Week 2: Trait Models Flashcards
Definition of trait
Broad, enduring, relatively stable characteristics used to assess and explain behaviour
Definition of types
Categorical, all or none tendencies
List the major assumptions of trait theories
- Relatively stable and enduring
- Some consistency and generality for each person
- Individual differences in strength, amount, and number of traits
- Trait theories concerned with understanding how people at different points on the spectrum behave
What differentiates traits from other personality approaches
- interest in personality characteristics in ‘normal’ people
- conscious thought
- personality causes behaviour
- little speculation about ‘why’
- emphasis on degree of difference among people
List the historical type and trait theories
- hippocratic humours
- blood types
- physiognomy and phrenology
- palmistry
- graphology
- numerology
- body types
Discuss the history behind hippocratic humours
Four humours were special fluids assoc. with the four basic elements of nature, thought to permeate the body and influence it’s health. An imbalance of these fluids was thought to affect individual’s personality
List the four humours
- sanguine (blood)
- choleric (yellow bile)
- melancholy (black bile)
- phlegmatic (phlegm)
Describe Sanguine personality
Cheerful, optimistic, pleasant, comfortable with their work, healthful
Describe choleric personality
Quick, hot tempered, aggressive, yellowish complexion, tense
Describe melancholy personality
Pensive, depressed, pessimistic
Describe phlegmatic personality
Slow, lazy, dull, emotionally
Who developed blood type theory
Furakawa
Describe a Type A blood type personality
Cautious, reserved, courteous, prudent
Describe a Type B blood type personality
Artistic, cheery, lively, considerate, not materialistic
Describe a Type C blood type personality
Composed, dispassionate, strong willed, self confident
Discuss theory behind Sheldon’s somatotypes
Personality is related to body shape, and strong development of one body element leads to corresponding personality type
Describe endomorphy
Development of the abdomen and digestive system
Describe mesomorphy
Muscles and circulatory s
Describe ectomorphy
Brain and nervous system
Endotonia
Comfort seeking, enjoys relaxation, food and socialising
Mesotonia
Assertive, action oriented, energetic, fearless
Ectotonia
Private, restrained, self aware, shy, intense
Definition of pseudoscience
A set of ideas or theories put forward as scientific that do not stand up to scientific analysis
List the main important trait theorists
- Gordon Allport
- Raymond Cattell
- Hans Eysenck
- Jeffrey Gray
- Paul Costa and McCrae
- Goldberg
Gordon Allport’s contributions to psychology
- adopted the lexical hypothesis by Galton
- emphasised idiographic (individual) over nomothetic (group) personality aspects
- human behaviour motivated by the proprium
Allport’s proprium
Positive, growth oriented, progressive, creative driver of human nature
How did Allport break traits down?
- Cardinal traits: relatively unique, defines a person, not possessed by all
- Central traits: small number of traits characteristic to person
- Secondary traits: not as apparent, often situational modified
Cattell’s contributions to psychology
- statistical approach to personality
- surface traits
- source traits
- some traits are constitutional, some environmental
Constitutional traits
Originating in biology
Surface traits
Personality characteristics that correlate with one another, but not determined by a single source
Source traits
Stable, permanent, unitary personality factors
L data
Observer ratings of specific behaviours exhibited by subjects in real life situations
Q data
Self reports of subjects on questionnaires, such as personality inventories, interests and opinions
T data
Tests on which a person responds without knowing which aspects of behaviour are being evaluated
Cattell’s 16 factor model
- 16 source traits as the basic factors of human personality
- measured in the 16-PF
Hans Eysenck
- proposed three major personality dimensions or super traits
What are the ‘giant three’ super traits?
- extraversion vs. introversion
- neuroticism vs. emotional stability
- psychoticism vs. impulse control
Extraversion vs. introversion
High extraversion: cheerful, sociable
Introversion: withdrawn, quiet and inhibited
Neuroticism vs. emotional stability
High neuroticism are worrying and anxious, low scorers opposite
Psychoticism vs. impulse control
High scorers on psychoticism are tough minded, ruthless
Describe the hierarchical approach
Supertraits are at the top of the hierarchy, and are composed of traits which are composed of habitual responses
What are the main properties of the FFM?
- stable over a 45 year period beginning in young adulthood
- factors and traits are heritable
- considered universal
- knowing your place on it is useful for improvement
What are the big five?
- Neuroticism
- Extraversion
- Openness
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
Angry, anxious, pessimistic
Extraversion
Adventurous, assertive, frank, sociable, talkative
Openness
Cultured, intellectual, willing to make adjustments in situations
Agreeableness
Compatibility with others, altruistic, gentle, kind
List some advantages of the FFM
- helped to integrate decades of personality research
- useful for profiling and categorising people
- appears to be applicable across cultures
List some disadvantages of the FFM
- some argue it omits important traits
- dimensions may be too broad
- optimum number of facets to model personality still unclear
- ‘view of a stranger’
Briefly describe Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory
Personality is made up of motivational tendencies
BAS
Behavioural activation system: reward sensitivity and approach motivation
BIS
Behavioural inhibition system: anxiety as a balancing tendency
FFFS
Fight-flight-freezing- system: punishment sensitivity and avoidance motivation
Cattell’s constitutional traits
Originating in biology
Cattell’s environmental traits
Physical and social environment
Conscientiousness
Considerate, competent, dutiful, orderly and responsible
Graphology
Handwriting analysis
Palmistry
Palm reading
Numerology
Looking at important numbers in someones life
Physgnomy
Using facial and body characteristics to infer personality
Lexical hypothesis
All the tools we need to understand personality are contained in the language we use to describe it
Idiographic
Sitting down and trying to understand someone in order to learn about their personality
Nomothetic
Group aggregated; means, comparisons, and spreads of data
