Trait approach

•Allport‘s Trait theory
•Catell‘s Culture based system‘s theory
•Eyesenck‘s Biological theory
•Big Five Theory of Personality

A trait is a characteristic pattern of behavior or conscious
motive which can be self-assessed or assessed by peers

The term type is used to identify a certain collection of traits
that make up a broad, general personality classification

at birth the infant is almost entirely a creature of heredity

with growing maturity, we become increasingly
active, creative, self-reliant, and characteristically
rational, largely as a result of learning experiences

at birth the infant is almost entirely a creature of heredity

with growing maturity, we become increasingly active,
creative, self-reliant, and characteristically rational, largely as
a result of learning experiences

The proprium or self, and how they are shaped as the self
continues to develop as the person proceeds through the
lifespan.

Concept of Cardinal, Central, and Secondary Traits

Personal dispositions
Values

A Humanistic View of Personality

•Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic
behavior and thought
•person is in a state of becoming

traitsare the key structures within the self; traits initiate and
direct the individual‘s behavior in unique ways.

―ageneralized and focalized neuropsychic system(peculiar to
the individual) with the capacity to render many stimuli
functionally equivalent and to initiate and guide consistent
(equivalent) forms of adaptive and expressive behavior‖

•Characteristics that are pervasive and dominant in a
person‘s life

•These are master motives, ruling passions, eminent traits.

•Characteristicsthat control less of a person‘s behavior but
are nevertheless important

Descriptions of people-
intelligent, sincere, kind, possessive, competitive, ambitious,
funny, and honest.

•Characteristics that are peripheral to the person––
preferences

•Such traits are generally less important, less
conspicuous, less generalized, and less often called into play
than central traits.

Common traits are categories for classifying groups of
people on a particular dimension e.g. some people are more
dominant than others or that some people are more polite
than others.

The personal disposition is a unique characteristic of the
person, a trait not shared with others.

Substituting the term proprium for self, Allport used it to
mean a sense of what is ―peculiarly ours,‖ including ―all
aspects of personality that make for inward unity‖

The proprium, or self, develops continuously from infancy to
death and moves through a series of stages.

1. The bodily self-Infancy
2. Self-identity—by around 18 months
3. Self-esteem-2nd or 3rd year
4. Self-extension--4 to 6 years
5. Self-image
6. The self-as-rational-coper--6-12 years
7. Propriate striving- adolescence onwards
8. The self-as-knower—able to integrate all the aspects of
the proprium

•The development of the mature personality takes time, he
believed, so that only the adult is capable of coming close to
self-realization.

As their propriums develop, children also learn to protect
themselves against threats through the use of various
defensive strategies

Early childhood-Peripheral motives

Later,as the proprium develops, there is a shift from this
type of motivation and learning toward propriate strivings .

―Functionalautonomy regards adult motives as varied and
as self-sustaining, contemporary systems growing out of
antecedent systems but functionally independent of them‖

1. Extension of the sense of self-participate in activities
that go beyond themselves.
2. Warm relatedness to others—intimacy and compassion
3. Self-acceptance--emotionally secure.
4. Realistic perception of reality--do not continually distort
reality .
5. Self-objectification--insight into their own abilities and
limitations

commitment to religious beliefs can help organize and give
constructive meaning to our lives
extrinsic religious orientations with immaturity-use their
religion as a means to an end

Intrinsic religious orientations with maturity-as ends in
themselves.
Religious Orientation Scale (Allport and Ross, 1967) a
measure ofintrinsic and extrinsic religiosity based on
Allport‘s original conceptualization.

1.Theoretical: Focus on the discovery of truth, and interests
that are empirical, critical, and rational.
2. Economic: Focus on usefulness and being practical.
3. Aesthetic: Focus on form and harmony, and interests in
the artistic side of life.
4. Social: Focus on the altruistic love of others, and a
tendency to be kind, sympathetic, and unselfish.
5. Political: Focus on power over others, dominance,
influence, and social recognition.
6. Religious: Focus on unity, and a tendency to seek to
comprehend he cosmos as a whole.

male adolescents and young adults scored higher on the
theoretical, economic, and political values
females scored higher on the aesthetic, social, and religious
values

1.Constitutional and physiological diagnosis
2.studies of sociocultural membership status, and roles
3. personal documents and case studies
4.self-appraisal techniques, such as self-ratings and Q-sorts
5.conduct samplings, such as behavior assessments in
everyday situations +observer ratings personality tests and
scales
6.projective tests
7.depth analysis, such as free association and dream
Analysis
8. Synaptic measures
9. Idiographic approach to measuring personality

Catell was influenced by great
psychologists/psychometricians of the Era-Spearman, G.
Stanley Hall, Thorndike, William McDougall

personalityas a system in relation to the environment, and
seeks to explain the complicated ransactions between them
as they produce change and sometimes growth in the person

begin with empirical observation and description and, on
this basis, to generate a tentative rough hypothesis.

inductive-hypothetico-deductive spiral

Cattell relied heavily on factor analysis—a highly complicated
statistical procedure used to isolate and identify a limited
number of factors that underlie a larger group of observed,
interrelated variables

Surface vs Source traits

Cattell defined personality as ―that which tells what [a person]
will do when placed in a given situation‖

R =f(S, P)

Constitutional traits vs Environmental-Mold Traits

Multiple abstract variance analysis (MAVA)-Catell

AbilityTraits, Temperament Traits, and Dynamic Traits
Common vs Unique traits

Surface traits are ―simply a collection of trait elements, of
greater or lesser width of representation which obviously‗go
together‘ in many different individuals and circumstances‖

A source trait, in contrast, is the underlying factor that
controls the variation in the surface cluster

Cattellbegan by examining the 4500 trait names found in the
English language by Allport and Odbert.
Reduced them down by eliminating synonyms to 171

By observer ratings by experts-46 surface traits

16 primary factors or major source traits -These 16 basic traits
were then used in the construction of the Sixteen Personality
Factor (16 PF) Questionnaire( from A to Q)

1. Life data (or L-data)- data from the individual‘s natural,
everyday life behaviors, measuring their characteristic
behavior patterns in the real world.

2. Experimental data (or T-data) -which involves reactions to
standardized experimental situations created in a lab
where a subject‘s behavior can be objectively observed and
measured.

3. Questionnaire data (or Q-data), which involves responses
based on introspection by the individual about their own
behavior and feelings

(A), Reasoning ,Ability (B), Emotional Stability (C), Dominance
(E), Liveliness (F),Rule Consciousness (G), Social Boldness (H),
Sensitivity (I),Vigilance (L),Abstractedness (M), Privateness (N),
Apprehension (O), Openness to Change (Q1), Self-reliance
(Q2), Perfectionism (Q3), and Tension (Q4).

an erg is an innate drive triggered by stimuli in the
environment that ceases when its goal is reached.

attitudes
as specific interests in particular courses of action
toward certain objects in a given situation

Sentiments are large, complex attitudes. They incorporate a
host of interests, opinions, and minor attitudes.

dynamic traits are organized in complex ways within the
cognitive and motivational structure of the organism, and form
a dynamic lattice.

subsidiation—the process whereby certain dynamic traits are
subsidiary to (or dependent on) other traits.

Ergs↦Attitudes↦Sentiments

The dynamic lattice describes a complicated and often
bewildering intertwining of interests, attitudes, sentiments,
goals, and drives.

Heredity and Environment- prenatal development, maturation

Classical Conditioning- Fears and inhibitions

Instrumental conditioning-personality learning

Integration learning-form of cognitive and instrumental
learning in which the developing person uses ego and superego
processes to maximize long-term satisfactions.

Cattellsought to develop quantitative techniques to aid the
therapist in diagnosis and treatment

Clinical Analysis Questionnaire

Thorough psychometrician

Developed various eminent tests like the 16 PF, Clinical
Assessment questionnaire, Catell‘s Culture fair test of
intelligence, Early school personality questionnaire etc

Character denotes a person‘s more or less stable and enduring
system of conative behavior

temperament, his more or less stable and enduring system of
affective behavior (emotion)

intellect,his more or less stable and enduring system of
cognitive behavior (intelligence)

physique, his more or less stable and enduring system of
bodily configuration and neuroendocrine endowment

hierarchically organized, and consists of types, traits, and
habits.

each of the type concepts is based on a set of observed
intercorrelations among various traits

trait,
in turn, is inferred from intercorrelations among habitual
responses.

Habitualresponses, in turn, are based on specific observable
responses

On the basis of numerous factor analyses of personality data
gathered from different subject populations all over the
world, Eysenck derived two factors that could readily be labeled
introversion/extraversion and stability/neuroticism . Later, on
the basis of other statistical analyses, he postulated a third
dimension, impulse control/psychoticism .

