PSYC 2600 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Lexical Hypothesis, Trait Theory, Factor Analysis
19 Jun 2018
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Week 2 Readings: Chapter 3: Traits and Trait Taxonomies
The Dispositional Domain
Trait Descriptive Adjectives: words that describe traits, attributes of a person that are
reasonably characteristic of the person and perhaps enduring over time
- Imply consistent and stable characteristics
Three fundamental questions guide personality trait studies:
1. How should we conceptualize traits?
- Key terms need to be defined explicitly
2. How can we identify which traits are the most important traits from among thousands
of ways in which individuals differ?
- It is a very important goal to determine the most important ways in which individuals
differ
3. How can we formulate a comprehensive taxonomy of traits- a system that includes
within it all of the major traits of personality?
- Need to formulate an organized scheme (a taxonomy)
What is a Trait? Two Basic Formulations
Traits as Internal Causal Properties
- Traits are internal
- Desires, wants, needs and motivations are carried from one situation to the next
- These desires and needs explain the behaviour of the individual
- Traits can lie dormant- they’re still there even though they’re not expressed
Traits as Purely Descriptive Summaries
- Traits are simply descriptive summaries of attributes of a person
- The trait summarizes a general trend in behaviour, but it does not assume the cause of
the behaviour
- Social situations can explain traits
The Act Frequency Formulation if Traits- An Illustration of the Descriptive Summary
Formulation
Page 6-8 Act Frequency Formulation of Traits is not on exam
- Starts with the notion that traits are categories of acts
Example: dominance trait
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- Dominant people order groups, control things, make decisions
A dominant person is someone who performs a large number of dominant acts relative
to others
Act Frequency Research Program
This approach involves three key elements:
1. Act Nomination: a procedure designed to identify which acts belong in which trait
categories
- Example: an impulsive person makes decisions without thinking
2. Prototypical Judgment: involves identifying which acts are most central to (prototypical)
of each trait category
- Some acts are better demonstrators of traits than others
3. Recording Act Performance: securing information on the actual performance of
individuals in their daily lives
- Usually measured through self-report
Evaluation of Act Frequency Formulation
- Not enough context is provided to determine which traits the acts belong to
- This method applies to expressed actions, but not supressed actions
- Made explicit the behavioural phenomena
- Useful in identifying cultural similarities and differences
Identification of the Most Important Traits
Three fundamental approaches:
1. Lexical Approach
- Starts with a lexical hypothesis: all important individual differences have become
encoded within the natural language
- Words are used to describe differences between people
Synonym Frequency: important traits have many words to describe them
Cross-Cultural Universality: the more important a trait is, the more languages will have a word
for it
2. Statistical Approach
- Goal is to identify the major dimensions of the personality map
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- A large group of items is identified, a group of people rate themselves on the items, and
then a group of items is created
Factor Analysis: identifies groups of items that covary (go together) but tend not to covary with
other items
- Organizes the personality traits
- Factor loadings: numbers that indicate the degree to which the item correlates with the
underlying factor
Example: humorous, amusing, and popular covary and the underlying factor is
extraversion
3. Theoretical Approach
- starts with a theory that determines which variables are important
- dictates which variables are important to measure
Evaluating the Approaches for Identifying Important Traits
Theoretical Approach: strength coincides with the strength of the theory
- some researchers like some methods better than others
- usually a combination is used
Taxonomies of Personality
Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality
- rooted in biology
- model of personality was based on traits he believed were highly heritable and had a
psychophysiological foundation
Three main traits:
1. Extraversion-introversion
2. Neuroticism-emotional stability
3. Psychoticism
Description:
Extraversion: sociable, active, dominant
- Likes parties, has many friends
- Play practical jokes
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 2 readings: chapter 3: traits and trait taxonomies. Trait descriptive adjectives: words that describe traits, attributes of a person that are reasonably characteristic of the person and perhaps enduring over time. Need to formulate an organized scheme (a taxonomy) Desires, wants, needs and motivations are carried from one situation to the next. These desires and needs explain the behaviour of the individual. Traits can lie dormant- they"re still there even though they"re not expressed. Traits are simply descriptive summaries of attributes of a person. The trait summarizes a general trend in behaviour, but it does not assume the cause of the behaviour. The act frequency formulation if traits- an illustration of the descriptive summary. Page 6-8 act frequency formulation of traits is not on exam. Starts with the notion that traits are categories of acts. Dominant people order groups, control things, make decisions. A dominant person is someone who performs a large number of dominant acts relative to others.
