Lecture 2 - Approaches the Personality 2 Flashcards
What is a lexical hypothesis?
All aspects of individual personality can be described from single words used in language
What did Allport/Odbert do?
Collected all personality terms from Webster’s Dictionary
Found 555,000 words –> selected all terms referring to behavioural diffs – 18,000 –> removed terms relating to cognitive, physical, transient states – 4500
Much overlap in meaning, 4500 likely represent smaller number of distinct traits (Eg. Calm vs Relaxed)
What is the difference between latent and physical variables?
Physical variables (height/weight) can be directly observed/measured, most psychological variables can’t
Hidden/latent variables must be inferred/estimated
Psychometrics – scientific measurement of psychological variables: example – Extraversion –> enjoys talking to others (talkative), enjoys socialising (sociable)
What are correlations?
Basis of data reduction techniques, enables us to determine which terms related + represent common ‘latent factor’
o Eg. I am a RELAXED PERSON/I am a CAREFREE PERSON/I am a FRIENDLY PERSON rated on scale + look for correlations
o If strong correlation, likely related to common latent factor, if weak not related
What is a correlation matrix?
Shows relationships between each pair, difficult to work out which ones exactly belong together
What is factor analysis?
Multivariate data reduction technique, looks for set of latent variables that best account for pattern of correlation within dataset
Researcher must decide how many factors to extract + names factor based on items that load on it
For independent factors items should load strong on only one factor (low cross loadings)
Data can be reduced from 7 items to 2 underlying latent factors, values show correlations between liking rating for each item + underlying factors (factor loadings)
What is Raymond Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors Model?
Started with 4500 terms –> worked w/ teams of raters to make groups of synonyms/antonyms + selected exemplar to reduce overall number of words – 171 terms
Rated one/two people on all 171 terms –> examined correlations to identify 60 clusters, added few more from psychiatric literature
Reduced to about 45 terms based on own judgement + guidance from literature
Factor analysed range of data relating to 45 terms ‘surface traits’
What is good/bad about Raymond Cattell’s 16 personality traits model?
Scales, not categories, listed in order of importance/variance explained
Controversial thing – Factor B maps onto intelligence
Negatives: subjectivity/arbitrariness in analysis, failures to replicate, sixteen – too many, correlations between factors not completely independent, better accounted for by fewer/independent factors?
o Analysis of same data has found 5 independent factors (Extraversion, anxiety, self control, independence/accommodation/opennes)
Positives: methodical/data driven approach to develop theory, promoted use of Factor analysis in personality research, revised 16PF questionnaires still used, basis of subsequent big 5 models
How did the 16 Personalities Model lead to the Big Five model of personality?
Cattell –> evidence for five ‘super’ factors, other work based on lexical hypothesis also showed 5 factors
Convergence of models showing 5 independent factors – slightly diff names/descriptions
5 factors necessary/reasonably sufficient for describing major features of personality at global level (McCrae + Costa)
What did Costa/McCrae do? (1985)
Identified neuroticism + extraversion at first, then adding openness to experience
Thought too little factors, went back to literature and added agreeableness + conscientiousness (From Goldberg’s five factor model)
NEOAC – OCEAN, developed NEO-Personality Inventory/NEO-PI-R
What are facets under each super trait in the Big Five?
Primary traits) of each super trait, each facet measured w/ several items
Neuroticism – anxiety, vulnerability, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness
Extraversion – warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, positive emotions, excitement seeking
Openness to experience – fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values
Agreeableness – trust, altruism, straightforwardness, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness
Conscientiousness – competence, order, dutifulness, self-discipline, deliberation, achievement-striving
What is Eysenck’s Gigantic Three?
Eysenck – 3 (PEN), openness is intelligence not personality, agreeableness is just Low P/Low N/High E
Costa + McCrae found correlations between scores on PEN/OCEAN scales (some high – E/N, most low)
What is the critique for OCEAN?
Factors from factor analysis depend on which variables entered in first place + # of factors extracted (diff solutions)
Single words insufficient to describe all aspects (eg. Pecking order personality, diff contexts)
Overreliance on lay person (undergrads) results in important omissions
Simple correlations don’t capture full complexity of relationships between terms
Arbitrary choice of 6 facets per factor, some important factors (narcissism) not considered
What discussion has there been on OCEAN?
Evidence for cross-cultural stability, emerging evidence for biological basis for some factors
Most widely used, useful common currency in research
Other Models could be:
Alternative Big Five (Zuckerman, 1999) - Impulsive Unsocialised Sensation Seeking, Aggression/Hostility, Activity, Sociability, Neuroticism/Anxiety
HEXACO (Lee + Ashton, 2004) - Honesty/Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience
