference in personality that is responsible for all related differences in behavior

Question 24

Cattell: distinction between several types of personality

Answer 24

1. Surface traits vs. source traits
2. constitutional traits vs. envrionmental-mold traits
3. ability traits vs. temperament traits vs. dynamic traits
4. common traits vs. unique traits

Question 25

Eysenck - 3 basic personality dimensions

Answer 25

Extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism,
> Goal: identify the main dimensions of personality, devise means of measuring them, test them, using experimental, quantitative procedures

Question 26

Eysenck - hierarchical model of personality

Answer 26

1. types
2. traits
3. habitual response
4. specific responses

Question 27

BIG 5

Answer 27

> Five traits describing the structure of personality, analysis of data produced the factors NOT exploration (data-derived Hx)

Question 28

Openness to experience

Answer 28

intellectual curiosity, divergent thinking, willingness to consider new ideas and active imagination

Question 29

Conscientiousness

Answer 29

degree of self-discipline, organized, determines, plan events (will to achieve, work dimension)

Question 30

Extraversion

Answer 30

individual’s sociability, sociable, energetic, optimistic, friendly, assertive (low scores = introverts)
> warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, positive emotions

Question 31

agreeableness

Answer 31

characteristics of the individual are relevant for social interaction - trusting, helpful, soft-hearted, sympathetic
> trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness

Question 32

Neuroticism

Answer 32

measures individual’s emotional stability and personal judgment - high: mood swings, volatile
> anxiety, angry hostility, depressions, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability

Question 33

HEXACO model

Answer 33

honesty-humility, emotionality (neuroticism), Extraversion (X), agreeableness vs. anger, conscientiousness, openness to experience

Question 34

General factor of personality

Answer 34

reducing the Big 5 to two underlying factors: stability and plasticity, reducing these to one = general factor of personality –> blend of all aspects of personality dimensions that are positively valued