2. OVERVIEW
Overview of Trait and Factor
Theories
Basics of Factor Analysis
Biographies of Robert R. McCrae
and Paul T. Costa, Jr.
In Search of the Big Five
Five Factors Found
Description of the Five Factors
Evolution of the Five-Factor
Theory
Basic Postulates
Consistency and Change of
Personality over the
Lifetime
Measuring the Big Five with
Our Digital Footprints
Summary
3. BIOGRAPHIES
Robert Roger Mcrae - Was born
on April 28, 1949 in Maryville,
Missouri. Youngest of three children
born to Andrew McCrae and Eloise
Elaine McCrae, grew up with an
avid interest in science and
mathematics.
4. BIOGRAPHIES
Paul T. Costa, Jr. was born on September 16,
1942 in Franklin, New Hampshire, the son of
Paul T. Costa, Sr. and Esther Vasil Costa.
He earned his undergraduate degree in
psychology at Clark University in 1964 and both
his master's (1968) and PhD (1970) in human
development from the University of Chicago.
5. BASIC FACTOR OF ANALYSIS
Factor analysis is not essential to an understanding of trait and factor
theories of personality, but a general description of this technique
should be helpful
correlation coefficient between each variable and each of the other
999 scores ( is a mathematical procedure for expressing the degree of
correspondence between two sets of scores)
Correlations of scores with factors are called factor loadings
6. BASIC FACTOR OF ANALYSIS
Unipolar traits are scaled from zero to some large amount
Bipolar traits extend from one pole to an opposite pole, with zero
representing a midpoint
Orthogonally rotated axes are at right angles to each other
Oblique method, which was advocated by Cattell, assumes some
positive or negative correlation and refers to an angle of less than or
more than 90°
7. Units of five factor theory - behavior is predicted by an
understanding of three central or core components and three peripheral
ones
Core components of personality - the central or core components
are represented by rectangles, whereas the peripheral components are
represented by ellipses.
The arrows represent Dynamic processes - and indicate the direction
of causal influence.
8. Basic tendencies - are one of the central components of personality,
along with characteristic adaptions, self-concept, biological bases,
objective biography, and external influence
Characteristic adaptations -that is, acquired personality structures
that develop as people adapt to their environment
Self-concept - is actually a characteristic adaptation but it gets its own
box because it is such an important adaptation
9. The three peripheral components are
1. Biological bases - The principal biological mechanisms that
influence
basic tendencies are genes, hormones, and brain structures
2.Objective biography - defined as "everything the person does,
thinks, or feels across the whole lifespan
3.External Influences - People constantly find themselves in a
particular physical or social situation that has some influence on the
personality system.
10. Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory - Originally, the five factors
constituted noting more than a taxonomy, a classification of basic
personality traits
Description of five factors
Extraversion- affectionate joiner talkative fun loving active
passionate
Neuroticism-anxious temperamental self-pitying self-conscious
emotional vulnerable.
11. Openness - distinguishes people who prefer variety from
those who have a need for closure and who gain comfort in
their association with familiar people and things
Agreeableness - distinguishes soft-hearted people from
ruthless one
Conscientiousness - describes people who are ordered,
controlled, organized, ambitious, achievement focused, and
self-disciplined
12. Basic Postulates
Each of the components of the personality system (except biological
bases) has core postulates
Postulates for Basic Tendencies
Basic tendencies have four postulates: individuality, origin,
development, and structure
Individuality postulate stipulates that adults have a unique set of
traits and that each person exhibits a
unique combination of trait patterns
13. Origin postulate takes a clear if somewhat controversial stance: All
personality traits are the result solely of endogenous (internal) forces,
such as genetics, hormones, and brain structures
Development postulate assumes that traits develop and change
through childhood, but in adolescence, their development slows, and by
early to mid-adulthood (roughly age 30), change in personality nearly
stops altogether (Costa & McCrae, 1994; Costa, McCrae, & Arenberg,
1980)
Structure postulate states that traits are organized hierarchically from
narrow and specific to broad and general, just as Eysenck (1990) had
suggested
14. Postulates for Characteristic Adaptations
The postulate concerning characteristic adaptations states that, over
time, people adapt to their environment "by acquiring patterns of
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are consistent with their
personality traits and earlier adaptations" (McCrae & Costa, 2003, p.
