PERSONALITY AND TRAIT THEORIES. .pptx

PERSONALITY AND
TRAIT THEORIES

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this presentation we will be able to:
• Define personality.
• Describe the Personality trait theories by Cattel and Eysenck
• Discuss the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI).
• Describe the types of projective tests used to measure personality.

PERSONALITY:
A characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality embraces
moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions
with other people. It includes behavioral characteristics, both inherent and
acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed
in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group.

• Personality can also be defined as a set of characteristics that
distinguishes us from others and leads us to act consistently across
situations .

PERSONALITY TRAIT THEORIES BY
CATTEL AND EYSENCK
• TRAIT THEORIES: A trait theory is a model of personality that’s seeks to
identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality
• Trait theorist includes Alport, Cattel and Eysenck who came up with
different theories on personality traits.
• Personality traits are qualities that a person poses such as patience, honesty
consciousness, thoughtfulness and initiative.

CATTELS THEORIES
• Cattel’s Trait Theory (Approach):
• According to Raymond Cattell, personality is a pattern of traits and that
helps to understand his personality and predict his behavior. Traits are
permanent and build the personality of an individual.

Surface Traits and Source Traits:
• Surface Traits or Central Traits are the visible qualities of personality like
kindness, honesty, helpfulness, generosity, etc. On further study, he found
certain traits that appeared from time to time which indicated some deeper,
more general underlying factors of personality, called as source traits.

Constitutional and environmental traits:
• Cattell differentiates between constitutional traits and environmental traits. The characteristics in a
person that are inborn or biological are constitutional and those that a person forms as a result of his
experiences and environmental factors are the environmental mold traits.
• According to Cattel surface traits are caused both by heredity (nature) and environment (nurture),
some of them only as a result of heredity and some of them may be as a result of environment only.
With the help of a statistical technique called MAVA (Multiple Abstract Variation Analysis) he would
measure how much a characteristic was determined by heredity and how much by environment.

Ability, Temperament and Dynamic Traits:
• The ability traits refer to a person’s capacity, the temperament traits show
how a person behaves while he is doing his various tasks while working to
achieve his goals, whereas the dynamic traits are those qualities that are first
and foremost present for the person to set his goals.

Attitudes are the dynamic surface traits which display specific manifestations of underlying motives. They are the
visible qualities that motivate an individual to work towards his goals.

Eysenck’s Personality Theory
Eysenck (1952, 1967, 1982) proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals
inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment.
During 1940s Eysenck was working at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital in London. His job was to make an initial
assessment of each patient before their mental disorder was diagnosed by a psychiatrist.
Through this position, he compiled a battery of questions about behavior, which he later applied to 700 soldiers
who were being treated for neurotic disorders at the hospital (Eysenck (1947).

Hans Eysenck (1916–97) was a contemporary of Cattell and also used factor analysis to classify
personality traits. But Eysenck (1967) began with a theory of personality which he based on two super
traits extraversion introversion and neuroticism– stability. According to this theory, people who are highly
extraverted are sociable and outgoing, and crave excitement and the company of others. People who are
highly introverted are quiet and introspective; they tend to prefer time alone and to becautious in the way
they plan their lives. People who are highly neurotic tend to be anxious, moody and vulnerable, whereas
people who are low on neuroticism tend to be stable, calm and even-tempered.

According to this theory, people who are highly extraverted are sociable and outgoing, and crave excitement and the
company of others. People who are highly introverted are quiet and introspective; they tend to prefer time alone and
to becautious in the way they plan their lives. People who are highly neurotic tend to be anxious, moody and
vulnerable, whereas people who are low on neuroticism tend to be stable, calm and even-tempered Eysenck viewed
the supertraits of extraversion and neuroticism as independent, and believed that different personalities arise from
differing combinations of the two supertraits .Figure 14.7 shows the traits associated with Eysenck’s two major
personality dimensions (Eysenck, 1975). People who are high in both neuroticism and extraversion tend to exhibit
quite different traits than someone who is low in both, or a combination of low and high. So people who are high on
both extraversion and neuroticism tend to be touchy and aggressive, whereas people who are high on extraversion
and low on neuroticism tend to be carefree and sociable.

