Trait theories of Personality Flashcards
The use of Factor analysis: Thurstone (1936)
- 1300 participants rate someone they know on 60 adjectives
- examined strength of correlation between each rating to see if some adjectives correlated more than others
- if adjectives rated highly together perhaps adjectives can be brought together under broader description
Factor analysis
- process of filtration
- extracting out the broadest description and then detailed description
- broader terms what we know as traits
- factor made up of “facets” (descriptors describing more nuanced aspects of personality and beh)
- allows for structured description of personality
The relevance of statistics in personality and individual differences
- FA relies on statistical analysis of examining strength of relationship between correlations
- development of field not possible without development of statistical techniques
- statistics allow for structured understandings of human thought and beh
The ”discovery” of the Big Five
- Extroversion or Surgency (talkative, assertive, energetic)
- Agreeableness (good natured, cooperative, trustful)
- Conscientiousness (orderly, responsible, dependable)
- Emotional stability (calm, not neurotic, not easily upset)
- Culture (intellectual, polished, independent-minded) (Openness)
The Big Five: Goldberg (1981)
- termed “big five” to describe the broadness of the traits
- highest level of abstraction and not that personality can be reduced to only 5 traits
Are the Big Five universal?
- observed from FA conducted on ratings of adjectives from English dictionary
- from evolutionary perspective would be hypothesised that traits should be universal because they hold fitness and reproductive value
Findings in other languages
-Dutch – fifth factor captured “unconventionality” and “rebelliousness”
- German, Chinese, Spanish studies replicated the Big Five
- Non-Western languages more tricky
- Sometimes only two or three factors replicate
- But seems to depend on the researchers
The Big Five in Personality Questionnaires
- for long while there were many personality questionnaires
- Costa & McCrae (1980s) developed NEO-PI (Neuroticism, Extroversion and Openness Personality Inventory) from cluster analysis =
- 1983 extended model to include Agreeableness and Conscientiousness
- other researchers did similar in other personality questionnaires and found the Five Factor structure
The Revised NEO-PI
- Cost & McCrae- developed 240 item NEO-PI R that consisted of the Big Five factors, each made up of at least 6 facets
- Neuroticism (anxiety, anger depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability)
- Extroversion (warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotions)
- Openness to Experience (fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values)
- Agreeableness (trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness)
- Conscientiousness (competence, order, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, deliberation
Advantages of the Big Five
- captures commonalities among existing systems of personality traits
- variations but important convergences
- allows for comparison and integration of dimensions
Issues with the Big Five
- Atheoretical (wasn’t theory driven and no one had theory about how personality was structured and tested)
- Primarily descriptive than explanatory (no why or how)
- Focuses on variables then individuals
- Not originally rooted in biological processes
- Genetic contributions to big 5 = 50%
- Too broad to mean anything
- Useful for rough dimensions but less effective in predicting specific beh
What do the Big Five predict?
- if traits considered dispositional then should have value in being able to predict how people behave in certain situations
- traits influence how individuals construe and interpret personal meaning from situations
Health, health behaviours & longevity
Low conscientiousness – increased risk behaviours (smoking, substance abuse, poor diet and exercise habits)
High conscientiousness – more likely to follow treatment regimen and live longer
Low agreeableness predicts cardiovascular disease
High neuroticism – less successful coping and poor reactions to illness, partly due to rumination about the illness
High extroversion – more successful coping with illness due to increased social support and close relationship
Psychopathology, personality disorders and adjustment problems
Low agreeableness and low conscientiousness predict delinquency and externalising problems in adolescents
High neuroticism and low conscientiousness predict depression and anxiety in adolescents
Low conscientiousness strongly linked to ADHD diagnoses in adulthood
Low conscientiousness predicts attentional and organisation problems leading to adjustment problems in school settings and relationships
Academic and work outcomes
High conscientiousness and openness to experience predict school performance
High conscientiousness - general predictor of job performance across wide range of professions
Agreeableness and neuroticism predict performance in group settings
Extroversion predicts success in sales and management positions
Openness predicts success in artistic jobs
Conscientiousness predicts success in more conventional jobs
Neuroticism is a predictor of job satisfaction (burn out and change jobs)
