TRAIT PERSPECTIVE�Module 4.6a

Learning Targets:

• Explain how psychologists use traits to describe personality.
• Describe personality inventories, and explain their strength & weaknesses as trait-assessment tools.
• Identify the traits that seem to provide the most useful info about personality variation.
• Explain whether research supports the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations.

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Trait

• Individual characteristics & motives that define a person.
• Tendency toward certain behaviors or emotions, no matter the situation
• Believe that these personality traits are stable & predictable over time.
• Trait Perspective focus on individual differences rather than similarities like previous theories.
• Trait Theories seek to identify, describe and measure these individual differences.
• Don’t try to form judgements or values about one’s traits

Ancient Greek Traits

• Ancient Greeks classified four personality traits:
• Blood - Sanguine (cheerful, talkative, careless)
• Black Bile - Melancholic (artisitc, moody, introverted)
• Yellow Bile - Phlegmatic (relaxed, reliable, peaceful)
• Green Bile – Choleric (independent, ambitious)
• Felt these were caused by an excess in humor (body fluids)

Gordon Allport (1897-1967)

• First to try to list & describe fundamental human traits rather than explaining them.
• Studied the English dictionary and found more than 18,000 words describing specific personality traits. Eliminated synonyms to get the list to 171
• Assumed traits are inherited and fixed in the nervous system.

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Hans & Sybil Eysenck

• German psychologist who researched the genetically-influenced dimensions of personality
• Used Factor Analysis to identify clusters (factors) of test items that pointed to basic components of a trait.
• Believed we have 2 personality dimensions:
1. Extroversion: Introversion-extraversion
• Degree to which a person directs their energies inward toward themselves (introvert) or outward onto others (extrovert).
2. Neuroticism: Emotional stability- Instability (Stable – Unstable)
• A person’s predisposition to become unpredictable & emotionally upset (unstable) or stay composed, rational and emotionally even (stable).
• Generally considered as too few traits

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysencks’ Personality Factors

Eysenck is similar to Hippocrates

Choleric

Sanguine

Melancholic

Phlegmatic

Brain & Personality

• Extraverts: seek out stimulation because their brain arousal is low.
• PET Scans show that Front Lobe are involved in inhibiting behavior is less active
• Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity – if born with an active ANS then may grow up to be anxious and cautious
• Opposite true if born with a less active ANS

Nature vs. Nurture

• Behavioral genetics compare identical twins raised apart and together or compare identical twins & fraternal twins.

Findings:

• Extraversion & Neuroticism seem genetically linked.
• Identicals are more alike in these areas even when raised apart.
• Also true to lesser extent in Openness to Experience & Conscientiousness
• Environmental factors influence personality traits – identical twins more alike earlier in life rather than later.

Psychological Testing

• Psychological tests assess a person’s abilities, aptitudes, interests or personality based on a systematically obtained sample of behavior.

2 Basic Goals

1. Accurately & consistently reflect a person’s characteristics on some dimension.
2. Predicts a person’s future psychological functioning or behavior.

Personality Inventories

• Questionnaires on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors
• Used to assess several personality traits at once
• Often true-false, agree-disagree, etc. types of questions
• Person’s responses to standardized questions are compared to established norms.

MMPI�Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

• Most clinically-used personality test
• 500 total T/F questions
• Empirically derived – studied data from large groups then compared them.
• Originally designed to assess abnormal behavior
• Now used to measure people on 10 clinical scales including things like depressive tendencies, introversion-extraversion, work attitudes, anger, & family problems.
• Want to try some personality tests yourself? Try visiting https://similarminds.com

MMPI Scoring Profile

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

• 126 Questions used to sort people according to Carl Jung’s personality types (see next slide)
• Each personality type expressed according to its strengths (make you look good)
• Originally used as a predictor of job performance at certain tasks – Not supported by research
• Used as a counseling or coaching tool NOT a research device
• Contains lie detecting statements
• “I dislike no one.” - TRUE (Liar!)

Personality Traits of MBTI

What Personality are you? Try taking the test yourself HERE

Validity

• The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to test
• Personality inventories offer greater validity than do projective tests (e.g. Rorschach) but people can lie to make themselves look good.

Reliability

• The extent to which a test yields consistent results, regardless of who gives the test or when or where it is given
• Personality inventories are more reliable than projective tests.

The Notorious BIG 5 Factor Theory�By McCrae & Costa

• Most popular trait theory
• Essential building blocks of personality can be described in 5 basic personality dimensions.
• Described somewhat differently among researchers but can be found cross culturally.
• Research shows them to be stable over time & consistent over different situations.
• Human behavior is the result of interaction between traits and situations.
• Can be used to predict a person’s behavior

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O.C.E.A.N.

• OPENNESS – How open you are to new experiences & learning?
• CONSCIENTIOUSNESS – The degree to which one is responsible, hard working, reliable (dependability)
• EXTROVERSION – How outgoing, expressive, active & social are you?
• AGREEABLENESS – How honest, considerate, likeable & tolerant are you?
• NEUROTICISM – How anxious, self-conscious or impulsive are you?

Research into the Big Five

• Maturing Principle – From adolescence onward, people become more conscientious & agreeable and less neurotic.
• Higher conscientiousness correlates with larger frontal lobes.
• People that are more neurotic have more active sympathetic nervous systems.
• No evidence to show birth order correlates to any personality traits.
• These apply to most cultures. Over 50 cultures studied.
• Big Five traits are predictive of future behavior.

Evaluation of Trait Perspective

• Person-Situation Controversy - Personality is influenced by both our inner disposition and environment interacting
• Although personality traits are stable, our behaviors across different situations are not.
• Personality Tests are weak predictors of behavior because behavior changes so much across situations
• Although average outgoingness, happiness & carelessness across many situations is predictable.
• Psychologists generally accept that people can be described & compared in terms of basic personality traits & these traits become more stable over time.
• Doesn’t really explain where personality comes from, simply describe the behaviors
• Fails to address how issues such as motives, unconscious, or beliefs about self affect personality development
• Personality can be expressed in our music preferences, written communications, & online postings.