The Trait Perspective on Personality

1. The Trait Perspective on Personality From Freud, psychoanalysis and the un-measurable unconscious to rock solid traits and characteristics

2. The Trait Perspective • People have tried to classify and label people’s personalities for thousands of years • It all started with the Ancient Greeks • Labeled people and personality in terms of humors or the type of body fluid flowing in a person 4 types • Blood – Sanguine – cheerful and passionate • Black Bile – Melancholic – unhappy and depressed • Yellow Bile – Choleric – angry and hot-tempered • Phlegm – Phlegmatic – dull and unemotional

3. Identifying Traits • Eventually people moved on from “humor” to body type as a measurement of personality • However, most psychologists realized that this was an oversimplified way of looking at personality • So they went about finding new ways to define personality

4. Trait A relatively stable set of characteristics that influences your thoughts, feelings, and behavior • Believed to be found in your Genes and DNA Trait vs. States What is the Difference?? trait = stable and consistent over time state = a temporary emotional condition dependent on situation and motive May have trait of calmness but be in a state of anxiety UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE!!

5. How do we measure or find out our personality traits? Objective Tests • a questionnaire where people respond to different items attempting to measure aspects (traits) of their personality • Yes-no, true-false, agree-disagree • Also called Personality Inventories

6. MMPI Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory: • the most widely used personality inventory test. • 567 questions • Originally used to identify emotional/mental disorders. Now used for screening purposes.

7. Advantages and Disadvantages of Objective Tests • Get standard answers to standardized questions • However, contain transparent questions • Often will include lie detectors • Social desirability bias • people might state what they wish were true rather than what IS true • BAD !!! – Objective Tests don’t tell us WHY we behave the way we do – they just tell us HOW we behave

8. The Theories Behind the Tests

9. Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory • Believed traits were inherited but influenced by experience • Believed some traits were more important than others • Central Traits or Source Traits • Easily recognized and have a strong influence on personality • example – competitiveness, generosity, independence • Secondary Traits or Surface Traits • More specific to certain situations and have less effect on personality • traits like personal styles and preferences (particular styles of clothing or types of music that affect behavior in fewer situations) • Allport believed in total there were around 16,000 different types of traits

10. Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Traits Believed that Allport went to far with his traits • Identified only 16 fundamental traits that all people posses • Each trait is represented on a continuum (scale) and they are found in every person to some degree on the continuum • To measure these traits Cattell used a test called the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF for short) 16 personality factors However, many psychologists still thought this was still too many traits

11. Hans Eysenck: A simpler Trait Model 3 major traits • Introversion – Extraversion • Are people outward or inward focused? • Neuroticism • Emotional instability or stability • Psychoticism • Cold and hostile, or warm and concerned with others The combination of these produced 4 basic personality types

12. Extraverted-Neurotic Introverted-Neurotic Introverted-Stable Extraverted-Stable

13. 16 to many - - 3 to few The Big Five - Five-Factor Model (FFM) • Openness (to experience) • imaginative, curious, intellectual, open to nontraditional values vs. conforming, practical, conventional • Sample Openness items • I am full of ideas. - I am quick to understand things. - I have a rich vocabulary. I have a vivid imagination. – I prefer practical ideas (reversed) - I do not have a good imagination. (reversed) - I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas. (reversed) • Conscientiousness • organized reliable, hardworking • Sample Conscientiousness items • I am always prepared. - I am exacting in my work. - I follow a schedule. - I get chores done right away. - I like order. - I leave my belongings around. (reversed) - I make a mess of things. (reversed) - I often forget to put things back in their proper place. (reversed)

14. Extraversion • Active, energetic, affectionate • Sample Extraversion items • I am the life of the party. - I don't mind being the center of attention. - I feel comfortable around people. - I start conversations. - I am quiet around strangers. (reversed) - I don't like to draw attention to myself. (reversed) - I don't talk a lot. (reversed) - I have little to say. (reversed) Agreeableness • Forgiving, generous, trusting • Sample Agreeableness items • I am interested in people. - I feel others’ emotions. - I have a soft heart. - I am not really interested in others. (reversed) - I feel little concern for others. (reversed) - I insult people. (reversed)

15. Neuroticism • (our level of emotional instability/stability) anxious, tense, vulnerable • Sample Neuroticism items • I am easily disturbed. - I change my mood a lot. - I get irritated easily. - I get stressed out easily. - I am relaxed most of the time. (reversed) - I seldom feel blue. (reversed) Remember by = OCEAN

16. Personality by Birth Order • Modern theories • Myers-Briggs

17. Personality Tests • http://theinkblot.com/index.htm • online inkblot test – fun to take but don’t make much of the results • http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html • get a myers-briggs personality type – good test with good summaries • http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp • Jung personality profile – great, in-depth test • http://similarminds.com/cattell-16-factor.html • Cattell’s 16 Factor Test • http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/simpsons/ • - find out what Simpson you most resemble