PERSONALITY PSY234

Lecture 5:

Trait & Type approaches

Dr Simon Boag
Email: simon.boag@psy.mq.edu.au

Readings
Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (2004).
Perspectives on Personality. (pp. 156-160)
Monte, C. F. & Sollod, R. N. (2003). Beneath
the mask. (pp. 597-614)

Additional (non-assessable)
Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The Biological Basis of
Personality. Springfield: Thomas.

McCrae, R. R. & Costa, P. T. (1997).

Personality trait structure as a human
universal. American Psychologist, 52, 509-516

Lecture Outline
I. Eysencks dimensional approach
Extroversion vs introversion
Neuroticism vs normality
Personality temperaments
II. Biological basis of personality
ARAS & visceral brain
III. Summary & evaluation

Learning Outcomes
After this lecture you should be able to:

Understand & explain the meaning of

personality type, trait & dimension
Describe & explain extroversion,
introversion, neuroticism & normality
Understand the relation of dimensions to
personality temperaments
Describe & explain Eysencks biological
explanation for personality differences

Types & Traits

Traits: An enduring characteristic of a
persons behaviour
eg. sociable/unsociable
Types: A class of individuals with
common characteristic or pattern of
characteristics (physical/psychological)
eg.
Sheldon (1942) Varieties of Temperament

Personality Types
Hippocrates (460?-377?BC) & Galen (130200? AD): personality based on humors
Sanguine (blood)
Warm-hearted, optimistic
Melancholic (black bile)
Sad, depressed, anxious
Choleric (yellow bile)
Quick tempered, angry, assertive
Phlegmatic (phlegm)
Slow, lethargic, calm

Eysencks Theory of Personality

Hans Eysenck (1916-1997)

Eysencks Approach

Identifying universal, measurable

dimensions of personality
Rejects unique individual: the unique
individual is simply the point of
intersection of a number of quantitative
variables (Eysenck, 1952, p.18).
Identified through large scale assessment
eg. US Airforce personnel
Statistical approach: Factor analysis

Personality Dimensions (1):

Introversion/Extroversion
Adapted from Jungs types
Extrovert:
Outgoing, embraces the world, responsive
to social & physical stimulation
Insensitive to stimulation (stimulus
hungry)
Introvert:
Hesitant, reflective, withdraws from social
& physical stimulation
Sensitive to stimulation (stimulus shy)

Extroversion/Introversion
Dimension : relative degree (more or less)
Introvert X
Y
Z
Extrovert

Extrovert: sociable, outgoing,

interactive, expressive, sensation seeking,
acts first, think later, dislikes being alone
Introvert: private, reclusive, reserved,
quiet, inward, sensitive, thinks before
acting, exhausted by groups

Personality Dimension (2):

Neuroticism/Normality

Emotional vs non-emotional (Wundt)

Refers to strength of emotional reaction

not psychopathology
High degree of neuroticism:
More emotionally reactive
eg. moody, tense, anxious, irritable
High degree of normality:
Less emotionally reactive (but still have
emotions)

Dimensions: Persons X & Y

Introversion/Extroversion:
Intr.

Extr.

Neuroticism/Normality:
Neur.

These dimensions are orthogonal

Norm.

Test Items (EPQ)

Introversion/Extroversion
eg. Do you prefer reading to meeting
people?

Neuroticism/Normality
eg. Are your feelings easily hurt?
Later added another dimension:
Psychoticism (anti-social trait)
eg. Would you like other people to be
afraid of you?

Some empirical findings

Criminals score high in E, N & P

(Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985)
Creative people score high on
psychoticism (Eysenck, 1993, 1994)
Extroverts more willing to have sexual
contact without commitment & report
more sexual experience (Wright &
Reise, 1997)

Eysencks Personality Types

Dimensional interaction produces types:
(1) Extrovert (neurotic):
Choleric: bad tempered
(2) Extrovert (normal):
Sanguine: cheerful
(3) Introvert (neurotic):
Melancholic: gloomy
(4) Introvert (normal):
Phlegmatic: unemotional, indifferent

II. The Biological Basis of

Personality
Personality types result from differences
in central nervous system (CNS)
functioning
Implications:
Genetic basis of personality
Relatively stable & unchanging
However: environment interacts with
biological predispositions

Biological Basis of
Extroversion/Introversion
ARAS system:

Ascending Reticular Activation System

Cortical excitation & inhibition

High ARAS arousal:
Predisposes to introversion
Low ARAS arousal:
Predisposes to extroversion
Evidence: Introverts have higher sedation
threshold than extroverts (cf. ADHD)

Some empirical findings

Introverts less tolerant of painful

electric shocks (Bartol & Costello, 1976)
Corr et al (1995): After high dose of
caffeine: Introverts poorer performance
(over-stimulated?); Extroverts better
performance (stimulated?)
Frontal lobes of introverts more active
than extroverts (PET scan) (Johnson et
al, 1999)

Biological Basis of
Neuroticism/Normality
Visceral Brain (VB) system

Hypothalamus & limbic system

Mediates emotional activation

High VB activation:

Predisposed to neuroticism (emotionally

reactive)
Low VB activation:

Predisposed to normality (nonemotionally reactive)

Extroverts:
Normal & Neurotic
Sanguine
Normal Extrovert
Low ARAS arousal
Low visceral brain activity

Choleric
Neurotic Extrovert
Low ARAS arousal
High visceral brain activity

Introverts:
Normal & Neurotic
Phlegmatic
Normal Introvert
High ARAS arousal
Low visceral brain activity

Melancholic
Neurotic Introvert
High ARAS arousal
High visceral brain activity

Biological & Environmental

Interaction
Biological causes act in such a way as to
predispose an individual in certain ways
to stimulation; this stimulation may or
may not occur, depending on
circumstances which are entirely under
environmental control
(Eysenck, 1967, pp. 221-222)
Effect of different teaching environments

III. Evaluation

Twin studies: E & N: 50% genetic

Adoption studies: Correlations b/w

adoptive parents & adopted children for E

& N are around 0%
E, N & P: highest validity of all traits
(Kline, 1993)
Contradictory findings (eg. sedation
findings)
Hypothesised brain areas are not
independent of one another

Evaluation
Forms basis of subsequent trait theories
eg. Big Five Factor model (McCrae &
Costa, 1997)
Neuroticism, extroversion, openness,
conscientiousness, agreeableness
Is personality really stable?
Situationism (Mischel, 1990): situations
are strongest determinants of behaviour
eg. child shy with strangers, friendly
with parents

Summary

Eysencks approach identifies personality

dimensions (ext/int; neu/nor)
A persons placing on these dimensions
determines their personality temperament
Eysenck proposes a biological basis for
personality
Extroversion & introversion are said to be
related to ARAS functioning
Neuroticism & normality are said to be
related to visceral brain activity