Personality Theory

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Personality Theory

• Chapter 9 Trait Theory Gordon Allport, Raymond
  Cattell, Hans Eysenck, and the Big Five

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An Introduction to Trait Theory

• Traits have a long history in psychology, in
  culture, and in language.
• We must note the distinction between traits and
  types.
• Traits are continuous dimensions
• Types are categorical.
• Jung didnt observe the distinction neither did
  Hans Eysenck.
• We wont make a strict distinction.

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Where Does Knowledge of Traits Come From?

• Trait names exist in language in every culture
  and time.
• This is the lexical hypothesis that the folk
  wisdom of language fully describes traits.
• Traits are intuitively appealing.
• But are they scientifically explanatory, beyond
  the subjective?
• We must be able to predict and to find
  antecedents.

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Gordon Willard Allport

• Born in Indiana, Allport grew up in a Cleveland,
  Ohio suburb
• His father was a country doctor
• Youngest of 4 boys he followed an elder brother,
  Floyd, into psychology
• Harvard University in economics and philosophy
• On graduation, taught at Robert College in
  Istanbul

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• Met Freud in Vienna disappointed in
  psychoanalysis
• He returned to Harvard
• Obtained a PhD in 1922
• Exposure to European psychologists on travelling
  fellowship induced him to abandon behaviourism.

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• Return to Harvard and then spent 4 years at
  Dartmouth College
• He then went back to Harvard, and remained
• He died in 1967
• A truly American psychologist
• eclectic, inclusive in his personality theory

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• Honoured by presidency of American Psychological
  Association and Distinguished Scientific
  Contribution Award

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• Extensive research and writing in personality
• Personality A Psychological Interpretation
  (1937), The Nature of Prejudice (1954), Pattern
  and Growth in Personality (1961), Letters from
  Jenny (1965)
• Studies of expressive movement
• Personality tests

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• Allports theory is no longer accepted, but his
  influence survives in the notion of traits.
• To Allport, personality and its constituents are
  real.
• Personality is what a person really is.
• Patterned uniqueness requires an idiographic
  approach, not a nomothetic one.
• Traits are structural, both cognitively and
  physiologically.

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• There are different types of traits.
• Common traits, characteristic of people
• Personal dispositions, characteristic of
  individuals (the structure of a given
  personality)
• Cardinal dispositions dominate a personality.
• Central dispositions are distinguishing traits
  that determine behaviour.
• 5 to 10 per individual

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• Secondary dispositions are minor traits.
• How many common traits are there?
• An empirical problem. Consider the trait names in
  the language there are 4,000-5,000.
• How do traits determine behaviour?
• Interaction with situations, a pioneering view
• Idiographic study of Jenny a model

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Factor Analysis

• Factor analysis is a statistical technique for
  reducing large matrices of correlation
  coefficients to a small number of factors.
• 2 major procedures
• Orthogonal, yielding independent factors
• Oblique, yielding correlated factors
• Cattell thought the oblique analysis was
  appropriate to personality.

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• Having obtained factors, we can determine
  individual scores on factors.
• Cattell reduced a list of 4,500 trait names to
  171
• obtained ratings on a large sample and
  intercorrelated ratings
• after factor analysis of different types of data,
  he arrived at 16 factors the basic traits of
  personality
• developed a personality test, the 16PF Inventory

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• What kinds of data?
• Life record (L-data)
• Personality questionnaire (Q-data)
• Objective (T-data)
• not evident whats being measured

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• Two approaches
• Measure many subjects on many variables, then
  correlate and factor analyze R-technique
• Measure 1 individual on many occasions
  P-technique

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Raymond Bernard Cattell

• Born in 1905 in the county of Staffordshire,
  England and grew up on Devonshire coast
• His father was a mechanical engineer
• Seeing badly wounded WWI soldiers at a nearby
  hospital emphasized his understanding of the
  fragility of life

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• He entered the University of London at age 16,
  majoring in chemistry
• Turned to psychology after reading British
  philosophers
• Graduate study in psychology at the University of
  London
• His PhD advisor was Charles Spearman, the creator
  of factor analysis

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• He was invited to Columbia University, then Clark
  University, Harvard, and finally, in 1945, the
  University of Illinois
• After his retirement, he performed research in
  Colorado, and then Hawaii
• Major award withdrawn after accusation of racism
• He died in 1998

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• An incredibly prolific researcher and writer.
• The Description and Measurement of Personality
  (1946), An Introduction to Personality Study
  (1949), Personality A Systematic Theoretical
  and Factual Study (1950), Personality and
  Motivation Structure and Measurement (1957), and
  The Scientific Analysis of Personality (1966)