• Supertraits; Eysenck’s three key traits, which he also referred to as types.
• Extraversion; the tendency to seek and engage with the company of others.
• Introversion; the tendency to avoid the company of others and to withdraw from social situations.
• Neuroticism; the tendency to be worried and anxious.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is the most widely used and researched clinical assessment
tool used by mental health professionals to help diagnose mental health disorders.
Originally developed in the late 1930s, the test has been revised and updated several times to improve accuracy and
validity. The MMPI-2 consists of 567 true-false questions and takes approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete;
the MMPI-2-RF has 338 true-false questions, taking 35 to 50 minutes to finish.
This article discusses how the MMPI was developed, how it is used, and the different versions of the instrument
that are available.

HISTORY OF THE MMPI
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was developed in 1937 by clinical
psychologist Starke R. Hathaway and neuropsychiatrist J. Charnley McKinley at the University
of Minnesota.
They originally developed the test to be used in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. The
goal was to develop an instrument that could be used as an objective tool for assessing different psychiatric conditions
and their severity.
The creators of the test felt that the self-report inventories of the time were too transparent. Because respondents
could easily guess the intent of these inventories, they could also manipulate the results with ease.

Test items were originally developed by selecting questions that have been endorsed by people diagnosed with
different mental health conditions.
The test grew to become one of the most widely used psychological assessments. It was utilized in psychology clinics,
hospitals, correctional facilities, and pre-employment screenings.
Today, it's the most frequently used clinical testing instrument and is one of the most researched psychological tests in
existence. While the MMPI is not a perfect test, it remains a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of
mental illness.

HOW THE TEST HAS CHANGED
In the years after the test was first published, clinicians and researchers began to question the accuracy of the
MMPI. Critics pointed out that the original sample group was inadequate. Others argued that the results indicated
possible test bias, while others felt the test itself contained sexist and racist questions.
In response to these issues, the MMPI underwent a revision in the late 1980s. Many questions were removed or
reworded while a number of new questions were added. Additionally, new validity scales were incorporated in the
revised test.

•MMPI-2: The revised edition of the test was released in 1989 as the MMPI-2. The test received revision again in
2001 and updates in 2003 and 2009, and it's still in use today as the most frequently used clinical assessment test.
•MMPI-2-RF: Another edition of the test, published in 2008, is known as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), an alternative to the MMPI-2.
•MMPI-A: There is also an MMPI, published in 1992, that's geared toward adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old
called the MMPI-A. With 478 questions, it takes about an hour to complete.
•MMPI-A-RF: In 2016, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent-Restructured Form (
MMPI-A-RF) was published. Like the MMPI-2-RF, it's shorter, with just 241 questions that take 25 to 45 minutes
to answer.
•MMPI-3: The latest version of the instrument, MMPI-3, was released in 2020. The test takes 25 to 50 minutes to
complete and is available in English, Spanish, and French for Canada formats.

HOW THE MMPI IS USED;
The MMPI is most commonly used by mental health professionals to assess and diagnose mental illness, but it has also
been utilized in other fields outside of clinical psychology. The MMPI-2 is often used in legal cases, including criminal
defense and custody disputes.
The test has also been used as a screening instrument for certain professions, especially high-risk jobs, although using it
in this manner has been controversial. It's also used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs, including
substance use programs.

10 Clinical Scales
The MMPI-2 and MMPI-A have 10 clinical scales that are used to indicate different psychological conditions,
though the MMPI-2-RF and the MMPI-A-RF use different scales Despite the names given to each scale, they
are not a pure measure since many conditions have overlapping symptoms. Because of this, most
psychologists simply refer to each scale by number.
Here's a brief overview of the clinical scales on the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-A.

