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TRAIT THEORIES

Raymond Cattell, Hans Eysenck, and

Robert Mccrae and Paul Costa, Jr.

➢ Trait classification date from the time of the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)
➢ Hippocrates distinguished four types of people: happy, unhappy, temperamental, and apathetic.
➢ The causes of these different types were internal bodily fluids or “humors”
➢ Sanguine Personality Type -People with a sanguine personality type tend to be lively,
optimistic, buoyant, and carefree. They love adventure and have high risk tolerance.
Sanguine people are typically poor at tolerating boredom and will seek variety and
entertainment. Naturally, this trait can sometimes negatively affect their romantic and
other relationships. Because this temperament is prone to pleasure-seeking behaviors,
many people with sanguine personalities are likely to struggle with addictions. Their
constant cravings can lead to overeating and weight problem.
➢ Phlegmatic Personality Type -Someone with a phlegmatic personality is usually a people
person. They seek interpersonal harmony and close relationships, which makes
phlegmatic people loyal spouses and loving parents. They make it a point to preserve
their relationships with old friends, distant family members, and neighbors. People with
phlegmatic temperaments tend to avoid conflict and always try to mediate between
others to restore peace and harmony.
➢ Choleric Personality Type -Someone with a pure choleric temperament is usually a goal-
oriented person. Choleric people are very savvy, analytical, and logical. Extremely
practical and straightforward, they aren’t necessarily good companions or particularly
friendly. They dislike small talks and enjoy deep and meaningful conversations. They
would rather be alone than in the company of shallow, superficial people.
➢ Melancholic personality type -is considered to be introverted, analytical, logical and
private. He or she relies on facts instead of speculations. This type of person is cautious
and a bit slow when it comes to responding to others because he or she can be skeptical
and suspicious. Not as confident as the individual who has a Choleric Personality Type,
the Melancholic person worries about how other people feels about his or her work. So,
being a perfectionist is one of the traits attributed to this individual. And unlike the
unsympathetic choleric, the Melancholic Personality Type can be moved to tears because

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of compassion for another. Being organized is also common among these types of
people and at times when they seem to have clutter around them, they know where to
find what they need. The Melancholy prefers to get feedback and be reassured. He or she
also wants to be told the reason behind having to do something. This person can also be
fond of asking questions over and over again because of the fear of making the wrong
decisions. That said, this individual is not a risk-taker and does not want to be regarded as
incompetent.
➢ In 1940s, the American physician William Sheldon (1899-1977) offered a personality typology
based on body build.
➢ He proposed three body types, each associated with a different temperament.
➢ Sheldon considers personality traits to be largely fixed.

Similarities & Differences between Cattell and McCrae and Costa’s work
➢ Cattell and McCrae and Costa both used an inductive method of gathering data; that is they
begin with no preconceived bias concerning the number or name of traits or types. Cattell
had only an indirect influence on McCrae and Costa. They did however, share techniques and
ideas, even if their approaches also had some real differences.
➢ Cattell used three different media of observation to examine people from as many angles as
possible. In contrast, each of McCrae and Costa’s five bipolar factors is limited to responses
on questionnaires.
➢ Sources of data used by Cattell:

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➢ L data –a person’s life record derived from observations made by other people
➢ Q data –self-reports obtained from questionnaires and other techniques designed to
allow people to make subjective descriptions of themselves.
➢ T data –objective tests which measures performance such as intelligence, speed of
responding, and other activities designed to challenge people’s maximum
performance
➢ Cattell divided traits into common traits (shared by many) and unique traits (peculiar to one
individual). He also distinguished source traits from trait indicators or surface traits. He
further classified traits into temperament, motivation, and ability. Traits of temperament are
concerned with how a person behaves, motivation deals with why one behaves, and ability
refers to how far or how fast one perform
➢ Cattell’s multifaceted approach yielded 35 primary, or first-order traits, which measure
mostly the temperament dimension of personality.
➢ The largest and most frequently studied of the normal traits are the 16 personality factors
found on Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16 PF Scale)
➢ By comparison, the NEO-Personality Inventory of Costa and McCrae yields scores on only five
personality factors.

Raymond Cattell
➢ Cattell’s goal in his study of personality was to predict how a person will behave in response to a
given stimulus situation.
➢ Cattell’s theory of personality, then, did not originate in a clinical setting. His approach is
rigorously scientific, relying on observations of behavior and masses of data.
➢ The hallmark of Cattell’s approach was his treatment of the data. He submitted them to the
statistical procedure called factor analysis, which involves assessing the relationship between
each possible pair of measurements taken from a group of subjects to determine common
factors.
➢ Cattell referred to these factors as traits, which he defined as the mental elements of the
personality.

