Trait Theory/Biological

1. Trait Theory/Biological Personality Perspectives Continued

2. Follow the directions! • Choose a name for the person in the picture. • Create a list of 5 personality traits you think may be used to describe the man in the picture. • What kind of job might this man have? • You will see pictures of 3 different men. • On a piece of paper please respond to the following questions/prompts.

3. Name and describe this man

4. Name and describe this man

5. Name and describe this man

6. William Sheldon-Somatotypes • According to this view human personality traits are underwritten, as it were, by human physical types. • Does this idea seem plausible? • Does body type dictate temperament? • To what extent does body type influence personality development, if at all? • 1940s’s study of 4,000 college aged men • Developed a theory that there are three basic body types, or somatotypes • Endomorphic • Mesomorphic • Ectomorphic • Each associated with personality characteristics, representing a correlation between physique and temperament

7. William Sheldon-Somatotypes

8. William Sheldon-Somatotypes

9. William Sheldon- Somatotypes

10. Trait Theory • A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. • Unlike other theories of personality, the trait approach is focused on differences between individuals. • Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality characteristics. • How many traits are there? • In the 1930’s there were 4,500 traits in 1990 it has been reduced to 5.

11. Gordon Allport’s Trait TheoryCardinal, Central, & Secondary • Allport categorized traits. • Cardinal • Traits that dominate an individuals whole life. • Consider the origins of the following terms • Freudian, Don Juan, Christ-like • rare and tend to develop later in life.

12. Gordon Allport’s Trait TheoryCardinal, Central, & Secondary • Central Traits: The general characteristics that form the basic foundations of personality. • These central traits, while not as dominating as cardinal traits, are the major characteristics you might use to describe another person. • Terms such as intelligent, honest, shy and anxious are considered central traits.

13. Gordon Allport’s Trait TheoryCardinal, Central, & Secondary • Secondary Traits: Traits that are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences • Often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances. • Some examples would be getting anxious when speaking to a group or impatient while waiting in line.

14. (Neuroticism)

15. Big 5 Model Raises 3 Issues Although traits are stable tendencies to behave in certain ways, this stability does not necessarily apply across situations • PERSON – SITUATION INTERACTION • What is more important? Innate tendencies… or situations? • Personality traits are both changeable and stable. • Most change occurs before age 30 • Conscientiousness ⇧ 20’s • Most stability occurs after age 30 • Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness ⇓ • Agreeableness ⇧ • Genetic Factorsmay push and pull the development of certain traits, whose development may be helped or hindered by environmental factors.

16. Big Five 5-Factor Model

17. Five-Factor Model (Big 5) OCEAN Mnemonic device • Organizes all personality traits into 5 categories.

18. Five-Factor Model (Big 5) OCEAN Mnemonic device

19. Five-Factor Model (Big 5) OCEAN Mnemonic device

20. Five-Factor Model (Big 5)OCEAN Mnemonic device

21. Five-Factor Model (Big 5)OCEAN Mnemonic Device

22. Social Cognitive Theory • 1960’s -70’s (Walter Mischel, Julian Rotter, Albert Bandura) • Emphasized a strong experimental approach Cognitive factors include our beliefs, expectations, values, and social roles as well as our biological and genetic influences. Behavior includes a variety of actions, such as what we do and say. Environmental influences include our social, political, and cultural influences as well as our particular learning experiences.

23. Locus of Control • Julian Rotter • Internal/external • Handout • How much control do we have over our situations or rewards? • Rotter’s findings indicate that a specific belief, such as how much control you believe you have, influences how you perceive your world; and in turn, affects how you behave.

24. Delay of Gratification-Mischel Should I take 1 marshmallow now or wait and get 2 later? • Refers to not taking an immediate but less desirable reward and instead waiting and pursuing an object or completing a task that promises a better reward in the future. • Related to self control, impulsiveness, & will power • How long children can wait for marshmallows depended upon what they attended to. • Imagined (15 minutes) • In front of them (6 minutes)

25. Self Efficacy • Refers to the confidence in your ability to organize and execute a given course of action to solve a problem or accomplish a task • “I think that I am capable of getting a high grade in this course.” is a sign of strong self-efficacy • You judge your SE by combining 4 sources of info. • You use previous experiences of successes & failures • You compare your capabilities with those of others • You listen to what others say about your capabilities • You usefeedback from your body to assess your strength, vulnerability, and capability. Some people have a strong sense of self efficacy that applies to many situations. Others have a strong sense that only applies to a few areas. Having either high or low self efficacy can increase or decrease your performance and success in a variety of tasks and personal behaviors.

26. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory • Personality development, growth, and change are influenced by 4 distinctively human cognitive processes • Highly developed language ability • Allows us to process and understand information that influences personality development • Observational learning • Watch, imitate, model • Purposeful behavior • Anticipate events, plan ahead, set goals • Self-analysis • Internal process that allows us to monitor our own thoughts and actions