190)
Consistency and Change of Personality over the Lifetime
Recall our definition of personality as the unique and enduring manner
in which a person thinks, feels, and behaves
15. Personality Consistency
In many ways, it is more difficult to change our personalities than
we think. Much of who we are remains rather stable and
consistent over our lifetimes. When we talk about personality
consistency, however, we mean relative consistency. No one is
consistent all of the time or in all situations. Consistency is a
matter of degree
16. Measuring the Big Five with Our Digital
Footprints
Few inventions have changed human culture more than the
Internet. More recently, the part of the Internet that has
profoundly changed how people interact, communicate, think,
and behave is social media, particularly Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and Snapchat.
18. OVERVIEW
Every theory of personality discussed so far has downplayed, ignored, or even
argued against the biological basis of human personality. Only McCrae and Costa
placed even mild emphasis on genetic and biological influences on personality.
With Eysenck that changed. Eysenck developed a factor theory much like McCrae
and Costa, but because he fundamentally based his taxonomy in both factor
analysis and biology, he derived only three, rather than
five,
dimensions of personality-
extraversion/introversion,
neuroticism/stability,
and
psychoticism/superego.
19. BIOGRAPHY OF HANS J.
EYSENCK
2
Hans Jurgen Eysenck was born in Berlin on March 4,
1916, the only child of a theatrical family.
His mother was Ruth Werner, a starlet at the time of
Eysenck's birth. Ruth Werner later became a German
silent film star under the stage name of Helga Molander
Eysenck's father: Anton Eduard Eysenck, was a
comedian, singer, and actor.
DEATH : September 1897
21. CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING
FACTORS
2
FIRST, PSYCHOMETRIC EVIDENCE FOR THE FACTOR'S EXISTENCE
MUST BE ESTABLISHED
SECOND CRITERION IS THAT THE FACTOR MUST ALSO POSSESS
HERITABILITY AND MUST FIT AN ESTABLISHED GENETIC MODEL.
THIRD, THE FACTOR MUST MAKE SENSE FROM A THEORETICAL
VIEW
THE FINAL CRITERION FOR THE EXISTENCE OF A FACTOR IS THAT
IT MUST POSSESS SOCIAL RELEVANCE
22. HIERARCHY OF BEHAVIOR
ORGANIZATION
2
Eysenck (1947, 1994c) recognized a four-
level hierarchy of behavior organization. At
the lowest level are specific acts or
cognitions, individual behaviors or thoughts
that may or may not be characteristic of a
person.
1.Specific acts or cognition
2.Habitual acts or cognition.
3.Traits or personal disposition
4.Types or superfactor
23. SPECIFIC ACTS OR COGNITIONS
- the lowest level are specific acts or
cognitions, individual behaviors or thoughts that may or may not be characteristic of a
person
HABITUAL ACTS OR COGNITIONS
-responses that recur under similar
conditions.
-habitual responses must be reasonably
reliable or consistent.
TRAIT
-several related habitual responses form a
trait
-it is as important semi-permanent
personality dispositions
TYPES
-also known as superfactors,
made up of several interrelated traits.
24. DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY
⚫️We have seen that Eysenck and Cattell arrived at a different number of
personality dimensions because they worked at different levels of factoring.
⚫️Many current factor theorists insist that ample evidence exists that five-and no more and no
fewer-general factors will emerge from nearly all factor analyses of personality traits. Eysenck,
however, extracted only three general superfactors. His three personality dimensions are
extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P),
25. 2
Extraversion - are characterized by sociability and impulsiveness;
introverts, by passivity and thoughtfulness.
Neuroticism - scale may indicate anxiety, hysteria, obsessive compulsive
disorders, or criminality, low
scores tend to predict emotional stability.
