Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
trait theory
psych exam 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| main tenants of the general trait theory | biological differences underlie the traits, possession of broad dispositions to respond/behave, organized hierarchically, traits are generally stable overtime |
| what can impact shifts in traits overtime? | age, generation, cultural impact, life experiences |
| trait | consistent patterns of how people behave, think and feel |
| consistent traits | occurs with regularity, enduring; occurs across situations and dimensions of life |
| distinctive traits | characteristics that differ between people |
| primary determinant of individual differences in traits | inherited biological factors |
| personality traits should only be proposed if... | they can be measured through valid assessment and statistical analyses of certain constructs |
| importance of trait constructs | describe, predict, explain |
| importance of trait constructs: describe | summarize a person's typical behavior and what they're typically like, develop a descriptive scheme within which people can be described- average types of experience and behavior, establish a "personality taxonomy"- classifying aspects of personality |
| importance of trait constructs: predict | using personality theory- or trait constructs- to predict future behavior or performance |
| importance of trait constructs: explain | explaining behavior through trait constructs (largely through biological differences that may underlie a particular trait) |
| strong tendency or likelihood to behave in a certain way= | high in _____ (trait) |
| lesser tendency or likelihood to behave in a certain way+ | low in ____ (trait) |
| behavior and personality can be organized into a hierarchy | specific responses, linked responses- become habits, groups of habits- become traits |
| research methods used for the general trait theory | scientific method, valid measures, factor analysis |
| what makes a trait theory credible/viable? | universal, not age or culture specific, scientific method, prediction |
| what did gordon allport focus on? | healthy, positive aspects of personality |
| gordon allport believed that... | we have functional autonomy= motivations can change over time |
| gordon allport's definitions of traits | generalized and personalized determining tendencies- consistent and stable modes of an individual's adjustment to his environment |
| according to gordon allport, what are traits defined by? | frequency, intensity, and range of situations |
| according to gordon allport, traits vary in... | significance and generalizability |
| cardinal traits (gordon allport) | disposition that is sos pervasive and outstanding in a person's life that virtually every act is traceable to its influence; usually limited |
| central trait (gordon allport) | dispositions that cover a more limited range of situations (assertiveness, kindness, etc.) |
| secondary trait (gordon allport) | least conspicuous, generalized, and consistent |
| factor analysis | statistical tool/ mathematical technique for summarizing the ways in which a large number of variables go together or co-occur |
| in factor analysis you need to go beyond... | the correlation of just two variables- potentially hundreds of correlations |
| factor analysis can identify... | a small number of factors that summarize the intercorrelations between a large number of variables; patterns of covariation in test responses |
| how to identify basic, universal traits? | factor analysis |
| raymond b. cattell factor-analytic trait theory | relied heavily on factor analysis |
| surface traits vs source traits (cattell) | based on the belief that there are hierarchical relations among trait concepts |
| surface traits | behavioral tendencies that can be observed (identified about 40) |
| source traits | internal psychological structures that were the source, or underlying cause, of observed intercorrelations among surface traits |
| three categories of source traits | ability (skills and abilities), temperament (emotional life/ style of behavior), dynamic (motivational traits) |
| what is a viable trait theory? (cattell) | the results of factor analyses of different kinds of data, similar results across cultures, similar results across age groups, utility in the prediction of behavior in the natural environment, evidence of significant genetic contributions to many traits |
| limitation of a viable trait theory | scientific measurement alone may not capture full spectrum of personality |
| who developed the three factor theory of personality? | hans eysenck |
| components of the three factor theory of personality | superfactors: introversion-extroversion, neuroticism, psychoticism |
| introversion-extroversion | sociability, activity level, liveliness, excitability |
| neuroticism (emotional stability vs. instability) | anxiousness, depression, shyness, moodiness, etc. |
| psychoticism | aggressiveness, a lack of empathy, interpersonal coldness, antisocial behavioral tendencies |
| what resulted in the big five? | ratings of a wide variety of traits are run through a factor analysis to see which traits have relationships |
| five factor theory of personality (big five) | OCEAN- openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism |
| high score openness | curious, broad interests, creative, original, imaginative |
| high score conscientousness | organized, reliable, hard-working, self-disciplined, punctual, scrupulous, neat, ambitious, perservering |
| high score extroversion | sociable, active, talkative, person-oriented, optimistic, fun-loving, affectionate |
| high score agreeableness | kind, cooperative, good-natured, trusting, helpful |
| high score neuroticism | worrying, nervous, emotional, insecure, tense |
| low score openness | conventional, unimaginative, narrow interests, unartistic, unanalytical |
