Personality Traits and Research Approaches

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Questions and Answers

What is a key characteristic of individuals who score high on Psychoticism (P)?

They are highly social and caring towards others.

They are introspective and lack self-confidence.

They are highly empathetic and sensitive to others' pain.

They are aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial. (correct)

What is the primary goal of factor analysis in the context of trait adjectives?

To identify the underlying causes of traits.

To identify groups of items that covary but don't covary with other groups. (correct)

To develop a theory of personality.

To determine the heritability of traits.

What is a limitation of the factor analysis approach?

It is unable to measure the heritability of traits.

It is unable to develop a theory of personality.

It is unable to identify the underlying causes of traits.

It only gets out what you put in. (correct)

What is the primary focus of the theoretical approach to personality?

Developing a theory of personality that guides the selection of variables. Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of Cattell's taxonomy?

To identify and measure the basic units of personality. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of purely descriptive summaries of traits?

They make no assumptions about internality. Signup and view all the answers

What is a difference between the theoretical approach and purely descriptive summaries of traits?

Theoretical approach is based on a theory, while descriptive summaries are not. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of internal causal properties?

They are presumed to be internal causal properties. Signup and view all the answers

What is personality conveyed through according to the content?

Other parts of speech, not just adjectives Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary approach used to identify personality traits?

Lexical approach Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of individuals with high neuroticism scores?

Anxious and depressed Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of the statistical approach in personality research?

To distil ratings from a large pool of personality items Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of high scorers in terms of extraversion?

Like parties, have many friends, and require people around Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of personality psychology in terms of individual differences?

Traits that are characteristic of a person Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary research question in personality psychology?

How should we conceptualise traits? Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of formulating a taxonomy of traits in personality psychology?

To create a framework for understanding personality traits Signup and view all the answers

What is the main assumption of the lexical approach to personality?

That all important individual differences are encoded within the natural language Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a criticism of Eysenck's hierarchical model of personality?

Many researchers have failed to replicate the 16 factors Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of the Wiggins circumplex?

Developing measurement scales to assess traits Signup and view all the answers

What is true about the criteria for identifying important traits in the lexical approach?

They are based on synonym frequency and cross-cultural universality Signup and view all the answers

What is the limitation of using trait terms in the lexical approach?

Many traits are ambiguous, metaphorical, obscure, or difficult to understand Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between Eysenck's personality traits and biological factors?

The traits are highly heritable and have a psychophysiological foundation Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of personality taxonomies?

To find the true factors of personality across different types of data Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between Eysenck's hierarchical model and the Wiggins circumplex?

The number of factors identified Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of the interpersonal model of personality?

It provides an explicit definition of what constitutes 'interpersonal behaviour'. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main limitation of the HEXACO model of personality?

It is not a comprehensive model that includes all aspects of personality. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between a strong situation and a weak situation?

A strong situation is one that provokes a similar response from most people, while a weak situation is one that provokes a highly individualized response. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main assumption of trait psychology?

That personality traits are meaningful and can be accurately measured. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between extraversion and agreeableness?

Extraversion is related to leadership, while agreeableness is related to cooperation. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main empirical correlate of conscientiousness?

Higher GPA and more committed social relationships. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main limitation of the 5-factor model of personality?

There is some disagreement about the definition of openness. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main idea behind the concept of person-situation interaction?

That personality traits interact with situations to produce behaviour. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main implication of the concept of situational specificity?

That certain situations can provoke behaviour that is out of character for an individual. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main idea behind the concept of aggregation?

That longer tests are more reliable than shorter ones. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes