Personality: Trait Approaches

Question 1

Define personality

Answer 1

The characteristic ways of thinking, feeling and acting that makes a person an individual and relatively stable over time

Question 2

What is personality useful for?

Answer 2

Predicting behavior

Distinguishing between people in terms of individual differences

Question 3

Define traits

Answer 3

Emotional, cognitive and behavioral tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions on which individuals vary (Burton et. al)

Question 4

Types vs. Traits - what’s the difference?

Answer 4

Types:
-Classification of people
-Qualitative > quantitative 
-Type A vs. type B - highly strung vs. more relaxed 
Traits:
-Quantitative
-Descriptive approach
-Continuum pole

Question 5

Allport- what did he do/believe?

Answer 5

• Developed trait approach
• Personality determined at birth and is shaped by environmental experiences
• Emphasizes uniqueness of individual

Question 6

What are common traits?

Answer 6

Traits that are similar across a group of people. This includes; extraversion (sociable, impulsive), introversion (anxious, caring), competitiveness (rivalry) and liberalism (open-mindedness)

Question 7

Allport- what are our personal dispositions?

Answer 7

Cardinal traits, central traits and secondary traits

Question 8

Define proprium

Answer 8

Behaviors/characteristics people regard as warm and central in their lives

Question 9

What are cardinal traits?

Answer 9

Few have them but are strong traits that define a person

Question 10

What are central traits?

Answer 10

Building blocks of personality – obvious traits that capture our essence. Common across individuals

Question 11

What are secondary traits?

Answer 11

Privately held and often only revealed in confidence or under certain conditions

Question 12

16PF Personality Questionnaire- 5 examples

Answer 12

Dominance: forceful vs. submissive 
Emotional stability: calm vs. high strung 
Warmth: outgoing vs. reserved
Tension: inpatient vs. relaxed
Reasoning: abstract vs. concrete

Question 13

Eysenck’s (1953) Theory

Answer 13

Identifies personality dimensions (extroverted/introverted; neurotic/stable)
A person’s placing on this dimension determines their personality temperament (aspect of our personality that is genetically based)

Question 14

What was Eysenck’s definition of traits, and what is a super trait?

Answer 14

A group of correlated habits. A group of correlated traits is known as a super trait. 3 overarching super traits existing on a continuum-
Extroversion-introversion
Neuroticism-emotional stability
Psychoticism-impulse control

Question 15

Lewis Goldberg whittled down Cattell’s 16 ‘factors’ of personality into 5 primary factors which was expanded by….

Answer 15

McCrae & Costa

Question 16

What are ‘The big 5’

Answer 16

Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness 
Neuroticism 
Openness to experience

Question 17

What’s a nomothetic approach and one strength/limitation?

Answer 17

Study of personality compares individuals in terms of traits or dimensions common to everyone. Scientific but predictions can’t apply to individuals

Question 18

What’s an idiographic approach and one strength/limitation?

Answer 18

No general laws are possible because of chance, free will and the uniqueness of individuals. Focus on the individual, but is time consuming.

Question 19

What are some strengths/limitations of trait theory?

Answer 19

Strength: easily measured by questionnaires
Limitations: tests can be broad, thus apply to anyone