Chapter 8: Trait Aspects of Personality This multimedia product and its contents are protected under...

Chapter 8:

Trait Aspects of Personality

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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

History of Trait Approaches

Sanguine (blood) Hopeful and cheerful

Melancholic (black bile) Sad and depressive

Choleric (yellow bile) Angry and irascible

Phlegmatic (phlegm) Slow and apathetic

• Hippocrates' bodily humors


History of Trait Approaches

Character descriptions◦ Theophrastus’ “Penurious Man” (over 2000

years ago)Charles Darwin

◦ Individual differences are a topic for scientific study

◦ Individual differences can arise through evolutionary processes

Francis Galton◦ Measurement of human abilities-Intelligence

testingCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Beginnings of the Modern Trait Approach—Carl Jung

Typology◦Small number of “types”◦Each person fits one “type” best

8 Types (4 functions x 2 attitudes)Functions: Sensing, Thinking, Feeling,

IntuitingAttitudes: Extroversion, IntroversionMyers-Briggs Type Indicator


Raymond B. CattellUsed (and refined) factor analysis

◦data-driven, not theory-driven ◦reduced many different traits to sixteen

trait clustersSixteen Personality Factors

Questionnaire (16PF)Collected many different types of data

◦Q-data◦T-data◦L-data


Gordon AllportPersonality:

◦“The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”

Each person has unique qualitiesPhilosophical, humanistic,

scholarly approach


Gordon AllportRegularities in behavior arise

because◦The individual views many situations

and stimuli in the same way◦Many of the individual’s behaviors

are similar in their meaning Functionally equivalent


Gordon AllportCommon Traits

◦Due to biological heritage and shared culture, there are some common traits

◦e.g., dominance in American culture

Proprium◦The core of personality


Gordon AllportIdiographic methods

◦ Take into account each person’s uniqueness Dairies, interviews, Q-sorts, etc.

◦ Compensate for the limitations of nomothetic methods

Personal dispositions◦ Goals, motives, or styles◦ Cardinal dispositions (ruling passions)◦ Central dispositions (fundamental

qualities)Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Big FiveExtroversion (Surgency)

◦ Sociability, warmth, assertivenessAgreeableness

◦ Straightforwardness, trust, altruism, modestyConscientiousness (Lack of Impulsivity)

◦ Competence, persistence, prudenceNeuroticism (Emotional Instability)

◦ Anxiety, hostility, depression, vulnerabilityOpenness (Openness to Experience, Culture,

Intellect)◦ Imagination, aesthetic sense, curiosity


Assessing the Big Five

Extroversion items:◦1. I talk a lot.◦2. I am quiet around strangers (reverse

coded item).◦3. I am the life of the party.

Not true of me Very true of me

1 2 3 4 5



Agreeableness items:◦4. I make others feel at ease.◦5. I tend to forgive others.◦6. I am not much interested in other

people's problems (reverse coded).


1 2 3 4 5



Conscientiousness items:◦7. I am always well-prepared.◦8. I persevere with my tasks.◦9. I may shirk my duties (reverse

coded).


1 2 3 4 5



Neuroticism items:◦10. I get irritated easily.◦11. I am calm most of the time (reverse

coded)◦12. I worry a lot.


1 2 3 4 5



Openness items:◦13. I have many ideas.◦14. I prefer concrete to abstract ideas

(reverse coded).◦15. I don't spend much time reflecting

about things (reverse coded).


