McCrae & Costa ll Flashcards
they began with no preconceived bias concerning the number or name of traits or types. (specific to general)
Inductive Method
they have preconceived hypotheses in mind before they begin to collect data. (general to specific)
Deductive Method
Cattell used 3 different media of observation.
- L. Data Life Record
- Q DataSelf-reports
- T DataObjective Test
begins by making specific observations (quantified)
Factor Analysis
BASIC OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
Correlation Coefficient
Factor Analysis
Factor M
Factor
Factors Loadings
mathematical procedure for reducing a large number of scores to a few more general variables or factors
Correlation Coefficient
account for a large number of variables with a smaller number more basic dimensions called Traits
Factor Analysis
mathematical ability
Factor M
units of personality derived through factor analysis
Factors
The amount of correlation that a score contributes to a given factor. Correlations of the original. It gives us an indication of the purity of the various factors and enables us to interpret their meanings..
Factors Loadings
are scaled from zero to large amount. (e.g. Height, weight, and intellectual ability)
Unipolar Traits
extend from one pole to an opposite pole, with zero representing a midpoint. (e.g. Introversion vs. extraversion, liberalism vs. conservatism, & social ascendancy vs. timidity)
Bipolar Traits
a method of rotating the axes in factor analysis that assumes the independence of primary factors. Advocates of the Five Factor Theory
Orthogonal Rotation
a method of rotating the axes in factor analysis that assumes some inter-correlation among primary factors. Assumes some positive or negative correlation and refers to an angle of less than or more than 90deg. Advocated by Cattell.
Oblique Method
UNITS OF FIVE-FACTOR THEORY
___________ is predicted by an understanding of: 3 Central or Core Components:
Behavior
3 Central or Core Components:
1.1 Basic Tendencies
1.2 Characteristic Adaptations
1.3 Self-Concept
3 Peripheral Ones
2.1 Biological Bases
2.2 Objective Biography
2.3 External Influences.
are represented by rectangles, whereas the peripheral components are represented by ellipses.
Core or Central Components of Personality
represents the arrows and indicates the direction of causal influence.
Dynamic Process
are the sole cause of basic tendencies (personality traits).
Biological Bases
are one of the central components of personality, along with characteristic adaptations, self-concept, biological bases, objective biography, and external influences.
Basic Tendencies
•may be inherited, imprinted by early experience or modified by disease or psychological intervention, but at any given period in an individual’s life, they define the individual’s potential and direction.
•”How quickly we learn”
Basic tendencies
• Stable and enduring
• Characteristic responses are shaped and molded by it.
• It’s essence is their basis in biology and their stability over time and situation
Basic tendencies
•acquired personality structures that develop as people adapt to their environment.
•”What we learn”
Characteristic Adaptations
• Can be influenced by external influences, such as acquired skills, habits, attitudes, and relationships that results from the interaction of individuals with their environment.
•Fluctuate, making them subject to change over a person’s lifetime.
•Disposition and tendencies are the direct influence .
Characteristic Adaptations
• consists of knowledge, views, and evaluations of the self. ranging from miscellaneous facts of personal history to the identity that gives a sense of purpose and coherence to life.
•Is actually a characteristic adaptation, but it gets its own box because it is an important adaptation.
•Personal myths
Self-Concept
the five-factor theory rests on a single causal influence on personality traits, namely biology.
Biological Bases
Everything the person does, thinks, or feels across the whole lifespan.
Objective Biography
Emphasizes what has happened in peoples life (__________) rather than their view or perceptions of their experiences (__________).
objective & subjective
McCrae and Costa focus on the ____________ the events and experiences one has had over one’s lifetime
objective experiences
Alfred Adler (style of life) or Dan McAdams (personal narrative) focus on the __________ of one’s life-story.
subjective interpretations
____________ people constantly find themselves in a particular physical or social
The question of how we respond to the opportunities and demands of the context is what ________ is all about.
External Influences & external factor
McCrae and Costa assumes that _________ is a function of the interaction between characteristic adaptation and external influences
Behavior
4 Postulates of Basic Tendencies:
Individuality Postulate
Origin Postulate
Development Postulate
Structure Postulate
Stipulates that adults have a unique set of traits and that each person exhibits a unique combination of traits patterns.
Individuality Postulate
Takes a clear if somewhat controversial stances: All personality traits are the result solely of endogenous (internal) forces, such as genetics, hormones, and brain structures
Origin Postulate
demonstrated by what geneticists refers to as heritability coefficients and comes out of the research on adoption studies and twin studies.
Genetic influence
the question of what is the difference in the correlation on a given personality trait between individuals who are genetically identical and who share only about 50% of their genes.
Heritability addresses
Assumes that traits develop and change through childhood, but in adolescence their development slows, and by early to mid-adulthood (roughly age 30), change in personality nearly stops altogether.
Development Postulate
States that traits are organized hierarchically from narrow and specific to broad and general
Structure Postulate
Postulates for Characteristic Adaptations:
•over time, people adapt to their environment “by acquiring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are consistent with their personality traits and earlier adaptions.
•second characteristic adaptation postulate Maladjustment suggests that our responses are not always consistent with personal goals or cultural values.
•basic traits may “change over time in response to biological maturation, changes in the environment, changes in the environment, or deliberate interventions
one that recognizes that although basic tendencies may be rather stable over the lifetime, characteristic adaptations are not.
Plasticity Postulate
