Topic 1 Approaches to personality Flashcards

1
Q

What is Personality in Laymens terms

A

The non-physical, behavioural or psychological component of individuals

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2
Q

Personality is derived from the latin word persona, what does persona mean

A

The mask worn to portray a character

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3
Q

Funder, Carver & Scheier, and Wilt & Revelle have all given formal definitions of personality, what 3 features do these definitions all share

A
  • All 3 definitions refer to cognitive, feeling (affective) and behavioural component
  • All refer to these behaviours being predictable or patterns/characteristic
  • All refer to mechanism or systems that underlie these patterns or tendencies (e.g connections in the brain)
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4
Q

What are the two spectrums that approaches to personality exist on

( X vs Y) ( A vs B)

A

Nomothetic vs Idiographic
Dispositional Vs Situational

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5
Q

What is a nomothetic approach to personality

A
  • Individual differences can be described and explained in terms of predefined attributes (e.g extraversion - we think of it as a continuum)
  • each trait is linked to common underlying physiological mechanism i.e brain area
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6
Q

what is an idiographic approach to personality

A

individuals are so unique that two different people cannot be descibed using the same concepts

(i.e freuds psychodynamic theory, not gonna go over this in detail)

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7
Q

What is a dispositional approach to personality

A
  • personality is seen as consitent,
  • we have internal dispositions to think/act in similar ways, largely independent of situation

(e.g an extravert will generally be more outgoing than an introvert)

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8
Q

What is a situational approach to personality

A
  • Personality is a series of largely unrelated states, primarily determined by situational factors.
  • there is no core essence, just distinct behavioural signatures made of ‘if A then B’ rules
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9
Q

What do Dispositional theorists think about the role of context on personality

A
  • They do not deny the role of context in moderating situational behaviour
  • they believe an extravert would moderate their extravesion at a job interview compared to when at a concert but still believe an extravert person would be more extraverted than a introvert in both situations
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10
Q

What did dispositional theorists find when trying to quantify a correlation between personality traits and behaviour

A

They estimate that the r value = 0.4 and that there was a significant correlation between traits and behaviour (Funder,2001)

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11
Q

What do dispositional theorists believe about the types of situations we encounter

A
  • Traits influence the situations we encounter
  • e.g an introvert may avoid crowded bars or concerts
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12
Q

What is the four temperants model of personality

A
  • based off Hippocrates four bodily humours
  • Galen applied this theory to personality as 4 personality types
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13
Q

What are the four temperants and what kind of character are they are indicative of

(as in name the 4 of them)

A
  • Phlegmatic - calm/relaxed person
  • chloeric - angry/voltatile person
  • sanguine - happy/enthusiastic person
  • melancholic - depressed/ unhappy person

(based on mucus, yellow bile, blood and black bile , respectively)

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14
Q

In reference to the four temperants

What does the balance of bodily fluids determine

A
  • the balance of temperament
  • any excess of any fluid can lead to a mental illness related to the temperaments
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15
Q

Evaluate the Four temperaments theory of personality

(One criticism, 3 pros)

A

Criticsm-
* obviously fucking bullshit - humours(bodily fluids) are pseudoscience
Pros-
* gave rise to notion of personality types
* temperament descriptions have influenced modern theories of personality
* one of first notions that gives specific links between biology and psychology

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16
Q

what are the three dimensions of Eysencks PEN theory

A

Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism

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17
Q

What is Eysencks PEN theory?

A

A biological account of personality that places personality traits on different ‘dimensions’, allowing us to have a ‘complete’ description of a person

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18
Q

What are some features of Eysencks Initial theory (1947)

(name 5)

A
  1. only two dimensions (extraversion and neuroticism)
  2. orthogonal (independent) to one another
  3. normal distribution for each dimension
  4. considered ‘super traits that could provide complete description of a person
  5. clear biological underpinning that determines level of each of these traits
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19
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory

What is characteristic of High N (neuroticism) vs Low N (stable mindedness)

A
  • High N: Anxious, pessimistic, tense, moody, depressed, shy
  • Low N: stable, positive, calm, optimistic, confident, relaxed
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20
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory

What is characteristic of Low E (introversion) vs High E (extraversion)

A
  • Low E: asocial, passive, slow, reflective , quiet
  • High E: Social, talkative, outgoing, lively, energetic
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21
Q