Psychoticism - indicate hostility, self centeredness, suspicion,
nonconformity, and antisocial
behavior; low scores indicate a strong superego, empathy, and
cooperation.
26. 2
Measuring Personality - Eysenck evolved four personality inventories that
measure his super factors.
Biological Bases of Personality - According to Eysenck, personality
factors Psychoticism, Extroversion, and Neuroticism all have powerful
biological determinants. He estimated that about three fourths of the variance
of all three personality dimensions can be accounted for by heredity and
about one fourth by environmental factors.
Personality as predictor - suggests that the psychometric traits of
Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism, can combine with one another
and with genetic determinants, biological intermediates, and experimental
studies to predict a variety of social behaviors, including those that contribute
to disease.
27. 2
Personality and Disease - He and David Kissen (Kissen & Eysenck, 1962) found that
people who scored low on neuroticism (N) on the Maudsley Personality Inventory
Personality and behavior - According to Eysenck's model, psychoticism,
extraversion, and neuroticism should predict results of experimental studies as well as social
behaviors.
The Biological Basis of Extraversion - One of the major thrusts of Eysenck's theory is
that personality dimensions are not arbitrary creations of culture but, rather, result from the
basic genetic and neurophysiological makeup of the human species.
28. 2
The Biological Basis of Neuroticism - neuroticism resulted from
increased activity or responsiveness and lower activation thresholds
in the limbic system. This pattern is the same as introversion but the location is
different: introversion involves increased activity and lower thresholds for cortical
and reticular arousal rather than limbic system arousal.
Critique of Eyesenck - The middle
square embraces the psychometric properties of his theory; that is, psychoticism,
extraversion, and neuroticism.
Concept of humanity - suggests that the psychometric traits of Psychoticism,
Extraversion, and Neuroticism, can combine with one another and with genetic
determinants, biological intermediates, and experimental studies to predict a variety
of social behaviors, including those that contribute to disease.
29. SUMMARY
Factor analysis is not essential to an understanding of trait and factor theories of personality
Correlation coefficient is a mathematical procedure for expressing the degree of
correspondence between two sets of score
Factor loadings Correlations of scores with factors are called factor loadings
Unipolar traits are scaled from zero to some large amount
Bipolar traits extend from one pole to an opposite pole, with zero representing a midpoint
Orthogonally rotated axes are at right angles to each other
Oblique method, which was advocated by Cattell, assumes some positive or negative
correlation and refers to an angle of less than or more than 90°
Units of five factor theory behavior is predicted by an understanding of three central or
core components and three peripheral ones
Core components of personality the central or core components are represented by
rectangles, whereas the peripheral components are represented by ellipses.
Dynamic processes and indicate the direction of causal influence.
30. SUMMARY
Basic tendencies are one of the central components of personality, along with
characteristic adaptions, self-concept, biological bases, objective biography, and external
influence
Characteristic adaptations that is, acquired personality structures that develop as people
adapt to their environment
Self-concept is actually a characteristic adaptation but it gets its own box because it is such
an important adaptation
Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory Originally, the five factors constituted noting more
than a taxonomy, a classification of basic personality traits
Description of five factors
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Openness
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
The three peripheral components
Biological bases
Objective biography
External Influences
31. Key Terms and Concepts
Eysenck used a hypothetico-deductive approach to extract three bipolar factors
extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and psychoticism/superego.
Extraverts are characterized by sociability and impulsiveness;
introverts, by passivity and thoughtfulness.
High scores on the neuroticism scale may indicate anxiety, hysteria, obsessive-
compulsive disorders, or criminality; low scores tend to predict emotional
stability.
High scores on psychoticism indicate hostility, self-centeredness, suspicion,
nonconformity, and antisocial behavior; low scores indicate a strong superego,
empathy, and cooperation.
Eysenck insisted that, to be useful, personality must predict behavior, and he
presented ample evidence to support his three-factor theory.
The three main dimensions of personality are biologically based as evidenced
from temperament, behavioral genetics, and brain research.
