Trait and Factor Theories: Eysenck, McCrae, and Costa

Question 1

_____ factor analytic technique yielded three general bipolar factors or types—extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and psychoticism/superego.

According to _____, environmental experiences such as these two have little to do with personality development. To him, genetic factors have a greater impact on subsequent behavior than do childhood experiences.

Answer 1

Eysenck’s

Question 2

First, _____ used an inductive method of gathering data; that is, he began with no preconceived bias concerning the number or name of traits or types.

In contrast, Eysenck used a deductive method to identify three personality factors. That is, he had some preconceived hypothesis in mind before he began gathering data.

Second, _____ used three different media of observation to examine people. The three sources of data included:

A person’s life record (L data) derived from observations made by other people;

Self-reports (Q data) obtained from questionnaires and other techniques designed to allow people to make subjective descriptions of themselves; and

Objective tests (T data), which measure performance such as intelligence, speed of responding, and other such activities designed to challenge people’s maximum performance.

Third, _____ divided traits into common traits (shared by many) and unique traits (peculiar to one individual).

He also distinguished source traits from trait indicators, or surface traits.

_____ further classified traits into temperament, motivation, and ability. Traits of temperament are concerned with how a person behaves, motivation deals with why one behaves, and ability refers to how far or how fast one can perform.

Answer 2

Cattell

Question 3

The largest and most frequently studied of the normal traits are the _____ found on Cattell’s _ Questionnaire.

By comparison, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire yields scores on only three personality factors.

Answer 3

Sixteen Personality Factors

Question 4

A comprehensive knowledge of the mathematical operations involved in _____ is not essential to an understanding of trait and factor theories of personality, but a general description of this technique should be helpful.

Answer 4

factor analysis

Question 5

These more basic dimensions can be called _____, that is, factors that represent a cluster of closely related variables.

Answer 5

traits

Question 6

Traits generated through factor analysis may be either _____.

Answer 6

unipolar or bipolar

Question 7

_____ are scaled from zero to some large amount. Height, weight, and intellectual ability are examples of _____ traits.

Answer 7

unipolar

Question 8

_____ extend from one pole to an opposite pole, with zero representing a midpoint. Introversion versus extraversion, liberalism versus conservatism, and social ascendancy versus timidity are examples of _____ traits.

Answer 8

bipolar

Question 9

Correlations of scores with factors are called _____.

Answer 9

factor loadings

Question 10

a_____ defined traits as “important semi-permanent personality dispositions”

Answer 10

Eysenck

Question 11

Eysenck, however, extracted only three general superfactors. His three personality dimensions are _____.

Answer 11

extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P)

Question 12

Eysenck accepted the _____ model of psychiatric illness, which suggests that some people are vulnerable to illness because they have either a genetic or an acquired weakness that predisposes them to an illness. This predisposition (diathesis) may interact with stress to produce a neurotic disorder.

Answer 12

diathesis-stress

Question 13

P is a bipolar factor, with psychoticism on one pole and _____ on the other.

Answer 13

superego

Question 14

Measuring Personality: _____ scorers are often egocentric, cold, nonconforming, impulsive, hostile, aggressive, suspicious, psychopathic, and antisocial.

Answer 14

High P

Question 15

Big Five Personality Test

Answer 15

O-penness vs. Closed
C-onscientiousness vs. Spontaneous
E-xtroversion vs. Introversion
A-ggreableness vs. Hostile
N-eurotic vs. Stable

Question 16

1st Peripheral Component: The principal biological mechanisms that influence basic tendencies are genes, hormones, and brain structures.

Answer 16

Biological Bases

Question 17

The second peripheral component is _____, defined as “everything the person does, thinks, or feels across the whole lifespan”. _____ emphasizes what has happened in people’s lives (objective) rather than their view or perceptions of their experiences (subjective).

Answer 17

Objective Biography

Question 18

Basic Postulates:

The _____ postulate stipulates that adults have a unique set of traits and that each person exhibits a unique combination of trait patterns.

Second, the _____ postulate takes a clear if somewhat controversial stance: All personality traits are the result solely of endogenous (internal) forces, such as genetics, hormones, and brain structures.

Third, the _____ postulate assumes that traits develop and change through childhood, but in adolescence their development slows, and by early to mid-adulthood (roughly age 30), change in personality nearly stops altogether

Finally, the _____ postulate states that traits are organized hierarchically from narrow and specific to broad and general, just as Eysenck had suggested. This postulate grows out of McCrae and Costa’s long-held position that the number of personality dimensions is five and only five.

Answer 18

1. Individuality
2. Origin
3. Development
4. Structure