Transcript Biological/ Trait Theory - Northside College Prep High School

Biological/ Trait Theory
By: Samantha, Lia, Erin, & Rachelle
Traits
• Trait: A characteristic pattern of a
behavior, or a disposition to feel and
act, as assessed by self-report
inventories and peer reports.
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.
Trait Theory
Trait theorists are interested in the measurement
of traits within different people.
Assumptions:
1.Traits are relatively stable over time
2.Traits differ among individuals
3.Traits influence behavior
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, people’s traits become
functionally autonomous. People’s traits
become intertwined and make them who they are.
What are his central traits?
Cardinal Traits
• Allport recognized that the likelihood of multiple
central traits make up an individual’s 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.
• People’s cardinal traits become more expressed
in later years.
Examples of cardinal traits
What makes the trait theory
different?
• Traits don’t 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 don’t focus on predictions of
behaviors in specific situations.
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).
• Catell applied this
statistical analysis to his
own questionnaires and
tests that could outline
certain personality traits
called the 16PF.
16PF
• The 16PF described sixteen
personality factors. According to
Cattell, everyone had varying degrees
of these traits.
Trait
Conflict
Abstractedness
Imaginative vs. practical
Apprehension
Insecure vs. complacent
Dominance
Aggressiveness vs. passiveness
Emotional Stability
Calm and stable vs. high-strung
Liveliness
Openness to change
Enthusiastic vs. seriousness
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
Warmth
Suspicious vs. accepting
Open and warm-hearted vs. aloof and critical
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 one’s personality.
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
Eyenck’s Personality Questionnaire.
• After analysis, the basic personality dimensions
were identified. Eysenck believed that the
personality dimensions were genetically influenced.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI)
• Most extensively researched personality
inventory
• Developed in the 1930’s 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.
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)
The Five-factor model of
Personality Traits
• Created by Costa and McCrae and inspired by Goldberg’s
“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.
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.
Five-Factor Model of Personality
Traits 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.
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.”
Guardian(s)
Rational(s)
Artisan(s)
Idealist(s)
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 Jung’s
personality types.
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.newworldencyclopedia.org.