trait theory

Gordon  Allport  (1897-1967)

Life

Born in Montezuma, Indiana

Grew up near Cleveland, Ohio

Son of country doctor

Youngest of 4 brothers

1922, PhD from Harvard

1st American study on personality traits

Dissertation = “An Experimental Study of the Traits of Personality"

Fellowship #2

Met Freud; Freud sat quiet

To break silence, Allport told Freud about the streetcar ride to his office

Allport concluded Freud’s emphasis on unconscious behaviors was wrong

1930-1967, taught at Harvard

social ethics

taught personality  (probably first course in country)
 

Defining personality

Allport described and classified over 50 definitions of personality

Gave his own in 1937, revised it in 1961

"Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought" 

Currently unobservable; Not yes able to measure it empirically

An inference that will someday be demonstrated directly; like planet Pluto

For Allport, personality is a real entity

Traits are not merely descriptive or “actuarial”

Traits produce behavioral consistencies that we observe

Traits do have causal status

Functional autonomy: 

Traits which have become independent of their origins in childhood

Childhood might be root of the trait or tendency but do not continue to influence the tendency in adulthood

It is not necessary to unearth where tendency or trait which dominates a person’s life originated in order to help person deal with the troubling tendency

A behavior might be done at two different times for two different reasons

read for reward in childhood
read for pleasure in adulthood
 

 Theory

2 basic approaches:

Continuity theories

Changes are merely quantitative
Accumulation of skill
Closed system

2. Discontinuity theories

Makes transformation

Reaches successively higher levels of organization

Growth is qualitatively different

Reorganizes, regroups and reshapes inputs

Structure of personality changes radically

Open system, active, stages of development

Proprium

Core of the personality

One’s own or one’s self

Under the layers of our human psyche is an irreducible core that defines who we are

    Freud emphasized instinctual drives; Allport emphasized traits
 

 Traits

People are unique combinations of characteristics called traits

Personalities possess traits to different degrees

Tendency or predisposition to respond in certain ways; consistent and enduring

A generalized neuropsychic structure peculiar to an individual

Definition

Consistent reaction patterns of an individual can be predicted from knowing person’s personality traits

Limited set of adjective dimensions which describe and scale individuals

Renders many stimuli functionally equivalent

Guide equivalent forms of adaptive and expressive behavior

An internal structure

Consistency in thoughts, feelings & actions occur:

Because an individual views many situations and stimuli in same way
Many of individual’s behaviors are similar in meaning = functionally equivalent

Traits are described in terms of a range

From one extreme to its opposite

Most people fall in the middle of the range

8 Characteristics

1. Exist in people

2. More generalized than habits

3. May determine behavior

4. Can be discovered with systematic observation

5. Only relatively independent of each other

6. Not the same as moral character

7. Inconsistencies don’t mean traits don’t exist

8. Some traits are unique to you
 

2 types

Common traits

Permit us to compare individuals within a given culture

No two people have identical traits

Roughly comparable traits

Categories

Single words: adjectives

Must be in the dictionary
18,000 adjectives
Identified 4,000 traits

Traits we share due to common biological & cultural heritage

Common organizing structures

Personal traits or Personal dispositions

1. cardinal disposition

Not everyone has one
Shapes all behavior
 “Ruling passion” that dominates most acts

2. central Dispositions

Highly characteristic tendencies of individual
Adjectives or phrases a person might use
Most research focuses on central traits
Determine most of our behavior
Disposition to respond with “equivalence class” of behavior to relevant situations, without rising to a ruling passion

3. secondary dispositions

Determine a few behaviors each
More specific
Many traits
Less prominent than central traits
Seen in fewer situations
Subject to fluctuation
 

 Personality Development

Proprium

Sense of self; “me” as felt and known

Stages

early infancy – no sense of self
bodily self – things and body are different; 2nd half of first year
self-identity – year 3. Pride in your pursuits and accomplishments; also comes with negativism; may have been inspiration for “reverse psychology”
extension of self – years 4-6. develop egocentric self. Others are there for me, including Santa, God, etc.; self extended to possessions; self-image emerges at same time; hopes, aspirations; expectations of others. Self-image emerges at same time.
rational coper – year 6-12.Think things through in your head; like Freud’s ego
proprium striving – teens. How be adult and me at same time? Rebel and hope parents restrictions will define them; begin long-range planning
 

Mature Personality (6 criteria)

Extension of sense of self

Functional autonomy

Warm relations with others

Emotional security

self acceptance

frustration tolerance

Realistic perception of skills

Self-objectification; insight and humor

Unifying philosophy of life & religion

As mature go from directionless to goal in life

Religion change from extrinsic to intrinsic

God favors my people
Living your life by your values

Criticisms

Circular logic

“Traits describe how people differ from others…, but they are not themselves explanations of those differences… It would be meaningless, then, for me to say that Harry argues and fights a lot because he is highly aggressive.” (Gray, 2002)

 

Raymond Cattell  (1905-)

Life

Raymond Bernard Cattell

Born in Staffordshire, England

1937, came to the United States

1944-1973, research professor at the Univ. of Illinois

Theory

Personality consisted of 46 surface traits

Condensed to 16 source traits

1950, published the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

Other Accomplishments

2-factor theory of intelligence

Fluid (innate)

Crystallized (culturally constituted)

Reduced Allport’s list of 4,000 traits to about 171

Eliminated redundant or uncommon terms

Used Factor Analysis

Statistical technique

Combine highly correlated traits

Reduced list to 16 Personality Factors

Developed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire  (16PF) to measure traits.

 Factor Analysis

A five-step Factor Analysis:

1. Ask people to rate themselves on each ter

How X are you on a 1 to 10 scale?

2. Compute correlations among the terms

Do people who score high on one attribute score high on the other?

3. Interpret the pattern of correlations

what is related to what?
Are there clusters of items?
If so, why? “Factors”

4. Psychologize

Name the factors
What are the underlying dimensions
 

 Some of the 16 Factors

Affectia                   Outgoing – reserved

Intelligence              More – less intelligent

Ego strength            Emotionally stable – volatile

Dominance              Assertive – humble

Surgency                 Happy-go-lucky – somber

Super-ego strength   Conscientious – impulsive

Parmia                    Adventurous – timid

Permsia                   Tender-minded – tough-minded

Coasthenia              Individualistic – group-oriented
 

Allport’s adjectives using Q, T,and L data

Q-data

data gathered from self-reports & questionnaires

(questionnaire data)

T-data

data gathered in controlled test situations-observational ratings and notes (test data)

L-data

data gathered over person’s life, school, work, community etc. (life data)

 

 

Copyright © 2007 Ken Tangen.. All rights reserved