Big five theory and it's proponents, Paul T. Costa and Robert Mcrae

1. P R E S E N T E D B Y A G A P A Y A N D D U B A L A N

2. • The youngest of three children born to Andrew McCrae and Eloise Elaine McCrae
• Robert grew up with an avid interest in science and mathematics
• Studied Philosophy in Michigan State University
• Studied Psychology in Boston University
• Intrigued by the psychometric work of Raymond Cattell
• He became curious about using factor analysis
• Henry Weinberg - his major professor, a clinical psychologist with only a peripheral interest in personality traits
⚬ His interest in traits had to be nourished more internally than externally
1960s & 1970s
• Walter Mischel was questioning the notion that personality traits are consistent, claiming that the situation is more
important than any personality trait.
May 4, 1999
• in a personal communication, he wrote “I attended graduate school in the years after Mischel’s (1968) critique of trait
psychologymany psychologists at the time were prepared to believe that traits were nothing but response sets,
stereotypes, or cognitive fictions. That never made any sense to me, and my early research experience showing
remarkable stability in longitudinal studies encouraged the belief that traits were real and enduring”
Born: April 28, 1949 in Maryville, Missouri
Death: ?

3. 1975
• was sent by his advisor to work as a research assistant with James Fozard, an adult developmental psychologist at the
Normative Aging Study at the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Boston
⚬ Was referred to Paul T. Costa Jr., who was on the faculty at University of Massachusetts at Boston.
1976
• McCrae completed his PhD
• Costa hired him as project director and co-principal investigator for his Smoking and Personality Grant
• Worked on the project for 2 years until they were hired by the National Institute on Aging’s Gerontology Research Center,
a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) housed in Baltimore
• Costa was hired as the chief of the section on stress and coping
• McCrae took the position as senior staff fellow
• Gerontology Research Center was an ideal place for Costa and McCrae to investigate the question of how personality is
structured.
1970s
• Costa and McCrae conducted work on traits that ensured them a prominent role in the 40-year history of analyzing the
structure of personality
Born: April 28, 1949 in Maryville, Missouri
Death: ?

4. • the son of Paul T. Costa, Sr. and Esther Vasil Costa
• Costa and his wife, Karol Sandra Costa, have three children, Nina, Lora, and Nicholas.
• Recieved his undergraduate degree in psychology at Clark University in 1964
• Also completed both his master’s (1968) and PhD (1970) in human development from the University of Chicago
• His interest in individual differences and the nature of personality increased when he went to the University of Chicago
• He taught for 2 years at Harvard and then from 1973 to 1978 at University of Massachusetts–Boston
1978
• began working at the National Institute of Aging’s Gerontology Research Center, becoming the chief for the Section on Stress
and Coping
1985
• chief for the Laboratory of Personality & Cognition
• he became president of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of the American Psychological Association
Other Accomplishments:
• fellow of American Psychological Association in 1977
• president of International Society for the Study of Individual Differences in 1995
Born: September 16, 1942 in Franklin, New Hampshire
Death: ?

5. The Big Five Model, also known as the Five-Factor Model, is the most widely accepted personality
theory held by psychologists today. The theory states that personality can be boiled down to five core
factors, known by the acronym OCEAN.
The Big Five personality traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion (also often spelled
extroversion), agreeableness and neuroticism.
•Openness to Experience – prefers routine, practical vs. imaginative, spontaneous
•Conscientiousness – impulsive, disorganized vs. disciplined, careful
•Extraversion – reserved, thoughtful vs. sociable, fun-loving
•Agreeableness – suspicious, uncooperative vs. trusting, helpful
•Neuroticism – calm, confident vs. anxious, pessimistic
The Big Five remain relatively stable throughout most of one’s lifetime. They are influenced
significantly by genes and the environment, with an estimated heritability of 50%. They also predict
certain important life outcomes such as education and health.

6. Unlike other trait theories that sort individuals into binary categories (i.e. introvert or extrovert ), the
Big Five Model asserts that each personality trait is a spectrum.
Therefore, individuals are ranked on a scale between the two extreme ends of five broad dimensions
For instance, when measuring Extraversion, one would not be classified as purely extroverted or
introverted, but placed on a scale determining their level of extraversion.
By ranking individuals on each of these traits, it is possible to effectively measure individual
differences in personality