• Scale 1—Hypochondriasis
This scale was designed to assess a neurotic concern over bodily functioning. The items on this scale concern
physical symptoms and well-being. It was originally developed to identify people displaying the symptoms of
hypochondria, or a tendency to believe that one has an undiagnosed medical condition.
• Scale 2—Depression
This scale was originally designed to identify depression, characterized by poor morale, lack of hope in the future,
and general dissatisfaction with one's own life situation. Very high scores may indicate depression, while moderate
scores tend to reveal a general dissatisfaction with one’s life.
• Scale 3—Hysteria
The third scale was originally designed to identify those who display hysteria or physical complaints in stressful
situations. Those who are well-educated and of a high social class tend to score higher on this scale. Women also
tend to score higher than men on this scale.
• Scale 4—Psychopathic Deviate
Originally developed to identify psychopathic individuals, this scale measures social deviation, lack of acceptance
of authority, and amorality (a disregard for morality). This scale can be thought of as a measure of disobedience
and antisocial behavior.
High scorers tend to be more rebellious, while low scorers are more accepting of authority. Despite the name of
this scale, high scorers are usually diagnosed with a personality disorder rather than a psychotic disorder.

• Scale 5—Masculinity-Femininity
This scale was designed by the original authors to identify what they referred to as "homosexual tendencies," for which it
was largely ineffective. Today, it is used to assess how much or how little a person identifies how rigidly an individual
identifies with stereotypical male and female gender roles.
• Scale 6—Paranoia
This scale was originally developed to identify individuals with paranoid symptoms such as suspiciousness, feelings of
persecution, grandiose self-concepts, excessive sensitivity, and rigid attitudes. Those who score high on this scale tend to
have paranoid or psychotic symptoms.
• Scale 7— Psychasthenia
This diagnostic label is no longer used today and the symptoms described on this scale are more reflective of anxiety,
depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.This scale was originally used to measure excessive doubts, compulsions,
obsessions, and unreasonable fears.
• Scale 8—Schizophrenia
This scale was originally developed to identify individuals with schizophrenia. It reflects a wide variety of areas including
bizarre thought processes and peculiar perceptions, social alienation, poor familial relationships, difficulties in
concentration and impulse control, lack of deep interests, disturbing questions of self-worth and self-identity, and sexual
difficulties.

The scale can also show potential substance abuse, emotional or social alienation,
eccentricities, and a limited interest in other people.
 Scale 9—Hypomania
This scale was developed to identify characteristics of hypomania such as elevated mood,
hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, accelerated speech and motor activity, irritability,
flight of ideas, and brief periods of depression.
 Scale 10—Social Introversion
This scale was developed later than the other nine scales. It's designed to assess a person’s
shyness and tendency to withdraw from social contacts and responsibilities

Validity Scales
All of the MMPI tests use validity scales of varying sorts to help assess the accuracy of each individual's
answers. Since these tests can be used for circumstances like employment screenings and custody
hearings, test takers may not be completely honest in their answers.
Validity scales can show how accurate the test is, as well as to what degree answers may have been
distorted. The MMPI-2 uses the following scales.
The L Scale
Also referred to as the lie scale, this "uncommon virtues" validity scale was developed to detect attempts
by individuals to present themselves in a favorable light.
People who score high on this scale deliberately try to present themselves in the most positive way
possible, rejecting shortcomings or unfavorable characteristics.
The F Scale
This scale is used to detect attempts at over reporting. Essentially, people who score high on this scale
are trying to appear worse than they really are, they may be in severe psychological distress, or they may
be just

randomly answering questions without paying attention to what the questions say.
This scale asks questions designed to determine if test-takers are contradicting themselves in their responses.
The K Scale
Sometimes referred to as the "defensiveness scale," this scale is a more effective and less obvious way of detecting
attempts to present oneself in the best possible way by underreporting.
People may underreport because they're worried about being judged or they may be minimizing their problems or
denying that they have any problems at all.
The ? Scale
Also known as the "cannot say" scale, this validity scale assesses the number of items left unanswered. The MMPI
manual recommends that any test with 30 or more unanswered questions should be declared invalid.
TRIN Scale
The True Response Inconsistency (TRIN) scale was developed to detect people who use fixed responding, a
method of taking the test without regard to the question, such as marking ten questions "true," the next ten as
"false," and so on.
Fixed responding could be used due to not being able to read or comprehend the test material well or being defiant
about having to take the test. This section consists of 20 paired questions that are the opposite of each other.