When did Eysenck discover his third dimension, what is it and why did he discover it

A
  • 1970’s - Psychoticism, observed individuals who were emotional unstable (N) but had lower levels of fear & anxiety, lack of remorse or conscience and lacked an appreciation of consequnces of actions
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22
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory

How does Psychoticism differ from the other dimensions of personality

A
  • It is not normally distributed
  • it is not orthogonal to the other dimensions (has some positive correlation to Neuroticism)
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23
Q

Describe and differentiate High Psychotisim vs Low psychoticisim

A
  • High psychoticism indicative of antisocialness, aggresiveness, lack of empathy
  • Low psychotisms (tender mindedness) indicative of altruistic, conformist and rational empathic behaviour
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24
Q

What is the difference between the words Psychopath, Psychoticism and psychosis

(important to differentiate these words, they are not the same)

A
  • A Psychopath is an extreme personality associated w/ a callous, deeptive and manipulative nature, an inability to feel remorse or empathy and a tendency to violate social & conventional norms
  • Psychoticism is a major trait in Eysencks PEN model of personality, it is perhaps better labeled as psychopathy
  • Psychosis is a mental disturbance associated w/ a break from reality (e.g schizophrenia)

Dont need to get these exactly, just important to understand the diff

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25
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches

What hypothesis can we take from the biological explanation to Extraversion

A
  • In any given situation, extraverts will have lower levels of cortical arousal than introverts
  • we would expect to see lower frequeny but higher amplitude EEG traces in extraverts (indicative of lower cortical arousal) and higher frequency, lower amplitude EEG traces in introverts (indicative of higher cortical arousal)
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25
Q

According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to the Extraversion-Introversion scale

A
  • Differential activity levels in the reticulo-cortical system
  • Extraverts have lower levels of cortical arousal and thus seek out external stimulation
  • Introverts have higher levels of cortical arosual and avoid external stimulation
  • people in general prefer moderate levels of cortical arousal
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26
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches

Outline the findings of the study done by Gale (1983) to test the cortical arousal hypothesis in Extraversion

(what were the results of the study, and were there any issues?)

A
  • Mixed evidence - majority support theory
    Number of methodological issues identified e.g
  • unsystematic use of personality measures (lots of variance in scales used to measure extraversion)
  • very high/low arousal level of task will cause extraverts or introverts to adapt to preffered level of cortical arousal, obscuring differences (imagine dodgeball - an extravert might be really rambunctious and try and take centre stage, whereas an introvert may be more passive and avoidant of being the centre of attention)
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27
Q

In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches

Tran, Craig & McIsaac (2001) did a study addressing some of the methodological issues seen in prior studies on the cortical arousal hypothesis in extraversion. What were some of their methods?

(As in, what did they do to address these methodological issues)

A
  • Activity measured from frontal regions of the brain (Because these are the areas most linked w/ personality)
  • Older participants (22-60 years, mean age=38.3 years) (Argue that personality isnt stable until a bit later in adulthood and thus measuring undergraduates isnt the most useful)
  • Used ‘moderately demanding’ task (opening and closing eyes) (Avoid issue of high/low arousal task)
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28
Q

According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to the Neuroticism-Stability scale

A
  • by differential activity levels in the reticulo-limbic system.
  • High neuroticism = high baseline limbic system levels
  • Low neuroticism = low baseline limbic system levels
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29
Q

According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to Psychoticism

A

No clear explanation but linked to male hormones or dopamine levels

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30
Q

Evaluate Eysencks PEN theory

(3 pros and 3 cons)

A

Pros
* Good (cross-cultural) evidence for E and N factors
* Major contribution to trait and biological theories of personality
* Development of several personality questionnaires,
Cons
* P factor less accepted – not featured in other models.
* Neurobiology of emotional processing more complex than originally thought.
* Too much focus on biology/genetics…? (lack of emphasis on environemental factors)

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31
Q

What is the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivty Theory

4 main points

A
  • development of/alternative to Eysencks Theory
  • Based on work with non-human animals (mainly rats) (applied to all mammals, not just humans).
  • ^ Involved assessing contributions of envrironment and learning , thus addressing one of the criticism to Eysencks theory
  • Individual differences lie in strengths of BAS and BIS
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32
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory

What are BAS and BIS in general terms

A
  • two systems that dictate our response in any given situation
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33
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivity theory

What are the main neural components of the BAS and BIS

A
  • amygdala
  • ventromedial hypothalamus
  • midbrain grey matter
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34
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory

Outline the BAS

A

Behavioural activation system
* Activates ‘approach’ behaviour toward goal.
* Motivated to seek reward.
* Based on conditioned responses associated with positive events.