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Emphases and Major Concepts

• The definition of personality that which
  permits prediction of what a person will do.
• Personality is made up of traits.
• Surface traits descriptive but not inclusive
• Source traits only discovered by factor
  analysis, they are the basic dimensions of
  personality (number 16)
• Constitutional source traits
• Environmental-mold traits

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A Set of Ten Traits Rated on a Sample of Subjects

• Adaptable versus Rigid
• Emotional versus Calm
• Conscientious versus Unconscientious
• Conventional versus Unconventional
• Prone to jealousy versus Not jealous

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• Considerate and polite versus Inconsiderate and
  rude
• Quitting versus Determined
• Tender versus Tough
• Self-effacing versus Egotistical
• Languid, fatigued, and slow versus Energetic,
  alert, and active

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Cattells 16 Personality Factors, in Order of
Amount of Variance
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• Ability traits (e.g., intelligence)
• Fluid intelligence innate problem-solving
  ability
• Test with culture-fair intelligence test
• Crystallized intelligence from experience
• Test with standard intelligence test
• Both are influenced by heredity.
• Temperament traits constitutional and emotional

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• Dynamic traits
• Attitudes
• Sentiments environmental-mold traits at an
  intermediate level
• Ergs motivate behaviour.
• Cattell claimed 10 ergs identified in factor
  analytic studies
• Hunger, sex, gregariousness, parental
  protectiveness, curiosity, escape, pugnacity,
  acquisitiveness, self-assertion, narcissistic sex

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• Attitudes are subsidiary to sentiments which are
  subsidiary to ergs.
• The dynamic lattice
• Most important of the sentiments is the self, the
  master sentiment.
• Prediction from trait measurement
• The specification equation

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The Specification Equation

• R is the response to be predicted.
• s refers to the relevance of the trait to the
  situation
• the greater the relevance, the bigger the value
  of s).
• If a trait is relevant but inhibitory, s will
  have a negative sign.

R s1T1 s2T2 s3T3 snTn
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• T refers to traits.
• The equation assumes that traits are independent
  and additive in their effects.
• It is simple but effective.

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Personality Development

• Study personality by taking personality factor
  measures at different ages
• A bridging strategy
• Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis (MAVA)
  involves study of twins and estimates of
  heritability and environ-mental influence
• Hereditys influential but learning also plays a
  role in personality development.
• The factor analytic approach to society
  syntality of social group and society

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Research and Implications

• The entirety of Cattells theory is research
  based.
• Implications
• Traits are built in to the person.
• Data from an unimpeachable source (everyones
  language)
• Similar trait structures in other societies
• Since we can predict from traits, we must be on
  the right track.

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Cattells Factor Analytic Theory in Perspective

• A massive amount of research
• Factor analysis works in extracting basic
  dimensions from trait names.
• Is the theory not a theory at all but a catalogue
  of abstract attributes?
• Cattell did attempt to predict individual
  behaviour through the specification equation.

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• Cattell was a prisoner of his psychological
  heritage from Spearman and Galton.

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Introduction to Hans Eysencks Type-Trait Theory

• Eysenck was influenced by factor analysis and by
  Galton
• Cultural and historical ideas important in
  identifying traits
• The humours of Hippocrates
• 3 basic ideas
• Traits determine behaviour
• Traits derive from types
• Types are constitutional in origin and are
  dimensional.

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• 2 dimensions of classic temperaments
• Stable versus Unstable (emotions)
• Changeable versus Unchangeable
• Introversion-Extraversion replaced the
  Changeable-Unchangeable dimension.
• A 3rd dimension psychoticism versus normality

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• These are phenotypes. What about the genotypes?
• Neural processes
• Behaviour genetics

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Hans Jurgen Eysenck

• Eysenck was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1916 to
  actor parents
• His parents divorced when he was 2 and he was
  raised by his grandmother
• He was an opponent of Hitler while he was young,
  but was protected from repercussions because of
  his athletic talent

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• Eysenck left Germany in 1934 for France. Shortly
  thereafter he moved to England and began studying
  psychology at the university of London
• PhD in 1938 under Cyril Burt
• In 1947 became both a professor and the director
  of the Psychology Department at the Institute of
  Psychiatry

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• Incredibly productive scholar 1,097 articles
  and 79 books.
• Just a few of his books Dimensions of
  Personality (1947), The Scientific Study of
  Personality (1952), A Model for Personality
  (1981), The Biological Basis of Personality
  (1967)
• Founded 2 important journals and developed
  personality questionnaires
• Died in 1997

