The use of trait theory as a measure of personality

Question 1

The use of trait theory as a measure of personality

Answer 1

1. When personality traits were first studied, a great many were found, but these have since been reduced to identify the overachieving traits
2. e.g. introvert can mean being shy and quiet
3. If we consider introversion as a trait rather than a type, the traits shy and quiet become covered by an overall trait: “introvert”
4. Some ideas about traits, such as how there is a continuum in personality, underline the difference between traits and types
5. e.g. there could be a continuum from quiet to loud (people falling anywhere on this line) whereas types are more set - “quiet type” or “loud type”

Question 2

Factor analysis

Answer 2

1. using statistical analysis to find overarching (larger) patterns - statistical technique
2. Researchers use it to form underlying characteristics that predict behaviour from the outward characteristics that people show
3. e.g. is someone who enjoys parties, is interested in people and seeks out activities where there is danger, factor analysis will show that these outward characteristics often go together in people
4. Together these outward characteristics are given a label - extraversion
5. finding that the opposite of extraversion also goes together leading to the extraversion-introversion dimension

Question 3

Cardinal, central, and secondary personality traits

Answer 3

1. Traits are ways of putting someone’s behaviour into a group or pattern
2. Gordon Allport (1936) came up with the first trait theory
3. He classified traits into three levels, which he called cardinal, central, and secondary traits
4. He identified many traits (around 4000) that characterise each personality, choosing observable features (such as shy) and those likely to be permanent in someone

Question 4

Cardinal traits

Answer 4

1. rare traits that govern us strongly
2. tend to dominate our lives
3. e.g. extreme altruism - helping someone at great risk to oneself, or living in a different country and take on a complete “helping lifestyle”

Question 5

Central traits

Answer 5

1. traits that are more common and less strong

2. e.g. friendliness and loyalty

Question 6

Secondary traits

Answer 6

1. traits that we have but don’t always show

2. e.g. being angry when we are made late for somehting

Question 7

16PF personality factor assessment

Answer 7

1. Raymond Cattell (1946) aimed to reduce Allport’s list of around 4,000 traits to something that would be easier to use to measure personality
2. Some of Allport’s words were very similar to others, which some were rather uncommon. The similar ones were removed, leaving 171 traits
3. Instead of a list of 171 traits, Cattell summaries personality more usefully by showing how far they displaced certain traits

Question 8

How Cattell got data to measure personality

Answer 8

1. Life data that covered someone’s everyday behaviours
2. data from experiments to assess people’s reactions to standardised situations
3. data from questionnaires to get people’s self-ratings about their behaviour and feelings

Question 9

How cattell analysed his data

Answer 9

1. He used factor analysis on his data to see which traits went together so that he would reduce the list of 171 traits even further
2. By doing this , Cattell found 16 dimensions
3. The 16 dimensions on the 16PF measure personality using continuums
4. e.g. if you score low on the dimension of warmth, you are categorised as cold

Question 10

16PF

Answer 10

a personality test based on people’s own judgement of themselves on 16 factors

Question 11

Self-rating

Answer 11

1. our own ideas about our traits,

2. e.g. rated by us on a personality scale

Question 12

Cattell’s 16 personality factors

Answer 12

1. emotional stability
2. vigilance
3. Openness to change
4. dominance
5. privateness
6. warmth
7. intelligence
8. perfectionism
9. sensitivity
10. tension
11. apprehension
12. abstractedness
13. social boldness
14. rule consciousness
15. liveliness
16. self-reliance

Question 13

Strengths of trait theory as a measure of personality

Answer 13

1. Allport (which other trait theories were developed from) chose traits that were observable, which means it can be measured. The scores can then be compared
2. The use of self-rating scales means there is no interpretation from someone else, adding validity to the findings
3. Different theorists have come up with similar traits even when working independently increasing reliability

Question 14

weaknesses of trait theory as a measure of personality

Answer 14

1. It is hard to predict someone’s behaviour from their traits as they might behave differently in different situations
2. People have to be self-aware in order to give self-ratings that represent their characteristics. We might think of ourselves as something, but others will agree
3. It describes personality and characteristics, but not why we have those characteristics. This limits the theory as it does not help to explain personality development or address what changes can be made

Question 15

Traits

Answer 15

Personality traits reflect people’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours