Week 3: Personality traits

Question 1

How did Cattell collaborate w Allport at Harvard, and what was created?

Answer 1

Allport asked Cattel to opperationalise his personality theory mathematically. In doing so Cattell created the Factor analysis method of personlaity

Question 2

According to Cattell, constitutional traits such as alcoholoism, as opposed to environmental-mold traits, are entirely dependent on ____

Answer 2

genetics

Question 3

The acronym MAVA stands for what? This method is still used today

Answer 3

Multivariate abstract variance analysis

Question 4

In Cattell’s theory, there are 3 main traits; ability, temperament and dynamic.

Which one represents the styles we adopt when pursuing our goals, such as easy going, anxious, laid-back, worrier? This trait is highly heritable.

Answer 4

Temperament traits represent the styles we adopt when pursuing our goals

eg easy going, anxious, laid-back, worrier

Question 5

In Cattell’s theory, there are 3 main traits; ability, temperament and dynamic.

Which one represents the motivation to reach our goals, such as ambition motivated by personal drive, competitiveness and cooperation?

Answer 5

Dynamic traits motivate us to reach our goals

eg ambition eg motivated by personal drive, competitiveness, cooperation eg motivation is to please someone else, altruism

Question 6

There are 3 classes within Cattell’s Dynamic traits; sentiments, ergs and attitudes.

Describe the logic of the hierarchical arrangement, giving examples of each trait.

Answer 6

Ergs are innate drives, related to instincts eg parental care, hunger, fear, curiosity, pride

Ergs give rise to sentiments, or metaergs, which are more complex sometimes latent aggregates of attitudes eg interests, values, religiosity.

Attitudes radiate out of sentiments. They’re overt constructs which express our particular interests in people/ objects/ situations.

Question 7

Within dynamic traits (one of the 3 trait types), are attitudes or sentiments more volatile?

How does this reflect the hierarchical arrangement of the dynamic traits?

Give an example using religiosity, stating whether it’s an attitude or a sentiment.

Answer 7

Attitudes are more volatile than sentiments, since they’re at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Religiosity is a sentiment. It’s more difficult to change, whereas an attitude about some detail in the churches proceedings could be easily changed.

Question 8

The organised complexity and interrelation of dynamic traits (subsidiation) is known as the:

Answer 8

Dynamic lattice

Question 9

Using Cattell’s theory, how would one use constituent traits to identify source traits?

Answer 9

Observing the constituent, or surface traits which manifest as overt behaviours such as anxiety, gives clues into the source traits beneath

Question 10

Super-traits, dimensions, primaries or 2nd order traits are other ways of describing which type of traits? (Source or constituent).

In the context of FA, why are these traits 2nd order?

Answer 10

source traits

Source traits are 2nd order traits because factor analysis will reveal them, they were not evident on the surface.

Question 11

Cattell’s specification equation is used to…..

Answer 11

predict individual behaviour

Question 12

In Cattell’s specification equation, what scores do the S’s and T’s represent?

Pij = S1jT1i + S2jT2i + S3jT3i + … + SniTni

Answer 12

S= situational indexes (roles)
T= trait

Question 13

What are the 3 main assumptions for Sir Francis Galton’s 1884 lexical approach to traits personality?

It states that If individual differences (personality) are important, they should be encoded in language through trait-descriptors

Answer 13

• Frequency of word use indicates importance of trait
• Number of synonyms highlights the importance of subtle differences
• Cross-cultural presence indicated the universality of the trait relevance/ importance

Question 14

Explain the process which was used to reduce Allports traits from 4508 traits to a total of 46 traits. How does this total break down into surface and psychiatric traits?

Answer 14

2 stages of reductions:

1. Synonym removal left only 171 trait names.
2. Expert’s ratings reduced traits to a final count of 36 surface and 10 psychiatric traits

Question 15

In Cattell’s theory, the 3 types of data sources, L-data, Q-data and T-data, have to triangulate. Describe these in more detail.

Answer 15

L-data: life record data. Behavioural records collected from peer-ratings eg school records

Question 16

In Cattell’s theory, the 3 types of data sources, L-data, Q-data and T-data, have to triangulate. Describe these in more detail.