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35
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory

Outline the BIS

A

Behavioural inhibition system
* Focuses attention on potential costs.
* Inhibits behaviours associated with negative events.
* Motivated to avoid harm and punishmen

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36
Q

What are the two dimensions of personality in the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

A

Impulsivity and anxiety

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37
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

What is the dimension of anxiety driven by

A

The strength of the BIS system

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38
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

What is the impulsivity dimension driven by

A

The strength of the BAS system

39
Q

In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

How is the theory still used today and what changes (if any have been made)

A
  • There have been two main revisions to the theory
    1. Walker et al → development of additional fight/flight/freezing system (FFFS)
    2. revision of BIS as an evaluative comparator of response conflicts

Evaluative comparator = think of potential outcomes before decision

40
Q

What is the lexical hypothesis?

A

All aspects of individual personality can be described from single words used in language.
So essentially the important aspects of personality can be derived from the words used to describe personality.

Capitalising on the lay understanding and looking at the way people describe personality.

You do not need to go out and observe people’s personality, the information about personality is already there through looking at how people describe personality.

E.g., if there is an important aspect of personality, there will be a word to describe it.

41
Q

What provides the basis for data reduction?

A

The lexical hypothesis.

42
Q

What did Allport and Odbert do? (1936)

A

Went through the whole dictionary and looked at all the words that were related to personality words. (555,000). Then 18,000 that were related to behavioural differences.
Then 4,500 removed that related to cognitive, physical or transient states.

43
Q

What are latent variables?

A

These are variables that are ‘hidden.’ They cannot be directly measured.

44
Q

Are psychological variables latent?

A

(Usually) yes. They cannot be directly observed - they must be inferred/estimated on the basis of behaviour/self-reported experience.

45
Q

What are psychometrics?

A

Directly means: “measuring the mind.”
Scientific measurement of psychological variables.

46
Q

How is extraversion latent?

A

Latent variable because you cannot directly measure it directly e.g., no blood test or brain scan to accurately tell us this level. So instead, you have to think about what extraversive characters that lead to this trait.
Various words can be extracted that relate to this latent variable.

47
Q

How can we correlate latent factors and terms?

A

Some patterns of correlation might suggest that two terms relate to a common latent factor.
I.e., if we can deduce that two terms are linked they may be able to be under an overarching common factor that is latent.

48
Q

What do correlations enable (in terms of personality)?

A

The basis of data reduction techniques.
Enable us to determine which terms are related to one another, and so represent a common latent factor.

49
Q

What experiments are usually used for identifying personality?

A

Usually self report data e.g., rating on a scale whether you are a relaxed person.

50
Q

What does it mean when two terms have a strong correlation?

A

Strong correlations (does not matter whether they are positive or negative) will highly suggest that the traits relate to a common latent factor.

51
Q

If there is a negative but strong correlation between two personality items, are they still likely to be related to a common latent factor?

A

They can still be related to a common latent factor but just be at opposite ends of that factor! E.g, high/low neuroticism.

52
Q

What is the problem when we have multiple correlations?

A

These can be shown in a correlation matrix. This shows the relationship between each pair.
It is a bit harder to relate items to a common latent factor when there are several correlations.
It becomes complex because the different words relate to other words to different extents, therefore they are not able to necessarily deduce the specific common latent factor.

53
Q

What is the solution to employ when we have multiple correlations?

A

Factor analysis.

54
Q

What is factor analysis?

A

Multivariate, data reduction technique.
Looks for the set of latent variables (factors) that best account for the pattern of correlation within the dataset. (Looks for the smallest number of latent variables that can describe the pattern of correlation in the dataset).

55
Q

What does factor analysis specifically modify about the correlation matrix?

A

Instead of saying how all the factors are related to each other, it shows the extend to which they are related to a reduced number of underlying factors.
It uses the patterns of correlations between several variables to identify a smaller number of underlying latent variables.

56
Q

What are factor loadings?

A

The values showing the strength of the correlation between the items and the underlying factors.

57
Q

What might be some problems with this factor loadings?

