Group+9+-+Trait+Theories



PERSONALITIES DISCOVERED THROUGH DAILY ACTS

By: Michaela Pytlik, Alyssa Scott, Katie Dauwen, Jenna Borseth, Jazmyne Reinke

=Summary: =

==== A trait is any relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another. People are defined by traits all the time. There are a lot of personality theorists, but trait theorists emphasize behavior in different situations. Trait theorists make two assumptions about traits. First they claim all people have every trait, it just depends on the level of the trait one has. They also believe that all traits are numbered within people, developing your level of the trait. Something most theorists believe is that there are some traits that are central in all people. Trait theorists and personality theorists differ in their explanations of personality because personality theorists believe in the theory of instincts and trait theorists ask which behaviors go together to figure out personality. ==== ==== Many theorists and theories were discussed in this chapter such as Gordon Allport, Raymond Cattell, Hans Eysenck, Harry Sullivan and the robust five theory. Gordon Allport and his Identifying Traits theory, believed that a person's traits will be consistent in different situations and that there are three kinds of individual traits. Raymond Cattell and his Sixteen Trait Theory stated there are 16 source traits at the core of personality. Hans Eysenck and the Dimensions of Personality Theory stated that there are two dimensions of personality, stability versus instability and extraversion versus introversion and he later came up with a third dimension call psychoticism. Harry Sullivan and his social environment theory states that the environment a person is in creates the personality they have. The robust five theory is a way of measuring personality. The robust five are the five traits that generally show up in all people including extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience and emotional stability. These five traits show up in all people, sometimes on different ends of their spectrums. ====



=Terms: =

__Trait__
Scientific Definition -a tendency to react to a situation in a way that remains stable over time. Layman's Terms -Any relatively long-term way in which an individual differs from another. Ex. While Alicia is usually fairly tense, her brother Brandon is relaxed.

__Cardinal Trait__
Scientific Definition -A characteristic of feature that is so pervasive the person is almost identified with it . Layman's Terms -A characteristic or feature of someone that makes the individual predictable in most situations. Ex. She's assertive so she will be likely to take control of the situation.

__Factor Analysis__
Scientific Definition -A complex statistical technique used to identify the underlying reasons variables are correlated. Layman's Terms -A method of assessment frequently used for the systematic examination of intellectual ability and other test domains, such as personality measures. Ex. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most self-assured and one being very apprenhensive, Kayla is a six.

__Surface Trait__
Scientific Definition -A stable characteristic that can be observed in certain situations. Layman's Terms -Traits of observable behavior Ex. Judging by the variety of the people she talks to, she seems very outgoing.

__Source Trait__
Scientific Definition <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> -A stable characteristic that can be considered to be at the core of personality. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Layman's Terms -Sixteen different traits, paired with opposites, which develop a person's personality. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ex. Are you more reserved or outgoing? Practical or imaginative? Submissive or dominant?

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> ===== =<span style="color: #c41717; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Links:﻿ =

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The following links are various personality tests that are easy to take and very quick in time. These tests are not the full length versions, simply because one would need to devote a large amount of time in order to take these. Classified between more traditional tests, like Cattell's Sixteen Factor Test, and non-traditional tests like the Facial Personality Test, all of the links listed below should give the individual an insight into their personality.=====

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Raymond Cattell is widely known for his 16 traits theory, believing that specific surface traits (personal characteristics that can be observed easily in a person) are clustered together. These are the clusters for the 16 traits Cattell talks about. These very same traits were used to develop a questionnaire that measures the amount of characteristics a person has, aptly named Cattell's Sixteen Factor Test.=====

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Psychologist Hans Eysenck inferred that there are two simple dimensions of personality, //stability versus instability// and //extraversion versus introversion.// Over a period of time, Eysenck added another personality dimension which is known as //psychoticism//. The Eysenck Personality Test shows individuals how extraverted/introverted, neurotic/stable, and psychotic/sensitive one can be by a show of percentiles in each category.=====

