Thema 4.1. Persoonlijkheidsleer

Question 1

What is a personality trait?

Answer 1

Consistent pattern in the way individuals behave, feel and think

Question 2

What 2 connotations do trait terms have?

Answer 2

1. Consistency (regularity in behavior)

2. Distinctiveness (psychological characteristics in which people differ)

Question 3

Trait theorists use trait constructs to serve which scientific functions?

Answer 3

1. Description (taxonomy)
2. Prediction (tests)
3. Explanation (not always)

Question 4

Is there one trait theory?

Answer 4

No, trait theories are a family of interrelated but not identical persectives.

Question 5

What are 3 examples of shared assumptions that define the trait approach?

Answer 5

1. People possess broad predispositions called traits to respond in particular ways
2. There is a direct correspondence betwen the person’s performance of trait-related actiosn and his or her possession of the corresponding trait
3. Human behavior and personality can be organized into a hierarchy

Question 6

Gordon Allport proposed a trait theory that traits are basic units of personality, based in the nervous system. By which 3 properties can traits be defined?

Answer 6

1. Frequency
2. Intensity
3. Range of situations

Question 7

How did Gordon Allort and Odbert define traits?

Answer 7

Generalized and personalized determining tendencies: consistent and stable modes of an individual’s adjustment to his environment

Question 8

In which 3 categories did Chaplin, John and Goldberg replicate Allport and Odbert’s classifications of personality descriptors?

Answer 8

1. Traits
2. States
3. Activities

Question 9

What is a cardinal gtrait?

Answer 9

Disposition that is so pervasisve and outstanding in a person’s life that virtually every act is traceable to its influence

Question 10

What is a central trait?

Answer 10

Disposition that covers a more limited range of situations than is true for cardinal traits.

Question 11

What are secondary dispositions?

Answer 11

Traits taht are the least conspicuaous, generalized and consistent.

Question 12

Allport used an idiographic approach. How was this seen by others?

Answer 12

As antiscientific. Other trait theorists used other approaches.

Question 13

With the exception of Allport, trait psychologists have tried to identify a universal set of traits (that everryone possesses in a degree). What method did they use?

Answer 13

Factor analysis

Question 14

What is factory analysis?

What does this approach not answer?

Answer 14

Statistical appraoch that summarizes the ways in which a large number of variables co-occur

Why the responses covary

Question 15

What 2 conceptual distinctions that are both valuable for distinguishing among the multiplicity of personality traits did Raymond Cattell provide?

Answer 15

1. Distinctions tat differantiate surface traits from source traits
2. Distinctions about scientific databases

Question 16

Cattell identified 16 source raits. In which 3 categories did he divide them?

Answer 16

1. Ability traits (intelligence)
2. Temperament traits (impulsivity)
3. Dynamic traits (motivation)

Question 17

What 3 categories did Cattell make about scientific databses?

Answer 17

1. Life record date = L-data: behavior in actual, everyday situations (school performance)
2. Self-report questionnaire data = Q-data
3. Objective-test = OT-data

Question 18

What is the main result of Cattell’s research?

Answer 18

The 16 personality factor questionnaire

Question 19

What evidence did Cattell cite for the existence of source traits? 5x

Answer 19

1. Results of facotr analyses of different kidns of data
2. Similar results across cultures
3. Similar results across age groups
4. Utility in the prediction of behavior in the natural environment
5. Evidence of significant genetic contributions to many traits

Question 20

Cattell did not view persons aas static entities who behaved in the same way in all situations. He said social action does not depend on traits only but also on X and X.

What do these 2 terms mean?

Answer 20

State and role

State: emtions and mood at a particular, delimited point in time.

Role: refers to the fact that certain behaviors are more closely linked to social roles one must play than to personality traits one possesses.

Question 21

Why does Cattell’s work not have great impact in contemporary personality science?
2x

Answer 21

1. Pracitcal and scientific issues

2. Cattell used measurements as the basic structure of his theory

Question 22

Eysenck emphasized the biological foundations of personality traits. How did he name the highest level in the hierachy of personality as determined by factor analysis?

Answer 22

Superfactors

Question 23

What traits did Eysenck identify?

Are the statistically dependent or independent?

Answer 23

1. Introversion-extroversion (E)
2. Neuroticism (stable vs unstable) N
3. Psychotism (P)

Independent, need a separate biological model

Question 24

Eysenck developed a theory of abnormal psychology and behavior change. What did he propose? 2x

What kind of therapy was he a propent of?

