Week 1

Question 1

Trait approach exemplifies 2 points:

Answer 1

1. people are consistent in their actions, thoughts, and feelings over time and situations
2. people differ from each other in many ways

Question 2

Typology (def + 2 examples)

Answer 2

In a true typology, the types are seen as distinct and discontinuous categories

E.g.1 Hippocrates / Galen: choleric (irritable), melancholic (depressed), sanguine (optimistic), and phlegmatic (calm).

E.g.2 Jung - Extravert / Introvert (if not considered on a spectrum)

Question 3

Nomothetic

Answer 3

The belief that traits exist in the same way in every person

Question 4

Idiographic

Answer 4

Trait differs in some way (besides extent) across individuals e.g. presence, connotations, importance,

Question 5

Exploratory Factor Analysis; when is it used?

Answer 5

used when you don’t have a good idea of what will go with what.

Question 6

confirmatory factor analyses

Answer 6

Specify ahead of time what items should go on what factors.

Question 7

Factor Loadings

Answer 7

Correlations between the factor and each item (rating) that contributes to its existence.

Items that correlate strongly with the factor (usually higher than 0.40 or so) are said to “load on” that factor. Items that don’t correlate strongly with the factor are said not to load on it. The items that load on the factor tell you what the factor is “about.”

Question 8

Factor (in terms of traits)

Answer 8

Statistical representation of a trait

Question 9

Factor analysis as a tool in trait psychology does three things:

Answer 9

1. reduces the multiple reflections of personality to a smaller set of traits
2. provides a basis for arguing that some traits matter more than others (i.e. if it accounts for a lot of variability in the ratings)
3. helps in developing assessment devices

Question 10

Lexical criterion of importance - Goldberg 1982

Answer 10

Presumably, any trait that matters has words to describe it. In fact, the more words for a quality of personality, the more it probably matters

Question 11

16 Personality Factor inventory, or 16PF based on which theory?

Answer 11

Lexical Criterion of Importance

Question 12

What is the structure of Eysenck’s hierarchical view of personality as applied to extraversion? (general levels)

Answer 12

Supertrait (extraversion). Traits (e.g. sociability or dominance). Habits (lower order qualities) made up of associations between stimulus and response.

Question 13

Eysenck believed that extraversion and neuroticism link to

Answer 13

aspects of nervous system functionin

Question 14

Third dimension (super trait) in Eysenck’s view:

Answer 14

Psychoticism, which has received less attention than the others (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1976). It involves, in part, a tendency toward psychological detachment from, and lack of concern with, other people. People high in this trait tend to be hostile, manipulative, and impulsive.

Question 15

2 core dimensions of Interpersonal circle

Answer 15

The core dimensions are dominance (or status) and love.

Question 16

Interpersonal circle def.

Answer 16

A set of personality patterns portrayed in terms of their relative prevalence of two traits: love (the horizontal dimension) and dominance (the vertical dimension). The midpoint of each trait is the point where the lines cross.

Question 17

Big 5 (what they’re usually called)

Answer 17

1. Extraversion
2. Neuroticism, or emotional stability - subjective experience of anxiety and general distress.
3. Agreeableness - reflecting a concern with maintaining relationships.
4. Conscientiousness - loading suggests this is not the correct term. Instead, proposed will to achieve or simply will. Other suggested names include constraint and responsibility.
5. Culture / Intellect / Openness to Experience (debate ongoing)

Question 18

Manifestive difference between Extraversion and Agreeableness

Answer 18

Extraversion seems to relate to having social impact; agreeableness seems to relate to maintaining positive relations with others

Question 19

Two similarities between Eysenck’s and Big 5

Answer 19

1. two of the “big five” are virtually the same as Eysenck’s supertraits: extraversion and emotional stability. It’s been suggested that Eysenck’s third dimension, psychoticism, is a blend of agreeableness and conscientiousness.
2. Many that use the big 5 also measure narrow traits for domain of the five-factor model. E.g. NEO-PI-R combines six narrow traits to form the supertrait.

