Personality: Trait theories + biological influences Flashcards
What are traits?
Higher level descriptions of peoples’ thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours that remain relatively stable across the lifespan
What are facets?
Components of traits that tend to be more specific than traits that tend to become more or less relevant depending on the situation
What are characteristics?
Temporal moments of facets that tend to be more associated with the physical acts of facets
What is the idiographic approach?
The study of one individual without comparing them to others
- focus on recognition of uniqueness
- uses subjective experiences
- based on study of uniqueness of individual
- Qualitative methods
Who are some researchers who took an idiographic approach?
Allport, Freud, Jung and Rogers
What is the nomothetic approach?
Describes personality in terms of sets of dimensions (traits) that can be applied to other people
- attempts to generalise people
- uses objective knowledge
- based on numerical data or data that can be categorised
- quantitative methods
Who are some researchers who took a nomothetic approach?
Eysenck, Catell, Allport, Big 5 theorists
What are attributes of personality?
Psychological construct which involves individual thoughts, feelings and actions
- made up of smaller units or characteristics
- functional or dysfunctional
How did Hippocrates and Galen begin the classification of human temperaments?
Linked to elements and bodily fluids
Choleric (yellow bile) - determined, quick to act, fiery, energetic, passionate
Sanguine (blood) - warm-hearted, outgoing, volatile, optimistic, cheerful
Phlegmatic (phlegm) - slow, patient, calm, quiet, shy, rational, consistent
Melancholic (black bile) - serious, anxious, quiet, fearful, depressed, poetic, artistic, sad
How did Persian polymath Avicenna (980-1037AD) extend the theory of temperaments?
To include:
emotional aspects
mental capacity
moral attitudes
self-awareness, movements and dreams
What did Emmanuel Kant theorise about?
multiple personality types, based on individuals’ feelings and activity levels
What was William Sheldon’s contribution to the study of personality?
Somatotypes (types of physique) and associated them with temperament - categorised each type on scales from 1-7 and attributed personality relatedly
What is the endomorph somatotype?
Large body
Temperament:
- sociable
- peaceful
- tolerant
What is the mesomorph somatotype?
Muscular
Temperament:
- assertive
- proactive
- vigorous
What is the ectomorph somatotype?
Weak muscles
Temperament:
- insecure
- sensitive
- delicate
What are 3 criticisms of Sheldon’s somatotypes?
- based on stereotypical assumptions
- most modern researchers prefer to measure degrees to which an individual has particular personality trait
- Sheldon classifies people according to categories or types
Who was Gordon Allport (1897-1967)?
Regarded as founder of trait approach
- identified over 18000 English words used to describe individual differences and then eliminated temporary states and evaluations - 4500 used to describe personality traits - many were synonyms
- Used idiographic research methods - mostly case studies, analysing interviews and personal documents, using phenomenological approach
What did Allport suggest about people who were raised within similar cultures?
They would likely have the same or similar common traits
- Cardinal traits (traits that dominate/shape behaviour)
- Central traits (basic building blocks of personality)
- Secondary traits (variable traits like the likes and dislikes)
Who did Allport’s work influence?
- Raymond Cattell
- Hans Eysenck
- Paul Costa
- Robert McCrae
(all used factor analysis to derive their theories)
What is the dispositional approach?
Arrised from factor analytic method (statistical technique used to reduce number of factors into smaller groups of similar factors)
- concerns aspects of personality that are stable over time, relatively consistent over situations and make people different from each other
What are personality traits?
A dimension of personality/enduring personal characteristic
internal dispositions that are relatively stable over time and across situations
What did Raymond Cattell contribute to the study of personality?
16 personality factor (16PF) questionnaire - listed in order of importance
- psychometric test to predict peoples’ behaviour socially and at work
Collected large amounts of data: L-data (life records), Q-data (questionnaires) and T-data (lab obs and testing)
- employed factor analysis to identify clusters of traits
What are Cattell’s 16 personality factors?
- interpersonal warmth
- intelligence
- emotional stability
- dominance
- impulsivity
- conformity
- boldness
- sensitivity
- suspiciousness
- imagination
- shrewdness
- insecurity
- radicalism
- self-sufficiency
- self-discipline
- tension
What are surface traits?
