WHAT IS ONE PERSONALITY TRAIT THAT YOU HAVE INHERITED FROM EACH OF YOUR PARENTS?

Transcription

1 WHAT IS ONE PERSONALITY TRAIT THAT YOU HAVE INHERITED FROM EACH OF YOUR PARENTS?

2 Intro to Trait Theory Traits: relatively stable, habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion that make up an individual s personality Examples of traits would include impulsivity, perfectionism, obsessionality, excitability, etc. These are contrary to states, which are temporary I.E., a trait of excitable is not the same thing as a state of excitedness Traits exist along a spectrum where an individual may rank low, moderate, or high in comparison to the average person

3 Intro to Trait Theory Gordon Allport is one of the earliest known trait psychologists. He went through the entire dictionary to search out single word trait descriptors and organized 4500 of them into three levels: Cardinal Traits: the most dominant traits/passions/ obsessions/drives that shape a person s personality i.e., a need for money/fame, a yearning for knowledge, a life filled with lust, a life of public service to others, etc. Central Traits: general characteristics that serve as the building blocks of a person s personality i.e., honesty, shyness, anxiousness, kindness, etc. Secondary Traits: variable traits that exhibit only in certain circumstances i.e., a side of yourself you only reveal to your best friend or a different way you act in the privacy of your own room Allport s theory isn t relevant today, but it s important because it was the first of its kind Sims character creator is based on this theory!

4 Intro to Trait Theory Modern trait theory constructs typically use personality inventories questionnaires in which users are asked to rate themselves on a series of Likert Scales or true/false statements to determine a numerical scoring of their personality traits Examples of Likert Scale questions: The most widely researched and clinically used personality trait inventory is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) due to its high validity and reliability Measures personality but also used to detect mental health issues 567 true/false questions in about minutes Uses standardization; user s score is compared to average for analysis

5 The Big Five The MMPI and most other inventories categorize personality into five major traits known as the Big Five factors of personality: Conscientiousness Agreeableness Neuroticism Openness to Experience Extraversion CANOE -or- OCEAN (Helpful Acronyms)

6 Conscientiousness Conscientiousness: the personality trait of being careful and vigilant with a desire to perform tasks well It is NOT consciousness that is a state of awareness It is NOT conscience that is an intuition for distinguishing right from wrong Disorderly Non goal-oriented Spontaneous Fun facts - conscientious people: Are less likely to read tabloid papers Spend less time daydreaming Tend to be more successful in the workplace (no other trait predicts this) Are better at saving money Tend to live longer than average Are less likely to get divorced Tend to be Republican Tend to be less innovative Efficient Organized Disciplined

7 Agreeableness Agreeableness: the personality trait of being kind, sympathetic, cooperative, warm, and considerate Those who score low on agreeableness are considered to have the dark triad traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy Selfish Manipulative Malevolent Fun facts agreeable people: View others in a more positive light Are better behaved as children Are better able to control negative emotions like anger in conflict situations Are more willing to lose arguments in order to maintain a relationship Tend to make LESS money than non-agreeable people Tend to live in the West/Midwest (Wisconsin is #5 most agreeable state) Empathetic Altruistic Trustworthy

8 Neuroticism Neuroticism: the personality trait of being anxious, fearful, and emotionally unstable This is considered to be more of a NEGATIVE trait than the other five; scoring high in this is considered bad typically To fix this, some models call it emotional stability instead and reverse the spectrum Calm Even-tempered Emotionally secure Fun facts - neurotic people: Tend to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult Have higher rates of mental disorders Have sympathetic nervous systems that are more sensitive to environmental stimulation Are more likely to be women than men Are more at risk for heart disease and have lower life expectancies Nervous Moody Self-conscious

9 Openness to Experience Openness to Experience: the personality trait of having a preference for novelty and variety This trait tends to be normally distributed (meaning most people score average and relatively few score high or low Conventional Traditional Prefer routine Fun facts open people: Are less likely to be religious Tend to have eclectic tastes in music Tend to be more creative than usual Are moderately more crystallized intelligent and slightly more fluid intelligent than average Are more likely to be politically liberal and tolerant of diversity More often remember their dreams Have higher sex drives & sexual experience Thrill-seeking Imaginative Independent

10 extraversion Extraversion: the personality trait of being focused on social stimulation The opposite of extraverted is being introverted Recent research has focused on mental energy differences; extraverts absorb energy from others while introverts disperse energy to others Reserved Solitary Observational Fun facts - extraverted people: Make up 50-66% of the US population Have greater blood flow to the parts of the brain involved in sensory and emotional experience Place greater emphasis on decorative clothing than comfortable clothing Report higher levels of happiness than introverted people Are less successful in academics Are more likely to have diseases Sociable Affectionate Outgoing

11 Trait Theory Criticism The biggest criticism of trait theory is that it does not take into account the importance of the situation If an observer were to walk into the room right now, he/she would think that all of you are very introverted because none of you are talking, but that s only happening because you re currently in the role of a student When you re at home after school eating dinner with your family, you re probably more extraverted And at a party on the weekend, you re probably even more extraverted