Trait Theories: The Big Five

Question 1

The Big Five Factors

Answer 1

Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Question 2

Openness (to new experience)

Answer 2

OPENNESS is a general appreciation for creativity, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience
 The trait distinguishes imaginative people from down-to-earth conventional people
 Facets (6) Fantasy; Aesthetics; Feelings; Ideas; Actions; Values
People who are open to experience are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty
 They tend to be more creative and more aware of their feelings
 They are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs

Question 3

Facets of openness

Answer 3

(FAVIAF)
Fantasy
Aesthetics
Feelings
Actions
Ideas
Values

Question 4

Fantasy

Answer 4

• the tendency toward a vivid imagination and fantasy life.

Question 5

Ideas

Answer 5

• the tendency to be intellectually curious and open to new ideas

Question 6

Values

Answer 6

• the readiness to re-examine traditional social, religious, and political values.

Question 7

Actions

Answer 7

• the inclination to try new activities, visit new places, and try new foods.

Question 8

Aesthetics

Answer 8

• the tendency to appreciate art, music, and poetry.

Question 9

Feelings

Answer 9

• being receptive to inner emotional states and valuing emotional experience.

Question 10

Closedness

Answer 10

People with low scores on openness tend to have more conventional, traditional interests
 They prefer the plain, un-nuanced, noncomplex, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous,
and subtle
They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion or view these endeavors as uninteresting
Poly-math
 Leon Battista Alberti (1404–72), person that “can do all things if they will.”

Question 11

Psychological aspects of openness

Answer 11

highly open (in homes) = distinctive & unconventional decorations, wide variety of books, diverse music, displayed art
Openness is related to creativity and need for cognition
- tend towards explorations
Values: moving towards the unknown rather than the known

Question 12

Conscientiousness

Answer 12

• tendency to self-discipline, act dutifully and aim for achievement

Question 13

Facets of conscientiousness

Answer 13

(CODADS)
self-discipline
dutifulness
competence
order
deliberation
achievement striving

Question 14

Extraversion

Answer 14

• characterized by positive emotions, surgency and the tendency to seek out stimulation and the company of others

Question 15

Facets of Extraversion

Answer 15

(PAWAGE)
gregariousness
Activity level
Assertiveness
Excitement seeking
Positive emotions
Warmth

Question 16

Agreeableness

Answer 16

• tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others

Question 17

Facets of agreeableness

Answer 17

(STAMCT)
Straightforwardness
Trust
Altruism
Modesty
Tendermindedness
Compliance

Question 18

neuroticism

Answer 18

the tendency to over experience negative emotions
emotional instability
emotionally reactive and vulnerable to stress

Question 19

facets of neuroticism

Answer 19

(SADIVA)
anxiety
self-consciousness
depression
vulnerability
impulsiveness
angry hostility

Question 20

The fundamental lexical hypothesis (Goldberg)

Answer 20

 “the most important individual differences in human transactions will come to be encoded as single terms in some or all of the world’s language

Question 21

NEO-PI-3 Measurement

Answer 21

8 test items to measure each facet of each big five factor
8x6x5 = 240 questions

Question 22

Five-factor theory problems

Answer 22

1. no explanation or evidence of how factors cause behavior
2. Research shows that traits are affected by experiences
3. Factors are developed from aggregate analysis of the population - some factors may not exist in some individuals, some people may score in the middle for all factors

Question 23

Are factors stable?

Answer 23

Yes for the most part.
Patterns of change:
Agreeableness & conscientiousness - higher in adulthood
Extraversion, Neuroticism, and openness - lower in older adulthood

Question 24

Big Five applications

Answer 24

Vocational
Health
Clinical
Forensic

Question 25

Person-situation controversy I

Answer 25

Walter Mischel (1960)
 Argued that people don’t act consistently at all
 People vary their actions to fit the situation

Question 26

Types of consistency

Answer 26

 Longitudinal stability
 Your trait score at one time will be similar to your trait score at another time

 Cross-situational stability
 Your trait score in one situation will be similar to your trait score in another situation

Question 27

Person-situation controversy II

Answer 27

Mischel and Peake (1983)
 Conscientiousness of college students
 Asked them to rate their conscientiousness on multiple occasions and then aggregate these scores
 Found good longitudinal consistency (semester to semester) but poor cross-situational consistency (setting to setting)
 e.g. good note takers and good marks (classroom/school), but messy rooms (home)

 But, cross-situational consistency higher if we look at behaviours/task in a similar setting/task
 What is the meaning/purpose or context of what you are doing?
 e.g. consistency in behaviours when alone
 e.g. consistency in behaviours when “working”

Question 28

Person-situation contoversy III

Answer 28

Good evidence for Longitudinal consistency
Cross-situational far more difficult to answer
 Researchers look at personality across similar situations to assess…
For example: measuring a person’s (social) anxiety at a house-party vs. a nightclub
 But how to assess “similar”?
 How do we define anxiety?
 Self-report or observational or physiological?
 What situations are consistent or equivalent?
 Are all “social functions” the same? (work, new friends, old friends, wedding, wake)?
 Should we even expect to have a consistent personality across a range of situations?
 Is it possible to always be extraverted, regardless of what type of situation?

Question 29

Scientific observation?

Answer 29

The Database: Excellent.

Objectivity in data collection and analysis is paramount
- Objective data, not relying on clinical interviews or idiographic approaches

Diversity: Large numbers of people – different ages, ethnicities and socio-cultural backgrounds
- Massive number of research publications in relation to trait theories & the Big Five

Different types of data
- S-data and O-data

Major Limitation: Learn about populations overall (i.e., aggregated data), not the individual per se
- Validity in relating nomothetic approaches to the individual?

Question 30

Systematic

Answer 30

 Yes and no.
 Cattell analysed traits, roles and motivational processes
 Eysenck related traits to biological entities (e.g., the nervous system and arousal)
 However, contemporary trait theorists would receive poor marks for systematic process
(i.e., causal, motivational) development
 For example, Costa & McCrae did little to account for the dynamic processes
(motivational) of their five-factor model (FFM)

Question 31

Testable?

Answer 31

Absolutely.
 Many studies to test theory
 It’s an objective measure (e.g., mathematical outcomes are related to test items) and can be
lead by theory or lead by analysis
 With so much research and various models it is also relatively easy to assess validity (by
comparing models)
 These reliable measures (Big Five, PEN, 16PF, etc.) can be statistically related to other
aspects of human existence and psychology
For example, we can compare any quantifiable variable:
 How do Undergrads vs Postgrads differ in P-E-N factors?
 How do politicians of opposing parties rate on the Big Five?

Question 32

Comprehensive?

Answer 32

Yes and No.
 On the analytical side of things, trait theory is extremely comprehensive
 Vast lexical analysis across cultures, ages, socio-cultural groups
 On the theoretical side it is mostly non-comprehensive in the psychological sense
 Very little is explained about how we might use the factors or measures for anything other than
descriptive research

Question 33

Applications?

Answer 33

Somewhat, dependent on the application!
 As a predictive tool and a measure to differentiate broadly between people it is useful as an
applied tool
 Organisational psychology (World War 2)
 Personality research
 As for it’s clinical application, it is unclear of how it can be directly used effectively
 This is mainly because we don’t have any guidance on the causality or the processes involved in the factor structures found