Answer 24

1. Type of sympoms or psychological difficulties a person experiences relate to basic personality traits
2. THe nervous system functioning is associated with the traits

Behavior therapy

Question 25

Why did Eysenck’s work not have a great impact?

4x

Answer 25

1. Better fitting 2-/3 dimensional models
2. Lack of consistent support
3. Foundation of a new journaL
4. More than 3 or 4 factors needed to describe personality

Question 26

On which 3 types of data does the idea that 5 personality factors are the foundation on individual differences in personality rest?

Answer 26

1. Trait terms in the natural language
2. Cross cultural research
3. The relation of trait questionnaires to other questionnaires and ratings

Question 27

Who proposed the Big Five?

Answer 27

Lewis Goldberg

Question 28

What are the 5 dimensions of the Big Five?

Answer 28

1. Openness
2. Conscientiousness
3. Estraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

OCEAN

Question 29

What does the fundemental lexical hypothesis state?

Answer 29

People over time have found some individual differences particulary important in their itneraction, and have developed terms for easy reference to them

Question 30

There is growing evidence that people in diverse cultures, using very different languages view indivdual differences in personality traits in ways similar to the big five.

Which 3 facotrrs are frerqenty found across cultures? And which 2 are less common?

Answer 30

A, C, E

O.N

Question 31

Can the factors of Eysenck and attell be integrated within the Big Five?

Answer 31

yes

Question 32

What is the name of the Big Five questionnaire?

Answer 32

NEO-PI-R

Question 33

Why is the Big Five theory unique? 2x

Answer 33

1. Claim that external influences have no influence on an individual’s personality traits
2. Calaim that the traits are not merely descriptions of indvidual differences but also causal structure

Question 34

What are 3 problemeatic issues for the Bigh Five theory?

Answer 34

1. How to link personality structures to persoanlity processes and how could dynamic proceses be filled in
2. Traits are not affected by social factors
3. Findings do not demonstrate that each individual in the population poessesses each of the 5 factors

Question 35

What are 5 general conclusion about personality?

Answer 35

1. Persoanlity is more stable over short periods of time than over long period of time
2. Persoanlity is more stable in adulthood than in childhood
3. There are individual differences in sability during development
4. Limits of environmental influence on change remain to be determined
5. Some reasons for stability are genetic and some are environmental in terms of environments that confirm already existing personality traits

Question 36

What is the 6th factor besides the orginal 5?

Answer 36

Honesty-humility

Question 37

Big Five model provides psychologists with a comprehensive, widely accepted tool that can be used to sovle applied problems. What are areas of application?
4x

Answer 37

1. Subjective wellbeing
2. Health
3. Informing cilinical diagnosis and treatment
4. Choosing and planning psychological treatment

Question 38

In the 1970s the person-situation controversy began. What does this refer to?

Answer 38

Whether the person or the situation is more influential in determining a person’s behavior.

Question 39

What are the advantages of trait theories? 3x

Trait theories are systemetic, testable but not comprehensive

Answer 39

1. Objective data
2. Diverse data
3. More than self-reportsWarte

Question 40

What ae the strengths of trait theories? 3x

Answer 40

1. Active research effort
2. Interesting hypotheses
3. Potential ties to biology

Question 41

What are the limitations of trait theories? 2x

Answer 41

1. Method factor analyis

2. The questions: what does a trait include, what is left out or neglecte?

Question 42

What is temparement?

Answer 42

Biologically ased individual differences in emotional and motivational tendencies

Question 43

Hippocrates posited that variations in psychological characteristics reflect variations in bodily fluids. Kant distinguished 4 types of temperament, and also suggested that their basis was found in bodily fluids.

What do contemporary psychological scientist think aobut this?

Answer 43

They all reject this thought

Question 44

Who are the founders of:

1. Phrenology
2. Contemporary science of biology
3. Genetics

Answer 44

1. Gall
2. Darwin
3. Mendel

Question 45

What did historical efforts to study temperament lack?

Answer 45

Longitudinal methods

Question 46

Kagan observed children directly and noticed 2 clearly defined behavioral profiles in temperament. Which 2?

Which brain structure plays a role in this?

And which gene?

Answer 46

1. Inhibited
2. Uninhibited

Amygala

Gene that contributes to levels of a protein called stathmin that influences the functioning of the amygdala

Question 47

Mary ROthbarth posited that a specific psychological quality is necessary for regulating one’s emotions and actions. Which one?

