The Trait Model of Personality [WLOs: 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 5]  Prior to beginning work on this assignment, · Read Chapter 8 in the course textbook. · Read the article Stability of Personality Traits in Adulthood: Mechanisms and Implications (Allemand, Steiger, & Hill, 2013). · Go to the Truity (n.d.) The Big Five Personality Test (Links to an external site.) , and complete the free, confidential personality test that is based on the big five theory. The results of this test may be used to aid in the completion of this assignment. Note that you do not need to register or provide personal information to obtain your results from this website. This site lists a $29 charge to take the assessment, but that is only if you want the Premium Report. You do not have to pay anything to complete the online assessment. After you have completed the assessment, click the No, just give me my results link. This link will take you to a page that will tell you how you scored on each of the five traits in the big five theory. In addition to the required sources, go to the Ashford University Library and research a minimum of one scholarly source on the trait model of personality (part one of the paper) and one scholarly resource on the big five theory of personality (part two of the paper). All required and outside sources should be properly cited in your paper. To assist you in completing the library research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process and provides some library search tips. This assignment has two parts. In the first part, · Provide an overview of the trait model of personality in which you identify at least one principal theory and its theorist (i.e., Allport, Cattell, or Eysenck) associated with the model. (Please note that the trait model is more than just the big five—this part of the paper should cover the general history and evolution of the model.) · Compare and contrast the basic assumptions of the trait model and the psychodynamic model regarding the theorist’s explanations of personality development. · Use the scholarly sources you researched for this assignment as well as this week’s required sources to support your statements. In the second part of your paper, · Describe each of the five traits included in the big five model: o extroversion, o agreeableness, o conscientiousness, o neuroticism, and o openness to experience. (This section demonstrates your understanding of the theory, so do not just copy and paste the explanations provided on the Truity website.) · Reflect on your results from the test, on each of the five traits. · Use the scholarly sources you researched for this assignment as well as this week’s required sources to support your statements. The Trait Model of Personality paper · Must be five double-spaced pages in length (not including title.

1. The Trait Model of Personality
[WLOs: 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 5]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment,
· Read Chapter 8 in the course textbook.
· Read the article
Stability of Personality Traits in Adulthood: Mechanisms and
Implications
(Allemand, Steiger, & Hill, 2013).
· Go to the Truity (n.d.)
The Big Five Personality Test
(Links to an external site.)
, and complete the free, confidential personality test that is
based on the big five theory. The results of this test may be
used to aid in the completion of this assignment. Note that you
do not need to register or provide personal information to obtain
your results from this website.
This site lists a $29 charge to take the assessment, but that is
only if you want the Premium Report. You do not have to pay
anything to complete the online assessment. After you have
completed the assessment, click the
No, just give me my results
link. This link will take you to a page that will tell you how
you scored on each of the five traits in the big five theory.
In addition to the required sources, go to the Ashford University
Library and research a minimum of one scholarly source on the
trait model of personality (part one of the paper) and one

2. scholarly resource on the big five theory of personality (part
two of the paper).
All required and outside sources should be properly cited in
your paper.
To assist you in completing the library research required for
this assignment, view this
Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty
(Links to an external site.)
tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and
the research process and provides some library search tips.
This assignment has two parts. In the first part,
· Provide an overview of the trait model of personality in which
you identify at least one principal theory and its theorist (i.e.,
Allport, Cattell, or Eysenck) associated with the model. (Please
note that the trait model is more than just the big five—this part
of the paper should cover the general history and evolution of
the model.)
· Compare and contrast the basic assumptions of the trait model
and the psychodynamic model regarding the theorist’s
explanations of personality development.
· Use the scholarly sources you researched for this assignment
as well as this week’s required sources to support your
statements.
In the second part of your paper,
· Describe each of the five traits included in the big five model:
o extroversion,

3. o agreeableness,
o conscientiousness,
o neuroticism, and
o openness to experience.
(This section demonstrates your understanding of the theory, so
do not just copy and paste the explanations provided on the
Truity website.)
· Reflect on your results from the test, on each of the five traits.
· Use the scholarly sources you researched for this assignment
as well as this week’s required sources to support your
statements.
The Trait Model of Personality paper
· Must be five double-spaced pages in length (not including title
and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as
outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s
APA Style (Links to an external site.)
resource.
· Must include a separate title page with the following:
o Title of paper
o Student’s name
o Course name and number
o Instructor’s name

