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Psyc 2014 > Traits theory > Flashcards

Traits theory Flashcards

1
Q

What are the main premises of the traits approach

A
  • personality exists
  • has quantitative and qualitative properties
  • systematically describes psychological differences between and within individuals
  • emphasises the need of a scientific useful taxonomy
  • probabilistic system
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2
Q

What were the foundations of the traits approach?

A
  • hippocrates: four humours (bodily fluids)
  • Kant: 2- feeling (N), Activity (E)
  • Wundt: 4 temperaments (after rotation)
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3
Q

What are traits?

A
  • general dispositions that people possess
  • cannot be observed directly (LATENT) but inferred from patterns of behaviour & experience that are known to be valid trait indicators
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4
Q

What is personality

A
  • dynamic and organised set of characteristics possessed by a person
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5
Q

What are some of the premises of the trait concepts?

A
  • every human possesses all traits but different intensities
  • development assumed to end in early adulthood (longitudinal studies show this isn’t true)
  • relatively stable over time and situation
  • hierarchically arranged
  • dimensionally arranged
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6
Q

What are the forces of traits?

A
  • biology and genetics
  • cognition
  • evolution
  • environment
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7
Q

What is temperament?

A
  • characteristic REACTION PATTERNS present from early age
  • biologically- based elements
  • present in infancy & childhood
  • inherited sub-class of personality dimensions
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8
Q

What are states?

A
  • (moods) refer to the condition (arousal) of the corresponding traits at any given point in time
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9
Q

What is the hierarchical arrangement of personality?

A
  • specific responses
  • habitual responses (habits)
  • temperament
  • traits
  • personality dimensions
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10
Q

How do we measure traits?

A
  • statistics & psychometrics
  • brain scans, EG, HR, twin-studies
  • psychometric questionnaires
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11
Q

What are the common assumptions of

A
  • personality space is made of dimensions
  • dimensions are ORTHOGONAL
  • dimensions are FINITE
  • can discover these dimensions by decomposing the matrix
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12
Q

What are some issues with the traits approach?

A
  • how many
  • heavily dependent on statistics and probability
  • traditionally dependent on self- reports
  • idiographic vs. nomothetic
  • do traits exist?
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13
Q

What are the advantages of the traits approach?

A
  • scientific theories
  • testable
  • cross-cultural validity
  • occupational/educational psychology
  • used in forensic psychology
  • psychopathology
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14
Q

What were the core ideas in Allport’s theory?

A
  • DYNAMIC SYSTEM OF TRAITS
  • personality is real (and not a construct or abstraction)
  • personality is greater than the sum of its traits
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15
Q

What was the main focus of Allport’s theory?

A
  • the emphasis is on the UNIQUENESS of the person and importance of INDIVIDUALITY
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16
Q

What were some core ideas of personality in Allport’s theory?

A
  • personality is real (assumes traits are real and can be studied empirically)
  • personality is greater than the sum of its traits (traits are ADDITIVE)
17
Q

What is the difference btw nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality?

A

NOMOTHETIC: looking at universal group laws of human fning e.g. intelligence testing
IDIOGRAPHIC: attempt to identify the unique combination of traits that can best describe individuals e.g. case studies

18
Q

According to Allport, how to traits come about?

A
  • both biology and environmental habits
19
Q

ALLPORT: Traits vs. temperament

A

TEMPERAMENT:closely linked to biological determinants and therefore limited changes in development.

20
Q

ALLPORT: Traits vs. habits

A

HABITS: S-R (learned)
TRAITS: arises in part by biology by integrating several habits associated with a trait e.g. cleanliness

21
Q

ALLPORT: Traits vs. attitudes

A

ATTITUDE: e.g. climate change is crap
TRAITS: e.g. Scepticism of scientific findings

22
Q

According to Allport, what do traits do in response to diverse stimuli?

A
  • e.g. TRAIT: friendliness
  • will render diverse stimuli functionally equivalent
  • indicators of a person’s characteristic behaviour and thought in diverse circumstances
23
Q

What are different types of traits according to Allport?

A

CARDINAL:pervasive, outstanding, not everyone has them
CENTRAL: super traits that best describe an individual e.g. responsible, friendly
SECONDARY: peripheral to an individual’s personality e.g. musical taste
NB: can fall into any category depending on important for the individual

24
Q

What were later traits introduced

A 
COMMON TRAITS (Universal norms, group norms)
INDIVIDUAL TRAITS (idiosyncratic traits)
25
Q

What were Allport’s ideas of personal experience?

A
  • personal experience of the self and sense of purpose are unifying aspects of personality
  • humans are normally rational, creative, active and self-reliant
26
Q

What is the proprium (The Allportian self)

A
  • bodily self
  • self identity: self-continuity
  • self esteem
  • extended self: what thought it yours/someone elses
  • self - image: own appraisal
  • self-as-a-rational-coper: rationality
  • self-as-proprietor (knower): awareness of being and existing
27
Q

What did Allport say about motives?

A
  • adult motives not necessarily result of fixations, infantile motivation or unconscious needs (in contrast to Freud)
28
Q

What is Allport’s functional autonomy?

A
  • permits a relative divorce from the past

- focus on CONTEMPORARY SYSTEMS–> focus on present state, current situation and feelings

29
Q

What are Allport’s different types of functional autonomy?

A
  • PERSEVERATIVE FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY: self repeating motives that depend on feedback mechanisms e.g. addictions
    PROPRIATE FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY: motives developed as direction expression of goals e.g. interests
30
Q

What are some positives of Allport’s theory?

A
  • founder of personality –> traits
  • proposed distinction btw idiographic vs. nomothetic
  • humans as active agents against FREUD
  • inspired Maslow and humanistic approach
31
Q

What are some negatives of Allport’s theory?

A
  • largely neglected the effects of the environment on personality
  • actively ignored psychopathology
  • (initially) played down common traits (nomothetic approach)
  • never developed standardised measurement to identify personality components
  • identified 4508 traits- impractical

Psyc 2014 (12 decks)

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