Trait Approaches to Personality

1. Trait Approaches to Personality

2. Lecture contents • From cardinal to basic traits • Issue 1: What and where are traits? • Issue 2: What use are traits?

3. Traits: The gist • Personal (‘internal’) rather than situational (‘external’) • Stable rather than transitory (across time) • Consistent rather than inconsistent (across ‘similar’ situations) • General rather than specific (across ‘different’ situations) • Universal dimensions: Individual differences (across people)

4. Manifest, latent, or manifest because latent? • Potential vs. actual • Internal vs. interactive • Explanation vs. description • Behaviours vs. motives, affects, cognitions

5. An early definition • “generalized and personalized determining tendencies - consistent and stable modes of an individual’s adjustment to his environment” • Allport & Odbert (1936, p. 26)

6. Behavioural traits and individual differences from • Situational preferences • Cognitive styles • Expressive styles

7. Traits and individual differences attenuated by • Strong situational constraints • Trait combinations • Trait conflicts • Other traits • Motives • Temporary moods • Roles

8. Allport’s non-common traits • Cardinal traits • Single defining traits that characterise some, but not all, individuals. • Central traits • Typically 5-10 traits: “those usually mentioned in careful letters of recommendation … or in brief verbal descriptions of a person” (Allport, 1937). • Secondary traits • Like central traits but more specific to particular stimuli or particular responses.

9. Cattell’s 16 PF (5th Edition) • A. Warmth Reserved Warm • B. Reasoning Low High • C. Emotional stability Reactive Calm • E. Dominance Deferential Assertive • F. Liveliness Quiet Energetic • G. Rule consciousness Expedient Dutiful • H. Social boldness Shy Socially bold • I. Sensitivity Logical Sensitive • L. Vigilance Trusting Vigilant • M. Abstractness Practical Contemplative • N. Privateness Forthright Private • O. Apprehension Self-assured Apprehensive • Q1. Openness to change Traditional Free thinking • Q2. Self-reliance Affiliative Independent • Q3. Perfectionism Unexacting Perfectionist • Q4. Tension Relaxed Tense

12. Have I read you right? • You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.

13. The 16PF5 (Global Factors) • Tough-Mindedness/Receptivity • Low Self-Control/High Self-Control • Introversion/Extraversion • Independence/Accommodation • Low Anxiety/High Anxiety

14. Hans J. Eysenck’s ‘Big Two’

15. Eysenck’s Extraversion Extraversion Sociable Lively Active Assertive Carefree Dominant Surgent Venturesome Sensation-seeking

16. Eysenck’s Neutroticism Neuroticism Anxious Depressed Tense Irrational Shy Moody Emotional Low self-esteem Guilt- feelings

17. For fun only • Answer the following questions using a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much) • 1. Do you stop to think things over before doing anything?                                                   • 2.  Would being in debt worry you? • 3.  Do you lock up your house carefully at night? • 4.  Would it upset you a lot to see a child or animal suffer? • 5.  Do you believe insurance plans are a good idea? • Add the scores together.

18. Eysenck’s PEN model

19. Eysenck’s Psychoticism Psychoticism Aggressive Cold Egocentric Impersonal Impulsive Unempathic Creative Anti-social Tough- minded

20. (P)EN Evaluation • E & N result from almost all factor analyses • Measures (e.g., EPQ-R) are generally accepted as psychometrically impressive • Each factor score correlates with different biological stuff • Genetic contributions to E and N scores • Systemmatic mean differences across highs and lows, e.g., Introverts vs. Extraverts • I want to know more about: • predictive/criterion validity • comprehensiveness • Utility generally

21. Fundamental Lexical Hypothesis • The ‘Big Five’ • “the most important individual differences in human transactions will come to be encoded as single terms in some or all of the world’s languages” • (Goldberg, 1990, p. 1216) • Single-trait words reveal factors I-V in US, UK, Japan, China, etc

22. The Five-Factor Model (FFM) • Costa & McCrae (1992) • Openness (Curious and unconventional) • Conscientiousness (Ordered and persistent) • Extraversion (Exuberant and sociable) • Agreeableness (Caring and considerate) • Neuroticism (Emotional and anxious)

23. FFM: Openness to experience Openness Fantasy Aesthetics Feelings Ideas Actions Values

24. FFM: Conscientiousness Conscientiousness Dutifulness Competence Order Deliberation Self Discipline Achievement Striving

25. FFM: Extraversion Extraversion Gregariousness Activity level Assertiveness Warmth Excitement Seeking Positive Emotions

26. FFM: Agreeableness Agreeableness Trust Altruism Modesty Compliance Straight-forwardness Tender-mindedness

27. FFM: Neuroticism Neuroticism Anxiety Depression Vulnerability Impulsiveness Self-consciousness Angry Hostility

28. ‘Consensus’ on 5 ‘basic’ traits • 16PF5 Big 5 FFM • Tough-Mindedness/Receptivity   Intellect    Openness • Low Self-Control/High Self-Control Conscientiousness Conscientiousness • Introversion/Extraversion    Surgency    Extraversion • Independence/Accommodation Agreeableness    Agreeableness • Low Anxiety/High Anxiety    Emotional Stability Neuroticism • Remember the two crucial skills of factor analysis: • Factor labeling • Input variable selection

29. FFM Evidence • Cross cultural replication • using translation • Using lexical method • Self-other correlations • Biological • Genetic inheritance • Evolutionarily consistent • Cross species • Neurological • Diagnosis • Prediction

30. What is being claimed? • The claim that the FFM is comprehensive does not mean that it exhaustively measures individual differences in personality, any more than a comprehensive examination asks every single question a student should be able to answer on a topic. What the model hypothesizes is that almost every personality trait is substantially related to one or more of the five factors, and that any remaining traits…form a miscellaneous category rather than covarying to define a sixth or subsequent factor. • Costa & McCrae (1995, p. 218, f. 1)

31. Evaluation • Description more than explanation. • Conceptual fuzziness. • Little prediction or control. • Person-situation controversy continues. • However, the Five Factor approach does seem well grounded and the best trait taxonomy currently available.