Trait Theory- Cattell Flashcards
Definition of personality
What does personality consist of?
What does this allow?
Personality comprises of the characteristics of an individual that allow prediction of how they will behave in a given situation
What interaction was he interested in?
How did he display the nature nurture debate?
Question?
Procedure!
Interested in how personality traits and situational variables interact to produce behaviour
He termed constitutional traits and environmental mold traits (nature nurture debate) are individual differences in personality caused by genetics or environmental experiences?
Developed statistical procedure - multiple abstract variance analysis to find out
Cattells classifications of traits
What traits did he distinguish between?
Which trait motivates behaviour?
Ability - skills to pursue goals ie intelligence
Temperament- behaviour when reacting to situations and people in the environment ie how easy going someone is
Dynamic - spilt into 3- attitudes, sentiments and ergs
Attitudes - opinions
Sentiments - complex attitudes like options and thoughts that determine how we feel about a situation and people
Ergs - innate motivation to satisfy drive, determines our interest’s and ambition (motivating force behind behaviour)
How did he start his research into the structure of personality?
What statistical analysis did he use?
What did this mark the start of?
Evaluated Allports and Odberts 4500 traits through factor analysis
This marked the start of factor analysis being used to study personality
Cattell definition of traits
What kind of tendencies?
Basic units of?
What will the awareness of someone’s traits allow?
How many classifications of traits does Cattells theory of personality have?
Relatively permanent reaction tendencies that are the basic structural units of personality
Being aware of someone traits will allow prediction in behaviour
Cattells theory of personality includes 4 classifications for traits
Environmental mold and constitutional traits
Surface and source traits
Common and unique traits
Ability, temperament and dynamic traits
Classifications if traits
Common and unique traits
Which trait is found at different degrees
What do unique traits refer to?
Common traits - found in everyone at different degrees
Unique traits - specific to a person refers to interests and attitudes
Classification of traits
Source and surface traits
What are source traits seen as?
How many source traits did he identify? What was evaluated?
How are they measured?
How are surface traits formed?
Source traits - building blocks of personality - stable and permanent
Cattell identified 16 source traits through factor analysis from evaluating Allport and Odberts 4500 traits and reducing them to smaller number of traits
Smaller number of traits= more accurate personality tests
Measure through the 16 personality factors questionnaire
Surface traits are formed from interactions of source traits
Contribution of Cattell in the study of personality
What did the 16PF become known as!
What was the 16PF show to prove? By who?
Empirical based theory for personality
16PF first standardised measure of personality
Barton et al 1971: demonstrated that the 16PF was a good predictor of success if different school subjects
Disadvantages of Cattells 16PF
% of items that had to be changed? What did this improve the measure of?
What was not around when Cattell published the 16PF in 1949? Therefore how were calculations done? What did this lead to?
Since it’s publication how many revisions has the 16PF undergone?
What has the updated version on the 16PF been able to help with?
Earlier versions of the 16PF were criticised for low internal consistency reliabilities in relation to some of their scales which had to be improved (conn and ricke 1994)
Over 50% of the items in the questionnaire have been modified to improve the measure of traits
When Cattell published the first 16PF 1949, computer programs for analysis did not exist therefore calculations were done by hand. Consequently, Cattell intital 16PF, researchers were unable to replicate the findings.
Since it’s initial publication the 16PF has undergone four revisions- 1956-62-68-93
Most recent = fifth edition
From its revisions the 16PF has been used to identify problems such as anxiety, allowed counsellors to provide jobs based on the persons characteristics
The 16PF
What point scale?
What number was considered low?
What number was considered high?
What kind of scale was used?
What kind of personality test?
10 point scale
Scores below 4 = low
Scores above 7 = high
Bipolar scales
Self report personality test
Why did he stress that having a range of source traits were important?
What are some source traits of 16PF?
Range of source trait = more accurate personality tests
16PF: warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness ets
