Chapter 4

The Trait Perspective

Modified: 2022-06-26 2:49 pm

The history of the trait perspective goes back thousands of year to Galen's four humors. Today, non-psychologists use traits informally. Psychologists differentiate between personality types (a category seldom used any more) and personality traits. Cattell and Eysenck developed early scientific trait theories. At present, the Big Five personality factors dominate this approach but not without criticism and modification.

• Learning Objectives:
  • •4.1 Distinguish between traits and types
    •4.2 Identify two different pathways to deciding which traits are important
    •4.3 Identify the five trait dimensions in the five-factor model
    •4.4 Describe behavioral manifestations of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism
    •4.5 Contrast the five-factor model to Eysenck’s model
    •4.6 Relate other models of traits to the five-factor model
    •4.7 Contrast the approach to behavior termed situationism and the one termed interactionism
    •4.8 Identify the concept of behavioral signature
    •4.9 Examine assessment and comparisons of profiles as inherent to the trait approach to personality
  • •4.10 Identify implications of the five-factor model for understanding disorder
    4.11 Identify two main criticisms of the trait approach to personality
• 4.1 Types and Traits (p. 30)
  • The trait theory exemplifies two main points:
    • People are consistent in their actions, thoughts, and feelings over time and situations
    • People differ from each other
    • The intersection among traits in any given perwon defines personality
  • Type Theories go back into antiquity
    • Hippocrates and Galen promoted four types based upon bodily fluids:
      • choleric (irritable)
      • melancholic (depressed)
      • sanguine (optimistic)
      • phlegmatic (calm)
    • In the 20th century Jung divided people into two groups:
      • introverts
      • extroverts
    • Today, type theories of personality have faded from psychology
    • Type theories are discontinuous
    • Trait theories are continuous
    • See Figure 4.1 (below)

• 4.1.1 Nomothetic and Ideographic Views of Traits
• Nomothetic: Pertaining to an approach that focuses on norms and on variations among persons.
• Idiographic: Pertaining to an approach that focuses on an individual person’s uniqueness.
• Personality theorists argue over which approach to adopt
• Eysenck wrote, "the unique individual is simply the point of intersection of a number of quantitative variables"
• 4.2 What Traits Matter (p. 31)
  • If traits determine personality which ones comprise personality?
    • 4.2.1 Factor Analysis
      • Factor Analysis is a statistical tool that examines correlations among many variables
      • Factor Loadings are when items correlate strongly (0.40 or higher)
      • Those factor loadings are then given names
      • The names chosen make a difference (see below for some examples)
      • Factor Analysis does three things:
        • Reduces the number of traits to a manageable number
        • Orders traits as more or less important
        • Helps create assessment devices based upon traits
      • Remember that factor analysis is only a tool and is subject GIGO (garbage in, garbage out)
• Box 4.1 A Closer Look at Factor Analysis (p. 32)
• First step, collect data
• Second step, compute all correlations
• Third step, compute factor loadings
• Finally, name the factors
• 4.2.2 Let Reality Reveal Itself
  • Use an empirical approach
  • Language is a good domain to use
  • Cattell created one of the first assessments, the 16 PF (16 Personality Factors), he named the factors:
    • Warmth
    • Reasoning
    • Emotional stability
    • Dominance
    • Liveliness
    • Rule-consciousness
    • Social boldness
    • Sensitivity
    • Vigilance
    • Abstractedness
    • Privateness
    • Apprehensiveness
    • Openness to change
    • Self-reliance
    • Perfectionism
    • Tension
• 4.2.3 Start from a Theory
  • Eysenck also used factor analysis but not to search for traits. Instead, he sought to refine the traits he had theoretically identified:
    • Extraversion
    • Neuroticism
  • Despite only being two traits their interaction yielded many personality dimensions via interaction (see Table 4.1 below)
  • Notice the inclusion of Galen's types
  • Introverts Low in Neuroticism tend to be: careful, controlled, thoughtful, and stable
  • Introverts High in Neuroticism tend to be: pessimistic and anxious
  • Extraverts Low in Neuroticism tend to be: easygoing with a carefree sociability
  • Extraverts High in Neuroticism tend to be: exitable and aggressive

• Eysenck's approach is similar to Cattell's even though they did not start with the same premises.
• Figure 4.2 (below) shows how Eysenck's system yields: supertraits, traits, habits, and specific responses
• Note that Eysenck linked his supertraits (extraversion and neuroticism) to nervous system functioning.
• Eysenck also included a third dimension: psychoticism. People high on this dimension tend to be hostile, manipulative and impulsive.