A

Researchers name the factor based on items that load onto it.
High-cross loadings is the main problem.

58
Q

Why is high cross loading a potential problem?

A

High cross-loading = the 2 factors are not independent. E.g., if one of the items loads highly onto multiple factors then this means that you are not able to say that the factors are independent this means that it technically violates the assumption of this model. In the model we want independent factors.

59
Q

Who came up with the 16 personality factor model?

A

Raymond Cattel.

60
Q

How did Raymond Cattel build off of the lexical based hypothesis? What experiment did he do?

A

Began with the initial 4500 terms and tried to reduce this to terms that he could then use in factor analysis.
Initially, made groups of synonyms and then these clusters were separated into pairs where each word represented opposite meanings.
Then he selected one word that was most represented of the category. (This left him with 171 words).

61
Q

How many terms did Cattel get the clusters of words down to for the factor analysis?

A
  1. Initially found correlation betwedn 60 clusters and then added/removed based on psychiatric literature and his own judgement.
62
Q

How many personality factors did Cattel identify?

A

Using self-ratings, other ratings and test performance he came up with 16 personality factors (source traits).

63
Q

What do the source traits/personality factors explain?

A

Surface trait variability (the 45 surface traits).

64
Q

What do the Q factors on the 16 personality factors represent?

A

These are the factors that Cattel thought could only be identified through self report and would not be able to be explained through any other data collection.

65
Q

Are the factors on a scale? (16 personality factors).

A

Yes, they are rated on a scale.

66
Q

What is significant about the order of the factors? (16 personality factors).

A

They are arranged in order of importance.

67
Q

Why is the suggestion that the abstract factor explains intelligence controversial?

A

Some researchers believe that personality and intelligence are completely separate.

68
Q

What are the negatives of Cattel’s model?

A
  • Subjectivity and arbitrariness in analysis. Some of the things were based on his own opinion/subjectivity. He could have gone back to the literature earlier.
  • Many failures to replicate 16 factor structure. He even struggled to replicate himself!
  • Sixteen – too many factors to work with.
  • Correlations between factors – not independent.
  • Better accounted for by fewer, independent factors ?
  • Analyses of same data: 5 independent ‘second-order’ factors of: Extraversion, Anxiety, Self-Control, Independence/Accommodation, & Openness.
69
Q

What are the positives of Cattel’s model?

A
  • Methodical, data-driven approach to theory development. Innovative. He was the first person to use factor analysis.
  • Promoted use of Factor analysis in personality research. (PhD student of Charles Spearman).
  • Revised 16PF questionnaires still used.
  • Formed the basis of subsequent ‘big 5’ models.
70
Q

What did Costa and McCrae propose? (1985).

A
  • Evidence for 5 super factors.
  • Convergence of the models showing 5 independent factors: slightly different factor names/descriptions, factor models aligned with one another.
71
Q

Why were the 5 personality factors sufficient and necessary?

A
  • Five factors are necessary and reasonably sufficient for describing major features of personality at a global level (McCrae and Costa, 1986).
  • This means that you need these factors to describe personality and you don’t really need anything more than these factors to describe personality.
72
Q

What is are the 5 aspects of the Big 5?

A
  • Neuroticism.
  • Extraversion.
  • Openness to experience.
  • Agreeableness.
  • Conscientiousness.
73
Q

In what order where the factors added to the Big 5 model?

A

Based on Cattell’s items: N+E.
This then was expanded to openness to experience.
Looking at the literature they then added in two more factors based on the Goldberg’s five model: agreeableness and conscientiousness.

74
Q

For neuroticism, what are the 6 facets (primary traits) associated with it?

A

Anxiety, vulnerability, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness.

75
Q

For extraversion, what are the 6 facets (primary traits) associated with it?

A

Warmth, activity, gregariousness, assertiveness, positive emotions, excitement seeking.

76
Q

How many facets are there for each super trait? (Big 5).

A

6.

77
Q

How can you specifically use the facets to calculate the amount of a certain trait an individual has?

A

Participant to rate themselves for each of the facets (getting scores for each facet), add these all up and then this would give you the underlying super trait value. E.g., measures the amount of excitement an individual craves and this will contribute to the value of extraversion that that particular individual has.

78
Q

When asked are you more emotionally stable or neurotic/are you more introverted or extroverted, where do participants typically rate themselves?

