• Course Website: teacherweb.com/AZ/UniversityHighSchool/SarahGrace

• Remind: remind.com/join/3fed8

• Bring Books on Monday/Tuesday for Exam 1 Review

Review

• Describe the three conditions/characteristics that Carl Rogers believed were necessary for personal growth. Are these characteristics that we should have, that others should have, or both?

• Elizabeth is struggling to decide whether to buy a new sweater that she really can’t afford. What role would each of the three parts of her personality structure (as theorized by Freud) play in her decision?

• What is a criticism of Humanistic Psychology? Do you agree with the criticism?

Trait Theories

Trait Theory of Personality

Gordon Allport & Freud => Freud overvalued unconscious motives and undervalued our observable personality styles/traits.

Myers and Briggs wanted to study individual behaviors and statements to find how people differed in personality The Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (MBTI) is a questionnaire categorizing people by traits.

Trait theory of personality: That we are made up of a collection of traits, behavioral predispositions that can be identified and measured, traits that differ from person to person

Trait: An enduring quality that makes a person tend to act a certain way.Examples: “honest.” “shy.” “hard-working.”MBTI traits come in pairs: “Judging” vs. “Perceiving.” “Thinking” vs. “Feeling.”

Intro Questions• 1. How would you describe

yourself (i.e. shy, introverted, extroverted, outgoing, honest, hardworking, manipulative, etc.)?

• 2. Where do you think these traits come from (i.e. biology, environment, etc.)?

• 3. Do you think they are stable (they don’t change) or do you think these traits might change over time? Why or why not?

Objective Review Questions

• 1. How do psychologists use traits to describe personality?

• 2. What are personality inventories, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

• 3. Which traits seem to provide the most useful information about personality variation?

• 4. Does research support the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations?

Trait Theorists

Allport Myers & Briggs Eysenck Costa &

McCrae

Traits: Rooted in Biology? Brain: Extraverts tend to have

low levels of brain activity, making it hard to suppress impulses, and leading them to seek stimulation.

Body: The trait of shyness appears to be related to high autonomic system reactivity, an easily triggered alarm system.

Genes: Selective breeding of animals seems to create lifelong differences in traits such as aggression, sociability, or calmness, suggesting genetic roots for these traits.

Factor Analysis and the Eysencks’ Personality Dimensions

Factor Analysis: Identifying factors that tend to cluster together.

Extraversion-intraversion & emotional stability-instability

Research supports their idea that these variations are linked to genetics.

Assessing Traits: Questionnaires Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI):

Designed to identify people with personality difficulties

Personality Inventory: Questionnaire assessing many personality traits, by asking which behaviors and responses the person would choose

Empirically derived test: all test items have been selected to because they predictably match the qualities being assessed.

The “Big Five” Personality Factors The Eysencks felt that people

varied along two dimensions. Current cross-cultural research and

theory supports the expansion from two dimensions to five factors:

Conscientiousness: self-discipline, careful pursuit of delayed goals

Agreeableness: helpful, trusting, friendliness

Neuroticism: anxiety, insecurity, emotional instability

Openness: flexibility, nonconformity, variety

Extraversion: Drawing energy from others, sociability

to help us remember the five factors, remember that the first letters spell “CANOE”…

The “Big Five”/ C.A.N.O.E.Personality Dimensions

ImpulsiveTrustingAnxiousConformingFun-Loving

Questions about TraitsThese topics are the subject of ongoing research:

Stability: One’s distinctive mix of traits doesn’t change much over the lifespan.However, everyone in adulthood becomes: More conscientious and agreeable, andLess extraverted, neurotic/unstable, and less open (imaginative, flexible).

Predictive value: Levels of success in work and relationships relates to traits such as openness and conscientiousness.

Heritability: For most traits, genes account for 50% of the variation among individuals

Trait Theorists

Myers & Briggs Eysenck Costa &

McCrae

Explain the difference between the ways the trait psychologists describe personality. Be sure to identify the instrument they use to describe personality.

Person-Situation Controversy Trait theory

assumes that we have traits that are a function of personality, not situation.

There is evidence that some traits are linked to roles and to personas we use in different cultures, environments.

Evaluating Trait Theories

The person-situation controversy

Is the person or situation more influential in determining a person’s behavior?

Traits that persist over time & across situations

Traits vs. behaviors

Personality Affecting the Situation, Not Just a Function of the Situation

This room may reflect the personality of the guy who lives there. The setup and contents of the room may also shape his personality.

Your Facebook posts, your website, music lists, choice of ringtone--these all reflect your personality.

These choices also may shape how others treat you, which may affect your personality.

Check for understanding

• Explain the person-situation controversy. What exactly is the controversy?