A brief discussion about Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck trait Theory. This presentation conveys the strength and weaknesses of each theories.

1. Theories of
Personality
Nucom, L., Castañeda, J.H.

2. Raymond
Cattell
The life of Cattell

3. Predicting Behavior
● A Scientific Approach - relying on observations of behavior and masses of data.
● Factor Analysis - assessing the relationship between each possible pair of
measurements.
● Traits - mental elements of the personality

4. Cattell’s Approach to Personality Traits

5. Source Traits: The Basic Factors of Personality

6. Dynamic Traits: Motivating Forces
● Other personality theories failed to consider the impact of dynamic.
The Influence of Heredity and Environment
Genetically
based
Social and
environmental
influences

7. Stages of Personality Development

8. Questions about Human Nature
● “Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a
given situation”
Assessment in Cattell’s Theory
● Life records (L -data) - real-life setting such as classroom or office.
● Questionnaires (Q-data) - requires to rate themselves.
● Personality tests (T-data) - “objective” tests

9. The 16 PF Test

10. Research on Cattell’s Ideas
● Can predict marital stability
● Can be distorted or faked
● Can ne used in many cultures, but for some languages a literal translation
of the test items is not possible
● Can be used for research, clinical diagnosis, and predicting success on the
job
Reflections on Cattell’s Theory

11. Hans Eysenck
Factor Theory

12. Hans Jürgen Eysenck 4 March 1916
was a German-born British
psychologist
Eysenck was married a second time,
to Sybil Rostal.
Eysenck was Professor of
Psychology at the Institute of
Psychiatry, King's College London,
from 1955 to 1983.

13. He has written 75 books and
some 800 articles, making him
one of the most prolific writers in
psychology. Eysenck retired in
1983 and continued to write
until his death on September 4,
1997.

14. Eysenck’s
Factor Theory

15. ● People are born with personality traits
● Environmental, social and situational factors can influence
these traits
● External influences amplify, but remains stable over time.
● External influences matter only to about 25% of the
influence

16. PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS
● He proposed that
extraverts have
underaroused
nervous system.
● Introverts have
over aroused
nervous system.
INTROVERT EXTRAVERT

17. PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS
● Stable people
have less reactive
Sympathetic
nervous system
● Neurotic People
have more
reactive nervous
system
NEUROTIC
STABLE

18. Implication of the Theory
● All of us human
beings fall
somewhere on
N dimension
and E
dimension.
● Eysenck
personality
Inventory (EPI)
NEUROTIC
STABLE
INTROVERT EXTRAVERT
Anxious, Rigid,
Quiet Reserved,
Moody
Aggressive,
Excitable,
Restlessness
Optimistic, Active.
Peaceful,
Thoughtful, Reliable,
Calm.
Outgoing, Sociable,
Carefree, Talkative

19. The third Dimension
● With the collaboration of his Wife, they proposed a third
dimension.
● Psychoticism /Normality (P) which relates to compassion
and morality.
● Traits is controlled by the levels of testosterone.
● A psychotic person can have antisocial traits.
● Eysenck also hypothesized that psychoticism (P) is
related to genius and creativity.

20. PEN MODEL
● A Comprehensive
model for
studying human
personality
● Questionnaire is
modified to
Eysenck
personality
Questionnaire
(EPQ)
NEUROTIC
STABLE
INTROVERT EXTRAVERT
NEUROTIC

21. Critique of Eysenck’s Biologically Based Theory
Does Eysenck’s biologically based theory generate research?
Are trait and factor theories falsifiable?
Does trait theory have the ability organize knowledge?
Does it have the power to to guide the actions of practitioners?
Are trait and factor theories internally consistent?
Is it parsimonious?
VERY HIGH
MODERATE
MODERATE
LOW
HIGH
AMBIGUOUS

22. Strength
● It takes into account both Nature and Nurture.
● Links nicely with Diathesis Stress Model.
● Objective Criteria is used for categorizing and measuring
behavior.

23. Weakness
● Traits do a poor job in predicting behavior in every situation
● It lacks explanatory power.
● Cultural Differences

24. Thought
Provoking
Questions

25. Thought Provoking Questions
Did Trait Theories made other school of thoughts
(psychoanalytic and humanistic) obsolete? Why or Why not?
How important is it for a Mental health practitioner to base his
findings on empirical evidences? Why?