• 4.2.4 The Interpersonal Circle is Another Theoretical Starting Point
  • This approach emphasizes two factors also, but they are:
    • Dominance
    • Love
  • Similar to Eysenck's approach, those two factors interact to yield eight dimensions (see Figure 4.3 below)
  • Again, diverse personalities could emerge from the two factors: dominance and love
    • High in dominance and low in love--arrogant and calculating
    • High in dominance and high in love--gregarious and extraverted
    • Note that in this system introversion and extraversion are derived, not fundamental qualities

• 4.3 The Five-Factor Model (p. 35)
  • The Five-Factor model developed over a long time and shows remarkable generality across culture. Some have even linked it to animal behavior.
    • 4.3.1 What Are the Five Factors?
• The five factors commonly known today as:
  • extraversion
  • neuroticism
  • agreeableness
  • conscientiousness
  • openness to experience
• have had a number of names and interpretations (see Table 4.2 below)
• Students use the acronyms "ocean" and "canoe" to help them remember the names

• 4.4 Reflections of the Five Factors in Behavior (p. 37)
  • Today, most personality psychologists look at how the five traits are reflected in behavior, rather than looking at the factors themselves
    • 4.4.1 Extraversion and Agreeableness
      • Both are social in nature
      • Extraverts seek social impact/Introverts seek positive relations with others
      • Extraverts seek Greek Life in college
      • Both are related to peer acceptance and agreeableness provides protection from victimization
      • People high in agreeableness report more social support from family members and are liked more by peers
      • People high in agreeableness help children resolve conflicts
      • Agreeable adults get angry less but are sensitive to violations of communal goals
      • Agreeable people are less likely to join the military, interestingly, serving in the military decreases agreeableness
      • Agreeable people:
        • Are more responsive parents
        • Have less negativity in their marriages
        • Are less likely to poach others romantic partners
        • Respond less to other's poaching attempts
        • Cooperate to solve resources issues
        • Are less antisocial
        • Value benevolence and tradition
        • Seek group welfare and harmonious family relations
        • Are less interested in wealth, political influence, and exciting lifestyle
        • Earn less
      • Extraverts:
        • Extraverted men interact better with women they don't know
        • Have firm handshakes
        • Tell their own catch-up stories
          • Introverts tend to involve friends in such stories
        • Are less cooperative in resource issues
        • Value achievement and stimulation
        • Seek high status careers, political influence, exciting lifestyle, and children
        • FYI: I'm highly extraverted. I have danced with my wife in Central Mall while singing the word (badly), for example.
• 4.4.2 Conscietiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism
  • People high in conscientiousness:
    • Are less likely to engage in unsafe sex and risky behaviors
    • Are less likely to poach romantic partners
    • Are resistant to being lured as romantic partners by others
    • Are more responsive parents to young children
    • Negotiate conflicts
    • Develop adolescent relationships
    • Desire careers but not a high standard of living
    • Are more interested in STEM
    • Are higher in religiousness
    • Have higher ratings from worker peers
    • Live longer
    • Follow doctor's orders
    • Are less like to abuse drugs
    • Have job success but are more affected by job loss
    • My take on this factor is: I love conscientious students because they get their work in on time, read their assignments, and take college seriously.
  • People high in openness to experience:
    • Are more engaged with life challenges
    • Possess more favorable attitudes about racial issues
    • Are less likely to stigmatize others
    • Have greater sexual satisfaction in marriage
    • Avoid easy, lazy lives
    • React less intensely to stress
    • My take on this factor comes from the question: Have you tried the new Thai restaurant in Texarkana? Assuming you never have eaten Thai food, you will be more likely to do so if you are higher in openness to experience. :-)
  • People high in neuroticism:
    • Have more difficult marriages
    • Have less marital satisfaction
    • Shut out their partner after marital spats
    • Do less well in school
    • Tell negative self stories
    • Die earlier
    • Smoke more
    • Woody Allen's Annie Hall dinner scene is instructive here
      • Allen contrasts Annie Hall's family to his
• 4.5 Relations to Earlier Trait Models (p. 39)
  • The Big Five Model compares well to Eysenck's model:
    • Both see extraversion and emotional stability (neuroticism) as supertraits
    • Eysenck's psychoticism might be a blend of agreeableness and conscientiousness
  • The Big Five Model and Interpersonal Circle
    • Love may be equivalent to agreeableness