Answer 47

Effortful control

Question 48

What are 3 research methods of behavioral genetics?

Answer 48

1. Selective breeding
2. Twin studies
3. Adoption studies

Question 49

What is the heribility coefficient?

What does 0 mean, and 1?

Answer 49

Proportion of observed variances in scores that can be attributed to genetic factors.

0= genes do not contribute at all to difference
1= genes are major factor in difference

Question 50

What are inappropriate conclusions about the ehritability coefficient?

Answer 50

1. It indicates the extent to which a characteristic is determined by heredity for a given individual (but it describes variation between peopel in the overall population)
2. Charcteristic cannot change becasue it has an inherited component (but environmental experiences can alter even highly heritable qualities.

Question 51

What is the relation bewteen antisocial behavior and both levels of childhood maltreatment and MAO-A activity?

Answer 51

People with low MAO-A activity showed more severe antisocial behavior under severe childhood maltreatment compared to people with high MAO-A acitivty, so high MAO-A activity could be protecting

Question 52

Behavioral genetic research identifies environmental influences of 2 types. Which 2?

Answer 52

1. Shared (make siblings more alike)
2. Nonshared (create differences among siblings)

Differences among families seem to matter less for the development of children than do differences within families

Question 53

What are 3 particular forms of gene-environment interactions?

Answer 53

1. Same environment experiences may have different effects on individuals with different genetic constitutions (passie recipeints of environment)
2. Indivduls with different genetic constitutions may evoke different responses from the envrionment (play a role through responses)
3. Individuals with different consitutions select and create different enviroenments (play an active role in selecting and creating environments

Question 54

How can indiidual differences in emotioanl experience b explained? 3x

Answer 54

1. Hemisphere dominance
2. Neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin
3. HOrmones cortisol and testosterone

Question 55

According to Clark and Watson temperament has 3 dimensions. Which 3?

Answer 55

1. PE (positive emotionally
2. NE Negative emotionally
3. DvC dishinbition vs constraint

Question 56

There is a 2 way street between biology and experience. What plays a role in this?

Answer 56

plasticity

Question 57

Do people living in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods display higher or lower serotonergic responsivity?

What could this explain?

Answer 57

lower

Prevalence of psycatric disorders or behaviors associated with dysregulated central serotonergic function in thses ecommunities

Question 58

Are there neural foundatiosn of self-concept?

Answer 58

Yes

Question 59

Does the brain play a role in moral judgement?

Answer 59

Yes

Question 60

Wat zijn de verschillen tussen de idiografische benadering (o.a. van Allport) en van de factoranalytische benadering van Eysenck en Cattell?
Welke voordelen en nadelen kleven aan beide benaderingen?

Answer 60

1. A (…) distinguishing feature of Allport’s contributions is his emphasis on the uniqueness of the individual. (…) An idiographic strategy (…) focuses on the potentially unique individual. In-depth studies of individual persons are viewed as a path for learning about people generally. This approach contrasts with that of other trait theorists, who generally adopt nomothetic procedures in which large numbers of individuals are described in terms of a common, universal set of personality traits.

In a typical factor-analytic study (as proposed by Eysenck and Cattell), a large number of test items are administered to many subjects. Inevitably, some of these items are positively correlated with one another. (…) In principle, large clusters of items might be correlated in this manner. These clusters might reflect the influence of an underlying factor (…). Factor analysis identifies these patterns, or clusters, or correlations. (…) simplifies the information contained in a large table of correlations by identifying a small set of factors, where each factor represents one cluster of correlations.

2. Advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches to personality:
   The major advantage of Allport’s approach is its comprehensive and in-depth description of the unique characteristics of the individual. A disadvantage of his approach is the difficulty it has in discerning common characteristics that exist across individuals, which are needed - among other things - for the advancement of scientific study.
   The use of factor analysis to identify personality structures has some significant advantages as compared to the procedures used by previous theorists. Previously (…), theorists relied heavily on their intuition. They observed clinical cases and intuited that certain personality structures were responsible for their clients’ behavior. But human intuition can be faulty (…) … the trait theorist relies on an objective statistical procedure: factor analysis. Note that the statistical procedure identifies patterns of covariation in test responses. It does not answer the question of why the responses covary.

Question 61

Persoonlijkheidstrekken zijn bijna per definitie stabiele kenmerken van de persoon die in de tijd en in verschillende situaties sterk overeenkomen. Maar hoe stabiel zijn persoonlijkheidstrekken in werkelijkheid?

