The Trait Persepctive

Question 1

What Greek philosopher contributed to the early research of the trait perspective

Answer 1

Hippocrates

Question 2

What did Hippocrates propose a relationship between?

Answer 2

He proposed a relationship between personality and humours(body fluids)

Question 3

What 4 examples did Hippocrates use when proposing a relationship between personality and humours (body fluids)

Answer 3

1. Melancholic (depressed)
2. Sanguine (cheerful/optimistic)
3. Phlegmatic (unemotional/apathetic)
4. Choleric (irritable/short tempered)

Question 4

What was the name of the theory that sheldon developed in 1940?

Answer 4

Sheldon theory of somatotypes

Question 5

Outline Sheldon’s (1940) three body types in his theory of somatotypes

Answer 5

• ectomorph (long and lean,. Little body fat or muscle)
• mesomorph (more muscle than fat)
• endomorph (softer bodies with curves)

Question 6

Outline types (4)

Answer 6

• discontinuous categories (eg introverts/extroverts)
• represent qualitative differences in people
• labelling convenience
• often viewed as biologically or genetically based

Question 7

Outline traits (4)

Answer 7

• continuous dimensions (eg, continuum from introversion to extraversion)
• represent quantitative differences in people
• individual differences reflect differences in amount of a trait

Question 8

What is the MBTI typologies theory?

Answer 8

Myers Briggs Type Indicators

Question 9

Outline the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (3)

Answer 9

• Based on the ideas of Carl Jung
• Popular with companies wanting to assess employees
• Groups people into one of 16b types, based on 4 categories

Question 10

Strength of the MBTI

Answer 10

• Holistic sense of what a person is like

Question 11

2 limitations of the MBTI

Answer 11

• based on intuition
• little empirical evidence

Question 12

What is factor analysis?

Answer 12

Statistical technique for decomposing large numbers of intercorrelations into basic underlying dimensions.

Question 13

Limitation of factor analysis

Answer 13

GIGO - garbage in, garbage out.

Question 14

Steps in factor analysis (5)

Answer 14

1. Collect measurements on many variables - subjective (self-reports, observations)
2. Collect data from many people
3. Compute correlations between all pairs of variables
4. Extract factors
5. Label factors based on factor loadings - subjective

Question 15

Who demonstrated the empirical approach and what did he do

Answer 15

Raymond Cattell, he used statistical analysis to derive key personality traits

Question 16

What is lexical hypothesis

Answer 16

Language has evolved to describe the basic qualities of human nature

Question 17

What’s cattells theory

Answer 17

Sixteen factors of personality

Question 18

Problems with cattells theory of personality

Answer 18

Failed to replicate
Some factors correlated

Question 19

Consensus with cattells theory of personality (3)

Answer 19

• advancements in computing power - allowed for more objective analyses
• funding - access to larger samples
• growing body of evidence suggests there are five basic superordinate traits