✅ Topic 1: Theories Of Personnality (1A + 1B) Flashcards
- Define what the term 'personality' means. - Describe some of the overarching approaches to personality research. - Describe pre-20th century theories of personality, and discuss the contribution that they have made to more modern understanding of personality. - Describe Eysenck's PEN theory and Gray's Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity theory as examples of biological theories of personality. - Evaluate evidence for the biological basis of Eysenck's PEN theory of personality.
What is Personality?
- Originate from the latin word ‘persona’ -> Definition: the character one plays in life’s drama
- Academic literature: components of personality
- characteristic pattern
- thought, emotion, and behaviours
- psychological mechanism
What are some opposing approaches to personality?
- Nomothetic: individual differences can be described and explained in terms of predefined attributes (e.g. extraversion - label)
- Idiographic: individuals are so unique that two different people cannot be described using the same concept (e.g. Freud’s psychodynamic theory)
- Dispositional: internal dispositions to think/act/feel, independent of situations (inherent characteristic)
- Situational: a series of largely unrelated states, primarily determined by situational factors (fluid response to external influence)
What is dispositions in different situations?
- Dispositional theorists do not deny a role of context/situation in moderating behaviour.
- Rather a comparison between differences in behaviours between people (e.g. extroverts are generally more outgoing compared to introverts across different situations)
- There is a significant correlation between traits and behaviour (estimates of r = 0.40)
- Trait also influence the types of situation encounter (avoiding sth)
What are the early models of personality?
The 4 temperaments (Galen): phlegmatic (calm), choleric (irritable), sanguine (happy), melancholic (sad)
- Originate from ancient Greece philosophy.
- Rooted in descriptions of physical and mental disturbance. -> e.g. describing physical illness as arising from balance of bodily fluid (‘humours’)
- Balance of bodily fluids determines balance of temperaments
Contribution:
- Notions of personality ‘types’
- Influence modern theories of personality
- Specifies links between biology and temperament
What is Eysenck’s PEN theory of personality (Biological approach)?
- Initial theory - Two dimensions: Extraversion & Neuroticism
* Represent dimensions on which everyone can be placed.
* Dimensions are independent to one another.
* Normal distribution
* ‘Super traits’ -> provide complete description
* Biological approach: inspired by Galen’s 4 temperaments model - Revised - the 3rd dimensions: Psychoticism (P)
* Not normally distributed
* Not independent of N (Neuroticism)
What is the initial definition of psychopaths (from Eysenck’s PEN theory)?
- an extreme personality associated with a callous, deceptive, and manipulative nature.
- inability to feel remorse and empathy
- tendency to violate social conventions and norms
=> Actually better labelled as ‘psychopathy’
Psychopath ≠ Psychosis
What is the biological explanation for Eysenck’s PEN theory? Focused on (E) here
The reticulo-cortical system
- Explained by differential activity levels in the reticulo-cortical system
- How? Ascending Reticular Activation System (ARAS) in brain stem regulates the amount of electrical activity in the cortex.
—-
- Moderate levels of cortical arousal are preferred
- Extraverts: lower cortical arousal -> seek external stimulation
- Introverts: higher cortical arousal -> avoid external stimulation
—
Evidence:
- Hypothesis: in a given situation, extraverts will have lower levels of cortical arousal than introverts.
- Results (Gale, 1983):
+ Mixed evidence, most supports this.
+ Methodological issues identified -> unsystematic use of measure; some tasks lead to adaptation of preferred level of cortical arousal (mitigate differences)
=> Study that addressed methodological issues found results in line with the theory
What is the biological explanation for Eysenck’s PEN theory? Focused on (P) and (N) here
The limbic system
- (N) Neuroticism explained by differential activity levels in the reticulo-limbic system -> involved with emotional processing (higher arousal means more neurotic)
- (P) Psychoticism linked to male hormones or dopamine level
Evaluation of evidence for Eysenck’s PEN theory?