Collections of trait descriptors that cluster together
What are source traits?
Identified via factor analysis
- refers to underlying trait that is responsible for variance in observable surface traits
What are the 2 competing schools within psych?
- personality theorists whose main focus on development theories with little emphasis on empirical evaluation
- experimental psychologists who had little interest in individual differences
Who was Hans Eysenck?
Proposed integration of the 2 competing schools in psych
- identify personality dimensions
- devise means of measurement
- test using experimental procedures
Concluded that there are 3 basic personality dimensions - referred to as types
Which 2 dimensions did Eysenck first propose to be associated with a person’s normal functioning?
Extroversion-introversion
Neuroticism-stability
(both have biological underpinnings)
- intersection of these scales led to 4 temperaments being proposed
What personality dimension did Eysenck add in 1976?
Psychoticism
What is Eysenck’s extroversion-introversion dimension?
- interactivity with others
- extraverts seen as sociable and impulsive who love excitement
- introverts seen as quiet, introspective individuals who prefer well-ordered life
What is Eysenck’s neuroticism-stability dimension?
- Measure of emotional behaviours
- Neurotics were seen as emotionally unstable with unreasonable fears and obsessional symptoms
What is Eysenck’s psychoticism factor?
Added as a continuum based on antisocial hostility
- on a spectrum from aggressiveness and egocentricity to higher degree of self-control
What are high levels of psychoticism linked to?
Vulnerability to mental conditions (psychosis) but also potentially creativity
- believed there was a genetic, heritable aspect of P
What are some characteristics of psychoticism?
aggressive, anti-social, cold, non-empathetic, egocentric, creative, impersonal, tough-minded, impulsive
What did Eysenck believe extraversion, psychoticism and neuroticism made up?
The basic structure of personality (PEN model)
- developed EPQ (Eysenck personality questionnaire) - good psychometric properties for E and N
What is the theorised basis for differences in extraversion?
- Lower level of cortical arousal
- Highly-extraverted people naturally less stimulated so they seek it out
What is the theorised basis for differences in neuroticism?
- More reactive limbic (nervous) system
- Highly neurotic individuals are more sensitive to environmental stimuli
What is the theorised basis for differences in psychoticism?
- Low levels of dopamine
- Vulnerability to inhibit irrelevant stimuli and impaired learning of societal rules
What type of evidence did Eysenck use to support his theorised basis for differences in PEN dispositions (biological bases)?
Evidence of consistency, cross-cultural similarity and support of twin studies
What is temperament?
General behavioural patterns
What are the 3 dimensions of temperament (Eysenck)?
Emotionality
Activity
Sociability
What did the big 5 emerge from?
A lexical hypothesis - assertion that the strongest differences between individuals’ personalities will be reflected in language
What aspects of personality were identified by Fiske (1949) from a lexical list?
- inquiring intellect
- conformity
- confident self-expression
- social adaptability
- emotional control
What did Goldberg (1981) do surrounding the big 5?
Reviewed all existing research and made an argument for big 5.
Carried out extensive research and concluded english language trait descriptors are version of 5 major features fo personality:
love, work, affect, power, and intellect
What are the big 5 personality traits?
Openness to experience
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
What is openness to experience?
Involves characteristics of showing intellectual curiosity, divergent thinking and a willingness to consider new ideas and an active imagination
What are characteristics of people who score high on openness to experience?
Unconventional
Independent
Imaginative
prefer variety
What are characteristics of people who score low on openness to experience?
Conventional
Conforming
Down to earth
Prefer familiarity
What is conscientiousness?
Describes the degree of self-discipline, control and active process of planning, organising and carrying out tasks
What are characteristics of people who score high on conscientiousness?
Well-organised
Careful
Self-disciplined
Determined
What are characteristics of people who score low on conscientiousness?
Disorganised
Careless
Weak-willed
Easily distracted
What is extraversion?
A measure of individuals’ sociability, assertiveness and activity
What are characteristics of people who score high on extraversion?
Sociable
Fun-loving
Affectionate
Energetic
Optimistic
Assertive
What are characteristics of people who score low on extraversion?
