Part 3Trait Theories

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Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist who was a Freudian disciple,

believed that we are one of two personality types: (Later added

the third).

• Introvert: Shy, self-centered person whose attention is

focused inward

• Extrovert: Bold, outgoing person whose attention is directed

outward

• Ambivert: A mixture of extraversion and introversion

Jung’s Theory of Three Types

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Carl Jung

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Eysenck’s Three Factor Theory

Hans Eysenck, English psychologist, believed that there are three fundamental factors in personality:

• Introversion versus Extroversion

• Emotionally Stable versus Unstable (neurotic)

• Impulse Control versus Psychotic

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Hans Eysenck

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Eysenck’s Theory, continued

The first two factors create 4 combinations, related to the four basic temperaments recognized by ancient Greeks:

• Melancholic (introverted + unstable): sad, gloomy

• Choleric (extroverted + unstable): hot-tempered, irritable

• Phlegmatic (introverted + stable): sluggish, calm

• Sanguine (extroverted + stable): cheerful, hopeful

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Raymond Cattell: from Devon, England, believed that there

were two basic categories of traits:

• Surface Traits: Features that make up the visible areas

of personality• Source Traits: Underlying characteristics of a

personality

Cattell also constructed the 16PF, a personality test identifying 16 personality factors (source traits).

Cattell: Source & Surface Traits

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Raymond Cattell

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The Sixteen Personality Factors

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Cattell: The Big Five

Cattell believed that five factors were most important:

Openness

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeable

Neuroticism

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Graphic: The Big Five

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McCrae and Costa• NEO Personality Inventory- (Neuroticism-Extroversion-

Openness)

• Measures the “ Big Five” Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness plus 6 facets: Anxiety, Depression, Altruism, Self-Discipline and deliberation

• On the basis of the data from sixteen cultures, asserted that the neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness dimensions are cross-culturally valid

• The NEO traits are not necessarily stable across life. Based on cross-sectional and longitudinal studies researchers conclude that neuroticism and extraversion declines with age, whereas agreeableness and conscientiousness increase

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Evaluation of Trait Theories

• Are traits as pervasive as trait theories claim? Is someone shy always or does it depend on the situation?

• Are traits as enduring and unchangeable as trait theories claim? Can we change our traits? If so, how easily?

• Are traits affected by social and cultural upbringing? Or are our personalities formed at birth and unchanging thereafter?

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• 1 I can Identify key contributors to personality theory (e.g., Alfred Adler, Albert Bandura, Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers)

• 2 1 plus: I can compare and contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining personality: psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social learning, and behavioral .

• 3 All of 1 & 2 plus: Identify frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI], the Thematic Apperception Test [TAT]), and evaluate relative test quality based on reliability and validity of the instruments .

• 4 All of 1-3 plus Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that psychologists use to investigate personality . Speculate how cultural context can facilitate or constrain personality development, especially as it relates to self-concept

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Jung/Briggs -Myers

• Go to the following address: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Take the personality inventory and bring your results with you to class tomorrow

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Interpreting the Briggs-Myer

Extraversion: sociability, energized by people, lonely when alone (75%)

Sensation: practical, trusts facts; learns through ex-perience; wants to deal with what’s real

Thinking: prefers the objective, logical, analytical

Judging: prefers closure, wants deadlines, feels more comfortable once a decision has been made.

Intraversion: territorial, enjoys being alone, private, drained by people (25%)

Intuition: innovative, fantasizes; future more attractive than the present

Feeling: prefers the subjective, personal, values

Perceiving: resists closure, wants more & more data; values the open-ended; pressure to decide stressful

Part 4Social-Cognitive Theories

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Self-system: the set of cognitive processes by which a person observes, evaluates, and regulates his/her behavior. Bandura proposed that what we think of as personality is a product of this self-system.

Children observe behavior of models (such as parents) in their social environment. Particularly if they are reinforced, children will imitate these behaviors, incorporating them into personality.

Bandura also proposed that people observe their own behavior and judge its effectiveness. Self-efficacy: a judgment of one’s effectiveness in dealing with particular situations.

Bandura’s Theory

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Julian Rotter: American psychologist, began as a Freudian! His personality theory combines learning principles, modeling, cognition, and the effects of social relationships

External locus of control: perception that chance or external forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate

Internal locus of control: perception that you control your own fate.

Learned Helplessness: a sense of hopelessness in which a person thinks that he/she is unable to prevent aversive events

Rotter’s Theory ofLocus of Control

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Julian Rotter

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Evaluation of Social-Cognitive Theories

• Social-cognitive theories tend to be overly-mechanical.

• Overemphasizes environmental influences; gives little or no consideration to the possibility of innate personality differences or the effects of genetics.

• Does not recognize internal human qualities such as hope, aspiration, love, self-sacrifice