VRIN Scale
The Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scale is another method developed to detect inconsistent, random
responses. Like fixed responding, this can be intentional or it can be due to not understanding the material or not being
able to read it.
The Fb Scale
This scale is designed to show changes in how a person responded in the first half of the test versus how they responded
in the second half by using questions that most normal respondents didn't support.
High scores on this scale sometimes indicate that the respondent stopped paying attention and began answering
questions randomly. It can also be due to over or underreporting, fixed responding, becoming tired, or being under
severe stress.
The Fp Scale
This scale helps detect intentional over reporting in people who have a mental health disorder of some sort or who were
using random or fixed responding.
The FBS Scale
The "symptom validity" scale is used for people who are taking the test because they're claiming that they had a personal
injury or disability. This scale can help establish the credibility of the test taker.

The S Scale
The "superlative self-presentation" scale was developed in 1995 to look for additional underreporting. It also has sub-
scales that assess the test taker's belief in human goodness, serenity, contentment with life, patience/denial of irritability,
and denial of moral flaws.

PROJECTIVE TESTS USED TO MEASURE
PERSONALITY
A projective test is a type of personality test in which you offer responses to ambiguous scenes, words, or images.
The goal of such tests is to uncover the hidden conflicts or emotions that you project onto the test with the hope
that these issues can then be addressed through psychotherapy or other appropriate treatments.

TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TEST
There are a number of different types of projective tests. Some of the best-known examples include:
o The Rorschach Inkblot Test
o The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
o The Draw-A-Person Test
o The House-Tree-Person Test

The Rorschach Inkblot Test
This test was one of the first projective tests developed and continues to be one of the best-known and
most widely used. Developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the test consists of 10
different cards that depict an ambiguous inkblot.
People are shown one card at a time and asked to describe what they see in the image. The responses are
recorded verbatim by the tester. Gestures, the tone of voice, and other reactions are also noted.
The results of the test can vary depending on which of the many existing scoring systems the examiner
uses.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
In the TAT test, people are asked to look at a series of ambiguous scenes and then to tell a story
describing the scene. This includes describing what is happening, how the characters are feeling, and
how the story will end.
The examiner then scores the test based on the needs, motivations, and anxieties of the main character,
as well as how the story eventually turns out.

The Draw-A-Person Test
This type of projective test involves exactly what you might imagine. People draw a person and the image
that they created is then assessed by the examiner.
To score the test, the test interpreter might look at a number of factors. These may include the size of
particular parts of the body or features, the level of detail given to the figure, as well as the overall shape
of the drawing.
A test interpreter might suggest that certain aspects of the drawing are indicative of particular
psychological tendencies. However, it might simply mean that the individual has poor drawing skills.
The test has been used as a measure of intelligence in children, but research comparing scores on the
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence to the Draw-A-Person test found a very low
correlation between the two scores.

The House-Tree-Person Test
In this type of projective test, people are asked to draw a house, a tree, and a person. Once the drawing is
complete, they are asked a series of questions about the images they have drawn.
The test was originally designed by John Buck and included a series of 60 questions to ask the respondent,
although test administrators may also come up with their own questions or follow-up queries to further
explore the subject's responses. For example, the test administrator might ask of the house drawing:
•Who lives here?
•Who visits the person who lives here?
•Is the person who lives here happy?

PERSONALITY AND TRAIT THEORIES. .pptx

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