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Eysenck
Personality Questionnaire - Revised(EPQ-R)

Extravertsare sociable and impulsive individuals who like
excitement and who are oriented toward external reality

introvertsare quiet, introspective individuals who are oriented
Toward inner reality and who prefer a well-ordered life
( Influenced by Carl Jung)

Neurotics are emotionally unstable individuals having
unreasonable fears of certain objects, places, persons, animals,
open spaces, or heights (Eysenck, 1965, p. 97); others may
exhibit obsessional or impulsive symptoms

Psychotics differ generally from neurotics in the severity of
their disorders. Showing the most severe type of
psychopathology, psychotics may be insensitive to others,
hostile, cruel, and inhumane, with a strong need to make fools
of people and to upset them.

INTROVERSION - EXTRAVERSION
Introversion: tender mindedness; introspectiveness; seriousness; performance interfered
with by excitement; easily aroused but restrained; inhibited; preference for solitary
vocations; sensitivity for pain
Extraversion: tough mindedness; impulsiveness; tendency to be outgoing; desire for
novelty; performance enhanced by excitement; preference for vocations involving contact
with other people; tolerance for pain
NEUROTICISM

Below-average emotional control, will-power, capacity to exert self; slowness in thought
and action; suggestibility; lack of persistence; tendency to repress unpleasant facts; lack of
sociability; below average sensory acuity but high level of activation
PSYCHOTICISM

Poor concentration; poor memory; insensitivity; lack of caring for others; cruelty; disregard
for danger and convention; occasionally originality and/or creativity; liking for unusual
things; considered peculiar by others

Why people who differed along the dimensions should behave
differently from one another
 a theory that had a strong physiological base, but did not
ignore environmental influences.

strongly determined by heredity and have their origins in the
cerebral cortex of the central nervous system
Eysenck maintained that extraverts have relatively strong
nervous system and weak excitatory processes. Thus, can
tolerate more stimulation.
Thus, the brains of extraverts react more slowly and weakly to

stimuli, thereby creating a stimulus hunger, or desire for strong
sensory stimulation
introverts are inherently more cortically

aroused, have brains that react more quickly and strongly to
stimuli and can tolerate only relatively small amounts of
stimulation.

Eysenck located the seat of neuroticism in the visceral brain, or
limbic system
The limbic system-the hippocampus, amygdala, cingulum,
septum, and hypothalamus—are involved in generating
emotionality

People high in neuroticism have lower thresholds for activity in
the visceral brain greater responsivity of the sympathetic
nervous system

Thus, neurotics are innately more reactive; they
overreact to even mild forms of stimulation

socialized
conduct is mediated by conscience, which he defines
as the sum total of an individual‘s learned or conditioned
Responses

Individualsdiffer in the degree to which they learn the rules of
society. Specifically, Eysenck proposed that introverts learn the
rules more quickly and efficiently than do extraverts.

1. Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal in 1961.
2. Lewis R. Goldberg
3. Costa and McCrae at the National Institutes of
Health

Openness to experience

appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas,
imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience
intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to
beauty
 more creative and more aware of their feelings

 unconventional beliefs

Divergent thinking

Conscientiousness is a tendency to show self-discipline, act
dutifully, and aim for achievement against measures or
outside expectations
a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior

Agreeableness
tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than
suspicious and antagonistic towards others
 Agreeable individuals value getting along with others

optimistic view of human nature.

 agreeableness is positively correlated with good team work
skills, it is negatively correlated with leadership skills

Neuroticism
tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger,
anxiety, or depression. It is sometimes called emotional
instability
They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as
threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult.
 poor ability to think clearly, make decisions, and cope
effectively with stress

NEO-PI
NEO-FFI
Big Five inventory

In its current iteration, ratings from three assessments combine to comprise the
essential criteria for a personality disorder:
(1) A rating of mild impairment or greater on the Levels of Personality Functioning (criterion
A),
(2) A rating of
(a) a “good match” or “very good match” to a Personality Disorder Type or
(b) “quite a bit” or “extremely” descriptive on one or more of six Personality Trait
Domains (criterion B).
(3) Diagnosis also requires relative stability of (1) and (2) across time and situations, and
excludes culturally normative personality features and those due to the direct physiological
effects of a substance or a general medical condition.

