Traits: Temporal Consistency

Question 1

What is temporal consistency and why is it important?

Answer 1

Any attempt to classify personality differences rests on at least two fundamental assumptions; cross-situational consistency and temporal consistency.
Temporal consistency assumption is that human conduct shows some degree of consistency over time.

Question 2

Rank-order stability refers to..

Answer 2

The maintenance of an individual’s position in a group over time - Do individuals vary in the trajectories of personality change over the life span.

Question 3

Much of the research on rank-order stability has focused on Costa & McCrae’s 5 factor model, usually within the context of the….

Answer 3

Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Question 4

Terracciano et al., (2006) reported high stability coefficients on all 5 dimensions of the NEO Personality Inventory Revised, when exploring 3 age groups of an adult sample, all over 30 years old. What do these high stability coefficients tell us?

Answer 4

High stability coefficients on all dimensions suggest that rank-order stability is maintained. For example, the person who obtained the highest extroversion score at first administration likely obtained the highest extroversion score at retest 10 years later.

Question 5

It is argued that the stability coefficients reported by Terracciano et al., (2006) actually approach .90. What is said to be the cause of the weaker (but still large) stability coefficients reported by Terracciano?

Answer 5

Unreliability of measurement dilutes the strength of correlations.
A mathematical procedure can be used to determine the true strength.

Question 6

Sanderman & Ranchor (1994) administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire with a 6 year interval between test and retest, finding uncorrected stability coefficients of N= .73, E = .84, P = .61. Psychoticism had the lowest stability coefficient, a tendency common with the 3 dimensions, however it is also the scale with the ….

Answer 6

Lowest reliability (Cronbach’s alpha usually falling between.60 and .70

Question 7

Rank-order stability tends to be least stable in early infancy, but then increased with increasing age - until it peaks around what age?

Answer 7

30 years old

Question 8

Rothbart (1981, 1986) examined 6 facets of infant temperament by having caregivers complete an informant report multiple times at 3 monthly intervals. Which 2 facets showed the most stability over time?

Answer 8

1. Activity level
2. Smiling and laughing

Question 9

The stability coefficients obtained by Rothbart’s examination of infant temperament are all positive, thus indicates..

Answer 9

That infants who scored high at test tend to score high at retest.

Question 10

Rothbart’s (1981, 1986) infancy study generally suggests that temperament traits tend to become more stable …,.

Answer 10

Towards the end of infancy

Question 11

Caspi (1987) conducted a 40 year longitudinal study exploring the relationship between childhood personality and later adult life comes. Mothers provided informant report data at intervals and then 40 years later life outcome data was collected. This is an example of what type of rank-order stability?

Answer 11

Heterotypic rank-order stability.

Question 12

Capsi’s (1987) 40 year longitudinal study exploring the relationship between childhood personality and later adult life outcomes came to what 4 conclusions regarding the temper tantrum prone boys as compared to the calmer boys?

Answer 12

40 years later the temper tantrum boys compared to the calm boys grew up to have on average:
- lower levels of education
- lower occupational status
- more erratic work patterns
- higher divorce rate

Question 13

What is homotypic rank-order stability?

Answer 13

Where the same instrument of measure (e.g. questionnaire) is used at all stages/intervals of test and retests.

Question 14

Mean level stability: studies of mean level stability (e.g. Soto et al., 2011 cross sectional sample consisting of 1267218 participants) support 2 conclusions.
1 being that late childhood and adolescence are periods of rapid biological, social and psychological change. Across these years, age trends for personality dimensions highlight what 2 points?

Answer 14

• were especially pronounced (greater variability/steeper slope)
• for many personality dimensions this is the period in which gender differences in mean levels first emerge

Question 15

Mean level stability: studies of mean level stability (e.g. Soto et al., 2011 cross sectional sample consisting of 1267218 participants) support 2 conclusions.
2. There were some ……… trends in psychosocial maturity from late …….. into …….. , whereas adult trends were overwhelmingly in the direction of greater………. & ……………

Answer 15

Negative
Childhood
Adolescence
Maturity
Adjustment

Question 16

If we think of Eysenck’s 3 factor model as representing the “structure of personality “ in adults, if studying infants we need to first conduct factor analysis to see if we can recover a 3 factor model on infant personality traits. Structural stability is a necessary condition if we want to draw unambiguous conclusions about …….. ……… & ……… ……….. ………

Answer 16

Rank-order
Mean level stability

Question 17

Out of necessity the classification of temperament is not based on self-report. Instead researchers use?

Answer 17

Informant reports and situation test data (like the Strange Situation Procedure)

Question 18

Temperament research examines what?

Answer 18

Individual differences that emerge very early in life and are therefore (arguably!) thought to reflect primarily genetic factors.

Question 19

What person has conducted the most research on infant temperament?

Answer 19

Mary Rothbart

Question 20

Mary Rothbart developed which informant questionnaire used to asses infant temperament?

Answer 20

Children’s Behaviour Questionnaire

Question 21

Rothbart’s CBQ assesses 15 different primary temperament traits. Factor analysis of these inter-correlated primary traits identified 3 nearly independent second order factors which are?

Answer 21

• negativity affectivity
• extroversion / surgency
• effortful control

Question 22

Rothbart equates the CBQ 3 factors with Eysenck’s 3 dimensions:
- ………. = Neuroticism
- ….,….,, = extraversion
- ……….. = partial inverse of Psychoticism

Answer 22

Negative affectivity
Extraversion / surgency
Effortful control

Question 23

What are the primary traits loading on Rothbart’s dimension of Negativity Affectivity (CBQ)?

Answer 23

Sadness +
Fear +
Anger / Frustration +
Discomfort +
Falling Reactivity / Soothability -

Question 24

What are the primary traits loading on Rothbart’s dimension of Extraversion / Surgency (CBQ)?

Answer 24

Impulsivity +
High Intensity Pleasure +
Activity Level +
Shyness -

Question 25

What are the primary traits loading on Rothbart’s dimension of Effortful Control CBQ)?

Answer 25

Inhibitory Control +
Attentional Focus +
Low Intensity Pleasure +
Perceptual Sensitivity +

Question 26

Temperament research tends to more neatly replicate a 3 factor structure rather than a 5 factor structure. What 2 personality dimensions have consistently shown high structural stability across the life course?

Answer 26

Extraversion and Neuroticism