WHAT IS ONE
PERSONALITY TRAIT
THAT YOU HAVE
INHERITED FROM EACH
OF YOUR PARENTS?
EXPLAIN!
TURN IN TO ME PLEASE!
Intro to Trait Theory
• Traits: relatively stable, habitual
patterns of behavior, thought, and
emotion that make up an
individual’s personality
– Examples of traits would include
impulsivity, perfectionism,
obsessionality, excitability, etc.
– These are contrary to states, which
are temporary
• I.E., a trait of excitable is not the same
thing as a state of excitedness
– Traits exist along a spectrum where
an individual may rank low,
moderate, or high in comparison to
the average person
Low
Moderate
High
Intro to Trait Theory
• Gordon Allport is one of the earliest known “trait” psychologists.
He went through the entire dictionary to search out single word
trait descriptors and organized 4500 of them into three levels:
– Cardinal Traits: the most dominant traits/passions/
obsessions/drives that shape a person’s personality
• i.e., a need for money/fame, a yearning for knowledge,
a life filled with lust, a life of public service to others, etc.
– Central Traits: general characteristics that serve as
the building blocks of a person’s personality
• i.e., honesty, shyness, anxiousness, kindness, etc.
– Secondary Traits: variable traits that exhibit only
in certain circumstances
• i.e., a side of yourself you only reveal to your best friend
or a different way you act in the privacy of your own room
• Allport’s theory isn’t relevant today, but it’s
important because it was the first of its kind
• Sims character creator is based on this theory!
Intro
to
Trait
Theory
• Modern trait theory constructs typically use personality
inventories— questionnaires in which users are asked to rate
themselves on a series of Likert Scales or true/false statements to
determine a numerical scoring of their personality traits
– Examples of
Likert Scale
questions:
• The most widely researched and clinically used personality trait
inventory is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI) due to its high validity and reliability
– Measures personality but also used to detect mental health issues
– 567 true/false questions in about 60-90 minutes
– Uses standardization; user’s score is compared to “average” for analysis
The “Big Five”
• The MMPI and most other inventories categorize personality
into five major traits known as the “Big Five” factors of
personality:
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Openness to
Experience
Extraversion
Neuroticism
CANOE -or- OCEAN
(Helpful Acronyms)
Conscientiousness
• Conscientiousness: the personality trait of being careful
and vigilant with a desire to perform tasks well
– It is NOT “consciousness” – that is a state of awareness
– It is NOT “conscience” – that is an intuition for distinguishing right from
wrong
Fun facts - conscientious
people:
• Disorderly
• Non goal-oriented
• Spontaneous
Low
– Are less likely to read tabloid
papers
– Spend less time daydreaming
– Tend to be more successful in the
workplace (no other trait predicts
this)
– Are better at saving money
– Tend to live longer than average
– Are less likely to get divorced
– Tend to be Republican
– Tend to be less innovative
Moderate
• Efficient
• Organized
• Disciplined
High
Agreeableness
• Agreeableness: the personality trait of being kind,
sympathetic, cooperative, warm, and considerate
– Those who score low on agreeableness are considered to have the
“dark triad” traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy
Fun facts – agreeable
people:
• Selfish
• Manipulative
• Malevolent
Low
– View others in a more positive light
– Are better behaved as children
– Are better able to control negative
emotions like anger in conflict
situations
– Are more willing to lose arguments
in order to maintain a relationship
– Tend to make LESS money than
non-agreeable people
– Tend to live in the West/Midwest
(Wisconsin is #5 most “agreeable”
state)
Moderate
• Empathetic
• Altruistic
• Trustworthy
High
Neuroticism
• Neuroticism: the personality trait of being anxious, fearful,
and emotionally unstable
– This is considered to be more of a NEGATIVE trait than the other five;
scoring “high” in this is considered “bad” typically
• To fix this, some models call it “emotional stability” instead and reverse the
spectrum
Fun facts - neurotic people:
• Calm
• Even-tempered
• Emotionally secure
Low
– Tend to interpret ordinary
situations as threatening and
minor frustrations as hopelessly
difficult
– Have higher rates of mental
disorders
– Have sympathetic nervous
systems that are more sensitive to
environmental stimulation
– Are more likely to be women than
men
– Are more at risk for heart disease
and have lower life expectancies
Moderate
• Nervous
• Moody
• Self-conscious
High
Openness to Experience
• Openness to Experience: the personality trait of having a
preference for novelty and variety
– This trait tends to be normally distributed (meaning most people score
“average” and relatively few score “high” or “low”
Fun facts – “open” people:
• Conventional
• Traditional
• Prefer routine
Low
– Are less likely to be religious
– Tend to have eclectic tastes in
music
– Tend to be more creative than usual
– Are moderately more crystallized
intelligent and slightly more fluid
intelligent than average
– Are more likely to be politically
liberal and tolerant of diversity
– More often remember their dreams
– Have higher sex drives & sexual
experience
Moderate
• Thrill-seeking
• Imaginative
• Independent
High
extraversion
• Extraversion: the personality trait of being focused on
social stimulation
– The opposite of “extraverted” is being “introverted”
– Recent research has focused on “mental energy” differences;
extraverts “absorb” energy from others while introverts “disperse”
energy to others
Fun facts - extraverted
people:
• Reserved
• Solitary
• Observational
Low
– Make up 50-66% of the US
population
– Have greater blood flow to the
parts of the brain involved in
sensory and emotional experience
– Place greater emphasis on
“decorative” clothing than
“comfortable” clothing
– Report higher levels of happiness
than introverted people
– Are less successful in academics
– Are more likely to have diseases
Moderate
• Sociable
• Affectionate
• Outgoing
High
Trait Theory Criticism
• The biggest criticism of trait theory is that it does not take into
account the importance of the situation
– If an observer were to walk into the room right now, he/she would think
that all of you are very introverted because none of you are talking,
but that’s only happening because you’re currently in the role of a
student
– When you’re at home after school eating dinner with your family,
you’re probably more extraverted
– And at a party on the weekend, you’re probably even more
extraverted