Trait Theory

Question 1

What is a trait?

Answer 1

Burger, 1997 - dimension of personality used to categorise people according to the degree to which they manifest a certain trait

Question 2

Assumptions of traits

Answer 2

they are stable over time - the way they express these over time may change but the trait will stay the same
stability across situations
traits influence behaviour

Question 3

Fundamental questions

Answer 3

how do we conceptualise traits?
how can we identify which traits are the most important from the many ways that individuals differ?
how can we formulate a comprehensive taxonomy of traits?
NB: most theories see traits of personality as relating to adjectives we’d use to describe ourselves

Question 4

Ancient conceptions of traits

Answer 4

Hippocrates - described human temperament in terms of bodily humours (sanguine, melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic)
Theophrastus - earliest known creator of character sketches
Galton, 1907 - extensive attempts to measure human abilities including traits

Question 5

Jung

Answer 5

Introversion vs extroversion
helped launch trait approaches
can have both E and I but one will be dominant
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - widely used tool that measures introversion/extroversion as Jung defined them
set the stage for further development of trait theories

Question 6

Theoretical approach to traits

Answer 6

looks at which variables/traits are important
builds theory around these traits
not used in main theories of traits

Question 7

Lexical approach to traits

Answer 7

language based
if individual differences between people are important then we will have words to describe these differences
more frequent use of a term = more important trait
more synonyms we have for a trait = more important trait
Galton, 1884
Allport, 1936; 1961

Question 8

Galton, 1884

Allport, 1936; 1961

Answer 8

G - analysed thesaurus and found +1000 words expressive of character
A - English contains approx. 18,000 adjectives to describe personal qualities
A - behaviour is variable but there are core portions to individual’s behaviours - these means they are unique and key - culture plays huge role

Question 9

Limitations of lexical approach

Answer 9

not actually useful just knowing that there are words to describe traits or how many words there are
many traits are ambiguous, metaphorical, obscure or difficult
personality is conveyed through different parts of speech not just adjectives

Question 10

Statistical approach to traits

Answer 10

relatively new approach
Cattell, 1970 - factor analysis - reduced number of variables into common categories - found 16PF
one of the most important trait theories - still used today

Question 11

Limitations to statistical approach

Answer 11

but nowadays there are more powerful computers so there could be different amount of traits than proposed
since Cattell no one has been able to replicate the same 16 traits
subjective element to factor analysis - how terms are grouped and labelled is subjective

Question 12

Eysenck, Hierarchical Model of Personality

Answer 12

traits thought to be heritable and having psychophysiological function
argues that Cattell’s factors may not be independent - may be able to group them more
secondary factor analysis
three super-traits identified - extroversion/introversion, neuroticism/emotional stability, psychoticism

Question 13

Eysenck’s model and biological underpinnings

Answer 13

suggested that the three super-traits may have biological underpinnings
Extroversion linked with CNS reactivity
Neuroticism linked with degree of lability of ANS (but less evidence to support this link)
Psychoticismlinked with testosterone levels and MAO levels (neurotransmitter inhibitor)

Question 14

Support for Eysenck’s hierarchical model

Answer 14

Zuckerman, 1999
those sensitive to signals of punishment were high on neuroticism
those sensitive to signals of reward were high on extroversion
those who were hostile, cynical and unhappy scored high on psychoticism
supports notion that certain traits fits into the three categories proposed

Question 15

Contemporary approach:
The Big Five
previous research into 5 factors

Answer 15

Re-analysis of Cattell’s 16PF has never found the same number… more commonly 5 factors are found
Goldman, 1990 - literature review in extensive research programme reached a 5-factor solution

Question 16

The Big Five - Costa and McCrae, 1999

Answer 16

most influential researchers in this field
factor solution known as the Big 5 model
data driven (inductive)
5 factors include: OCEAN
openness-intellect, conscientiousness, extroversion/surgency, agreeableness, neuroticism/emotional stability
each factor = dimension of sub-scales
some dispute over how to define openness - has least predictive value

Question 17

Critical evaluation of Big Five

Answer 17

dimension have derived mostly from lexical approaches

• issue is that raters may be wrong
• — implicit personality theory - perceive consistencies that are not there
• — may miss things that are actually there

Question 18

McCrae and John, 1992 - cultural support for Big 5

Answer 18

apparent adaptive utility of differentiation in personality
among members of contemporary cultures may be the result of cultural evolution rather than biological evolution
because people differ in levels of personality traits, cultures may have developed social and occupational niches that capitalised on them

Question 19

Applications of the Big 5

Answer 19

Wagerman and Funder, 2007 - people scoring high on conscientiousness do well at work and in college
Zhao and Seibert, 2006 - comparisons of entrepreneurs and managers suggest that entrepreneurs tend to be higher on conscientiousness and openness and lower on neuroticism
Roccas et al., 2002 - people high on agreeableness are more likely to be altruistic and involved in helping others

Question 20

Social media and traits

Answer 20

sharing private information on social network sites linked to neuroticism
number of selfies posted linked to extroversion and neuroticism
commenting or liking others’ selfies linked to extroversion and agreeableness

Question 21

Evaluation of Big 5

Answer 21

empirical evidence has also shown 5 factors in traits
– has also been replicated in different languages
disagreement over labelling of terms
– especially of fifth factor - in Germany called intelligence but in Italy called conventionality/rebelliousness
– all have same idea but have emphasis on different aspects of the dimension
theory excludes evaluative traits (i.e. moral/immoral)

Question 22

HEXACO model of personality

Answer 22

Ashton and Lee, 2009

• further development of big 5
• 6 factor model developed
• adds honesty-humility to the factors - involves sincerity, fairness, greed, avoidance, modesty
• model can now predict factors previously unable to be predicted by 5 factor models
• model is good predictor of aversive personality types: psychopathy, narcissism, sadism
• good predictor of Dark Triad traits

Question 23

Dark Triad

Answer 23

model of ‘evil’
involves three overlapping personality traits associated with significant harm or exploitation of others
- Machiavellianism (calculated social manipulation)
- Psychopathy (callous, impulsive and predatory behaviours)
- Narcissism (excessive ego and selfish behaviour)

Question 24

Evaluation of trait approaches

Answer 24

research indicates consistency over time (but the way in which a trait manifests itself may change over time)
trait psychologists traditionally assumed cross-situational consistency - situationism (if behaviour varies across situations, then situational differences and not personality traits determine behaviour)
may undermine the role of other aspects of personality and the role of the social situation

Question 25

Personality-situation interaction - behind the compromise

Answer 25

two possible explanation for behaviour:
- behaviour is a function of personality traits
- behaviour is a function of a situation
compromise position led to two changes:
- focus on person-situation interaction
- aggregation (not commonly used because trait questionnaires are preferable)

Question 26

Personality-situation interaction

Answer 26

integration - personality and situation interact to produce behaviour

• differences between people make a difference only under certain circumstances
• situational specificity - certain situations can cause behaviour out of characters (i.e. giving a speech)
• strong situation - situations in which most people react in a similar way (i.e. grief following loss of loved one) - people react similarly due to situation and regardless of personality traits

Question 27

3 further ways personality and situation interact

Answer 27

selection - tendency to choose/select situations in which our personalities are reflected (Jaffee and Price, 2008 - give example of extroverts)
evocation - certain personality traits may evoke specific responses from others
manipulation - various means by which people influence the behaviour of others; tactics of manipulation vary with personality