9. PERSONALITY TRAITS

Question 1

What are the two main strands of personality theorizing?

Answer 1

Clinical (Freud, case studies of mental illness) and individual differences (Galton, statistical methods).

Question 2

How did Wilhelm Wundt contribute to trait theory?

Answer 2

Shifted from categorical types to trait dimensions (mood stability vs. strength of emotions).

Question 3

Define a personality trait according to Burger (1997).

Answer 3

“A dimension of personality used to categorize people by the degree to which they manifest a characteristic.”

Question 4

What two assumptions underlie trait theory?

Answer 4

Traits are stable over time and across situations; they influence behavior.

Question 5

What are Sheldon’s three somatotypes?

Answer 5

Endomorphy (relaxed), Mesomorphy (energetic), Ectomorphy (introverted).

Question 6

What is the lexical hypothesis?

Answer 6

Important personality traits become encoded in language as single terms; frequency indicates importance.

Question 7

How many trait words did Allport & Odbert (1936) identify?

Answer 7

4,500 personality traits from 18,000 words.

Question 8

Distinguish nomothetic vs. idiographic approaches (Allport).

Answer 8

Nomothetic: Common traits across groups. Idiographic: Unique personal dispositions.

Question 9

Name Allport’s three types of traits.

Answer 9

Cardinal (dominant), Central (5-10 core traits), Secondary (situational preferences).

Question 10

What statistical method did Cattell use to study traits?

Answer 10

Factor analysis to identify source traits (e.g., 16PF questionnaire).

Question 11

Distinguish Cattell’s constitutional vs. environmental-mold traits.

Answer 11

Constitutional: Genetic. Environmental-mold: Shaped by experience.

Question 12

Name Cattell’s three dynamic traits.

Answer 12

Attitudes (situational interests), Sentiments (complex attitudes), Ergs (innate drives).

Question 13

What are Cattell’s surface vs. source traits?

Answer 13

Surface: Observable behaviors. Source: Underlying factors (e.g., Factor A: Outgoing-Reserved).

Question 14

What are Eysenck’s three supertraits?

Answer 14

Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism.

Question 15

Describe Eysenck’s Extraversion dimension.

Answer 15

Extraverts: Sociable, impulsive. Introverts: Quiet, introspective.

Question 16

How does Eysenck define Neuroticism?

Answer 16

Emotional instability; disproportionate anxiety/fear.

Question 17

What does Psychoticism entail (Eysenck)?

Answer 17

Hostility, cruelty, insensitivity to other

Question 18

Name one behavioral difference between extraverts and introverts.

Answer 18

Extraverts prefer louder music, take more risks (smoking, gambling).

Question 19

What did He et al. (2019) find about Neuroticism?

Answer 19

Linked to night eating, mediated by psychological distress.

Question 20

What are Costa & McCrae’s Big Five traits?

Answer 20

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (OCEAN).

Question 21

21. How is Openness defined in the Big Five?

Answer 21

Intellectual curiosity, preference for novelty vs. conventionality.

Question 22

22. Describe high vs. low Conscientiousness.

Answer 22

High: Organized, disciplined. Low: Careless, distracted.

Question 23

23. What does Agreeableness measure?

Answer 23

Trust, helpfulness (high) vs. suspicion, antagonism (low).

Question 24

24. How is Neuroticism operationalized in the Big Five?

Answer 24

Emotional instability (high) vs. calmness (low).

Question 25

25. Name the six facets of each Big Five trait.

Answer 25

E.g., Openness: Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas, Values.

Question 26

26. What did Perrine & Brodersen (2005) find about Openness?

Answer 26

Linked to artistic creativity (but not always scientific).

Question 27

27. How does self-discipline (Conscientiousness facet) relate to health?

Answer 27

Higher self-discipline predicts healthier behaviors (r = .27).

Question 28

28. What coping strategies do extraverts use (Amirkhan et al., 1995)?

Answer 28

Seek social support; avoid avoidance.

Question 29

29. What did Dyrenforth et al. (2010) find about Agreeableness?

Answer 29

High agreeableness in self/partner predicts relationship/life satisfaction.

Question 30

30. How does Neuroticism affect emotion preferences (Tamir, 2005)?

Answer 30

High neuroticism predicts preference for worry in stressful tasks.

Question 31

31. What is the NEO-PI-R?

Answer 31

240-item measure of Big Five traits and 30 facets (6 per trait).

Question 32

32. How long does the NEO-PI-R take to complete?

Answer 32

30–40 minutes.

Question 33

33. What evidence supports the Big Five’s universality?

Answer 33

Replicated across languages, cultures, ages (McCrae et al., 2000).

Question 34

34. How does the Big Five compare to Eysenck’s model?

Answer 34

Expands Eysenck’s 3 traits into 5; both hierarchical.

Question 35

35. What is the 16PF’s relationship to the Big Five?

Answer 35

Later versions allow scoring on Big Five traits.

Question 36

36. Name one criticism of Eysenck’s Psychoticism scale.

Answer 36

Low internal reliability.

Question 37

37. What did Galton contribute to trait theory?

Answer 37

Early lexical approach (counting trait words in dictionaries).

Question 38

38. How did Cattell define ability traits?

Answer 38

Competence in achieving goals (e.g., problem-solving).

Question 39

39. What is MAVA (Cattell)?

Answer 39

Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis: Quantifies genetic/environmental trait influences.

Question 40

40. What did Sheldon’s somatotypes emphasize?

Answer 40

Body-physique correlations with temperament (e.g., endomorph = relaxed).