BIOLOGICAL & TRAIT THEORY Group 5: Jacqueline Le, Amanda Mak, Diana Obracaj, Sam Prestigiacomo, and Janice Quintero

Traits Traits are the permanent aspects that everyone has that are consistent in our interactions Cardinal Trait: One trait out of all the individual traits that has a dominate appearance  Central Trait: As said by Allport, they are "the building blocks of your personality." They help define your personality with specific traits such as smart, shy or grumpy.  Secondary Trait: are traits that are with a particular situation that aren't so straightforward or expected. These types of traits are depicted through situations such as preferences or attitudes. E.g. “he gets angry when you try to tickle him,” and “you can’t take him to restaurants.”

Gordon Allport  First professor to teach about personality theory  Believes that every person has a small number of traits that dominate their personality  Traits are environmentally influenced  As children develop, behaviors and interactions become part of the person's personality

Raymond Cattell Born in 1905 Ph. D in Psychology from Harvard in 1922 Set up a Sixteen Personality Factor Model in a quest to create a common group of traits using normal everyday adjectives to describe a standard of personalities. He studied people all over the world, from the US to Japan and of all different ages. His study has never been able to be replicated. People say that it couldn't be replicated because of Catell's methology, but when Kline and Barrett in 1983 tried, they could only verify 4 of 16 primary factors. He identified surface traits and source traits. "Surface traits represent clusters of correlated variables and source traits represent the underlying structure of the personality." The table compiles the surface traits as descriptors in relation to source traits within a high and low range.  Table 1. Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model (Adapted From Conn & Rieke, 1994). Table 1. Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model (Adapted From Conn & Rieke, 1994).

Factor Analysis  Often associated with intelligence research, personality, attitudes, beliefs, etc.  Correlation between variables exist because of their dependency on one or more of the same factors  Ex: reading comprehension and vocabulary are highly correlated  Someone who got a high score on a test that measures verbal ability will also do well on other tests involving verbal abilities  Using factor analysis, Hans Eysenck determined that all human traits could be broken down into extroversion-introversion and neuroticism. He called these two categories supertraits. According to him, everyone, at some point, begins to see patterns in how they respond to certain stimuli, both external and internal. The specific responses will be different, depending on things like the intensity of the stimuli, the situation, and state of mind.

Hans Eysenck  Determined that all human traits can be broken down into two categories (supertraits)  Extroversion-introversion  Neuroticism  Everyone, at some point, see patterns in their reactions, depending on  Intensity of stimuli  Situation  State of mind

Myers Briggs Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Purpose: make theory of psychological types described by C.G. Jung understandable Theory: “random” variation of behavior is actually consistant Extraversion/introversion Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or your own inner world? Sensing/intuition Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? Thinking/feeling Do you look at logic and consistency first when making decisions, or do you look at people and special circumstances? Judging/Perceiving In regard to the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or stay open to new ideas? All types of personalities are equal

Keirsey Temperament Sorter  Created by David Keirsey  Based on the Myers-Briggs Temperament Indicator  Looks at one’s temperament and learning style  There are four temperaments:  Rational  Idealist  Artisan  Guardian

ARTISANGUARDIANRATIONALIDEALIST Promoter (ESTP) Supervisor (ESTJ) Fieldmarshal (ENTJ) Teacher (ENFJ) Crafter (ISTP) Inspector (ISTJ) Mastermind (INTJ) Counselor (INFJ) Performer (ESFP) Provider (ESFJ) Inventor (ENTP) Champion (ENFP) Composer (ISFP) Protector (ISFJ) Architect (INTP) Healer (INFP) Character Types Temperament & Character Type TECHNICAL TERMS MEANING TECHNICAL TERMS MEANING (E) Extroversion Expressivevs. (I) Introversion Attentive (S) Sensing Observantvs. (N) Intuiting Introspective (T) Thinking Tough-Mindedvs. (F) Feeling Friendly (J) Judging Scheduledvs. (P) Perceiving Probing

 Four Patterns:  NF: Intuitive Feeler- Sees commitments as false goals for other people but there is always a potential good for them. Wants to attain self actualization. Searches for meaning and perfection.  NT: Intuitive Thinker- Not very common (12%). Have power over nature. Intelligent and self critical. Do not expect a lot from others besides to attempt to be as good as the NT person.  SJ: Sensing Judger- More common (38%). Has a need to belong. When dependent on something they feel guilt. Gives but won’t receive. Wants to useful and responsible.  SP: Sensing Perceiver- As common as SJ. Makes the best out of everything- impulsive. Does not hold goals strongly. Free spirited. Easily bored and prone to accidents.

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa  Creators of the Five Factor Theory  Explain how the Big Five Factors work with personality  Biological and environmental factors affect personality  Created the NEO PI-R  “240- item inventory” true false test  Takes the Big Five and it’s six “facets” which are traits that take into account a general personality e.g. neuroticism and anxiety  Measures: Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientious  Studied personality in adulthood

The Big Five Expanded set of personality dimensions used to create a more detailed, complete picture of a subject’s consistent personality. The traits examined in the Big Five model are: Conscientiousness: ranges from organized and meticulous to disorganized and impulsive Agreeableness: ranges from extremely sympathetic and friendly to uncooperative and malicious Neuroticism: ranges from calm and stable (easily faces stress) to insecure and anxious Openness: ranges from extremely open-minded (independent, willing to try new things) to radically practical or traditional Extraversion: ranges from sociable and bold in interaction to reserved and timid. These traits are often remembered using the acronym C.A.N.O.E. or if switched around for preference, O.C.E.A.N. Initial model developed by Tupes and Cristal in the 1950’s “Five Factor Model” extensively researched and publicized by Costa and McCrae (1999)

Five Factor Model of Personality Traits  Also referred as the “Big Five” which was coined by Lew Goldberg  Corresponds to research of personality traits using personality tests  Helps explain human personality but of course does not explain all  Assumes that behaviors and personality can be picked out with trait theory

Big Five Personality Traits and Genetics  The current belief is that about 50% of behavior is directly hereditary, affected also by environment. Genes code for proteins, which could cause differences in the function and development of the brain. Although “bad” genes might be cited, environment might be responsible for triggering certain behaviors in which we have a genetic disposition. 

Personality Inventories Tests used to determine where somebody sits on the scale of each of the Big Five factors are called personality inventories, which are also used to determine and describe other selected traits. Personality inventories are usually standardized questionnaires used to assess and predict behavior and personality traits in subjects. They tend to be longer and commonly use paraphrased questions to determine validity.

MMPI- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory  Personality inventory used to identify mental health problems. Developed by Hathaway and McKinley (1930’s) updated and republished in 1989 as MMPI-II.  Uses yes or no questions to place the subject on scales for specific traits. Subjects answer questions with no explanation, only with the answer that applies to them  Answers compared to the results from a control group  Uses paraphrasing or linked questions to measure consistency and validity of results  Criticized for being taken seriously as a diagnosis. The MMPI only places the subject compared to statistics collected from others.

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