Pros:
- Good (cross-cultural) evidence for E and N factors
- Major contribution to trait and biological theories of personality
- Development of several personality questionnaires (e.g. MMQ, EPP, EPI, EPQ-R)
Cons:
- P factor less accepted + not featured in other models
- Neurobiology of emotional processing more complex than expected
- Over-emphasis on biology/genetics
What is meant by BAS/BIS (Reinforcement Sensitivity) Theory?
Jeffrey Gray: providing alternative biological explanation to Eysenck, based on work with non-human animals (applied to all mammals)
- BAS: Behavioural Activation System
- Activate behaviour towards goal
- Motivated to seek rewards
- Based on conditioned response to positive events - BIS: Behavioural Inhibition System
- Focus attention on potential costs
- Inhibit behaviours associated with negative events
- Motivated to avoid harm & punishment
=> Individual differences lie on the strength of each system
=> Measure using Likert scale
Based on these 3 systems in the brain: amygdala, ventromedial hypothalamus, midbrain gray matter
How is BAS/BIS theory relates to Eysenck’s PEN theory?
- Both BAS/BIS exist as two dimentions trait, also independent of each other
- BIS: high anxiety - low impulsivity
- BAS: low anxiety - high impulsivity
=> Psychoticism separated from BAS and BIS systems
What is meant by the lexical hypothesis and how can we measure psychological variables?
- Lexical hypothesis: All aspects of individual personality can be described from single words
- 4,500 words selected
- Many overlaps in meaning - How to measure based on related behaviours + self-reported experience => psychometrics
What are the tools to find common latent variables?
- Correlations: a single data-reduction technique that find correlations between words frequently used to describe the same/opposite traits.
- E.g. “carefree” and “relaxed” have strong positive correlation -> common latent factors
- Correlation matrix: show relationships between each pair to find a common latent factors
=> Hard to compare individually so switch to ‘factor analysis’ - Factor analysis: multivariate data-reduction technique that look for the set of latent variables that best account for the pattern of correlation in dataset.
- Reducing data into underlying latent factors (factor loadings)
- Researcher must decide how many factors to extract + name them based on the characteristics of the loaded items.
- For independent factors, item should have low cross-loadings.
What is meant by the 16 personality factors? (Raymond Cattell)
- How this is developed:
- Group 4,500 terms into groups of synonyms, then pair terms with their antonyms, then select best exemplar => 171 terms.
- Examined correlational patterns (based on 100 people ratings) to identify 60 clusters + added terms from literature => ~45 terms
- Factor analysed these 45 ‘surface traits’ (based on self-rating, other rating, and test)
=> Identified 16 personality factors (source traits) - What are the 16 personality factors (PF)?
- Scales not categories (variable)
- Listed in order of importance/variance explained - Limitations/Issues:
- Subjectivity and arbitrariness in analysis
- Many failures to replicate 16 factor structure
- Non-independent correlations between factors
- Too many factors => Maybe better accounted by fewer, independent factors - Contribution:
- Introduce data-driven approach to theory development
- Using factor analysis in personality research
- Revised 16PF questionnaires still used
- Formed the basis for the ‘Big 5’ models
What is meant by the Big 5 model? (Costa & McCrae)
- Development:
- Convergence of other models showing 5 independent factors.
- These 5 factors are necessary and reasonably sufficient for describing major features of personality globally. - What are the 5 factors? N,E,O from Cattell’s items; A,O added from Goldberg’s 5 factor model.
- Neuroticism (N)
- Extraversion (E)
- Open to experience (O)
- Agreeableness (A)
- Conscientiousness (C) - How to measure these factors?
- Using NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R)
- Measure 6 facets (primary traits) of each super trait => measured with several questions - Compare and contrast between Big 5 (OCEAN) and Eysenck’s Gigantic 3 (PEN)?
- Similarities: positive correlations for N and E
- Differences in PEN: O is intelligence, A is just low P, low N and high E