Question 20

Similarity between interpersonal circle and Big 5

Answer 20

1. Love may be equivalent to agreeableness.
2. If dominance were seen as roughly equivalent to extraversion, the interpersonal circle would comprise two factors of the five-factor model (assuming extraversion should be labelled dominance and assertiveness in the big 5)

Question 21

Tellegen’s (1985) trait model.

Answer 21

3 supertraits: tendency to experience positve / negative emotion; constraint.

Question 22

Zuckerman 1995 alternative five-factor model (the 5 + main take away)

Answer 22

• Sociability factor that resembles extraversion (if you view extraversion as mostly social)
• Neuroticism [–anxiety is most of neuroticism but without the hostility that others include there.]
• [Hostility moves to] Aggression–hostility, [which otherwise looks like agreeableness (reversed).]
• Impulsive sensation seeking [looks like conscientiousness (reversed)]
• Activity
• Main take away: Places hostility outside of neuroticism

Question 23

Novel feature and promise of HEXACO framework

Answer 23

Feature: they found a sixth supertrait that they call honesty–humility (to be added to the big 5)
Promise: greater predictive validity than the big 5

Question 24

Condensed five-factor model into two higher order traits

Answer 24

• (low) neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness = Socialisation (Digman) or Stability (DeYoung)
• extraversion and openness = personal growth (Digman) or plasticity (DeYoung)

Question 25

T/F - Using the Big 5 instead of their facet traits reduces prediction power

Answer 25

T

Question 26

Do traits persist through time?

Answer 26

Yes. While people fluctuate on particular traits at different life periods, they are comparably the same (when ranked against their peers). The largest changes occur between 20-40.

Question 27

Agreeableness and neuroticism over time

Answer 27

Adolescents tend to get higher on agreeableness. Across adulthood, people tend to become even higher in agreeableness up to about age 60.

Adolescents lower in neuroticism from about age 12 to about age 17, and then again in adulthood, up until around 40.

Question 28

Conscientiousness over time

Answer 28

People become more conscientious as they age, even up to age 70

Question 29

Openness to experience over time

Answer 29

Openness to experience tends to be stable across adulthood until about age 50, then drifts downward.

Question 30

Extraversion over time

Answer 30

Results from several studies conflict. Roberts et al. split extraversion into social vitality (sociability and positive emotion) and social dominance (sociability and positive emotion) to resolve.

Social dominance goes up in adolescence and early adulthood, then stabilizes.

Social vitality goes up in adolescence, falls until about age 25, and then falls again starting at about age 55

Question 31

How much do single traits account for variation in behaviour?

Answer 31

trait accounts for about (max) 9% of the variation in the behavior

Question 32

situationism

Answer 32

idea that situational forces determine behavior, not personality.

Study found both situation / personality coefficients to be roughly the same

Question 33

interactionism

Answer 33

traits and situations interact to influence behavior.

Question 34

Weak situations

Answer 34

situations that permit easy expression of personality.

Question 35

Strong situations

Answer 35

Situations that force behavior into channels, thus preventing expression of personality

Question 36

2 ways traits and situations interact

Answer 36

choice of which situation to enter (including relationships)
the response you elicit from people in the situation

Question 37

hedge

Answer 37

a word or phrase that limits a trait’s applicability (“shy with strangers” or “aggressive when teased”)

Question 38

behavioural signature

Answer 38

the pattern of situation–behavior links the person has established over time and experience.

Question 39

Personality disorders

Answer 39

stable, enduring patterns of behavior that deviate from normal cultural expectations and interfere with the person’s life or the lives of others.

Question 40

diathesis-stress model (‘diathesis’ def + model def)

Answer 40

(Diathesis means “susceptibility.”)

In this model, an interaction is required between the diathesis and a stress for the problem to develop (Meehl, 1962). Diathesis-stress models have been quite common in thinking about psychological problems.

Question 41

One candidate is incentive: the degree to which a given action can satisfy a need for you.