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Emphases and Major Concepts

• A test of the dimensions of psychiatric disorders
  (Jungs dimensions)
• Neuroticism versus normality
• The neurotic is an emotional worrier
• Stable normals are calm, even-tempered, unworried
• Introversion versus extraversion
• Neurotic introverts are dysthymic
• Neurotic extraverts are hysteric

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• These type dimensions are super-factors
• The sociable extravert
• The quiet, retiring introvert
• Psychoticism The high scorer is solitary,
  doesnt care for people, hostile, poorly
  socialized

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• A basic difference between Eysenck and Cattell
• Cattell used factor analysis to discover traits
• Eysenck used factor analysis to test hypotheses
  about types and traits

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• Whats behind types and traits?
• From Pavlov and Hullian learning theory
• Excitation and inhibition
• Hulls inhibition R D X H - I
• A typological postulate

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Eysencks Typological Postulate
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• Experimental tests of excitation-inhibition
  differences
• Monotonous task Extraverts build up inhibition
  and take rest periods
• Vigilance task Introverts are more vigilant and
  keep up with task
• Eye-blink conditioning dysthymics (neurotic
  introverts) condition better than neurotic
  extraverts (hysterics) or normals

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• Problem conditioning studies dont replicate.
  Did certain experimental details cause failures?
• A basis for excitation-inhibition an arousal
  model
• Differences in Ascending Reticular Activating
  System (ARAS) arousal are responsible for
  excitation-inhibition differences
• Neuroticism-normality involves the Visceral Brain
  (limbic system).

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• A 3rd proposal if arousal motivation, more
  aroused introverts will reach maximum more
  quickly than extraverts.
• Confirming experimental tests

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Eysencks Biological Basis of Personality
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Research and Implications

• Like Cattells theory, Eysencks is research
  intensive.
• It is also a better formal theory.
• Implications
• Personality is best conceived dimensionally
• A theory relating type-trait phenotypes to
  genotypes

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• Requirements to show biological basis of
  personality
• Superfactors show heritability
• Same factors in nonhuman animals
• Superfactors are cross-cultural
• Superfactors are stable in time
• Twin study evidence confirms the heritability of
  types.

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Type-Trait Theory in Perspective

• Theory and research are impressive and
  believable.
• The theory is vulnerable on the person-situation
  interaction.
• We dont have to anchor psychological processes
  in biology.

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• Critics have noted that research was not all
  confirmatory.
• Despite empirical inadequacies, there is no
  comparable theory. Do you agree?

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Big Five Theory

• The Big Five Theory begins with the question How
  many traits are there?
• A number of factor researchers have found 5, not
  16 or 3.
• Two researchers, Robert McCrae and Paul Costa,
  Jr., argue for the lexical hypotheses.
• They developed a personality questionnaire to
  measure traits and emerged with 5.

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Examples of NEO-PI-R Items

• Habits I keep my belongings neat and clean.
• Attitudes We can never do too much for the poor
  and elderly.
• Relationships Most people I know like me.

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• Preferences I find philosophical arguments
  boring.
• Social skills I dont find it easy to take
  charge of a situation.

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Five-Factor Names, in Order of Date of the
Research (Costa and McCrae are at Bottom,
Italicized)
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• Theres a very large collection of research
  literature
• Findings
• Cross-cultural replication of superfactors
• Many confirmed trait predictions
• e.g., conscientiousness predicts safe sex,
  responsive parenting extraversion predicts
  social prominence
• Strong heritability findings on traits

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Big Five Theory in Perspective

• An impressive body of evidence that is persuasive
  for 5 traits
• Is it a theory?
• Perhaps not yet

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Take-Home Messages

• Personality traits are part of language, culture,
  and history.
• There is a distinction between traits
  (dimensional) and types (categorical)
• Not maintained by modern theorists
• The lexical hypothesis trait description from
  language
• The trait theory of Gordon Allport

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• Gordon Allport
• Born in 1897, a midwesterner, one of 4 sons of a
  physician
• Followed older brother to Harvard (economics and
  philosophy major)
• A year teaching in Turkey after graduation met
  Freud in Vienna
• Graduate school in psychology PhD, 1922

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• Studied in Europe, then return to Harvard,
  Dartmouth, Harvard permanently
• Extensive research and writing on personality
• Significant influence, but personality theory
  mostly rejected
• Personality and traits are real