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The Robust Five, also known as the 'Big' Five, was developed by trait theorists in order to measure the most occurring of all traits; extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openess to experience, and emotional stability. A Short Robust Five Test was developed, consisting of only fifty questions. The Advanced 45-Robust 5 Test however, consists of 225 questions for those with more time on their hands.=====

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The Facial Personality Testis unique because personality is assessed by a questionnaire and the features of your face. In order to take this test, one must take a simple picture of their face and upload it. After it is analyzed, 24 questions follow to add on the analysis.=====

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The Word Association Test is simply this; an individual taking this test is shown a word from either a standard set, or a random list. When shown this word the individual must respond by clicking on one of three options. The options listed are simply negative, neutral, and positive, and the person clicks on the correct connotation the word give to them (ex. marriage can be a positive word while divorce can be negative). While this test is simple, it can give the person an insight into their ideas and personal views.=====

=<span style="color: #de3f3f; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Key Concepts in Trait Theories =

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Allport reports that traits are and happen in a wide variety of situations, this he calls to be "functionally equivalent". Allport and close partner H.S. Odbert searched a dictionary for words that could descripe or portray traits and personality. They together found about 18,000 words that could in some way or another descibe traits. After searching the dictionary, they then went through and eliminated certain words that were opposites such as, //honest// and //dishonest//, and just kept //honest//. He then defined common traits and individual traits. He stated that the common traits are traits that relates to everyone, and individual traits as certain traits that pertain to certain people. He discribes three different kinds of individual traits. First, a cardinal trait which is a characteristic that is so persuasive, the person is almost identified with it. Next is a central trait which makes us as humans predictable, such as being a flirt or being passive. The last individual trait is a secondary trait which describes our preferences about fod and music.=====

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Cattell, having heard and understand Allports theory, spends much time on common traits in humans. He uses a mathematical technique call factor analysis. This is a complex statistical technique used to identify underlying reasons why and how variables are connected. Catelle uses the theory of suface traits which states that characteristics that are able to be observed in certain situations. This understanding makes up 46 observable traits that are based on people's perceptions of personality. He also discovered with factor analyses that certain suface traits seem to occur in clusters. Then he found out that these clusters were all related and similar and resulted in 16 source traits being similar in core personality. Cattelle hypothesized that by measuring these traits, psychologists could later predict human behavior in certain situations.=====

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Eysenck also aware of Cattell and Allport theories, he used the factor analysis of personality data. Eysenck's big up bringing was his theory that there are two basic dimensions of personality. His first dimension was //stability versus instability//. This refers to the amount which people have control over their feelings. There are two sides to this spectrum. At the emotionally stable end a person is usually easygoing, relaxed, and balanced. At anxiety (instability) end, person is usually moody, anxious, and restless. His second dimension of personality, which was brought up by Carl Jung years earlier, is //extraversion versus introversion.// Extraverts are people with sociable, outgoing, and active personalities; whereas Introverts are people with a more thoughtful, reserved, and passive personality. After Jung had clearly stated these two dimensions, Eysenck cleverly discovered a third one. This dimension is called //psychoticism//. From one end are the self-centered, hostile, and aggressive people, and the other end are the people labeled according to Freud. These people's personalities are considered superego, which is socially sensitive, caring, and have much empathy.=====

Harry Stack Sullivan: Social Environment-
==== Sullivan believed personality comes from a person's social environment. His theory had two dimensions. The first dimension is Power (ranging from dominance to submissiveness) and Friendliness (ranging from friendliness to hostile). Sullivan claimed most behaviors come from a combination of the two dimensions. ====

Sixteen Source Traits Theory
Many theories have been formulated from different psychologists the world over. One of these theories is that of the 16 source traits. Raymond Cattell used a list of traits developed by the highly regarded psychologist Gordon W. Allport, and gathered that 46 traits can be seen and expected in most situations. These 46 traits, also known as surface traits, clump together to form behavior that is based on a person's view of personality. With further insight Cattell also discovered some of these surface traits occur in 'clusters'. Deciding to use this as a springboard, he researched further into the similarities these surface traits had. What came of his research is what we know as the 16 source traits, which are believed to be the core of personality. From this information the 16 source traits theory is formed.

