Question 1 Flashcards
What are the philosophical roots of The Trait Perspective
Contributions of early Greek philosophers
- Hippocrates - proposed a relationship between personality and humours (body fluids)
What is the contemporary research for The Trait Perspective
Sheldon (circa 1940) developed a theory that there are three basic body types, or somatotypes (based on the three tissue layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm)
What are the themes of the Trait Approach
“Every man is in certain respects (a) like all other men, (b) like some other men, (c) like no other man” (kluckholn & Murray 1961)
What is typologies/How are they measured?
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- Based on ideas of Carl Jung
- Popular with companies wanting to assess employees
- Groups people into one of 16 types, based on 4 categories
What are the main techniques to the Trait Approach
Theoretical
Empirical
What are the main ideas of the Theoretical Approach to the Trait Approach?
Introversion - Extraversion
Emotionality - Stability
^ both on a scale from one end to the other including personality traits
Extraverted + Unstable = ?
Choleric
Unstable + Introverted = ?
Melancholic
Introverted + Stable = ?
Phlegmatic
Extraverted + Stable = ?
Sanguine
Depressed = ?
Melancholic
Cheerful / Optimistic
Sanguine
Unemtional / Apathetic
Phlegmatic
Irritable / Short tempered
Choleric
What is factor analysis?
Statistical technique for decomposing large numbers of intercorrelations into basic underlying dimensions
What is a limitation of factor analysis?
GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out
What are the steps in a Factor Analysis
- Collect measurements on many variables - subjective (e.g., self reports, observations)
- Collect data from many people
- Compute correlations between all pairs of variables
- Extract factors
- Label factors based on factor loadings - subjective
What is the Empirical Approach to the Trait Perspective?
- Emerged from increasing sophistication of statistical methods, and corresponding growth in skepticism regarding intuition and reasoning
- 18,000 words in english language to describe personality
- Meanings Overlap
What are the problems with the Empirical Approach?
- Failed to replicate
- Some factors correlated
What are the consensus of the Empirical Approach?
- Advancements in computing power - allowed for more objective analyses
- Funding - access to larger
- Growing body of evidence suggests there are five basic superordinate traits
Who demonstrated the empirical approach?
Raymond Cattell
What did Raymond Cattel do?
Demonstrate the empirical approach by using statistical analysis to derive key personality traits
Lexical Hypothesis - Language has evolved to describe the basic qualities of human nature
What is the big 5 based on?
Lexical Hypothesis
What is the lexical hypothesis
Language has evolved to describe the basic qualities of human nature
What is the big 5?
Opennes
Conscientousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Who created the big 5?
Costa & McCrae (1978,1985)
What is the reflected life domain of extraversion?
Power
What are the implications of extraversion?
- More popular (Jensen-Campbell et al, 2002)
- More happy, long lived, healthy, and grateful (Veronica Benet Martinez)
- More success in relationships
What is the relevant life domain of agreeableness?
Social interaction and love
What are the implications of Agreeableness?
- People agree on who is agreeable (Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997)
- Makes children less vulnerable to bullying (Jensen-Campbell et al., 2002)
- More involved in religious activies, good sense of humour, more peer acceptance and dating satifaction (Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2006)
What is the relevant life domain of conscientiousness?
Work
What are the implications of conscientiousness?
- Less likely to experience to conflict (Ge & Conger, 1999), engage in substance abuse (Walton & Roberts, 2004). criminal acts (Wiebe, 2004)
- Most consistent predictor of job performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)
- Described as competent , organised, dutiful, achievement striving, and self disciplined (Costa & McCrae, 1992)
What is the relevant life domain of Neuroticism?
Affect
What are the implications for Neuroticism
- Stronger negative reactions to stressful events (Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995), sensitive to social threat (Denissen & Penke, 2008)
- Less happy, more anxious and physically sick (McRae & Costa, 1991)
- Cope poorly with stress, more problems in family relationships, dissatisfied with job, and more criminal behaviour (Ozer & Benet-Martinex, 2006)
What is the relevant life domain of Openness to experience
Intellect
What are the implications of Openness to experience?
- More likely to believe in UFOs and extra-terrestrial life (Epstein & Meier, 1989)
- Also more substance abuse and more likely to feel “inspired”
- More likely to be politically liberal, play a musical instrument, and use drugs (Ozer & Benet Martinez, 2006)
