Chapter 7 The Trait Approach: Theory and Application

Type theories: the precursors of trait theories The four temperament types: Galen, Hippocrates The three somatotypes: Kretschmer, Sheldon

The four temperament types, according to the ancient Greeks Sanguine corresponds to the fluid of blood. A person who is sanguine is generally optimistic, cheerful, even-tempered, confident, popular, and fun-loving. Choleric corresponds to the fluid of yellow bile. A person who is choleric is a doer and a leader. Many great charismatic, military and political figures were cholerics. On the negative side, they are easily angered or bad tempered. Melancholic corresponds to the fluid of black bile. A person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a melancholic disposition. Often kind and considerate, melancholics can be highly creative—as in poets and artists—but can also be obsessed with the tragedy and cruelty in the world, leading them to become depressed. Phlegmatic corresponds to the fluid of phlegm. A phlegmatic person is calm and unemotional. Although phlegmatics are generally self-content and kind, their low-key personality can often inhibit enthusiasm in others and make phlegmatics themselves lazy and resistant to change.

Type theories: the precursors of trait theories The four temperament types: Galen, Hippocrates The three somatotypes: Kretschmer, Sheldon

The three prototypic somatotypes: ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs

Personality as trait dimensions Trait: a dimension of personality used to characterize people according to the degree to which they manifest a particular characteristic. Assumption 1: personality characteristics are relatively stable over time. Assumption 2: personality characteristics are relatively stable across situations. Important question: To what extent does nature (our genetic makeup) or nurture (our experience and learning history) contribute to a given trait?

An example of a trait continuum

Traits are hierarchically structured (trait, patterns of behavior, specific surface behaviors)

Gordon Allport (1897-1967) Followed his brother Floyd to Harvard, where both studied psychology Was verbally adept, but lacked the statistical and laboratory skills of a dedicated scientist Carved out his own career in the undeveloped area of personality Met with Freud during a trip he took to Europe, but came away thinking that Freud had become blinded to the fact that the conscious influences on our behavior may be of greater importance than the unconscious ones Sometimes called “the father of personality psychology”

Key concepts introduced by Allport The distinction between the nomothetic versus the idiographic approach to the study of personality The nomothetic approach is based on what Kant described as a tendency to generalize, and is typical for the natural sciences. It describes the effort to derive laws that explain objective phenomena in general. The idiographic approach is based on what Kant described as a tendency to specify, and is typical for the humanities. It describes the effort to understand the meaning of contingent, unique, and often subjective phenomena. The concepts of common traits, central traits, secondary traits, and cardinal traits The concept of functional autonomy The concept of the self (proprium) and how it develops

What are your traits? http://www.personaldna.com Where do you stand on different trait dimensions? To find out, take the Personal DNA test at: http://www.personaldna.com You should also take the Big Five Inventory at: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/ Be sure to print out the results when you’re done.

Key concepts introduced by Allport The distinction between the nomothetic versus the idiographic approach to the study of personality The concepts of common traits, central traits, secondary traits, and cardinal traits The concept of functional autonomy The concept of the self (proprium) and how it develops

Henry Murray (1893-1988) Showed no early interest in psychology as a career Earned a PhD in biochemistry at Cambridge University in 1927 Discovered Carl Jung’s work and became enamored of it Decided to enter the field of psychology after having long conversations with Jung in Vienna Worked briefly for the OSS during World War II Taught at Harvard until his retirement in 1962 Was a biographer of Herman Melville

Key concepts introduced by Murray The approach which he called personology, in which needs are assumed to be the basic elements of personality The concept of largely unconscious psychogenic needs (as opposed to viscerogenic needs) The concept of environmental press The development of the TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)

Some of Henry Murray’s psychogenic needs Definition n Achievement To accomplish tasks, surpass others n Affiliation To approach liked others, win their affection n Aggression To fight opposition, attack, seek revenge n Autonomy To seek freedom, independence, resist coercion n Dominance To control others, to influence, persuade, command n Exhibition To impress, excite, amaze, fascinate, or shock others n Harmavoidance To avoid pain, injury, illness, danger, or death n Nurturance To give sympathy, support, and to console others n Order To put things in order, be neat, organized, clean n Play To seek fun, jokes, laughter n Sentience To seek and enjoy sensuous experiences n Sex To form erotic relationships, have sex n Understanding To seek answers, to enjoy analysis, theory, reason

Key concepts introduced by Murray The approach which he called personology, in which needs are assumed to be the basic elements of personality The concept of largely unconscious psychogenic needs (as opposed to viscerogenic needs) The concept of environmental press The development of the TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Developed by Henry Murray in the 1930s

