Chapter 8: Trait Aspects of Personality This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: (1) Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; (2) Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; (3) Any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

History of Trait Approaches Hippocrates' bodily humors Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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 testing Copyright © 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, Intuiting Attitudes: Extroversion, Introversion Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Raymond B. Cattell Used (and refined) factor analysis ◦ data-driven, not theory-driven ◦ reduced many different traits to sixteen trait clusters Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) Collected many different types of data ◦ Q-data ◦ T-data ◦ L-data Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gordon Allport Personality: ◦ “The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought” Each person has unique qualities Philosophical, humanistic, scholarly approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gordon Allport Regularities 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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gordon Allport Common Traits ◦ Due to biological heritage and shared culture, there are some common traits ◦ e.g., dominance in American culture Proprium ◦ The core of personality Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gordon Allport Idiographic 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 Five Extroversion (Surgency) ◦ Sociability, warmth, assertiveness Agreeableness ◦ Straightforwardness, trust, altruism, modesty Conscientiousness (Lack of Impulsivity) ◦ Competence, persistence, prudence Neuroticism (Emotional Instability) ◦ Anxiety, hostility, depression, vulnerability Openness (Openness to Experience, Culture, Intellect) ◦ Imagination, aesthetic sense, curiosity Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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 meVery true of me Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Big Five 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). Not true of meVery true of me Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Big Five Conscientiousness items: ◦ 7. I am always well-prepared. ◦ 8. I persevere with my tasks. ◦ 9. I may shirk my duties (reverse coded). Not true of meVery true of me Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Big Five Neuroticism items: ◦ 10. I get irritated easily. ◦ 11. I am calm most of the time (reverse coded) ◦ 12. I worry a lot. Not true of meVery true of me Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Big Five 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). Not true of meVery true of me Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Big Five Created through factor analysis Emerged from data, not theory Behavior genetics and cross-cultural research suggest these traits are “real” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Eysenck’s Big Three Traits are derived from three underlying biological systems ◦ Extroversion—outgoingness and assertiveness ◦ Neuroticism—instability and apprehensiveness ◦ Psychoticism—tendency toward psychopathology Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Motives Internal psychobiological forces that help induce particular behavior patterns Needs Life-Tasks Personal Strivings Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Motivation: Henry Murray Need 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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivation changes how we see the world Differing motivations can change our perceptions, even when judging completely objective characteristics such as distance. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Skills Intelligence ◦ Measures vocabulary use, mathematical skills, spatial reasoning, etc. Social-Emotional Intelligence ◦ Specific social and emotional abilities in dealing with other people Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timeline: Trait and Skill Approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timeline: Trait and Skill Approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timeline: Trait and Skill Approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timeline: Trait and Skill Approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timeline: Trait and Skill Approach Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trait and Skill Approach Analogy ◦ Humans are clusters of temperaments, traits, and skills Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trait and Skill Approach Advantages ◦ Simplifies personality to a small number of basic dimensions ◦ Looks for a deeper consistency underlying behaviors ◦ Good assessment techniques ◦ Allows for comparisons between individuals Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Trait and Skill Approach View of free will ◦ Allows for free will at the margins, after predispositions and motives exert their influence Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trait and Skill Approach Common assessment techniques ◦ Factor analysis, self-report, testing of styles and skills, document analysis, behavioral observation, interviews Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trait and Skill Approach Implications 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” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.