Dispositional - Ch 12-14 Flashcards
Mainly 13 and 14
Describe the 4 theorists you will be talking about in the dispositional theories. (4)
-Allport
-Cattell
-Eysenck
-McCrae and Costa
How many central dispositions did Allport say a person could have?
-max 10
What is a disposition?
-durable dispositions to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations
How many traits, states and characteristics did Allport come up with? How many personal dispositions? (2)
-18,000
-400+ personal dispositions
What did Cattel disagree with Allport about?
-Cattel said Allport had too many personal dispositions and it wasn’t good for a scientific theory and generalizability
What two things did Cattell introduce?? (2)
-factor analysis
-16PF
What three steps occurred during Cattell’s inductive research? (3)
-collected data
-categorize traits
-reduce redundancy by factor analysis
How did Cattell collect data with these case studies of people? (3)
Three types:
L-data: interviewing people and people who know these people on their life data
Q-data: self-reports from questionnaire
T-data: objective tests, experiments
What did Cattell do during the reducing redundancy phase of his research that was different than Allport?
-reduced traits and found 23 normal factors and 12 pathological factors (later reduced 23 to 16)
What are factors for Cattell?
-same thing as dispositions or traits
What two things should we know about Eysenck? (2)
-factor-theory
-biologically based
What did Eysenck do to the 16 factors of Cattells?
-reduced them to 3
What did Eysenck say about biological equality?
-that biological equality does not exist, we are unique and are born with different endowments
What is Eysenck’s factor criteria for what will qualify as a factor? (4)
-psychometrically demonstrated (have to be able to measure it)
-heritability (inherited/genetic, cannot be learned)
-theoretically sound (fit within a theoretical framework)
-social relevance (it needs to make a difference or relevant in society)
What are the three types/superfactors Eysenck comes up with?
-extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism
Who used factor analysis?
-Eysenck and Cattell
What is Eysenck’s four level hierarchy? Like what are the levels (4)
Top:
-type (superfactors)
-traits (example: persistence, social shyness)
-habits (example: keeps at school work, persists at hobby)
-specific behaviour (example: has a schedule, follows a schedule)
Let’s use an example for Eysenck’s four levels using extraversion as the type.
Type: extraversion
Trait: sociable
Habits: says yes to going to party
Specific behaviours: talks to strangers, smile at people
What is extraversion in Eysenck’s super factor? Define it (2)
-sociable, assertive, active, excitement seeking, impulsive
-the degree to which one is outgoing and enjoys social interaction
What are some traits under neuroticism and what is it defined as? (2)
-anxious, depressed, etc
-relates to instability…
What is the definition for psychoticism and what traits are under it? (2)
-the degree to which someone is vulnerable to psychosis, loss of contact with reality and self-control
-aggressive, cold, egocentric, impersonal, impulsive
Describe the continuum for the three superfactors under Eysenck. (3)
-extraversion - introversion
-neuroticism - emotional stability
-psychoticism - superego (self control not really what Freud means)
What did Eysenck believe about these three superfactors?
-they were biologically based and genetic
Describe so far the progression of trait theory (3)
Allport: compiles list of traits
Cattell: reduced the traits to 16PF
Eysenck: group them into three superfactors