    • Dominance may be roughly equivalent to extraversion
• The Big Five Model integrates earlier models and may be the consensus pick among current trait models
• 4.6 Other Variations (p. 39)
  • Big Five approach has alternative approaches
    • Tellegen
      • Three supertraits
        • neuroticism (experience negative emotions)
        • extraversion (experience positive emotions)
        • constraint (similar to Eysenck's psychoticism)
          • low constraint linked to criminality and antisocialism
    • Zuckerman
      • sociability (resembles extraversion)
      • neuroticism-anxiety (but without hostility)
      • impulsive sensation seeking (reverse of conscientiousness)
      • hostility (not inside neuroticism-anxiety)
  • 4.6.1 Expanding and Condensing the Five-Factor Model
    • Adding a factor
      • Ashton et al.
        • added honesty-humility (but often subsumed under agreeableness)
        • HEXACO framework
          • The six factors add predictive validity
    • Condensing factors
      • Digman
        • socialization = neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
        • personal growth = extraversion and openness
      • DeYoung
        • same factors as above, but renamed
          • socialization = stability
          • personal growth = plasticity
  • 4.6.2 Are Superordinate Traits the Best Level to Use?
    • In the original Big Five approach each supertrait has six facets
      • Facet traits add predictability but at a cost
      • Supertraits provide provide a more intuitive personality picture easier to hold in mind
      • Facets provide a better picture but one with additional factors to hold in mind
      • A compromise position reduces the facet traits to two per supertrait making for a more manageable and more accurate system
• 4.7 Traits, Situations, and Interactionism (p. 40)
  • Controversial issue from the 1970s.
    • 4.7.1 Is Behavior Really Traitlike?
      • Despite traits being assumed to be stable and acting in a wide variety of settings, the correlations with traits and behaviors was low (0.30)
• Box 4.2 How Stable is Personality over Long Periods? (p. 41)
  • Evidence is strong for continuity and change
    • Continuity
      • Correlations become stronger with age
    • Change Trends
    • Agreeableness
      • Increases to age 60
    • Neuroticism
      • Lower to age 40
    • Conscientiousness
      • Higher to age 70
    • Openness to Experience
      • Stable to age 50, then drops slowly
    • Extraversion
      • Most puzzling trait
        • Roberts et al. divide it into social vitality (sociability & positive emotion) and social dominance (assurance and agency)
        • Social vitality rises in adolescence, falls until age 50, and rises again
        • Social dominance rises into early adulthood and stabilizes
• Note how stability is preserved in the long run despite regular variations along the way
• 4.7.2 Situationism
• Some have argued that situational forces determine behavior, not personality
• Studies demonstrate that when the approaches are analyzed using the same methods those studies agree
• Personality determines behavioråß
• 4.7.3 Interactionism
  • Do traits and situations affect each other?
  • If they did: interactionism
  • Recall that statistical interaction means that one group is affected differently than another group (see Figure 4.4 below)
  • Theorists resolve the different responses by creating:
    • weak situations (Sunday afternoon on campus has minimal effect on behavior of students on the lawn)
    • strong situations (military boot camps have maximal effect on recruits being trained.
      • See introduction to USMC boot camp click HERE

• 4.7.4 Other Aspects of Interactionism
  • Big Five theory was developed by lab based research where the environment was manipulated and the same for all
  • In reality, people choose their environments based on their personalities (e.g., loud rock concert vs three piece classic string music)
  • In addition, people alter their environments with others by their own behavior
    • Thus: the same situation is different for each person
• 4.7.5 Was the Problem Ever Really as Bad as it Seemed?
  • Maybe the 0.30 correlation between traits and behavior was not really a problem
    • People are motivated by several traits at once, thus any one trait can only affect behavior in a small way
    • Multiple traits acting simultaneously limit the influence of any one trait to about a maximum of 0.30
• 4.8 Interactionism as Context-Dependent Expression of Personality (p. 43)
  • Intuitively, people seem to realize that how traits affect behavior varies situationally
  • Psychologists have dealt with this by:
    • Using hedges or when a situation limits a trait
      • She is "shy with strangers" or he is "aggresive when teased"
    • Defining traits as patterns of linkages between situation and action
      • In addition, individual differences have a role and may define the ideographic approach
      • A behavioral signature defines this idea
        • Moreover, it suggests that individuals may even show a trait that is in opposition to their usual one (See Figure 4.5 below)

