Lecture 9: Personality (Trait models)

Question 1

What are the two assumptions of trait theory?

Answer 1

1) Traits are relatively stable over time
2) Traits show stability across situations
3) Personality traits are continuous dimensions; people can be placed along the dimension depending on how much of that trait they possess

Question 2

William Sheldon’s theory of somatotypes. (1899-1977)

Answer 2

• American psychologist and founding figure of trait psychology
• Described personality according to somatotypes which were based on physique and temperament.
• He concluded there are 3 basic types of physique…
  1) Endomorphy
  2) Mesomorphy
  3) Ectomorphy
• Using correlational techniques he showed that each body type was associated with a particular temperament.

Question 3

What is a lexical hypothesis?

Answer 3

The personality traits and differences that are most important to people become part of their language as single terms/trait descriptors.

Question 4

Early lexical approaches to personality

Answer 4

• Early researchers used dictionaries to identify & count the number of words that describe personality traits
• Galton (1884) provided the first documented source of a dictionary/thesaurus used to elicit words describing personality
• Frequency of use corresponds with importance
• Number of words in a language that refer to each trait predict how important that trait is in describing personality

Question 5

Gorden Allport

Answer 5

• One of the first psychologists to produce lists of words, described 4,500 personality traits.
• Adopted a unified approach to personality; it is how traits come together produces the uniqueness of people.
• These traits produce a unified personality capable of evolution and change.
• Adopted a positive view of humans; humans are rational, creative, active, self-reliant and capable of change.

Question 6

What are Allport’s personality traits?

Answer 6

1) Distinguished between nomothetic and idiographic
2) Suggested nomothetic approach allows the identification of common personality types
3) Suggested idiographic allows the identification of the personal disposition of the individual.
4) Found to be a useful approach towards developing a real understanding of personality

Question 7

What are the three other traits Allport described?

Answer 7

1) Cardinal traits: single traits that dominate an individuals personality and heavily influence behaviour
2) Central traits: 5/10 traits that best describe a individuals personality
3) Secondary traits: concerned with an individuals preferences; not a core component of personality. Becomes apparent in certain situations

Question 8

Raymond Cattle (1905-98)

Answer 8

• Was keep to apply empirical methods (factor analysis) to discover the basic structure of personality.
• Identified a range of traits; became interested in how traits and situational variables interact to influence behaviour
• Developed the multiple abstract variance analysis (MAVA) to calculate the influence that genetic/environmental factors have in the development of a personality traits

Question 9

What were Cattles personality traits?

Answer 9

1: Ability traits- how well you deal with a situation and reach your goal in that situation
2: Temperament traits - individual differences in styles people adopt when pursuing goals
3) Dynamic traits - motivated behaviour, three types: attitudes, sentiments and ergs

Question 10

Whats the difference between surface and source traits? (Cattle 1950)

Answer 10

Surface traits:
- Overt behaviours people display
Source traits:
- Responsible for the surface traits people display

Question 11

What did Hans Eysenck 1916 define personality as?

Answer 11

• How a person’s character temperament, intelligence, physique and nervous system are organised.
  Identified three super traits…
  1) Extraversion: sociability
  2) Neuroticism; emotional stability
  3) Psychoticism; severe psychopathology