Raymond B. Cattell (1905-1998) Was born in England and raised in Torquay Was profoundly affected by what he witnessed as an adolescent during World War I Changed his plans of becoming a chemist and enrolled in graduate study in psychology at the University of London Worked with Charles Spearman, who taught him to use factor analysis, which he later applied to search for the fundamental dimensions of human personality Came to the US to work with Thorndike at Columbia Worked at Clark University until Allport invited him to join the faculty at Harvard Was extremely hard working, and enormously productive as a writer and researcher

Key concepts introduced by Cattell The idea that factor analysis, which had previously been used to study different forms of intelligence, could be used to identify source traits The notion that source traits are the fundamental dimensions of human personality The development of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF): Warmth, Reasoning, Emotional Stability, Dominance, Liveliness, Rule-Consciousness, Social Boldness, Sensitivity, Vigilance, Abstractedness, Privateness, Apprehension, Openness to Change, Self-Reliance, Perfectionism, and Tension

The Big Five personality factors Characteristics Extraversion Sociable versus retiring, fun-loving versus sober, assertive versus reserved Agreeableness Softhearted versus ruthless, trusting versus suspicious, helpful versus uncooperative Conscientiousness Well-organized versus disorganized, careful versus careless, self-disciplined versus weak-willed Neuroticism Worried versus calm, insecure versus secure, self-pitying versus self-satisfied Openness Imaginative versus down-to-earth, preference for variety versus preference for routine, independent versus conforming

Historical identification of the Big Five personality dimensions Investigator(s) Factor I Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Fiske (1949) Confident self-expression Social adaptability Conformity Emotional control Inquiring intellect Tupes & Christal (1961) Surgency Agreeableness Dependability Emotional stability Culture Norman (1963) Conscientiousness Borgatta (1964) Assertiveness Likeability Task interest Emotionality Intelligence Digman & Take-moto-Chock (1981) Extraversion Friendly compliance Will to achieve Ego strength (Anxiety) Intellect Goldberg (1981, 1989) McCrae & Costa (1985) Neuroticism Openness to experience Conley (1985) Social extraversion Impulse control Intellectual interests Botwin & Buss (1989) Dominant-assured Intellectance-culture Peabody & Goldberg (1989) Power Love Work Affect

Criticisms and limitations of the Big Five model There is some debate about what the five factors mean. There is some disagreement about the number of personality factors that should be regarded as fundamental. The set of trait terms from which the Big Five model was derived did not include evaluative ones, such as worthy or immoral. There are small variations among the Big Five models proposed by different theorists that critics find troublesome but most Big Five theorists do not. The Big Five model is often criticized for being atheoretical. However, the same criticism could have been applied to the periodic table of elements in chemistry, in the days before chemical processes were well understood.

The situation versus trait controversy: Walter Mischel’s criticisms of the trait approach Trait measures do not predict relevant behavioral measures well (the presumed .30 to .40 upper range of trait-based prediction). There is little evidence for cross-situational consistency. Behavior reveals more situational specificity than most trait theorists suggest. The predictive validity of trait measures does not justify their use in making important decisions about people (e.g., diagnosis and hiring decisions).

Three categories of moderating variables in personality research Category Function Representative Example Situational moderating variables Specify in which types of situations traits will be good versus poor predictors of their trait-relevant behaviors Psychologically weak versus strong situations Personal moderating variables Specify for which types of people traits will be good versus poor predictors of their trait-relevant behaviors Private self-consciousness Criterion moderating variables Specify the types of behaviors that traits will predict either well or poorly Level of aggregation of the behavioral measure

Responses to Mischel’s criticisms General traits do predict overall patterns of trait-relevant behavior fairly well. What they don’t predict well are single behaviors measured on a single occasion in a single situation. Traits can be used to predict trait-relevant behavior in some, but not all, types of situations. In psychologically “weak” situations, traits are important in determining behavior. However, in psychologically “strong” situations, the influence of traits on behavior can be much more limited. In general, an isolated trait accounts for about as much variance in a relevant behavior as an isolated situational variable does. The typical correlation in each case is about .20.

Application of the Big Five model in the workplace Of the Big Five dimensions, conscientiousness is the best overall predictor of work performance across many different types of occupations. Depending on the job description, other Big Five dimensions may also emerge as good predictors of performance: Extraversion Agreeableness Openness to experience Emotional stability

Problems with the use of self-report inventories Lack of self-insight Faking Faking good Faking bad Carelessness Sabotage Response tendencies Social desirability response set Acquiescence (agreement) response set