• 4.8.1 Fitting the Pieces Together
  • Figure 4.6 (below) illustrates static (A and B) versus dynamic (C) approaches to trait theory.
  • While not a new idea it shows that people select or alter situations to suit their personalities

• Box 4.3 Theoretical Issue: What Really Is a Trait? (p. 45)
  • Are traits real?
  • Are they inside people?
  • Are they summary statements caused by other forces?
  • Maybe little bits of behavior are themselves the traits.
  • In the future, the trait approach may have to better align itself with the learning and cognitive perspectives
• 4.9 Assessment from the Trait Perspective (p. 46)
• 4.9.1 Comparing Individuals Using Personality Profiles
  • Figure 4.7 (below) shows an illustration of a personality profile from the NEO-PI-R
  • Nomothetic personality theorists believe that the profiles are unique
  • They also believe in interaction so that the expression of a trait may vary in behavior in two people who share a trait

• 4.10 Problems in Behavior, Behavior Change, from the Trait Perspective (p. 47)
  • The trait approach was an early attempt to understand abnormal behavior
  • Its goal was to categorize abnormal behavior by finding characteristic abnormal behavior patterns
  • But, traits such as psychoticism and neuroticism are themselves abnormal in their extreme manifestations leading to antisocial behaviors and drug abuse
    • 4.10.01: The Five-Factor Model and Personality Disorders fro
      • Personality disorders are:
        • stable, enduring patterns of behavior
        • deviate from:
          • normal cultural expectations
          • interfere with a person's life or lives of others
      • Big Five factors represent personality distorders
      • Facets do a better job of representing them
      • Clinicians find the Big Five more useful than the DSM
      • In the future, trait theories might extend to explain behavioral abnormalities of all types
    • 4.10.02
      • In the context of abnormality, traits are conceived as:
        • vulnerabilities
        • susceptibilities
      • The diathesis-stress model sees interactions as the sources of potential problems
      • In other words, some people may respond to a particular stressor in an abnormal manner while others do not
    • 4.10.03
• 4.11 Problems and Prospects for the Trait Perspective (p. 48)
  • Trait theory is the most basic personality theory and its roots go back to antiquity
  • It has been criticized for:
    • Not describing how personality works
    • Not saying much about intrapersonal functioning
    • Being "the psychology of the stranger"
    • Being a snapshot of a person without saying how that person developed
    • Being victims of circular reasoning
  • Trait psychologists respond by:
    • Claiming a complete picture of personality was never the goal
    • Traits are situation specific
  • Nevertheless, trait theory will remain in personality psychology
• Summary (p. 49)
• Trait approach assumes:
  • Stable inner qualities
  • Continuous trait dimensions
• Type Theories assume discrete dimensions are are no longer prominent in personality theory
• Factor Analysis is used to find traits
• Factors are then interpreted and named
• Some theorists look for empirical attributes while others start with theory first
• The Five Factor theory is now prominent and accepted
• Issues with the Five Factor theory have led to situationist and interactionist responses and the creation of the personality structure
• Assessment consists of creating a personality profile
• Being high in traits such as psychoticism or neuroticism is problematic in itself
• Being in an extreme position in a trait can also lead to personal problems
• The diathesis-stress model attempts to explain the different individual responses to similar situations via susceptibility and vulnerability
• Therapy might consist of changing how a trait is reflected in behavior or avoiding situations where problems may arise (think of Alcoholics Anonymous, its members seek to avoid alcohol and places associated with alcohol entirely)
• Points to Remember
  • The trait approach begins with the assumption that personality consists of stable inner qualities, which are reflected in behavior.
  • Types are discontinuous categories of personalities, with each person falling into one category or another. This concept is no longer prominent in personality psychology.
  • Traits are continuous dimensions of variability, along which any person can be placed. Most trait approaches are nomothetic, emphasizing how people differ but assuming that the trait dimensions are the same for everyone. An idiographic approach emphasizes uniqueness and treats some dimensions as unique to specific persons.
  • Factor analysis is a tool used by many trait psychologists.
  • Factor analysis tells what items (or ratings, etc.) go together. Further, the more variability in ratings a factor accounts for, the more important the factor.
