Trait Approach Flashcards
Who was Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
One of the first to formally write about and teach Personality Psychology, publishing key works on personality traits and teaching the first course on Personality at Harvard University in 1924
What are Allport’s 2 approaches to personality analysis?
Nomothetic: Focuses on general laws about personality
Idiographic: Focuses on an individual’s unique traits
What are Allport’s 3 kinds of personality traits?
Central Traits: Behavioral themes that best describe a person and are highly visible
Secondary Traits: Less visible traits, shown less frequently
Cardinal Traits: Dominant traits that influence nearly every aspect of life
What is “Proprium” according to Allport?
All aspects of the self, a concept Allport predicted would become popular
Who was Raymond B. Cattell (1905-1998)
A psychologist known for using factor analysis to study personality traits, developing the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire in 1949
What is factor analysis, as used by Cattell?
A statistical approach to identify patterns in variables that reflect underlying constructs, like personality traits
What is the “Big Five” personality traits model?
A model based on research showing five basic dimensions of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN)
What are the 5 personality factors in the “Big Five” model
Openness: Creativity and openness to experience
Conscientiousness: Self-discipline and organization
Extraversion: Sociability and assertiveness
Agreeableness: Trust and cooperation
Neuroticism: Emotional stability and persona adjustment
How stable are the Big Five personality traits over time?
Research shows they are fairly stable, with the most stable traits being extraversion and conscientiousness, and the least stable being neuroticism and agreeableness
What are some research findings associated with the Big Five traits?
Neuroticism” Linked to fatigue, poorer health, and physical symptoms
Extraversion: Linked to happiness and leadership, but also more care accidents
Openness: Linked to vivid dreams and less prejudice
Agreeableness: Linked to conflict avoidance and volunteerism
Conscientiousness: Linked to academic and job success, but can lead to obsessive-compulsiveness
