Traits and Taxonomies

Question 1

Dimensions

Answer 1

-we have low, moderate, or high levels
-we can also compare our levels to other people

Question 2

Internal Causal Properties

Answer 2

-internal processes that cause us to act a certain way
-even if they are not being expressed, they still exist within us

Question 3

Purely Descriptive Summaries

Answer 3

-no assumption of causality
-merely theories we create before we find out more in depth characteristics and traits
-straight up describing people as we perceive them

Question 4

What are the 3 kinds of Approaches?

Answer 4

Lexical, Statistical, and Theoretical

Question 5

Lexical Approach

Answer 5

-if there is an important difference to describe people, we will have a word to describe them by

Question 6

What are the two criteria within the Lexical Approach?

Answer 6

-Synonym Frequency
-Cross-cultural universality

Question 7

Synonym Frequency

Answer 7

-a trait is pretty important if we have so many words to describe it

Question 8

Cross-cultural universality

Answer 8

the more languages the words are available in, the more credible it is

Question 9

What did Allport and Odbert do?

Answer 9

-they pulled out almost 18k adjectives from the dictionary
-they also reduced 40k words to 2k, and these adjectives helped develop the Big 5

Question 10

What is the problem with dictionaries?

Answer 10

-might not be updated, many words it contains are mainly from the Bible
-the words can be obscure and unrealistic to describe personality even though they technically exist

Question 11

Statistical Approach

Answer 11

-identify the main key dimensions of personality with statistics

Question 12

Factor Analysis

Answer 12

-correlates all the items and makes groups of them based on how similar they are
-it gives an organized structure, they correlate words with personality traits

Question 13

Theoretical Approach

Answer 13

-starts with a theory, and then determines which variables are important

Question 14

What are some personality theories that start with a Theoretical Approach?

Answer 14

-Freudian psychoanalytic theory
-Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
-Jung’s personality types

Question 15

Eysenck Hierarchical Model of Personality

Answer 15

-he made the PEN model, Psychoticism, Neuroticism, and Extroversion
-he surprisingly identified Neuroticism as “shy”, and psychoticism as “creative
-he said that traits have heritability, and was trying to find areas in the brain that correlated with these traits

Question 16

Cattell

Answer 16

-created the 16 personality factor system
-he used factor analysis in his lexical approach

Question 17

Wiggins

Answer 17

-created Circumplex Taxonomies of Personality
-assessed character, material, and attitude by placing 2 traits on a circle and seeing how they interact
-

Question 18

What 2 dimensions define axes of Wiggins Circumplex?

Answer 18

-Status and Love
-aka, dominance and agreeableness
-aka, agency and communion

Question 19

Advantages of Wiggins Circumplex?

Answer 19

-identifies how different traits are related to each other (Adjacency, Bipolarity, Orthogonality)
-Alerts investigators to “gaps” in work on interpersonal behaviour

Question 20

Disadvantages of Wiggins Circumplex?

Answer 20

-limited to 2 dimensions
-not capturing the full essence of interpersonal consequences, like what led a person a certain situation

Question 21

Why did the Big 5 achieve consensus?

Answer 21

-more than a dozen researchers found the Big 5 in different samples
-Replicated using different item formats
-Replicated in different languages
-Replicated across multiple decades

Question 22

Limitations of the Big 5

Answer 22

-The fifth factor (Openness-Intellect/Openness to Experience)
isn’t consistent in measurement or interpretation
-different languages pick up on different things
-Concerns about glossing over cultural differences
-critics say that it doesn’t include important aspects of personality (sexuality, attractiveness)

Question 23

HEXACO Model

Answer 23

-same as the Big 5, but with Honesty-Humility and Emotionality added to it
-anger under agreeableness rather than neuroticism