A

Somewhere in the middle.

79
Q

What is openness to experience?

A
  • Tendency to engage in intellectual activities and experiences new sensations and ideas.
  • Related to curiosity, imagination, unconventional attitudes, aesthetic sensitivity.
  • Cf creativity-intellect.
80
Q

What are the 6 facets for openness to experience?

A

Fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values.

81
Q

Where are university students likely to rate on the openness to experience scale?

A

More likely to be open to experience.

82
Q

What is agreeableness?

A
  • Friendly, considerate and modest behaviour.
  • Caring, nurturing and tolerant.
  • Predisposition to pro-social behaviour.
83
Q

What are the 6 facets of agreeableness?

A

Trust, altruism, compliance, modesty, straightforwardness, tendermindedness.

84
Q
A
85
Q

What are the 6 facets of conscientiousness?

A

Competence, order, dutifulness, self-displicine, deliberation, achievement-striving.

86
Q

Why did Eysenck contradict the Big 5 model?

A
  • Openness is intelligence, not personality. He argued that openness should not be a part of the model because it is not talking about personality.
  • Agreeableness is just Low P, Low N, and High E.
87
Q

Are there correlations between PEN and big 5?

A
  • Costa and McCrae (1985) – reported correlations between scores on PEN and OCEAN scales. Some conceptual overlap between these two models. Two different ways, but they both have some correlation.
  • Poorer correlation between the other factors though. (E.g., not between agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness).
88
Q

What did Block (1995) do?

A

Provided contradictions to the 5 factor model.

89
Q

What were the critiques that Block (1995) suggested to the big 5 model?

A
  • Factors derived from factor analysis depend on which variables are entered…and on number of factors extracted (different solutions). Subjectivity! It depends on the items you put in initially. Guided by statistics, but still predominantly decided by the experimenter.
  • Single words insufficient to describe all aspects of personality: sentences and paragraphs needed! E.g. ‘pecking order personality’. Dictionary approach is too simple.
  • Overreliance on lay persons (especially undergraduates), results in important omissions (e.g. ‘capricious’, ‘censorious’ etc). There are words that are omitted that are incredibly important but have too complex meanings.
  • Simple correlations do not capture full complexity of relationships between terms: e.g. wittiness, intelligence. There is not a symmetrical relationship, in the sense that one factor may be more reliant on the other factor. E.g., to be witty you must be intelligent but intelligence doesn’t mean you have to be witty. What you can imply from one direction cannot be implied from the other direction.
  • Arbitrary choice of 6 facets per factor. Purely based on their own views not based on empirical data. Keeps it tidy but is it accurate?
  • Some important factors not represented e.g. narcissism.
90
Q

What is pecking order?

A
  • Pecking order: people behave differently depending on their rank. More hostile to people that are lower ranks? This behaviour cannot be described by one word! Single words out of context can be different things: e.g., aggressive can mean more assertive in certain situations. E.g., critical can be a good or a bad thing depending on the context.
91
Q

Why is overreliance on undergraduates a problem?

A
  • Using undergraduates is limiting the full picture. They are likely to be more open BUT unlikely to have fully developed their full personality.
92
Q

How did Thalmayer and Saucier (2014) provide evidence for the 5 model?

A
  • Evidence for cross-cultural stability of factors e.g. Thalmayer + Saucier (2014): measurement invariance across 26 nations. Same factors emerged irrespective of which language the data is collected in.
93
Q

How did Cukic and Bates (2014) provide evidence for the big 5 model?

A
  • Emerging evidence for biological basis e.g., Cukic + Bates (2014): openness associated with increased ANS activation at rest. This would explain the transient emotional responses. High openness to experience: enjoy certain things more and this correlates with activation of the ANS.
94
Q

What is the model that is most widely used for the model of personality?

A

The big 5 model.

95
Q

What is Zuckerman’s model? (1999).

A

Alternative Big Five: Zuckerman et al., 1999: developed using factor analysis but from Eysenck’s theory.
1. Impulsive unsocialised sensation seeking.
2. Aggression-hostility.
3. Activity.
4. Sociability.
5. Neuroticism-anxiety.

96
Q

What alternative theory did Lee and Ashton (2004) develop?

A

“HEXACO.”
Honesty-humility.
Emotionality.
Extraversion.
Agreeableness.
Conscientiousness.
Openness to experience.