Answer 16

L-data: life record data. Behavioural records collected from peer-ratings eg school records

Q-data: Questionnaire data. Psychometric self-report

T-data: test data.
Objective tests in standardised conditions eg physiological tests

Question 17

What is functional autonomy (Allport)?

Answer 17

Functional autonomy describes the notion that drives can become independent of their original motivator

Question 18

This psychologist is a humanist, who found that psychoanalysis was too greatly routed in subconscious processes. He also found that animal studies were too reductionist. He studied religiosity, traits and interpersonal relations a great deal. His theories were very flexible. He gave the first course on personality in 1937. Who am I referring to?

Answer 18

Gordon Allport.

Question 19

What were the 3 core ideas put forward by Allport?

Answer 19

1. Personality as a dynamic system of traits
2. Focus on self; the individual
3. Traits

Question 20

Describe Allport’s core ideas of cardinal, central and secondary traits

Answer 20

Cardinal traits are ‘meta-traits’, not everyone has these
Central traits: ‘Super traits’, best describe a person
Secondary traits: Peripheral traits, not central to a personality

Question 21

Who termed the coin Big 5 in 1963?

Answer 21

Warren Norman

Question 22

How did Cattell view the interaction between personality and traits?

Answer 22

In Cattell’s theory, traits are the building blocks of personality that posses predictive value, and personality describes the characteristics of an individual which allow those predictions of how they will behave in a given situation.

Question 23

How did Cattell view environment and genetics in trait formation?

What are constitutional traits, and what are environmental-mold traits?

Answer 23

Both genetics and environment play an important role.

Constitutional traits are genetically determined whereas environmental-mold traits are environmentally determined.

Question 24

Cattell created MAVA (multivariate abstract variance analysis). How did this define him from Allport?

Answer 24

Allport did not come up with any practical way of analysing traits, since he named over 4000.

Question 25

Cattell’s 3 classes of traits; ability, temperament and dynamic traits, can be remembered in terms of goal reaching. Explain this.

Answer 25

Ability traits represent what we use to reach our goals, temperament traits represent how we reach our goals and dynamic traits represent why we reach our goals.

Question 26

In Cattell’s dynamic traits, the ergs, sentiments (metaergs) and attitudes form a hierarchy. Explain how this is structured.

Answer 26

Ergs are the at the top of the hierarchy, representing innate drives.

Sentiments (metaergs) are the latent aggregates of attitudes (such as interests and values).

Attitudes are the constructs that express our interests, which are at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Question 27

Cattell’s Dynamic traits, which are divided into ergs, sentiments (metaergs) and attitudes, are organised in a dynamic lattice. What does this refer to?

Answer 27

The dynamic lattice refers to the interrelation and organised complexity of dynamic traits

Question 28

Combined actions of traits result in individual differences and syntality differences. What is syntality?

Answer 28

Syntality is the personality of a group. So, combined actions of a trait can result in individual differences or group differences

Question 29

What is a phenotype?

Hint: the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the ____.

Answer 29

A phenotype is the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

Question 30

Surface traits (phenotypically observable, directly measurable) eg worry, anxiety, and source traits (latent traits, eg apprehension, doubt, guilt, self-blame) exist in a hierarchy. Explain how this works.

Answer 30

Surface traits are primary traits which are overt, whereas source traits are the major dimensions of personality, consisting of constellations(clusters) of surface traits.

Question 31

Allport identified 6 stages of personality development across the lifespan. Roughly explain each phase:

From birth to 6
6 to 14
14 to 23
23 to 50
50 to 65
65 to death.

Answer 31

From birth to 6: Dependence on parents

6 to 14: Independence from parents & identification w friends

14 to 23: Possible delinquency, learning to deal w drives such as sex

23 to 50: Satisfying career and marriage

50 to 65: Physical, social and psychological changes

65 to death: Adjustment to losses

Question 32

What was the major issue with Cattell’s 16 personality factors?

Answer 32

No-one could replicate the 16

Question 33

Does the big 5 have good temporal and cross-cultural stability?

Answer 33

Yes!