1. Theories of Personality Eysenck, McCrae and Costa
Chapter 14
© 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

2. Outline Overview of Factor and Trait Theories
Biography of Hans J. Eysenck
The Pioneering Work of Raymond Cattell
Basics of Factor Analysis
Eysenck’s Factor Theory
Dimensions of Personality
Measuring Personality
Biological Bases of Personality
Cont’d

3. Outline Personality as a Predictor The Big Five: Taxonomy or Theory?
Biographies of Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr.
In Search of the Big Five
Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory
Related Research
Critique of Trait and Factor Theories
Concept of Humanity

4. Overview of Factor and Trait Theories
Utilize Factor Analytic Methods to Determine How Many Traits or Dispositions
Disagreement on How Many Personality Traits
Cattell: Many Factors
Eysenck: Three Factors
McCrae and Costa: Five Factors

5. Biography of Eysenck Born in Berlin, Germany in 1916
As a teenager, moved to England to escape Nazis
Received his PhD in psychology at the University of London in 1940
Published Dimensions of Personality in 1947
One of the most prolific and controversial psychologists in the world
Died in 1997 at age 81

6. Cattell’s Trait Theory
Cattell’s Method
Used inductive method to gather data
Used three different media of observation
L data
Q data
T data
Divided traits into common and unique traits
His approach yielded 35 primary or first-order traits

7. Basics of Factor Analysis
Correlation coefficient
Factor analysis
Factors
Factor loadings
Unipolar and bipolar traits
Eysenck  orthogonal rotation
Cattell  oblique rotation

8. Eysenck’s Factor Theory
Criteria for Identifying Factors
Psychometric evidence
Heritability
Must make sense from a theoretical point of view
Must possess social relevance
Hierarchy of Behavior Organization (from lowest to highest)
Specific acts or cognitions
Habitual acts or cognitions
Traits
Types or superfactors

9. Dimensions of Personality
Three General Superfactors
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Psychoticism

10. Measuring Personality
Eysenck created four inventories for measuring superfactors:
Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI)
Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), which was revised (EPQ-R)

11. Biological Basis of Personality
Three fourths of personality dimensions can be accounted for by heredity
Found these factors to exist cross-culturally
Stability of traits over time
Twin research suggests strong similarities on these dimensions

12. Personality as a Predictor
Personality and Behavior
Eysenck & Eysenck (1985)
Eysenck & Eysenck (1975)
Personality and Disease
Several studies have found an association between personality and disease
These do not prove that psychological factors cause disease, but they may interact with other factors to create risk

13. The Big Five: Taxonomy or Theory?
Taxonomies are not theories
The Five-Factor Model began as an attempt to identify basic personality traits as revealed by factor analysis
Evolved into a taxonomy
The model then became a theory
It can predict and explain behavior

14. Biographies of Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr.
Robert McCrae was born in Maryville, Missouri in 1949
Youngest of three children
Completed PhD in psychology at Boston University, where he was referred to Paul Costa
Began collaborating in 1976
Costa was born in Franklin, New Hampshire in 1942
He received his PhD in human development from the University of Chicago in 1970
The collaboration between McCrae and Costa has been fruitful, producing over 200 joint publications

15. In Search of the Big Five
Five Factors Found
Costa and McCrae utilized every major personality inventory and came up with a five-factor solution
Most personality psychologists have opted for this model
Cross-cultural
Demonstrate stability over time
Description of the Five Factors
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Openness
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness

16. Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory
Units of the Five-Factor Theory
Core Components of Personality
Basic tendencies
Characteristic adaptations
Self-concept
Peripheral Components
Biological bases
Objective biography
External Influences
Basic Postulates
Postulates for Basic Tendencies
Postulates for Characteristic Adaptations

17. Related Research Biology and Personality Personality and Culture
Beauducel et al. (2009)
Eysenck (1990)
Stelmack (1990, 1997)
Doucet & Stelmack (2000)
Dornick & Ekehammer (1990)
Personality and Culture
McCrae (2002)
Poortinga et al. (2000)
Traits and Academics
Noftle & Robins (2007)
Traits and Emotion
McNiel & Fleeson (2009)
Robinson & Clore (2007)

18. Critique of Trait and Factor Theories
Trait and Factor Theories are:
Very High on Generating Research and Parsimony
High on Organizing Knowledge
Moderate on Falsifiability
Moderate to Low as a Guide for Practitioners and Internal Consistency

19. Concept of Humanity
Eysenck, McCrae and Costa are not concerned with concepts of determinism versus free choice, optimism versus pessimism, and causality versus teleology
Biology over Social Influence
Conscious over Unconscious
Uniqueness over Similarity