Traditional Trait Theories



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Traditional Trait Theories

Allport, Eysenck, & Cattell
Structure: the trait

  • Defined: consistent patterns in emotions, behavior, & thought

  • 3 functions of traits:

1. Summarize

2. Predict

3. Explain


  • Internal process implied

Traits: Basic Views

  • Traits are useful as characteristic descriptions

  • There is a direct correspondence between trait behavior and internal characteristics

  • Personality can be organized into a hierarchy

Gordon W. Allport


(1897-1967)

  • Highlighted healthy & organized aspects of human behavior

  • Criticized psychoanlaysis

  • Opportunistic functioning

  • Propriate functioning

  • Self= proprium

  • Believed  traits basic units of personality

Allport: Traits



  • Exist in nervous system & are seen as generalized dispositions:

  • Regular across situation & time (although can be modified by situational influences, this is a general trait)

  • Trait explains behavior consistency

  • Importance of situation explains behavior variance

  • Traits defined by 3 properties:

  • Frequency

  • Intensity

  • Range of situations

  • Traits  stable & internal vs. States (attitude/feeling) & Activities (behavior) temporary & externally driven

  • Different kinds of traits? Yes :

  • (a) Central traits

  • (b) Secondary dispositions

  • (c) Cardinal traits

Allport: Functional Autonomy (FA)



  • FA: Your motives today are independent of their origins

  • Preservative FA: the process in which external motivations change to become habits or internal motivation

  • For example: Children & Adults 

  • Children: motivated by tension-reduction

  • Adults: motivated by intrinsic enjoyment

  • Behaviors may be necessary (reduce tension), but eventually become a source of enjoyment

  • Propriate FA: values

  • Contrast to Freud

Allport: Idiographic Research



  • Emphasized uniqueness of individual

  • Used idiographic research

  • Published letters

  • Comparing categories of values within individual instead of across groups

  • EX: values having a family more than having a career?

Allport: Critique



  • Significant contributions

  • Did little research to establish existence of traits

  • Believed traits were hereditary, but did nothing to prove this

  • Idiographic research: captures individual, but didn’t create general, lawful psychological principles

  • Only trait theorist to pursue idiographic research

Hans J. Eysenck


(1916-1997)

  • Trait measurement: factor analysis

  • Emphasized biological foundations of traits

  • Realized futility of “circular theory”

  • Emphasized need for strict regulations and definitions in research

  • Criticized Freud

  • Factor analysis to identify factors

  • Secondary factor analysis

Basic Dimensions of Personality



  • Extraversion/Introversion

  • Neuroticism

  • Anxious, Depressed, irrational, guilt feelings, shy, moods, low self-esteem, emotional, tense




  • Psychoticism

  • Aggressive, antisocial, cold, unempathic, egocentric, creative, impersonal, tough-minded, impulsive

Questionnaires (Eysenck)


Eysenck: Biological Bases



  • Extraversion

  • Cerebral cortex

  • Neuroticism

  • ANS

  • Psychoticism

  • Genes, testosterone

Eysenck: psychopathology



  • Joint action of biological system and experiences that contribute to learning of strong emotion reactions

Raymond B. Cattell (1905-1998)



  • Published many books and articles throughout career

  • One of the most influential psychological scientists of the 20th century

  • Much of work was an attempt to develop a classification of variables for research

Cattell: Personality Science



  • Bivariate

  • Few variables manipulated

  • Multivariate

  • Many variables taken from life and studied

  • Factor analysis

  • Clinical

  • Intuitive study




  • ***Cattell preferred to work with a large # of factors at the trait level

  • *** Eysenck preferred secondary factor analysis to combine traits into smaller # of uncorrleated superfactors

  • Uncorrelated, but covers broad range of behaviors

Cattell: Theory of Personality



  • Distinctions between traits:

Group A

Ability traits  allow individual to function effectively

Temperament traits emotional life & stylistic quality of behavior

Dynamic traits  motivational life; goals


Group B (these look at the level of which we relate behaviors)

Surface traits  appear to vary together, but may not; may not even have a common source

Source traits  vary together regardless of personality dimensions


  • Sources of Data

  • L-Data

  • Q-Data

  • OT-Data

Cattell’s 16 PF



  • Reserved Outgoing

  • Less intelligent More intelligent

  • Stable neurotic

  • Humble Assertive

  • Sober Happy-go-lucky

  • Expedient Conscientious

  • Trusting Suspicious

  • Forthright Shrewd

  • Placid Apprehensive

  • Relaxed Tense

Stability & Variability In Behavior



  • Traits

  • States

  • Roles

Cattell: Critique



  • Large range of scientific effort

  • Developed new multivariate techniques

  • Founded the Society for Multivariate Experimental Research (SMEP)

  • Attempted cross-cultural research

  • Validity of his tests is questionable

  • Relied too heavily on factor analysis & speculation combined

  • At times overstated his data

What are the Big Five?


(McRae and Costa, 1997, version)

  • NEO-PI measures these and we’ll use this measure to operationalize them

  • Neuroticism

  • Extraversion

  • Openness to Experience

  • Agreeableness

  • Conscientiousness

Neuroticism

Neuroticism/
Emotional Stability


  • High in emotional stability means low in neuroticism

  • More E.S., more calm, stable, & confident

  • Versus: nervous, insecure, & depressed

  • Implications:

  • More E.S., more extrinsic career success (higher income & occupational status)

Extraversion

Extroversion


  • The extent to which one is:

  • Sociable, talkative, and outgoing

  • Those low in extroversion are called introverts

  • Implications:

  • Sales jobs, managerial jobs

  • More extrinsic career success ($ & occupational status)

Openness to Experience



Openness

  • the extent to which a person

  • thinks flexibly and is receptive to new ideas.

  • is open to new experience

  • is imaginative and curious

  • Implications for/receptivity to

  • organizational change

  • creativity

Agreeableness

Agreeableness



  • The extent to which one is:

  • Cooperative, tends to get along well with others

  • Low: tend to be rude, cold, & aloof

Conscientiousness



Conscientiousness
Extent to which a person is:

  • Careful, dependable, & responsible

  • Implications:

  • More reliable

  • Perform better in all types of jobs

  • Higher incomes and occupational status (more extrinsic career success)

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