Trait Units

Trait: Consistent ways of behaving, feeling and thinking over time & situations –Summarize, predict, explain –Internal causes of behavior (traits) Assumptions: –Continuous dimensions from low to high –People have broad predispositions to respond

Influential Trait Theorists: Gordon Allport Traits in nervous system –Frequency, intensity, range of situations Cardinal, central & secondary traits –Organization differs, unique traits Dictionary study (Allport & Odbert, 1936) –18,000 terms describing people Traits: Consistent, stable modes of adjustment –Provided basis for later discovery of factors

Allport & Interactionism Personality impacts behavior differently depending on situation –Strong vs weak situations Extraversion & Talking in museum & park

Interactionism

Influential Trait Theorists: Hans Eysenck Emphasized correlational & experimental approaches Developed theory & measurement of traits Factor analysis to uncover basic traits

Factor Analysis Statistical technique that identifies groups of related items –I like people, I enjoy going to parties, I have fun when I am with other people Responses should covary and form a factor Label (Gregariousness) and quantify Structure

Hans Eysenck 3 traits (superfactors) discovered w/ FA –Neuroticism (negative affect, insecure, stressed) –Extraversion (positive affect, sociable, impulsive) –Psychoticism (aggressive, cold, antisocial) Biological basis (brain arousal)

Influential Trait Theorists: Raymond Cattell Types of Traits (major stable elements) –Function (ability - intelligence) –Emotion (temperament - N) –Motivation (dynamic - E) Multivariate data –L, Q, OT –16 traits –Convergence

Raymond Cattell Motivation –Ergs: Innate motivations (sex, food) –Sentiments: Environmentally caused motivations (money, love) –States - moods (anger, fatigue) Roles - environmentally determined guidelines for appropriate action (teacher v. student) Behavior due to traits, motives, states & roles

Reaction Paper 6: Trait Theorists Describe at least 1 similarity & 1 difference among these 3 theorists approach. Which approach seems the most parsimonious? Explain. PLEASE TURN THIS IN AT THE END OF CLASS!

Hierarchical Organization Supertraits or factors (broadest) Traits (facets) –Habits Specific Rs (narrowest)

Hierarchical Organization Benefits –Provides structure & organization –Small number of traits conceptually easier –Aids in measurement & theory development –Helps move empirical research forward (Hos)

Hierarchical Organization Problems –Gulf between factors & behavior IV - superfactor level DV - specific R level –Error in predicting behavior Prediction better w/ traits than superfactors Superfactors have high breadth, low precision Levels of analysis should be similar

Day 2

Emergence of the Big-5 Traits Earlier work showing varying number of traits –Eysenck found 3 –Cattell found 16 Allport’s dictionary terms FAd & found 5 –Replicated by numerous others (1950s-present)

Big-5 Traits Emerging consensus that personality structure best represented by 5 supertraits/factors (OCEAN) –Neuroticism –Extraversion –Openness (curious, creative, imaginative) –Agreeableness (good natured, trusting, helpful) –Conscientiousness (organized, reliable, disciplined)

Big-5 Traits Continuous dimensions along which individuals vary (high/low) –Hierarchical structure (each trait has 6 facets) E: gregariousness, activity, excitement seeking, PA, warmth –NOT function –Assessed w/ self-report measures (NEO-PI-R)

Big-5: Evidence Language & cross-cultural (universality) –Lexical Hypothesis: Meaningful individual differences represented in language –FA large # of person descriptors = Trait units –5 factor structure in many languages & cultures Openness, cultural-specific traits? Qaires correlate highly w/ Eysenck & Cattell measures

Activity 7A: Evidence of Big-5 In groups of 3-4 –Describe at least 3 additional sources of evidence for the Big-5 (Pervin controversies p ) –Which of these is the most convincing to you?

Big-5 Critiques FA - poor methodology to uncover units Heritability - 60% environment What are these 5 traits? –Theoretical diversity/emphasis E and sociable v. sensitive to rewards Numerical dissention –Big 7 & Big 2 Higher-order FA shows 2 Super-Super Factors –Socialization (A C N) & Growth (E O)

Activity 7B: Critiques of Big-5 –Describe at least 3 additional critiques of the Big-5 (Pervin controversies p ) –Which of these is the most convincing to you? –Do you think the Big-5 is the structure of personality? Explain.

Trait Units Strengths Research Hos Biology Weaknesses FA Conceptual –What are traits? –Explanatory or descriptive? Process, motives What else is there? –McAdams