Unit 2: Individuality and Personality. Part 9: Trait Theories

Transcription

1 Unit 2: Individuality and Personality Part 9: Trait Theories

2 Objec;ves: 1. Explain the main features of trait personality. 2. Describe Allport s, Ca=ell s, and Eysenck s theories of personality.

3 I. Introduc;on A. How do we describe people? Are they friendly? Kind? Aggressive? Do they appear this way in nearly all circumstances and situa;ons? We as humans give many terms to describe the people we interact with, these terms are called traits. A trait is a tendency to respond the same way in different situa;ons. It is a way that one individual differs from another. trait: A tendency to react to a situa;on in a way that remains stable over ;me.

4 II. What is the Trait Theory of Personality? A. Psychologists who study traits assume two things: 1. First, every trait applies to all people. (Example: we all have some amount of arrogance or some amount of friendliness) 2. Second, the amount of a trait someone has can be measured.

5 II. What is the Trait Theory of Personality? (con t) B. Psychologists believe that by iden;fying people s traits we can beser understand them and even predict their future behavior. C. In addi;on to trying to iden;fy traits, researchers try to explain why people tend to act the same way most of the ;me. For example, people may be asked to describe an observed behavior and then list a trait that best describes the behavior.

6 II. What is the Trait Theory of Personality? (con t) D. The challenges of trait theory are in determining whether a behavior is an actual trait. For instance, do iden;fied behaviors occur across ALL situa;ons of a person? Is a person happy in ALL sewngs? Do observed behaviors indicate an actual trait or is the behavior a sign of a more basic trait? Example: Is s;nginess really possessiveness? The challenge, or ques;on, for researchers is determining what behaviors go together.

7 III. Gordon Allport: Iden;fying Traits A. Gordon Allport believed that a person s traits will be consistent in different situa;ons. By studying words that describe personality in a dic;onary, Allport created a list of traits. He defined common traits as those that apply to everyone. He also iden;fied individual traits that apply more to a par;cular person. These individual traits divided into three types: 1. Cardinal Traits 2. Secondary Traits 3. Central Traits

8 III. Gordon Allport: Iden;fying Traits (con t) 1. Cardinal Traits: Cardinal traits are those that are the rarest. They tend to dominate an individual s whole life, ozen to the point that the individual becomes specifically known for these traits. Example: Honesty is a cardinal trait of Abraham Lincoln. cardinal trait: A trait that is so pervasive that the person is almost iden;fied with the trait

9 III. Gordon Allport: Iden;fying Traits (con t) 2. Secondary Traits: Secondary traits are those that tend to appear only in certain situa;ons or under certain circumstances. Example: A person who is normally very calm may become anxious when speaking to a group of people. secondary trait: A trait that appears only in certain circumstances or situa;ons

10 III. Gordon Allport: Iden;fying Traits (con t) 3. Central Traits: Central traits are those traits that best describe a person. Central traits are the core traits that tend to remain rela;vely stable throughout life. Many trait theories of personality focus on these traits. These traits serve as the "building blocks" of personality. Examples: A person is shy, outgoing, reserved, happy, etc. Central trait: A trait that best describes the essence of a personality

11 IV. Raymond CaSell: Sixteen-Trait Theory A. Raymond CaSell took Allport s ideas a step further. He, and other researchers wanted to see how strongly different traits relate to one another. Using a mathema;cal procedure called factor analysis, CaSell iden;fied 46 surface traits, or traits that one can observe. Factor analysis: A complex sta;s;cal technique used to iden;fy the underlying reasons why variable are correlated Surface trait: A characteris;c that can be observed in certain situa;ons

12 IV. Raymond CaSell: Sixteen Trait Theory (con t) B. From the 46 surface traits iden;fied by CaSell, he found that some occur in clusters. From these he iden;fied 16 source traits that he believed were the core of personality. He believed that by measuring source traits, psychologists could predict people s behavior in certain situa;ons. Source trait: A characteris;c that can be considered to be at the core of personality

13 IV. Raymond CaSell: Sixteen Trait Theory (con t) C. CaSell used his 16 source traits to develop a personality ques;onnaire to measure the traits of an individual. Each trait is paired with an opposite on a con;nuum.

14 V. Hans Eysenck: Dimensions of Personality A. Hans Eysenck, an English psychologist, used factor analysis of data and determined there are two basic dimensions of personality which are (1) stability versus instability and (2) extroversion versus introversion.

15 V. Hans Eysenck: Dimensions of Personality (con t) B. The first dimension, stability versus instability, refers to the degree to which people have control over their feelings. C. The second dimension was actually iden;fied years earlier by Carl Jung as extroversion versus introversion.

16 V. Hans Eysenck: Dimensions of Personality 1. One one side of Eysenck s dimensions are extroverts, lively, sociable, outgoing, ac;ve people. Extroverts enjoy par;es, people, and seek excitement. (con t) 2. On the other end of the dimension are introverts, those people who are more thoughgul, reserved, passive, unsociable, and quiet.

17 V. Hans Eysenck: Dimensions of Personality (con t) D. Years azer he iden;fied the first two dimensions, Eysenck added a third, psycho;cism. 1. At one end of this dimension are self-centered, hos;le, and aggressive people who act without much thought. 2. The other end tends to be socially sensi;ve, high on caring and empathy, and easy people with whom to work (Eysenck, 1970, 1990).

18 A. Over the years, psychologists have shown that five traits appear over and over in different studies. These traits have become known as the five robust factors or the big five of personality. VI. The Robust Five

19 VI. The Robust Five (con t) B. The Five Robust Factors Are: 1. Extroversion, which is associated with warmth, talka;veness, and being energe;c. 2. Agreeableness, which involves being sympathe;c to others, kind, and trus;ng. 3. ConscienCousness, which iden;fies individuals who are du;ful, organized, and responsible. 4. Openness to experience, which describes people who are openminded and willing to try intellectual experiences, or new ideas. 5. EmoConal stability, which iden;fies individuals who experience things rela;vely easily and without gewng upset.

20 VI. The Robust Five (con t) D. Think of each big-five trait as a continuum; each trait has many related traits. E. Trait theorists assume that traits are relatively fixed, or unchanging. F. The advantage of trait theories is that by identifying a person s personality traits, that person s behavior can be predicted. G. However, critics argue that trait theories describe personality rather than explain it. Trait theories do not explain or predict behaviors across different situations.