Trait Theory
Traits and personality are interchangeable terms to average people. To trait theorists however, these two words are on totally different spectrums. Most of these theorists believe that a few simple traits can be found in all types of people. These traits differ from person to person though, and can be extremely varying in degrees. For example, if a person is more apt to be a social butterfly underlying tones of self-confidence and social agressiveness will most likely be found. This theory goes even further in depth regarding to personality and traits. Once again, we'll use the example of the social butterfly. On a scale of 1 to 10 the social butterfly can be classified as an 8 while another individual is classified as a 7. Psychologists and scientific researchers believing this theory generally try to find the basic traits common to all people.

Freudian Theory
While trait theory is a well-respected theory and highly believed across the nations, it was of course uncommon at one time. An expert in the field of psychology (and somewhat of a celebrity at the time), Sigmund Freud had developed other hypotheses and theories. In fact, he started out with a developed theory of instincts. He relied more on observable traits, as compared to their underlying counterparts. Say someone is known for being shrewd. Freud would have focused on trying to explain this 'shrewdness' by means of his theory of instincts. Trait theorists however, would have tried to assess if being shrewd is a trait or type of personality.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Personality Table
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hans Eysenck, an English psychologist, concluded two basic dimensions of personality. The first, stability versus instability, refers to the degree to which people have control over their feelings. The stable end of this spectrum is a person who is easygoing, relaxed, well adjusted, and even-tempered. At the other end would be someone who is moody, anxious, and restless. The other way in which the table is divided is into extroverted and introverted. Extroverts are sociable, outgoing, active, lively people while, on the other end, introverts are more thoughtful, reserved, passive, unsociable, and quiet. Eysenck hypothesized that introverted people share a number of traits while extroverted people share opposite traits.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Types of traits
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The six different types of traits discussed are cardinal traits, central traits, secondary traits, common traits, surface traits and source traits. A cardinal trait is a trait that is very pervasive and dominant, so much so that a person could be identified by that trait. Central traits are the general characteristics that form the basic foundations of personality situations where as secondary traits are related to attitude and preferences, such as favorite food or music, these have a less consistent influence on people. Common traits are traits that are shared among many people in one culture. Surface traits are personality characteristics that are readily apparent, such as sociability or shyness. The last of the six traits are source traits, these are stable characteristics that are considered to be at the core of personality.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Theories of Personality
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Theories of personality are used to organize personality characteristics, explain differences among individuals, explore how people conduct their lives, and determine how life can be improved. There are six main theories: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Behaviorist Theories__- focuses on the way rewards and punishment shape our actions <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Social Learning Theories__- cognitive-personal factors, our behaviors, and environmental factors interact to shape our personalities <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Psychoanalytical Theories__- emphasize the importance of early childhood experiences, repressed thoughts, and conflict between conscious forces <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Cognitive Theories__- focuses on our analysis of our own perceptions, thoughts, and feelings shape our personalities <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Humanistic Theories__- emphasize our capacity for personal growth, development of our full potential, and freedom to make choices <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Trait Theories__- focuses on identifying, measuring, and classifying similarities and differences in personality characteristics or traits



= Review Questions: = 1.Which trait does not belong in the robust five? a. agreeableness b. conscientiousness c. awareness d. extraversion

2. Alyssa enjoys parties, social gatherings, and excitement. She would be what type of personality? a. introvert b. changeable c. agressive d. extravert

3. Who proposed the idea that a person's traits will be consistent in different situations? a. Cattell b. Allport c. Sullivan d. Eysenck

4. Mark flirts with girls ALL the time. This would be known as his a. common trait b. cardinal trait c. surface trait d. source trait

5. Walter prefers the color blue and Lady Gaga. These are his _ traits. a. secondary b. source c. surface