  • Factor analysis also lets you tell which observations do and don’t reflect a factor well, thus helping refine scales.
  • An important question in trait psychology is what traits are basic and important.
  • Some believe we must let reality tell us the structure of personality.
  • Others believe we must start with a theory. Several theoretical views have been developed, including one that emphasizes traits that have a long history in ideas about personality (extraversion and neuroticism) and one that emphasizes traits that are relevant to social interaction (the interpersonal circle).
  • Many now favor the idea that there are five major factors in personality.
  • Evidence for that view is strong, and the five factors have a reasonable fit to aspects of preexisting models of personality structure.
  • There is disagreement about the precise nature of the five factors, but commonly used labels for them are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotionality, and openness. Recent research has examined how these traits relate to behaviors and experiences in people’s lives.
  • The usefulness of the trait concept was questioned by the finding that people’s behavior often wasn’t well predicted from trait self-reports.
  • This led some to doubt whether traits actually influence behavior.
  • Situationism, the idea that behavior is controlled primarily by situational influences, proved wrong.
  • Interactionism holds that personality and situations interact in several ways to determine behavior. For example, some situations permit or even elicit individual differences, whereas other situations don’t.
  • People also choose which situations to enter, and then they influence the nature of situations by their own actions. Indeed, people also vary in how consistent they are, and they often know whether they’re consistent or not.
  • The idea that the influence of traits on behavior is dependent on situations has expanded into a broader view of personality structure, in which traits are individualized linkages between situations and actions.
  • This view accounts for stability over time within the person as well as for variability across situations. This view of the nature of traits provides a sense of process for trait models.
  • Personality assessment from the viewpoint of trait psychology is a matter of developing a personality profile of the person being assessed, a description of where the person falls on all the dimensions being measured by the inventory. To these psychologists, the profile holds the key to understanding the person’s uniqueness.
  • Regarding problems in behavior, trait theorists say some problems result from having a trait that is intrinsically problematic, such as psychoticism or neuroticism.
  • Other kinds of problems stem from having an extreme position on some trait dimension. Interest in the relation between personality disorder and the five-factor model is growing.
  • The interactionist position suggests the following possibility (termed a diathesis-stress model): Certain dispositions may create a susceptibility to some kind of problem, but the problem occurs only under certain conditions, usually involving stress.
  • Therapeutic behavior change, from the trait perspective, may mean changing how a trait is reflected in behavior because a person’s traits are not easily altered. Alternatively, it may mean avoiding situations in which the problem behavior arises.

KEY TERMS

• Behavioral signature: The pattern of situation–behavior links the person has established over experiences in some specific domain.
• Diathesis-stress model: Theory holding that a vulnerability plus stress creates problems in behavior.
• Extravert: A person who is outgoing and prefers social and exciting activities.
• Factor: A dimension that underlies a set of interrelated measures, such as items on a self-report inventory.
• Factor analysis: A statistical procedure used to find basic dimensions underlying a set of measures.
• Factor loading: A correlation between a single measure and the factor to which it is being related.
• Idiographic: Pertaining to an approach that focuses on an individual person’s uniqueness.
• Interactionism: The idea that situations and personality interact to determine behavior.
• Interpersonal circle: Personality patterns deriving from varying levels of dominance and love.
• Introvert: A person who prefers solitary activities.
• Lexical criterion: An index of the importance of a trait based on the number of words that refer to it.
• Nomothetic: Pertaining to an approach that focuses on norms and on variations among persons.
• Second-order factor: A factor that emerges from a factor analysis performed on a set of previously found factors.
• Situationism: The idea that situations are the primary determinants of behavior.
• Traits: Continuous dimensions of personality on which people vary.
• Types: Distinct and discontinuous categories of persons.
  

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