Retiring
Sober
Reserved
Even-paced
Independent
What is agreeableness?
Characteristics that are relevant for social interactions, such as traits of altruism and cooperativeness
What are characteristics of people who score high on agreeableness?
Soft-hearted
Trusting
Helpful
Sympathetic
What are characteristics of people who score low on agreeableness?
Antagonistic
Suspicious
Unhelpful
Uncooperative
What is neuroticism?
Measures individuals’ emotional stability and personal adjustment and tendency to experience negative affect, such as fear, sadness, embarrassment, anger, guilt and disgust
What are characteristics of people who score high on neuroticism?
Worried
Insecure
Self-pitying
Anxious
What are characteristics of people who score low on neuroticism?
Calm
Well-adjusted
Less reactive
Emotionally stable
What are the 6 constituent facets of openness to experience?
Feelings
Actions
Ideas
Values
Fantast
Aesthetics
What are the 6 constituent facets of conscientiousness?
Order
Dutifulness
Achievement
Self-discipline
Deliberation
Competence
What are the 6 constituent facets of extraversion?
Gregariousness
Assertiveness
Activity
Excitement seeking
Positive emotions
Warmth
What are the 6 constituent facets of agreeableness?
Straight-forwardness
Altruism
Compliance
Modesty
Tender-mindedness
Trust
What are the 6 constituent facets of neuroticism?
Anger/hostility
Depression
Self-consciousness
Impulsivity
Vulnerability
Anxiety
How did measurement of the big 5 develop?
Costa and McCrae (1985) - NEO (questionnaire for neuroticism, extraversion and openness) -> NEO-PI-R (revised to include agreeableness and conscientiousness) - consists fo 240 items assessing 30 specific traits
(Psychometric properties show good reliability and content validity according to Costa, 1996.) -> NEO-FFI (more concise) - 5 scales w/ 12 items (60 total) on 5 point likert scale and translated to several languages
Latest version: NEO-FFI-R
What has cross-cultural replication shown about the big 5?
They replicate well across most cultures but there has been some evidence that failed to fully replicate this structure in Chinese populations.
- Support cross-culturally and replicate across research into a wide range of applications eg. job performance
- behavioural relationships/outcomes similar across cultures
What are some big 5 correlates?
Success at school/work
Happiness
Love and relationships
Stress and coping with stress
Overall life quality (especially related to high C and A)
What have twin studies shwon about the big 5?
Big 5 personality traits have substantial heritable components explaining 40-60% of variance. BUT identification of associated genetic variants has remained elusive.
What did Power and Pluess (2015) find about heritability of big 5?
Found significant and substantial heritability estimates for neuroticism (15%, SE=0.08, p=0.04) and openness (21%, SE=0.08, p <0.01) BUT not for extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness
What did Vukasovic and Bratko (2015) find in their large scale meta analysis about influences on individual differences in personality?
40% attributed to genetic influenes
60% attributed to environmental influences
What are the 3 approaches to identifying traits?
- analysis of natural language (lexical approach)
- Using statistical techniques (eg. factor analysis) to identify patterns in data
- Theorising -> deducing fundamental traits
In practice, these are blended or one is used to validate another - strong emphasis on measurement and quantitative techniques but little emphasis on outcomes because it is believed that traits are not easily changed.
What did Denissen et al., (2019) find about personality change over life events?
Life events had surprisingly small effects on personality changes
- obtaining employment increased emotional stability
- emotional stability increased in period before childbirth and then dropped again
What are 4 critiques of trait approaches?
- Misconceptions of interactions between brain physiology and mind states
- Mischel (1968) claimed that many of the measures are largely descriptive
- Trait approaches do not explain behavioural differences across situations
- Labelling factors and measurement issues
What are 5 strengths of trait approaches?
- empirical investigation
- questionnaires developed
- not bound to theoretical assumption
- Scientifically sound area of psychological research
- cross-cultural consistency in 5 factors
What are 5 limitations of trait approaches?
- heavy reliance on self-reports
- derived from everyday language
- factor analysis is only as good as the items included
- descriptive but not explanatory
- factors may not mean the same thing across cultures
