Biological/ Trait TheoryBy: Samantha, Lia, Erin, & Rachelle

Traits

•Trait: A characteristic pattern of a behavior, or a disposition to

feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer

reports.

Gordon Allport

• Regarded as one of the first real personality psychologists

• A meeting with Sigmund Freud during his college years persuaded him to believe that psychoanalysts put too much emphasis on the subconscious mind.

• Believed that people act the way they do for biological reasons called traits.

Trait Theory

Trait theorists are interested in the measurement of traits within different people.

Assumptions:

1.Traits are relatively stable over time2.Traits differ among individuals3.Traits influence behavior

Allport Continued• As a trait theorist, Allport believed that

everyone has a small number of specific traits that are always dominant.

• These dominant traits were called central traits.

• While a person can have multiple central traits, there is usually one that becomes an apparent dominant force. This is called the cardinal trait. Cardinal traits can become so dominant that people often become famous for them.

• As time goes by, people’s traits become functionally autonomous. People’s traits become intertwined and make them who they are.

What are his central traits?

Cardinal Traits

•Allport recognized that the likelihood of multiple central traits make up an individual’s personality are much more common than having one cardinal trait.

•However, there are rare situations where the cardinal trait is recognized as much more dominant over central traits.

•People’s cardinal traits become more expressed in later years.

Examples of cardinal traits

What makes the trait theory different?

•Traits don’t develop. They stay stable and consistent despite environmental influences.

•Trait theorists study various characteristics in a group of people rather than each individual person.

•Trait theorists don’t focus on predictions of behaviors in specific situations.

Raymond Catell

•Raymond Catell was a personality theorist. He believed that understanding personality and human behavior was the only way to understand the world.

•Catell worked with Charles Spearman on evaluating human personality through factor analysis (chapter 11).

•Catell applied this statistical analysis to

his own questionnaires and tests that could

outline certain personality traits called

the 16PF.

16PF

•The 16PF described sixteen personality factors. According to

Cattell, everyone had varying degrees of these traits.

Trait ConflictAbstractedness Imaginative vs. practical

Apprehension Insecure vs. complacent

Dominance Aggressiveness vs. passiveness

Emotional Stability Calm and stable vs. high-strung

Liveliness Enthusiastic vs. seriousnessOpenness to change Liberal vs. traditional

Perfectionism Compulsive and controlled vs. indifferent

Privateness Pretentious vs. unpretentious

Reasoning Abstract vs. concrete

Rule consciousness Moralistic vs. free thinking

Self-reliance Leader vs. follower

Sensitivity Sensitive vs. tough-minded

Social boldness Uninhibited vs. timid

Tension Driven and tense vs. relaxed and easy-going

Vigilance Suspicious vs. acceptingWarmth Open and warm-hearted vs. aloof and critical

Hans Eysenck

•Eysenck was a British psychologist who believed that personality differences were due to genetic inheritance. He focused on human temperament.

•As a research psychologist, he created methods for factor analysis of one’s personality.

Eysenck Continued• Eysenck believed that factor analysis could be

used to reduce many normal individual traits into two or three basic dimensions:

• Extraversion vs. Introversion• Emotional stability vs. Instability

• In order to assess these qualities, people would take Eyenck’s Personality Questionnaire.

• After analysis, the basic personality dimensions were identified. Eysenck believed that the personality dimensions were genetically influenced.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

•Most extensively researched personality inventory

•Developed in the 1930’s at Minnesota University for detecting psychiatric problems. It has since been revised.

•MMPI items are empirically derived (testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.)

•MMPI is scored objectively, but that does not guarantee validity.

Personality Inventories

•“Longer questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings and behaviors”

•They are designed to test several traits at once.

•Often have true-false or agree-disagree items

•Example(s):▫Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI)

The Five-factor model of Personality Traits

• Created by Costa and McCrae and inspired by Goldberg’s “Big Five”

• Five factors of personality traits:▫ Extraversion: Sociable Retiring. Affectionate

Reserved.▫ Agreeableness: Soft-hearted Ruthless.

Trusting Suspicious. Helpful Uncooperative.

▫ Conscientiousness: Organized Disorganized. Careful Careless. Disciplined Impulsive.

▫ Neuroticism (Emotional Stability vs. Instability): Calm Anxious. Secure Insecure.

▫ Openness (to Experience) : Imaginative Practical. Preference for variety Preference for routine. Independent Conforming.

The Five-factor model of Personality Traits

•The “Big Five” was derived from statistical analyses of traits that tended to co-occur in people's descriptions of themselves or other people.

•If a test specifies where you are, most likely it describes your personality accurately.

Five-Factor Model of PersonalityTraits and Genetics

•Twin study done by Kerry L. Jang, W. John Livesley, and Philip A. Vemon using 123 pairs of identical twins and 127 pairs of fraternal twins.

•genetic influence on the of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness was estimated at 41%, 53%, 61%, 41%, and 44%, respectively.

•Heritability generally runs 50 percent for each dimension.

Keirsey Inventory Sorter• David Keirsey• Identifies which of four temperaments a person

prefers:• Artisans (SPs): Greatest strength is tactical

intelligence. Excel at acting, composing, producing, and motivating.

• Guardians (SJs): Greatest strength is logistical intelligence. Excel at organizing, facilitating, checking, and supporting.

• Idealists (NFs) : Greatest strength is diplomatic intelligence. Excel at clarifying, unifying, individualizing, and inspiring.

• Rationals (NTs): Greatest strength is strategic intelligence. Excel at engineering, conceptualizing, theorizing, and coordinating.”

Guardian(s)

Rational(s)

Artisan(s)

Idealist(s)

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

• Designed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers to assist a person in identifying their personality preferences.

• Is taken by about 2.5 million Americans a year and is used by 89 out of the top 100 largest corporations.

• Based on Carl Jung’s personality types.

Sources• Boeree, C. (2006). Gordon allport. Retrieved from

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/allport.html• Boeree, C. (2006). Hans eysenck. Retrieved from

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/eysenck.html • Srivastava, S. (2010). Measuring the Big Five

Personality Factors. Retrieved from http://www.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/bigfive.html.

• Vernon, P. A., Jang, K. L., & Livesley, W. J. (2010). Heritability of the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Their Facets: A Twin Study [Abstract]. Journal of Personality, 64.

• Personality Assessment. (2008) In New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org.