4. o Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page,
refer to
APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)
.
· Must utilize academic voice. See the
Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)
resource for additional guidance.
· Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your
introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis
statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
o For assistance on writing
Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)
as well as
Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)
, refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
· Must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the
course text.
o The
Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to
an external site.)
table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If
you have questions about whether a specific source is
appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor.
Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a
specific source for a particular assignment.
o To assist you in completing the library research required for
this assignment, view this
Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty

5. (Links to an external site.)
tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and
the research process and provides some library search tips.
· Must document any information used from sources in APA
style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s
Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
· Must include a separate references page that is formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center. See the
Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)
resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Required Resources
Text
Lecci, L. B. (2015).
Personality
. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu
Chapter 4: Neurobiological Models of Personality
Chapter 8: A Trait Approach to Personality
Articles
Allemand, M., Steiger, A. E., & Hill, P. L. (2013).
Stability of personality traits in adulthood: Mechanisms and

6. implications
.
GeroPsych: The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric
Psychiatry, 26
(1), 5-13.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000080 (Links to an
external site.)
The full-text version of this article is available through the
EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library. In this
article, the authors discuss the five-factor model and the
stability of personality traits over time in adulthood, which will
help you with The Trait Model of Personality assignment.
Hurley, D. (2013).
Trait vs. fate
.
Discover 34
(4), 48-55. Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com
The full-text version of this article can be found in the
EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library. In this
article, the author discusses the research done by Meaney and
Szyf on the genetic effects of life experiences, including the
experiences of parent and grandparents. The article will help
you with the Epigenetic Influences on Personality and Behavior
discussion.
Weaver, I. C. G., Cervoni, N., Champagne, F. A., D’Alessio, A.
C, Sharma, S., Seckl, J. R., … Meaney, M. J. (2004).
Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior
.

7. Nature Neuroscience, 7
(8), 847-854. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1276
The full-text version of this article can be found in the
EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library. The
article describes how the licking and nursing behaviors (rated as
attentive to non-attentive) impact the physiology and behavior
of their offspring and will help you with the Epigenetic
Influences on Epigenetic Influences on Personality and
Behavior discussion.
Webster, M. (2013, January 10).
The great rat mother switcheroo (Links to an external site.)
[Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://www.radiolab.org/story/261176-the-great-mother-
switcheroo
This blog post provides an easy-to-understand discussion of the
epigenetic experiments discussed in the Hurley and Weaver, et
al. articles and will help you with the Epigenetic Influences on
Personality and Behavior discussion.
Accessibility Statement does not exist
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Multimedia
Truity. (n.d.).
The big five personality test
(Links to an external site.)
[Measurement instrument]. Retrieved from

8. http://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test
This web resource provides an online assessment based on the
big five personality theory. It is an opportunity for students to
apply the theory to their own personalities to assess its value
and accuracy and will help you with this week’s The Trait
Model of Personality assignment.
Accessibility Statement does not exist
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WNYC Studios. (2012, November 18).
Inheritance
(Links to an external site.)
[Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.radiolab.org/story/251876-inheritance/
This podcast includes the information from The Great Rat
Mother Switcheroo blog and provides an easy to understand
discussion of the epigenetic experiments discussed in the two
assigned articles. The podcast will help you with the Epigenetic
Influences on Personality and Behavior discussion.
Accessibility Statement does not exist
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Resources
Article

9. Susser, E., Hoek, H. W., & Brown A. (1998).
Neurodevelopmental disorders after prenatal famine: The story
of the Dutch famine study (Links to an external site.)
.
American Journal of Epidemiology 147
(3), 213-216.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009439
The authors of this article provide an overview of the Dutch
Famine Study, one of the original epigenetic studies. The article
may help you with the Epigenetic Influences on Personality and
Behavior discussion.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Multimedia
TEDx Talks. (2012, February 23).
Epigenetics and the influence of our genes
(Links to an external site.)
. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/JTBg6hqeuTg
In this video, Courtney Griffin discusses the interchange of
genes and environment as well as the role of epigenetics in the
expression of those genes in our environment. Her presentation
includes a discussion of the structure of DNA and the role of
histones and epigenetics markers in human cells. This video has
a transcript. The video may help you with the Epigenetic
Influences on Personality and Behavior discussion.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)

10. Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Web Page
University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center. (n.d.).
Lick your rats (Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/rats/
This activity allows the students to explore in a game-like
environment the scientific studies that have been done on
mother rats. This activity contains the same content as the
required readings for this week and may help you with the
Epigenetic Influences on Personality and Behavior discussion.
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Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)