Strengths and Criticisms of the Trait Approach PDF

Strengths and Criticisms of the Trait Approach 161 Strengths and Criticisms of the Trait Approach I n many ways, the trait approach to personality is different from the other approaches examined in this book. Trait theorists tend to be academic researchers instead of therapists. Their focus is o...

Strengths and Criticisms of the Trait Approach 161 Strengths and Criticisms of the Trait Approach I n many ways, the trait approach to personality is different from the other approaches examined in this book. Trait theorists tend to be academic researchers instead of therapists. Their focus is on describing and predicting behavior rather than on behavior change or development. In addition, trait researchers rarely try to understand the behavior of just one person. These differences give the trait approach some unique advantages, but they are also the source of criticism. Strengths The empirical nature of the work by Allport, Murray, and other early trait psychologists sets them apart from the founders of most personality theories. Rather than relying on intuition and subjective judgment as did Freud and many of the neoFreudians, these trait theorists used objective measures to examine their constructs. Cattell specifically allowed the data to determine the theory, which was then subject to further empirical validation. This approach reduces some of the biases and subjectivity that plague other approaches. Another strength of the trait approach is its many practical applications. Mental health workers routinely use trait measures when evaluating clients. Similarly, many educational psychologists have embraced trait measures in their work. Psychologists working in industrial and organizational settings often use personality trait measures in hiring and promotion decisions. Job counselors frequently rely on trait scores to match clients with careers. Although this widespread use of trait measures invites abuse if scores are used incorrectly, the popularity of these measures attests to the value many psychologists place on them. Like any important theoretical perspective, the trait approach has generated a large amount of research. Personality journals are filled with investigations about a variety of personality traits. Predicting behavior from personality trait measures has become a standard feature in research by clinical, social, industrial–organizational, educational, and developmental psychologists. Criticisms Criticisms of the trait approach are often based not so much on what the approach says but on what it leaves out. Trait psychologists describe people in terms of traits, but they often do not explain how these traits develop or what can be done to help people who suffer from extreme scores. Knowing about these scores can help teachers and employers match people with the tasks and jobs best suited to them, but no schools of psychotherapy have originated from the trait approach. Another criticism concerns the lack of an agreed-upon framework. Although all trait theorists use empirical methods and are concerned with the identification of traits, no single theory or underlying structure ties all the theories together. We can see the confusion this creates by asking how many basic traits there are. Murray reduced personality to 27 psychogenic needs. Cattell found 16 basic elements of personality. More recent investigations suggest the number is really 5, and a few Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 162 Chapter 7 / The Trait Approach Assessing Your Own Personality Response Tendencies Indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements. Use a 7-point scale to indicate your response, with 1 = Not True and 7 = Very True. 1. I sometimes tell lies if I have to.* 2. I never cover up my mistakes. 3. There have been occasions when I have taken advantage of someone.* 4. I never swear. 5. I sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and forget.* 6. I always obey laws, even if I’m unlikely to get caught. 7. I have said something bad about a friend behind his or her back.* 8. When I hear people talking privately, I avoid listening. 9. I have received too much change from a salesperson without telling him or her.* 10. I always declare everything at customs. 11. When I was young, I sometimes stole things.* 12. I have never dropped litter on the street. 13. I sometimes drive faster than the speed limit.* 14. I never read sexy books or magazines. 15. I have done things that I don’t tell other people about.* 16. I never take things that don’t belong to me. 17. I have taken sick leave from work or school even though I wasn’t really sick.* 18. I have never damaged a library book or store merchandise ­without reporting it. 19. I have some pretty awful habits.* 20. I don’t gossip about other people’s business. This scale was designed to detect a social desirability response tendency. To obtain your score, give yourself one point for each 1 or 2 response to odd-­ numbered items (the ones with asterisks) and one point for each 6 or 7 response to even-numbered items. The test developer found a mean score of 4.9 and a standard deviation of 3.2 for female college students, and a mean score of 4.3 and a standard deviation of 3.1 for male college students. People who score high on this measure tend to present themselves in an overly favorable light. *Scale: The Impression Management Scale from the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding Source: From Lockard, J. S. and D. L. Paulhus (Ed.). Self-Deception: An Adaptive Mechanism. Prentice-Hall, 1988. Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Summary 163 studies even challenge this figure. Although research continues to determine which of these models is correct, without an agreed-upon framework, it is difficult to gain a cohesive overview of the approach or to see how research on one aspect of personality traits fits with research in other areas. Summary 1. The trait approach assumes we can identify individual differences in behaviors that are relatively stable across situations and over time. Trait theorists are usually not concerned with any one person’s behavior but rather with describing behavior typical of people at certain points along a trait continuum. 2. Gordon Allport was the first acknowledged trait theorist. Among his contributions were the notions of central and secondary traits, nomothetic versus idiographic research, and descriptions of the self. Henry Murray identified psychogenic needs as the basic elements of personality. According to Murray, a need will affect behavior depending on where it lies on a person’s need hierarchy and the kind of situation the person is in. 3. Raymond Cattell was interested in identifying the basic structure of personality. He used a statistical procedure called factor analysis to determine how many basic traits make up human personality. More recent research provides consistent evidence that personality is structured along five basic dimensions. Although questions remain, the evidence to date tends to support the five-factor model. 4. An enduring controversy in personality concerns the relative importance of traits compared to situational determinants of behavior. Critics have charged that traits do not predict behavior well and that there is little evidence for cross-situational consistency. Trait advocates have answered that if traits and behaviors are measured correctly, a significant relationship can be found. In addition, they maintain that the amount of behavior variance explained by traits is considerable and important. 5. The development of the five-factor model renewed interest in the relationship between personality and job performance. Although several of the Big Five dimensions are related to performance in the business world, many studies indicate that Conscientiousness may be the best predictor of performance. 6. Trait researchers typically rely on self-report assessment procedures in their work. One of the most commonly used self-report inventories is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Test users need to be aware of problems inherent in self-report inventories. These include faking, carelessness and sabotage, and response tendencies. Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 164 Chapter 7 / The Trait Approach 7. Like other approaches to personality, the trait approach has strengths and is subject to criticisms. The strengths include a strong empirical base, a host of practical applications, and the large amount of research generated. Criticisms include the limited usefulness of the approach for dealing with problem behaviors and the lack of an agreed-upon framework. Key Terms Big Five (p. 144) factor analysis (p. 141) person-by-situation approach (p. 150) social desirability (p. 159) trait (p. 136) Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.