1. Beschrijf wat bekend is over de stabiliteit c.q. veranderlijkheid van persoonlijkheidstrekken.
2. Benoem ook de rol van leeftijdsinvloeden tegenover cohorteffecten.

Answer 61

1. Research (…) yields consistent findings. There is much stability (…). Even over long periods of time, the correlations between measures from one time to another remain significant (…). … the personality trait variables of their theories are capturing personal qualities that are substantially stable, over substantial periods of time, for substantial numbers of people.

Despite this stability, it is also the case that change is found (…). Older adults score significantly lower in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness, and higher in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness than adolescents and young adults (…). On average, teenagers seem to be beset by more anxieties and concerns with acceptance and self-esteem (higher N), to spend more time on the phone and in social activities with their friends (higher E), are more open to all kinds of experience and experimentation (higher O), but also are more critical and demanding of specific others and society in general (lower A) and less conscientious and responsible than others (parents, teachers, police) expect them to be (lower C). (…)
(reader, hoofdstuk 8, pagina 57)

2. However, these findings are ambiguous because, as noted above, the observed differences may reflect not age changes but cohort differences-that is, differences due to generation effects associated with growing up during different time periods. In other words, differences might be due to historical factors (e.g., growing up during the Depression as opposed to during World War II or during the tumultuous 1960s) rather than age factors (…)
   (reader, hoofdstuk 8, pagina 57)

Question 62

Geef een omschrijving van temperament.

Longitudinaal onderzoek is een belangrijke manier om interpersoonlijke verschillen in temperament te onderzoeken. Beschrijf enkele bevindingen uit Kagan’s onderzoek.

Answer 62

Temperament refers to biologically based individual differences in emotional and motivational tendencies that are evident early in life (…). Early-life variations in the tendency to experience positive or negative moods, to become aroused in response to stimuli, or to calm oneself down after becoming upset are examples of temperament qualities.
(reader, hoofdstuk 9, vanaf pagina 79)

Kagan brought four-month-old infants into the laboratory and videotaped their behavior while they were exposed to familiar and novel stimuli (…). The videotapes then were scored on measures of reactivity such as arching of the back, vigorous flexing of limbs, and crying. About 20% of the infants were designated as high-reactive, characterized by arching of the back, intense crying, and unhappy facial expression in response to the novel stimuli. (…) In contrast, the low-reactive infants, about 40% of the group, appeared to be calm and laid-back in response to the novel stimuli. The remaining infants, about 40%, showed various mixtures of response.

(…) Kagan again studied the children when they were 14 months old, 21 months old, and 4 1/2 years old. (…) In addition to behavioral observations, physiological measures such as heart rate and blood pressure in response to the unfamiliar situations were obtained. Again, findings revealed continuity in temperament. (…) Further testing at age 8 indicated continuing consistency (…).
(reader, hoofdstuk 9, pagina 84 e.v.)

Question 63

Welke onderzoeksvormen worden toegepast om de erfelijkheid van persoonlijkheidstrekken te onderzoeken?

Wat is de erfelijkheidscoëfficiënt (h2)?

Answer 63

Behavioral geneticists employ three primary research methods: selective breeding studies, twin studies, and adoption studies.

In selective breeding studies, animals with a desired trait for study are selected and mated. This selection and reproduction process is used with successive generations of offspring to produce a strain of animals that is consistent within itself for the desired characteristic.

Twin studies. If two organisms are identical genetically, then any later observed differences can be attributed to differences in their environments. On the other hand, if two organisms are different genetically but experience the same environment, then any observed differences can be attributed to genetic factors. The existence of identical (monozygotic) twins and fraternal (dizygotic) twins offers a good approximation to this research ideal. Monozygotic (MZ) twins develop from the same fertilized egg and are genetically identical. Dizygotic (DZ) twins develop from two separately fertilized eggs and are as genetically similar as any pair of siblings, on the average sharing about 50% of their genes.

Adoption studies offer another method for studying genetic and environmental effects. When adequate records are kept, it is possible to consider the similarity of adopted children to their natural (biological) parents, who have not influenced them environmentally, and to compare this with the similarity to their adoptive parents, who share no genes in common with them. The extent of similarity to their biological parents
is indicative of genetic factors, while the extent of similarity to their adoptive parents is indicative of environmental factors.