Self:
Identity: Experience of oneself as unique, with clear boundaries between self and
others; stability of self-esteem and accuracy of self-appraisal; capacity for, and ability
to regulate, a range of emotional experience
Self-direction: Pursuit of coherent and meaningful short-term and life goals;
utilization of constructive and prosocial internal standards of behavior; ability to self-
reflect productively
Interpersonal:
Empathy: Comprehension and appreciation of others’ experiences and motivations;
tolerance of differing perspectives; understanding of the effects of own behavior on
others
Intimacy: Depth and duration of positive connections with others; desire and
capacity for closeness; mutuality of regard reflected in interpersonal behavior

Personality domains associated with
Personality disorders

Negative Affectivity involves experiencing negative emotions frequently and
intensely.
Trait facets: Emotional lability, anxiousness, separation
insecurity, perseveration, submissiveness, hostility, depressivity, suspiciousness, res
tricted affectvity (-).
Detachment involves withdrawal from other people and from social interactions.
Trait facets: Restricted
affectivity, depressivity, suspiciousness, withdrawal, anhedonia, intimacy
avoidance,
Antagonism involves behaviors that put the person at odds with other people.
Trait facets: Manipulativeness, deceitfulness, grandiosity, attention
seeking, callousness, hostility
Disinhibition involves engaging in behaviors on impulse, without reflecting on
potential future consequences. Compulsivity is the opposite pole of this domain.
Trait facets: Irresponsibility, impulsivity, distractibility, risk taking, rigid
perfectionism (-).
Psychoticism involves unusual and bizarre experiences.
Trait facets: Unusual beliefs & experiences, eccentricity, cognitive & perceptual
dysregulation

•Cross-sectional research has demonstrated clear associations
between the traits of the FFM and PDs, leading some to speculate
that PDs may best be understood as extreme, maladaptive levels of
these five normal personality traits (Trull & McCrae, 1994)

Recent research has examined
age differences in the Big Five trait domains: Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to
Experience.(Soto, Gosling etal 2010)

Conscientiousness and Agreeableness show positive age trends
Neuroticism shows a negative trend

Extraversion and Openness to Experience show flat trends with minor
changes from time to time

Women score higher on the Five Factor Model (FFM) traits of
Neuroticism and Agreeableness (Costa, Terracciano & McCrae 2001). The
former reflects distress proneness and propensities toward the experience
of a variety of negative affects, while the latter reflects
amicability, altruism, trust, tendermindedness, and compliance.
 Costa et al. (2001) investigated gender differences across specific aspects
of these broad FFM domains, finding that men scored higher in some facets
of Openness, such as Openness to Ideas, while women scored higher in
others such as Openness to Aesthetics and Feelings.
Men scored higher in some facets of Extraversion such as Excitement
Seeking, while women scored higher in other Extraversion facets such as
Warmth. Comparisons at the aggregate level of Extraversion and Openness
are thus less meaningful

Budaev (1999) suggested an evolutionary hypothesis that Neuroticism and
Agreeableness together represent a single dimension with low Neuroticism
and low Agreeableness at one end, and high Neuroticism and high
Agreeableness at the other. His data suggested men and women fall at
opposite ends of this dimension

Gender differences were larger, rather than smaller, in industrialized
countries where more progressive socioculture gender role norms would
presumably lead to smaller differences(costa 2001)

David P. Schmitt is a personality psychologist who founded
the International Sexuality Description Project. The ISDP is the
largest-ever cross-cultural research study on sex and
personality.

13,243 participants from 56 nations responded to self-
report measures of personality and mating behavior

it appeared that the most
extraverted people tended to live in Serbia and Croatia, whereas the most
introverted
resided in Bangladesh and France. Post hoc analyses (e.g., Tukey’s
honestly significant
difference, HSD) confirmed these general national trends

 The most agreeable nations were the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Jordan, whereas Japan and Lithuania scored the lowest on
Agreeableness.
that the highest national scores on the BFI Neuroticism scale were from
Japan and Argentina, whereas the lowest national levels of Neuroticism
were obtained from Democratic Republic of the Congo and Slovenia.
Respondents from Chile and Belgium rated themselves as the most open to
experience, whereas the people of Japan and Hong Kong described
themselves as extremely low in Openness.
The top nations in Conscientiousness were the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and Ethiopia, whereas Japan and South Korea
scored the lowest.

There were some nations, and entire geographical regions, where the BFI
personality structure deviated slightly from the dominant personality
structure characteristic of most of the world. For example, we found in
Asia that the BFI structure was somewhat at odds with the U.S. structure.

Trait approach

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Trait approach