Biological/ Trait Theory

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Biological/ Trait Theory

• By Samantha, Lia, Erin, Rachelle

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Traits

• Trait A characteristic pattern of a behavior, or
  a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by
  self-report inventories and peer reports.

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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.

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Trait Theory

• Trait theorists are interested in the measurement
  of traits within different people.
• Assumptions
• Traits are relatively stable over time
• Traits differ among individuals
• Traits influence behavior

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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, peoples traits become
  functionally autonomous. Peoples traits become
  intertwined and make them who they are.

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What are his central traits?
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Cardinal Traits

• Allport recognized that the likelihood of
  multiple central traits make up an individuals
  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.
• Peoples cardinal traits become more expressed in
  later years.

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Examples of cardinal traits
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What makes the trait theory different?

• Traits dont 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 dont focus on predictions of
  behaviors in specific situations.

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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).

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• Catell applied this statistical analysis to his
  own questionnaires and tests that could outline
  certain personality traits called the 16PF.

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16PF

• The 16PF described sixteen personality factors.
  According to Cattell, everyone had varying
  degrees of these traits.

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Trait Conflict
Abstractedness Imaginative vs. practical
Apprehension Insecure vs. complacent
Dominance Aggressiveness vs. passiveness
Emotional Stability Calm and stable vs. high-strung
Liveliness Enthusiastic vs. seriousness
Openness 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. accepting
Warmth Open and warm-hearted vs. aloof and critical
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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 ones personality.

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

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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

• Most extensively researched personality inventory
• Developed in the 1930s 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.

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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)

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The Five-factor model of Personality Traits

• Created by Costa and McCrae and inspired by
  Goldbergs 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Guardian(s)
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Rational(s)
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Artisan(s)
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Idealist(s)
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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 Jungs personality types.

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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.newworlden
  cyclopedia.org.