Details of Catell's Theory of personality Flashcards
Overview
Cattell’s theory seeks to explain the complicated transactions between the personality system and the more inclusive sociocultural matrix of the functioning organism.
He suggested that an adequate theory of personality must take into account
- the multiple traits that comprise the personality,
- the extent to which these traits are genetically and environmentally determined, and
- the ways in which genetic and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour.
In this unit we will be studying the details regarding Cattell’s Trait theory of personality, its definitions,
the dynamics underlying the theory etc.
Raymond Catell: Life
Raymond Cattell was born in 1905 and died in 1998.
He was educated in Britain and he obtained his doctorate from University of London and after which he worked as director, child guidance clinic for 5 years.
He came to the US to work with E.L.Thorndike and developed officer selection methods. He established an Institute for Personality and Ability testing.
He taught at University of Illinois for 30 years and more and went to Hawai in 1978 and until death he was teaching in the University of Hawaii.
Factor analysis
Cattell thought that clinicians observations were not a scientific basis for understanding or classifying personality.
He used inductive method of scientific inquiry to develop his theory of personality.
That is, he gathered large amount of data and used factor analysis on the data looking for clusters
Source, surface traits and personality
For Cattell personality was that which permitted a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.
The underlying basic factors of a person’s personalities was termed by him as source traits.
He used factor analysis and found common
clusters of surface traits. These clusters were termed by Cattell as Source traits.
He gathered data about the individual from the liferecord etc., took self reports and used the Questionnaire data and used tests and obtained test results which all put together with source traits gave the personality of an individual.
16PF
Cattell has identified 35 primary traits of which 23 characterised normal individuals
and 12 characterised abnormal individuals.
He developed a scale called 16 PF which was designed to assess 16 different source traits associated with normal behaviour.
Ergs
Cattell said that humans are innately driven by ergs, which means goals were created because of hunger, curiosity, anger, fear, or other basic motivations which
are found in both humans and primates.
Fluid and Crystallized intelligence
Cattell distinguished two types of intelligence viz.,
(i) Fluid intelligence
(ii) Crystallised intelligence.
According to him, Fluid intelligence allows the persons to learn new things regardless of past experience,
whereas the crystallized intelligence is the ability to solve problems based upon previous experience.
Cattell believed that intelligence was primarily an inherited trait.
definition
Attitudes:
Cattell was of the view that personality has to be considered in terms of not only traits but also various other variables including attitudes.
Cattell defined attitude as the desire to act in a specific way in response to a specific situation.
Dynamic lattice
Attitude
Attitudes are interconnected within the Dynamic lattice, that is
dynamic lattice is Cattell’s attempt to display graphically his theoretical analysis of the relationship between
- the mind’s instinctive driving forces and
- their overlying semantic and attitudinal superstructure.
subsidisation chain:
Attitude
The specific attitudinal connections within the dynamic lattice are controlled by susidiation chains, that is some attitudes are subordinate to other attitudes.
The subsidisation chain helps determine when specific attitude will produce a specific behaviour.
Definition
Ergs
Ergs are goals created because of hunger, thirst etc. The organism is motivated to get food when hungry. These are called ergs.
SEMs
Ergs
Socially created goals are called socially shaped ergs and Cattell gave it the term socially shaped ergic manifolds.
In short form it was called SEM.
Cattell used SEM to help explain the contribution of the environment to human behaviour.
SEM’s are socially acquired and can satisfy several ergs at one time.
Because SEMS are socially acquired, they vary in number and type by culture.
SEM’s get their energy from the ERG’s.
List of ergs
Ergs
Humans are innately driven by ergs, which are goals created by curiosity, anger, hunger, fear, and many other basic motivations.
Through research Cattell developed list of ergs which are for instance,
Food- Seeking,
Mating,
Gregariousness,
Parental Protectiveness,
Exploration,
Safety,
Self-Assertion,
Pugnacity,
Narcissistic Sex, and
Acquisitiveness.
Some of the major socially shaped ergic models are profession, family and home,
spouse, religion. Together with attitudes, ERHGs and SEMs interact to produce
behaviour.
According to Cattell, if you can systematically
Socially shaped ergic models
ERGs, SEMS and Behaviour
Ergs
Some of the major socially shaped ergic models are profession,
family and home,
spouse,
religion.
Together with attitudes, ERHGs and SEMs interact to produce behaviour.
According to Cattell, if you can systematically identify their attitudes, ERG’s and SEM’s, you should then be able to reliably predict future behaviour.
Interactions:
Theory
Cattell’s trait theory of personality attempts to explain the interaction between the genetic and personality systems and the socio cultural milieu within which the organism is functioning.
It delves deep into the complicated transactions
between the personality system and the more inclusive sociocultural matrix of the functioning organism.
According to him these traits are genetically and
environmentally determined, and the ways in which genetic and environmental factors interact decide the behaviour of the individual.
Cattell opines that an appropriate theory of personality must take into account the multiple traits that comprise the personality. The theory should be able to indicate the ways in which genetic and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour.