Trait Theories Focus on the here and now

How do our personalities differ along certain qualities/traits?

Personality Traits•Traits are relatively stable and consistent

personal characteristics▫Honest, dependable, moody, impulsive

•Trait personality theories suggest that a person can be described on the basis of some number of personality traits▫Allport identified some 4,500 traits▫Cattel used factor analysis to identify 30-35 basic traits

Statistical analysis that identifies groups of related objects

▫Eysenck argued there are 3 distinct traits in personality Extraversion/introversion Neuroticism Psychotocism

Gordon Allport (1897-1967)• Founder of the trait theory of

personality• As a 22 year old psychology

student, interviewed Sigmund Freud ▫Thought he was way to

preoccupied with hidden motives!

▫Concerned less with explaining individual traits and more with describing them

Can Biology Affect Personality?

•Brain-imaging procedures show that extraverts seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is relatively low

•Genes also influence our temperament and behavioral style

• Differences in children’s shyness and inhibition may be attributed to autonomic nervous system reactivity

The Big Five• Places people on a continuum of five trait dimensions • Have found these traits to be common across

cultures • How stable are these traits?

▫ Quite stable in adulthood, although can vary over entire course of development

• How heritable are they?▫ Individual differences in personality can be attributed

to genes 50% of the time• Do they predict other personal attributes?

▫ Yes▫ Highly conscientious people earn better grades (hs and

college); More likely to be morning types ▫ If one partner scores lower than the other on

agreeableness, stability, and openness, marital and sexual satisfaction may suffer

The Big Five

Evaluating Trait Perspective • Traits are not good predictors of behavior

▫Traits may be enduring, but behavior varies according to situation

• However, average behavior remains the same▫Traits matter!

• Personality differences among dogs are as evident as personality differences among humans!

• Trait theory does not provide an explanation as to why traits develop

How Do We Assess Personality?• Personality Inventories

▫ Questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings and behaviors Often True/False

▫ Big Five: NEO-PI-R▫ Most famous: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI) Assesses “abnormal” personality tendencies rather than

normal personality traits

▫ Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Used mainly for counseling, leadership training, work-team

development Not as popular in other realms (like research)