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• 2 approaches to personality
• Study of the individual (idiographic)
• Search for general laws (nomothetic)
• Kinds of traits
• Common traits (characteristic of people)
• Personal dispositions (individual traits)
• Cardinal dispositions
• Central dispositions
• Secondary dispositions

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• How many common traits?
• 4,000-5,000
• Trait-situation interaction
• Allport had a major influence on important
  psychologists
• Factor Analytic Trait Theory
• Factor analysis a statistical method to find
  meaningful clusters in large correlation matrices

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• Start with trait names in language, obtain
  ratings on subjects, correlate, factor analyze
• 3 types of data
• Life record (L-data),
• Questionnaire (Q-data),
• Objective (T-data)

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• 2 techniques
• Measure many subjects on many variables
  (R-technique)
• Measure 1 individual on many occasions
  (P-technique)

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• Raymond Cattell
• Born in west of England in 1905, father a
  mechanical engineer
• University of London (chemistry major)
• Graduate school in psychology factor analyst
  Charles Spearman his PhD advisor
• Columbia University, then Harvard, then finally
  University of Illinois

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• A prodigious researcher and writer
• A major influence on factor study of personality
• Death in 1998 at 92
• Emphases and major concepts in factor theory
• Personality is what enables us to predict
  behaviour

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• Personality traits
• Surface traits
• Source traits
• Constitutional
• Environmental-mold
• Ability traits
• Fluid and Crystallized intelligence
• Temperament traits

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• Dynamic traits
• Attitudes, sentiments, ergs
• A dynamic lattice
• The specification equation to predict behaviour
• Personality development
• Measure same traits at different ages
• Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis (MAVA) to
  study heritability and environmental influence
• Factor analysis of social groups

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• Research and implications
• A theory with an exhaustive research base
• Implications
• Factor analysis the perfect method to reveal
  personality.
• Start with best possible data trait names in
  the language
• Cross cultural replication
• Genetic influence on traits

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• Factor analytic theory in perspective
• The theory makes sense, but is it a theory or
  just a descriptive catalogue? Was Cattell a
  prisoner of his intellectual heritage?
• Type-trait theory
• Personality types from the ancients
• Hippocrates and personality structure
• The contributions of Jung
• Introversion-extraversion, neuroticism-normality,
  psychoticism-normality

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• Hans Eysenck
• Born in Berlin, 1916 to actor parents
• Raised by grandmother
• Hatred of Nazis
• Left Germany in 1934 for France, then London,
  England
• Studied psychology at the University of London
• PhD in 1940 under Cyril Burt

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• Research psychologist until wars end
• Director of Psych. Dept. and professor, Institute
  of Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital
• Even more prolific than Cattell (1097 articles,
  79 books) both influential books on personality
  and popular books about psychology and
  personality personality questionnaires
• Died in 1997

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• Emphases and major concepts in type-trait theory
• A test of Jungs dimensions produced 2
  superfactors
• Introversion-extraversion
• Neuroticism-normality
• A 3rd factor psychoticism
• Factor analysis used to test hypotheses about
  types-traits

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• What causes personality types?
• A learning theory from Pavlov and Hull
• Excitation-inhibition
• Introverts high in excitation
• Extraverts weak in excitation, rapidly build up
  inhibition
• Experimental tests of hypotheses from theory
  mostly confirmed

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• An arousal theory subsumes the excitation-inhibiti
  on theory
• Introversion-extraversion derives from arousal
  effects of Ascending Reticular Activating System
  (ARAS)
• Neuroticism-normality derives from activation of
  Visceral Brain (limbic system)
• Experimental tests are mostly confirmatory
• Research and implications
• Theory research based at every step

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• Implications
• Personality is a dimensional structure of
  types-traits
• Types and traits from language and
  cultural/historical wisdom
• Strict requirements to demonstrate biological
  basis of personality, including heritability,
  cross-cultural evidence, stability, replication
  in animals
• Type-trait theory in perspective
• Vast amount of research on a credible theory

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• But . . .
• Research not all confirmatory
• Neural model outdated
• Theories of personality dont have to be
  biologically based.
• Despite shortcomings, is it the best theory there
  is?

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• Big Five Theory
• Starts with the lexical hypothesis
• The question How many traits are there?
• Costa and McCrae develop a personality
  questionnaire to measure traits.
• Factor analyses disclose 5 factors
• Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to
  Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness

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• Factors show up cross-culturally
• There is impressive genetic evidence
• A causal model
• But does it qualify as a theory?