1 2 3 4 5


The Big FiveCreated through factor analysis

Emerged from data, not theory

Behavior genetics and cross-cultural research suggest these traits are “real”


The Big Five

The Big Five predicts useful and important life outcomes

This does not mean there are only five traits◦These traits are extremely broad

and contain narrower traits within them


Eysenck’s Big ThreeTraits are derived from three

underlying biological systems◦Extroversion—outgoingness and

assertiveness◦Neuroticism—instability and

apprehensiveness◦Psychoticism—tendency toward

psychopathology


Consensus in Personality Judgments

The importance of consensus in determining the reality of personality traits

Friends’ judgments vs. strangers’ judgments (zero acquaintance)

Highest agreement for extroversion and conscientiousnessCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

MotivesInternal psychobiological forces

that help induce particular behavior patterns

NeedsLife-TasksPersonal Strivings


Motivation: Henry Murray

Murray’s Needs

Need for Achievement: n Ach◦The need to succeed on tasks that

are set out by society

Need for Affiliation: N Aff◦The need to draw near and win the

affection of othersCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivation: Henry MurrayNeed for Power: n Power

◦The need to seek positions and offices in which one can exert control over others

Need for Exhibition n Exh◦The need to show one’s self before

others and to entertain, amuse, shock, and excite others


Motivation changes how we see the world

Differing motivations can change our perceptions, even when judging completely objective characteristics such as distance.


Expressive Style

Vocal characteristics, facial expressions, body movements, etc.

Emotional Expressiveness◦People differ in their overall

expressiveness◦Expressive people tend to be seen as

charismatic and attractive◦Extroversion and dominance are related

to expressivenessCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

SkillsIntelligence

◦Measures vocabulary use, mathematical skills, spatial reasoning, etc.

Social-Emotional Intelligence◦Specific social and emotional

abilities in dealing with other people


Timeline:Trait and Skill Approach

Developments in Trait Aspects

Societal and Scientific Context

In ancient Greece, the ideas of character and temperament develop, as caused by the so-called bodily humors

Ancient times

Nature is thought to be composed of air, earth, fire, and water

Religious interpretations view persons as divine creations possessed by good or evil

Middle Ages

Humans are seen as agents in a struggle between good and evil





Search for basic traits of individual differences begins, unsuccessfully

1800s Following the Enlightenment, philosophers search for the core of human nature

Carl Jung and colleagues search for deep-rooted individual differences in orientation toward the world

1920s-1940s

Experimental Psychology is dominated by behaviorism and clinical psychology is dominated by psychoanalysis





Gordon Allport proposes trait theory of personality

1930s Rise of fascism stimulates interest in propaganda and authoritarianism

Statistics (especially factor analysis) are developed and applied by Cattell and others …

1930s-1950s

Testing becomes the norm for college admission and psychological screening…





…Henry Murray develops a motive-based approach to individual differences, termed personology

1930s-1950s

…Clinical psychology becomes more science-based, and experimental psychology considers clinical applications

"Crisis" in personality as traits fail to fully predict behavior across situations

1960s-1970s

Time of social change, as Americans open new roles in civil rights and women's rights





The Big Five approach to traits takes hold

1990s Increased use of longitudinal approaches reveals long-term stability of certain individual differences

Traits, motives, goals, and expressive styles are studied in more sophisticated ways

2000s Personality psychology is re-established as a major subfield


Trait and Skill ApproachAnalogy

◦Humans are clusters of temperaments, traits, and skills


Trait and Skill ApproachAdvantages

◦Simplifies personality to a small number of basic dimensions

◦Looks for a deeper consistency underlying behaviors

◦Good assessment techniques◦Allows for comparisons between

individuals


Trait and Skill Approach

Limits◦May reach too far trying to capture

the individual in a few ways--oversimplification

◦May label people on the basis of test scores

◦Sometimes underestimates variability across situations

◦May underestimate the influence of unconscious motives and early experience


Trait and Skill ApproachView of free will

◦Allows for free will at the margins, after predispositions and motives exert their influence


Trait and Skill ApproachCommon assessment techniques

◦Factor analysis, self-report, testing of styles and skills, document analysis, behavioral observation, interviews


Trait and Skill ApproachImplications for therapy

◦If much of personality is structured around a small number of key dispositions then we can change our goals and orientations but probably not our basic dispositional “natures”


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