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Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factors

ROBERT McCRAE AND PAUL COSTA, JR. : THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL

➢ Working at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore,
Maryland, Robert McCrae (1949–) and Paul Costa (1942–) embarked on an extensive research
program that identified five so-called robust or Big Five factors. These factors are Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism or commonly called as OCEAN.
➢ The factors were confirmed through a variety of assessment techniques including self-ratings,
objective tests, and observers’ reports. The researchers then developed a personality test, the
NEO Personality Inventory, using an acronym derived from the initials of Neuroticism,
Extraversion, and Openness.
➢ McCrae and Costa agreed with Eysenck that personality traits are bipolar and follow a bell-
shaped distribution.
➢ Most people score near the middle of each trait, with only a few people scoring at the extremes.

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• NEUROTICISM
– People who score high on neuroticism tend to be anxious, temperamental, self-
pitying self-conscious, emotional, and vulnerable to stress-related disorders.
– Those who score low are usually calm, even-tempered, self-satisfied, and
unemotional.
• EXTRAVERSION
– People who score high in extraversion tend to be affectionate, jovial, talkative,
joiners, fun-loving.
– In contrast, low scorers are likely to be reserved, quiet, loners, passive, and lacking
the ability to express strong emotion.
• OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE
– High scorers are creative, imaginative, curious, and liberal and have a preference for
variety.
– Low scorers are typically conventional, down-to-earth, conservative, and lacking in
curiosity.
– People who consistently seek out different and varied experiences would score high
on this factor. They also tend to question traditional values.
– Low scorers will stick to familiar items and one they know they will enjoy. They
support traditional values and gives importance to preserving a fixed style of living.
• Agreeableness
– High scorers tend to be trusting, generous, yielding, acceptant, and good-natured.
– Low scorers are generally suspicious, stingy, unfriendly, irritable, and critical of other
people.

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• Conscientiousness
– High scorers are hardworking, conscientious, punctual, and persevering.
– Low scorers are disorganized, negligent, lazy, and aimless and are likely to give up
when project becomes difficult.
APPLICATIONS OF THE BIG FIVE
Research has been successfully used to predict job performance. Many of the traits reflected
in the Big Five structure are related to those needed for positive achievement in work. For example,
successfully driving a truck requires an individual who is conscientious and emotionally stable; an
impulsive, sociable individual is more likely to cause problems on the road. It is also used in the
diagnosis of personality disorders and determination of therapy.

HANS EYSENCK: Biologically Based Factor Theory

➢ He agreed with Cattell that personality is composed of traits, or factors, derived by the factor-
analytic method.
➢ Although Eysenck used factor analysis to uncover personality traits, he supplemented the
method with personality tests and experimental studies that considered a wide range of
variables.
➢ Eysenck and his wife, Sybil (Ph.D., University of London), together developed many of the
questionnaires used in their research.
➢ The result of their efforts is a personality theory based on three dimensions, defined as
combinations of traits or factors.
➢ All three dimensions are bipolar, with extraversion being at one end of introversion, neuroticism
at one pole and stability at the other, and psychoticism at one pole and superego function at the
other.
➢ Neuroticism and psychoticism are not limited to pathological individuals, although disturbed
individuals tend to score higher than normal people on scales measuring these factors.
➢ Research has shown that the traits and dimensions Eysenck proposed tend to remain stable
throughout the life span despite our different social and environmental experiences. The
situations may change but the dimensions remain consistent.

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THREE DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY

1. E –Extraversion versus Introversion
2. N –Neuroticism versus Emotional stability
3. P –Psychoticism versus Impulse Control (or superego functioning)

EXTRAVERSION vs INTROVERSION
Eysenck believed that the principal differences between extraversion and introversion are
not behavioral, but rather biological and genetic in nature.
Extraverts participate more often in exciting and stimulating activities. However, introverts
shun activities such as wild social events and any activities that cause too much excitement.
NEUROTICISM vs STABILITY
People who score high on neuroticism often have a tendency to overreact emotionally and
have difficulty returning to normal state after emotional arousal.
A stable person’s nervous system will generally be less reactive to stressful situations,
remaining calm and level headed
PSYCHOTICISM vs SUPEREGO FUNCTION
People who score high on psychoticism are often egocentric, cold, nonconforming,
impulsive, hostile, aggressive, suspicious, psychopathic, and antisocial.
Low scorers tend to be altruistic, highly socialized, empathic, caring, cooperative,
conforming, and conventional.

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References:
Engler, B. (2012). Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning Asia Pte. Ltd.
Feist J. et. al (2013). Theories of Personality 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Schultz & Schultz (2013). Theories of Personality 10th Edition. Cengage Learning

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