| low score conscientiousness | aimless, unreliable, lazy, careless, lax, negligent, hedonistic |
| low score extroversion | reserved, aloof, task-oriented, retiring, quiet, timid |
| low score agreeableness | cynical, rude, suspicious, uncooperative, vengeful, ruthless, irritable, manipulative |
| low score neuroticism | calm, relaxed, unemotional, secure, self-satisfied |
| what do most trait psychologists view the big five factors as? | purely descriptive constructs |
| what do mccrae and costa view each big five factor as? | a psychological structure that everyone has to varying degrees |
| mccrae and costa view of trait theory | traits casually influence psychological development- causes certain behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that become consistent throughout life; biologically based- strong nature argument with no room for nurture |
| practical applications of the big five | vocational, health, diagnosis/treatment |
| lexical hypothesis | identifying and describing human differences is important to maintaining the well-being of our "group" or species |
| in the lexical hypothesis, being able to reference differences between us gives us... | the ability to predict and control |
| the lexical hypothesis allows us to better predict... | how others may behave, therefore allowing us to adapt across different situations |
| what is the lexical hypothesis consistent with? | evolutionary models- these culturally universal terms or descriptors can be important to survival |
| who originally developed the neo-personality inventory revised (NEO-PI-R)? | costa and mccrae |
| neo-personality inventory revised (NEO-PI-R) | each big five factor is broken down into six additional facets |
| what does the neo-personality inventory revised (NEO-PI-R) include? | both self and observer report options- O data generally more accurate, S data better for more "intrinsic" traits |
| research suggests that big five factors are generally stable in people over time, however... | smaller age difference trends tend to emerge |
| research has also found that changes in big five may occur in some groups based on changing... | social norms or cultural shifts |
| personality is more stable... | over short periods of time than over long periods of time |
| is personality more stable in adulthood or childhood? | adulthood |
| Big five: practical applications: vocational (career) | some research shows big five measures can predict career choices and performance |
| Big five: practical applications: vocational (career): high in E | social and enterprising occupations |
| Big five: practical applications: vocational (career): high in o | artistic and investigative occuptations |
| Big five: practical applications: vocational (career): high in c | consistent performance across occupations |
| two sides of the six factor model | adventurous, determined, sociable, even-tempered attorney vs. adventurous, determined, social, even tempered, dishonest attorney |
| the six-factor model | additional factor analysis, utilizing trait adjectives, identified a possible sixth trait: honesty/ humility |
| honesty/humility | sincere/truthful vs cunning/disloyal/egotism |
| problems with applying the five factor model across cultures/languages | cross-cultural research often involves translating questionnaires originally written in english which may impose certain psychological factors onto respondents |
| in cross cultural research of the five factor model why do research results often differ? | depending on whether the trait terms are imposed on members of a culture as opposed to being drawn from the language of that culture itself |
| according to mccrae, big five fits what type of approach? | top down |
| top down approach | higher order traits explain lower level behaviors and tendencies and influence development |
| top down approach says that a risk is that the... | high-level individual-difference variables will not correspond in any consistent manner to psychological structures that individuals actually possess |
| what is the alternative approach? | bottom up |
| the bottom up approach is... | critical of the big five theory |
| example of bottom up approach | "agreeableness" does not fully explain why a person has become that way |
| Reinforcement sensitivity theory two approaches | top down and bottom up |
| reinforcement sensitivity theory seeks to | first identify the fundamental properties of brain behavioral systems and then relate variations in these systems to known measures of personality |
| what does the rst attempt to identify? | neural subsystems that play a role in psychological functions related to emotion and motivation |
| neural subsystems | a group of brain structures or mechanisms that work together to carry out a function |
| differences in neural subsystems can help explain... | individual differences in personality |
| three neural subsystems | behavioral approach system (BAS), fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS), behavioral inhibition system (BIS) |
| behavioral approach system (BAS) responds to... | pleasurable, desired, "appetitive" stimuli |
| behavioral approach system is related to... | classical conditioning |
| behavioral approach system (BAS) produces the tendency to... | move toward pleasurable, rewarding stimuli |
| behavioral approach system (BAS) produced emotional experiences including... | "anticipatory pleasure," which is the positive feeling one has when looking forward to an upcoming positive activity |
| fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) | responds to aversive stimuli, three types of responses, generates the feeling of fear |
| behavioral inhibition system (BIS) | resolves goal conflicts between other systems, generates anxiety and a "defensive approach" (will pursue reward but with caution) |
| differences in subsystems could account for... | personality differences |
Created by:
camrynfoster