EXAM 3 11 25 14 chapter 12 personality the nature of personality Defining Personality Consistency and Distinctiveness the concept of personality is used to explain stability in a person s behavior over time and across situations consistency the behavioral differences among people reacting to the same situation distinctiveness personality an individual s unique set of consistent behavioral traits Personality Traits Dispositions and Dimensions personality trait a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations honest dependable moody suspicious anxious friendly a small number of fundamental traits determine other more superficial traits Raymond Cattell used the statistical procedure of factor analysis to reduce a list of 171 personality traits compiled by Gordon Allport to 16 basic dimensions of personality factor analysis correlations among many variables are analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables if the measurements of a number of variables correlate highly with one another the assumption is that a single factor is influencing all of them factor analysis is used to identify these hidden factors basic more specific traits Raymond Cattell concluded that an individual s personality can be describe completely be measuring just 16 traits The Five Factor Model of Personality Traits Robert McCrae and Paul Costa used factor analysis to arrive at the five factor model of personality the Big Five extraversion positive emotionality outgoing sociable upbeat friendly assertive gregarious tend to be happier than others and have a more positive outlook on life more motivated to pursue social contact intimacy and interdependence 1 EXAM 3 11 25 14 neuroticism negative emotionality anxious hostile self conscious insecure vulnerable overreact more than others in response to stress exhibit more impulsiveness and emotional instability than others openness to experience curiosity flexibility vivid fantasy imaginativeness artistic sensitivity unconventional attitudes tolerant of ambiguity less need for closure on issues McCrae argues that this trait is the key determinant of people s political attitudes and ideology openness fosters liberalism agreeableness sympathetic trusting cooperative modest straightforward associated with constructive approaches to conflict resolution people less quarrelsome empathy and helping those at the opposite end are characterized as suspicious antagonistic aggressive consciousness constraint disciplined well organized punctual dependable strong self discipline ability to regulate oneself effectively fosters diligence and dependability in the workplace studies suggest that there may be some interesting relations between the Big Five traits and socioeconomic status SES Chapman discovered that the number of people scoring high on specific Big Five traits varies with social class as social class increases the probability of being strongly conscientious increases the prevalence of high scores on openness and extraversion increase social agreeableness and neuroticism decrease correlations between the Big Five traits and important life outcomes higher grader grades in high school and college are associated with higher conscientiousness because conscientious students work harder extraversion and conscientiousness are positive predictors of career success neuroticism elevates the probability of divorce and is associated with an elevated prevalence of virtually all major mental disorders physical illnesses McCrae and Costa maintain that personality can be described adequately by measuring the basic traits that they ve identified the five factor model has become the dominant conception of personality structure in contemporary psychology 2 EXAM 3 11 25 14 critics maintain that more than 5 traits are necessary to account for the bulk of the variation seen in human personality diverse personality theories can be divided into four broad groups that share certain assumptions emphases and interests psychodynamic perspectives behavioral perspectives humanistic perspectives biological perspectives Summary The concept of personality focuses on consistency in people s behavior over time and across situations and on what traits make people distinctive from one another Thus personality refers to an individual s unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a particular way The fivefactor model has become the dominant conception of personality structure The Big Five personality traits are extraversion neuroticism openness to experience agreeableness and conscientiousness Recent research suggests that the Big Five traits are differentially correlated with social class The Big Five traits are predictive of important life outcomes such as grades career success and divorce Neuroticism is associated with poorer health and elevated mortality whereas the opposite relations are seen for the trait of conscientiousness psychodynamic perspectives psychodynamic theories include all the diverse theories descended form the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces Freud s Psychoanalytic Theory Freud s view of human nature was influenced by sexual repression and aggressive hostilities that he experienced throughout his lifetime Freud often treated people troubled by nervous problems irrational fears obsessions anxieties and devoted himself to the treatment of mental disorders using a procedure he developed called psychoanalysis required very lengthy verbal interactions with patients dug deeply into their lives attempts to explain personality motivation and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experience unconscious motives 3 EXAM 3 11 25 14 and conflicts and the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges at this time many people were uncomfortable with Freud s theory Freud suggested that individuals aren t masters of their own mind suggested that people aren t masters of their own destinies offended those who held the conservative Victorian clues of the time Structure of Personality id primitive instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle reservoir of psychic energy houses the raw biological urges that energize human behavior pleasure principle demands immediate gratification of its urges primary process thinking primitive illogical irrational fantasy oriented ego the decision
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