narrow personality traits Flashcards
Describe hierarchical models of personality traits.
Hierarchical models of personality traits organize traits into levels of abstraction,from dimensions to more specific facets
Propose that traits at different levels are related, with higher-order traits influencing lower-order ones. e.g Big 5 model - each facet makes up big trait
Explain the development of the Big 5 model as a hierarchical model of personality. Draw these developments out.
Digman - introduced alpha factor (stability, ability to regulate thoughts in accordance with societal norms) and beta factor (plasticity, ability to embrace and adapt new situations)
Musek - General Personality Factor (Big One)
Interpretation 1 - combination of the positive aspects of personality, measure of social agreeableness and ability to fit within society – people with a ‘high’ measure of the general personality factor will reflect more positive traits
Interpretation 2 – Merely a reflection of how people respond in social agreeableness questionnaires
Explain the bandwidth-fidelity dilemma in measuring personality.
The bandwidth-fidelity dilemma refers to the trade-off between the breadth of personality descriptions and the accuracy of prediction. Broad descriptions, like those in the Big Five Model, predict a wide range of behaviors but with lower accuracy. Narrow descriptions, such as specific facets within the Big Five, predict fewer behaviors but with higher accuracy.
What is the difference between models of personality that measure the whole personality space versus those focusing on specific parts?
Holistic models of entire personality:
fewer, broad traits to make up all traits of personality
Narrow models:
focusing on specific parts of personality , allowing for more precise predictions in certain contexts
e.g narrow personality traits
What are the narrow personality traits?
authoritarianism, schizotypy, and Machiavellianism
Narrow personality traits: outline the ‘authoritarianism’ personality type. What research is there to support this personality type?
Identified by Adorno et al as a means to explain extreme views towards others
key facts include - routine, strong views, reluctance for pleasure and introspection and adherence to authority
evidence for heritability from twin studies, and associated with decreased neural responses, and poorer performance in suppressing habitual responses in Go/No-Go tasks
Narrow personality traits: outline the ‘schizotypy’ personality type. What research is there to support this personality type?
Schizotypy - personality traits which link to schizophrenia, level of schizotypy reflects biological vulnerability to psychosis
Measured though the O-Life Inventory and Schizotypal Questionnaire
Negative Priming research - measure of cognitive inhibition, found to be reduced for people with higher levels of schizotypy traits (smaller difference in reaction time between trials, suggesting differences with inhibition mechanisms)
Outline the questionnaires which have been developed to measure the schizotypy personality type.
Measured though the O-Life Inventory:
measures levels of unusual experiences, cognitive disorganisation, introvertive amhedonia (lack of enjoyment from sociability and intimacy) and impulsive nonconformity behaviours
(Raine) Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire - measures 9 features (ideas of reference, social anxiety, magical thinking, unusual perceptual experiences, eccentric behaviour, no close friends, odd speech constricted affect, suspiciousness)
What is the Mach-IV scale?
Christie and Geis developed the Mach-IV scale with 20 to measure Machiavellian personality - measures tactics (high for M), views (high) and morality (low)
What evidence is there to support the reliability of the Mach-IV scale?
Study where conf encouraged ppt to cheat, eye contact before with the experimenter measured before and after accusation of cheating
High Mach individuals (less guilt, better liars) found little difference in ability to hold eye contact.
Outline the Dark Triad of narrow personality traits.
Paulhaus and Williams (2002):
3 distinct traits: machiavellianism, narcissism (feelings of superiority and arrogance), and psychopathy (impulsive, manipulative, low empathy and guilt)
What evidence is there to support the Dark Traid?
Dirty dozen questionnaire shows that each construct is distinct (items have high cross-loadings with one of the 3 factors, but low cross-loadings with other factors)
Discuss the relationship between holistic models of personality (The Big 5, HEXACO model) and the dark traid traits.
Can these specific traits be explained by holistic models of personality?
Many are significantly correlated with the Big 5, they are quite low
Only agreeableness has a strong negative correlation across all 3 traits
None large enough to state that the Big 5 can completely explain the Dark Triad
In contrast, the HEXACO model trait of honestly/humility has a strong negative correlation (-.94) with 3 traits
what is the continuity hypothesis?
argues there is no discontinuity between normality and illness
Outline how the STROOP task has been used to test schizotypy.
Found that negative priming (measure of cognitive inhibition) is reduce in schizophrenia
STROOP - used a STROOP and Negative priming condition (colour that we were previously inhibiting, now is the correct answer)
Negative priming condition - is very hard! But for people who have high levels of Schizotypy showed very little difference in RT between two trials - high Sz had reduced levels of cognitive inhibition/reduce negative priming effects