The heritability coefficient represents the proportion of observed variance in scores that can be attributed to genetic factors. In a study involving both MZ and DZ twins, h2 is based on the difference between the MZ and DZ correlations.

Let op: Cervone en Pervin spreken van de heritability-coefficient (h2), terwijl voor ditzelfde begrip in hoofdstuk 2 van het tekstboek (Cima & Siep, 2015) de term ‘concordantie-coëfficiënt’ wordt gebruikt.

Question 64

Welke van de volgende beweringen over het Big Five-model is juist?

De vijf factoren zijn extraversie, openheid, conciëntieusheid, neuroticisme en altruïsme.

Het model sluit aan bij de opvatting van ‘syndroomcontinuïteit’.

Het Big Five-model is het meest prominente categoriële persoonlijkheidsmodel.

De vijf factoren worden in verschillende culturen teruggevonden; het model blijkt algemeen geldig te zijn.

Answer 64

Het Big Five-model is het meest prominente categoriële persoonlijkheidsmodel.

Question 65

Persoonlijkheidstrekken zijn stabiel in de tijd. Longitudinaal onderzoek heeft echter ook aangetoond dat trekken in de loop van het leven meer of minder kunnen veranderen.

Welke bewering is juist over de veranderlijkheid van persoonlijkheidstrekken?

Uw antwoord

Ouderen scoren lager op consciëntieusheid, extraversie en openheid, en hoger op altruïsme en neuroticisme dan adolescenten en jonge volwassenen.

Ouderen scoren lager op neuroticisme, extraversie en openheid, en hoger op altruïsme en consciëntieusheid dan adolescenten en jonge volwassenen.

Ouderen scoren hoger op neuroticisme, extraversie en openheid, en lager op altruïsme en consciëntieusheid dan adolescenten en jonge volwassenen.

Ouderen scoren hoger op consciëntieusheid, extraversie en openheid, en hoger op altruïsme en neuroticisme dan adolescenten en jonge volwassenen.

Answer 65

Ouderen scoren lager op neuroticisme, extraversie en openheid, en hoger op altruïsme en consciëntieusheid dan adolescenten en jonge volwassenen.

Question 66

In het debat over de ‘person-situation controversy’ in relatie tot persoonlijkheidstrekken is er kritiek op de trait theorie die stelt dat persoonlijkheidstrekken stabiel zijn over tijd en situatie. Wat wordt door de kritici in twijfel getrokken?

Uw antwoord

de hoge longitudinale en de lage cross-situationele stabiliteit van persoonlijkheidstrekken

de hoge cross-situationele stabiliteit van persoonlijkheidstrekken

de lage longitudinale en de hoge cross-situationele stabiliteit van persoonlijkheidstrekken

de hoge longitudinale stabiliteit van persoonlijkheidstrekken

Answer 66

de hoge cross-situationele stabiliteit van persoonlijkheidstrekken

Question 67

De erfelijkheidsfactoren voor de Big-Five persoonlijkheidstrekken blijken enigszins verschillend.

Welke bewering is juist?

De erfelijkheidsfactor van X is (op populatieniveau) groter dan van Y bij:

Uw antwoord

X: Altruïsme; Y: Consciëntieusheid

X: Neuroticisme; Y: Extraversie

X: Consciëntieusheid; Y: Neuroticisme

X: Openheid; Y: Altruïsme

Answer 67

X: Openheid; Y: Altruïsme

Question 68

Gedragsgenetici onderzoeken naast de bijdrage van genetische factoren aan het ontwikkelen van de persoonlijkheid ook de relatieve bijdragen van twee verschillende typen van omgevingsinvloeden, respectievelijk de gedeelde en de niet-gedeelde invloeden.

Wat is uit dit onderzoek tot nu toe vast komen te staan?

Uw antwoord

De effecten van gedeelde en niet-gedeelde omgevingsinvloeden zijn even groot.

De effecten van gedeelde omgevingsinvloeden zijn verwaarloosbaar klein; de effecten van niet-gedeelde invloeden zijn groot.

Alleen de effecten van gedeelde omgevingsinvloeden bleken betrouwbaar vast te stellen.

De effecten van gedeelde omgevingsinvloeden zijn groot; de effecten van niet-gedeelde invloeden zijn verwaarloosbaar klein.

Answer 68

De effecten van gedeelde omgevingsinvloeden zijn verwaarloosbaar klein; de effecten van niet-gedeelde invloeden zijn groot.