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TRAIT PERSPECTIVE

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Title: TRAIT PERSPECTIVE


1
TRAIT PERSPECTIVE
  • Stable Enduring Predispositions to Behave in a
    Certain Way.

2
Trait
  • A characteristic pattern of behavior or a
    disposition to feel and act, as assessed by
    self-report inventories and peer reports
  • Trait Perspective focus on individual differences
    rather than similarities like previous theories.
  • Trait theories seek to identify, describe and
    measure these individual differences.

3
Types of Traits
  • Traitrelatively stable predisposition to behave
    in a certain way
  • Surface traitcharacteristic that can be inferred
    from observable behavior
  • Source traitMost fundamental dimensions of
    personality very broad traits that are
    relatively few in number and give rise to surface
    traits.

4
Ancient Greek Traits
  • Ancient Greeks classified four personality traits
  • Sanguine (cheerful)
  • Melancholic (depressed)
  • Choleric (irritable)
  • Phlegmatic (unemotional)
  • Felt these were caused by humor (body fluids)

5
Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
  • American psychologist and trait theorist who
    researched the idea that individual personalities
    are unique
  • Studied the English dictionary and found more
    than 4,000 words describing specific personality
    traits.
  • Stressed importance of studying mentally healthy
    people
  • Resisted the idea of finding personality law
    that would apply to everyone

6
Theorists
  • Raymond Cattell16 PF
  • Hans EysenckThree factor model
  • William Sheldon Body Types model
  • McCrae and CostaFive factor model

7
Raymond Cattell (1905-1998)
  • English psychologist who researched whether some
    traits predicted others
  • Used factor analysis to come up with 16 key
    personality dimensions or factors to describe
    personality
  • Proposed Each factor was measured on a continuum
  • Generally considered as too many traits

8
Cattells 16 Personality Factors
  • Example Questions and Profiles The 16PF,
    developed by Raymond Cattell, is a self-report
    inventory that contains 185 items like those
    shown in part (a).

When scored, the 16PF generates a personality
profile. In part (b), personality profiles of
airline pilots and writers are compared. Cattell
(1973) found that pilots are more controlled,
more relaxed, more self-assured, and less
sensitive than writers
9
Hans Eysenck (1916-1997)
  • German psychologist who researched the
    genetically-influenced dimensions of personality
  • Had 3 different source traits dimensions
  • Introversion-extraversion
  • Degree to which a person directs their energies
    inward toward themselves or outward onto others.
  • Emotional stability- Neuroticism (Stable
    Unstable)
  • A persons predisposition to become emotionally
    upset or stay emotionally even.
  • Psychoticism
  • Low in this means warm caring toward others.
  • High in this means antisocial, cold, hostile
    unconcerned about others.
  • Generally considered as too few traits
  • Using the first two dimensions he created 4 basic
    personality types (see next slide)
  • Recent brain scan studies show specific
    personality traits can produce individual
    differences in the brains reaction to emotional
    stimuli (Focus on Neuroscience)

10
Eysencks 4 Personality Types
11
William Sheldon body types(1898-1977)
Your body type determines your personality
12
Sheldons endomorph
  • Love of food
  • Love of comfort
  • Sociable
  • Good-humored
  • Relaxed
  • Tolerant

13
Sheldons ectomorph
  • Self-conscious
  • Private
  • Introverted
  • Intense
  • Artistic
  • Restrained

14
Sheldons mesomorph
  • Adventurous
  • Dominant
  • Courageous
  • Indifferent
  • Competitive
  • Risk-taker

15
Five Factor Model
  • Essential building blocks of personality can be
    described in 5 basic personality dimensions.
  • Described somewhat differently among researchers
    but can be found cross culturally.
  • Research shows them to be stable over time
    consistent over different situations.
  • 5 Factorsusually rated from low to high
  • Extraversion
  • Neuroticism
  • Openness to Experience
  • Agreeableness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Human behavior is the result of interaction
    between traits and situations.

16
The Big Five Traits
17
The Big Five Traits
18
The Big Five Traits
19
The Big Five Traits
20
The Big Five Traits
21
The Trait Perspective
  • Play Personality Traits (332) Segment 29 from
    Psychology The Human Experience.

22
Behavioral Genetics
  • Interdisciplinary field that studies the effects
    of genes and heredity on behavior
  • Heredity seems to play a role in four of the big
    five personality traitsextraversion,
    neuroticism, openness to experience, and
    conscientiousness
  • Influence of environment is at least equal to
    that of genetic factors.
  • Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart found
    striking similarities in identical twins that did
    not occur in fraternal twins.
  • Similarities in identical twins may result from
    unique configuration of interacting genes called
    emergenic traits.

23
Evaluation of Trait Perspective
  • Psychologists generally accept that people can be
    described compared in terms of basic
    personality traits.
  • BUT Trait Theory
  • Doesnt really explain personality, simply
    describe the behaviors
  • Doesnt explain the development of the different
    behaviors/personalities
  • Fails to address how issues such as motives,
    unconscious, or beliefs about self affect
    personality development
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