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Recall the three definitions of personality lay definition: friendly, interesting, etc. grand theory of psychology (e.g. Freud) individual differences in social behavior –i.e. traits
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CLASS 10
Trait Theories
Recall the three definitions of personality
• lay definition: friendly, interesting, etc.
• grand theory of psychology (e.g. Freud)
• individual differences in social behavior– i.e. traits
Personality Traits
• predispositions to respond consistently across time and situations
• e.g., sociable, dependable, cruel
• NOT values, intelligence, moods
3 modes of measurement
1. Self-rating
2. Observer rating
3. Behavior
• Convergence is most convincing
A: Too many to study
Okay, but how many?A: Dictionary has 4,500 traits
– 1 of every 10 common English words
Q: How many traits are there?
• Cattell reduced them down to 1610 (e.g., by deleting evaluative words)
• Still too many
• so he applied Factor Analysis using a computer
We need a more manageable number
Factor Analysis (FA)
• Definition: A mathematical procedure that simplifies the correlations among a large number of traits.
• Slow and difficult to calculate by hand BUT
• In 1950s, modern computers became available
Let’s review the correlation coefficient (r)
• It indicates the size of association between 2 traits (e.g., talkative & anxious)
• Range of r: -1.00 to +1.00• r = +1.00 means perfect match• r = -1.00 means perfect reverse• R = .00 means no association
Typical personality study
• Administer a questionnaire to a large sample of people
• Ask them to rate themselves on a list of traits
• Calculate the correlation of each pair of traits
Correlation Matrix of 4 traits
excitable sociable reliable neat
excitable 1.00 .65 .03 .07
sociable 1.00 .00 .05
reliable 1.00 .73
neat 1.00
By eye-ball, we can see 2 factors
excitable sociable reliable neat
excitable -- .65
sociable --
reliable -- .73
neat --
Factor analysis by eyeball vs. computer
• Both start with a correlation matrix • Using the eyeball method revealed 2
factors: – F1 includes excitable and sociable– F2 includes reliable and neat
• But we need a computer to handle a matrix that is 1610 x 1610
Summary of steps in a factor analysis
• Collect a sample of self-ratings • e.g. 150 students rate themselves on 4 traits• Calculate all possiblecorrelations = 6• Calculate the number of factors in the
correlation matrix (the math part)• Find the right name for the set of traits in in
factor (the literary part)
Cattell’s conclusion in 1963
• 1610 traits can be reduced to
• 16 factors of personality
• e.g., outgoing, calm, dominant, etc.
Can we reduce them further?
• YES• His factors were correlated with each other• i.e., they overlapped too much• How many distinct dimensions of
personality are there?
• Answer from Goldberg (1980): FIVE
The BIG FIVE dimensions Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
Openness
The OCEAN of personality
Extraverted (vs. introverted)
• Talkative, Sociable, Fun-loving, Energetic
• e.g., • Jim Carrey
Theory: Need for excitement
Agreeable (vs. argumentative)
• Sympathetic, Warm, Trusting, Cooperative
e.g., Marge Simpson
Theory: • Need for harmony
Conscientious
• Dependable• Productive• Neat
Theory: • Sense of duty
vs. lazy
Neurotic (vs. stable)
• Anxious, Insecure, Guilt-prone, Self-conscious
e.g., Woody Allen
• Theory:
– Sensitive to punishments, failures
Open to Experience (vs. practical)• e.g., Lady Gaga• Many interests, especially creative ones• Prefers ideas over practical issues• Politically liberal
• Theory:• anti-conformist
The Big Five are independent dimensions
• Five separate pieces of information
• Uncorrelated, independent, orthogonal
• all 32 combinations are equally likely
SCORE YOURSELF
• See link on course web site
• Brief 10-item scale
• Norms from 1813 college students
Why do these five show upin factor analyses?
• Importance?
• Salience?
• Accident of language history?
Critique:
• Too static
• Implies rigidity
• No overall theory