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Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain trait theory and how it emerged as a dominant force in personality theory.

• Describe the emergence of the trait approach to psychology and identify some contribu- tions of important historical figures, such as Allport, Cattell, and Eysenck.

• Describe how the taxonomy of traits was developed based on language and how they are organized into a hierarchy of factors (e.g., using three-, five-, and sixteen-factor models).

• Explain how factors relate to behaviors in a hierarchy.

• Describe some of the important outcomes that have been predicted by traits such as neuroti- cism, extraversion, optimism, and locus of control.

• Describe the stability of traits over the lifespan and across cultures and languages.

A Trait Approach to Personality 8

Chapter Outline Introduction

8.1 Trait Theory in Historical Perspective • Traits as Building Blocks of Personality • Hippocrates and Galen: The Ancient Greeks

and Humoral Theory • Carl Jung’s Introduction of Introversion and

Extraversion • Gordon Allport and the Analysis of Language • Raymond Cattell and the Statistical Approach

to Personality • Eysenck’s Model of Personality

8.2 Convergence on the Big Five • Openness to New Experience • Agreeableness • Conscientiousness • Big Five in Cultural Context • Heritability of the Big Five • The Big Five Over the Lifespan

• Characterize Mischel’s critique of the trait approach and the field’s response to that critique (i.e., the person- situation debate).

• Describe the novel approaches to conceptualizing and assessing traits, such as the act-frequency approach.

• Characterize the complementary contributions of the goal approach, which examines traits in the context of our lives.

• Describe some of the commonly used measures of traits.

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CHAPTER 8Introduction

8.3 The Person-Situation Debate • Responses to Mischel’s Critique of Trait

Psychology • Understanding Situational Strength,

Domain Breadth, and Trait Relevance • The Role of the Fundamental Attribu-

tion Error • Summary of Person-Situation Debate

8.4 Supplementing the Big Five With Complementary Approaches • Projects, Life Tasks, Concerns, Strivings,

and Goals: An Idiographic Approach • Act-Frequency Approach

8.5 Assessment Methods From the Trait Perspective • The Family of NEO™ Scales • The Big Five Inventory • The HEXACO Inventory • Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire • Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor

Questionnaire • Myers Briggs Type Indicator®

Summary

Introduction John is presenting a lecture, and as is his custom, he keeps the students enter- tained and engaged with his wit, smooth dialogue, and animated body language. Given the reaction of the students, this is not a lecture, but an hour of informative entertainment. After class, the students are drawn to John because of his gre- garious and friendly demeanor during class, but he is nowhere to be found. John has a habit of retreating from public after giving a lecture because he feels both exhausted and overwhelmed. His favorite place to hide is a stall in the men’s room; it affords the best protection from interactions with others. After 30 minutes or so, he emerges feeling somewhat recovered.

You see, John’s job requires that he engage in an activity that is not especially pleasant for him. John is, in fact, somewhat isolative, but not shy. John doesn’t look at a group of people and long for their attention or for more social inter- actions. Rather than attend a party or be in large groups, he prefers to read a book under a tree or some other solitary, tranquil place. John is what some people call a “pseudo-extravert.” That is, he is actually an introvert, but he engages in extra- verted behavior in order to meet the demands of his life or important life goals.

Why is it that some people are hard-wired to enjoy stimulation, whereas others appear just as hard-wired to dislike and avoid it? Why are some individuals prone to worry? For example, you may know someone who always worries about their exam performance, yet they typically set the curve on every exam. Why do many people gravitate toward taking (or at least wanting) control over a situation, whereas others prefer to give up that control and let others decide matters?

In this chapter, we will examine what is known as the trait approach to personal- ity. We will examine the theorists who initiated the movement, some of the more interesting research findings on traits, the challenges to trait theory, and the field’s responses.

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CHAPTER 8 8.1 Trait Theory in Historical Perspective

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Over 2,000 years after the descriptive terms were introduced, we still use the term “choleric” to refer to an easily angered child.

8.1 Trait Theory in Historical Perspective

Trait theory is a popular approach for studying personality; it is closely tied to the everyday concept of personality that many people hold because traits are commonly employed in everyday language and are widely understood. We will begin by defining the concept of traits and identify some of the earliest contributors to the trait approach to personality, including Hippocrates, Galen, Carl Jung, Gordon Allport, Raymond Cattell, and Hans Eysenck.

Traits as Building Blocks of Personality At its most fundamental level, a trait is a unit of analysis to describe, predict, and explain human thought, affect, and behavior. From a distance, it appears as though there are a great many terms (traits) that are used to characterize human activity, but extensive research suggests that these traits can be organized into coherent and meaningful patterns and even enveloped by a smaller number of broad trait categories, thereby simplifying the trait approach.