Chapter 13 - MCCRAE & COSTA

I. Overview of Factor and Trait Theories

McCrae, Costa and others have used factor analysis to identify traits
traits: relatively permanent dispositions of people
factor analytic approach
Robert McCrae and Paul Costa have insisted that the proper number of personality
factors is fiveno more and no fewer.

II. The Pioneering Work of Raymond B. Cattell

Raymond Cattell used factor analysis to identify a large number of traits, including
personality traits.
Cattell & McCrae, Costa, both used an inductive method of gathering data - they
began with no preconceived bias concerning the number or name of traits or types
deductive method: having preconceived hypothesis before collecting data
Cattell used three different media of observations to examine people; life record (L
data), self-reports (Q data), and objective tests (T data)
source traits vs surface traits
traits of temperament: how a person behaves from very early on in life
traits of motivation: why one behaves
traits of ability: refers to how far or how fast one can perform
Cattells approach yielded 35 primary traits - 23 characterise the normal population and
12 measure the pathological
the most frequently studied of the normal traits are the 16 personality factors
found on Cattles (1949) Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16 PF Scale)

III. Basics of Factor Analysis

Factor analysis: a procedure that assumes that human traits can be measured by
correlational studies
Factor analysis is a mathematical procedure for reducing a large number of scores to a
few more general variables or factors.
Correlations of the original scores with the factors are called factor loadings.
Traits generated through factor analysis may be either unipolar (scaled from zero to
some large amount) or bipolar (having two opposing poles)
Eysenck used an orthogonal rotation whereas Cattell favored an oblique rotation.
The oblique rotation procedure ordinarily results in more traits than the
orthogonal method.

IV. The Big Five: Taxonomy or Theory?

McCrae and Costa have insisted that all personality structure can be subsumed under
FIVE, and only five, major factors
taxonomy > model > theory
The FFM became a theory, one that can both predict and explain behaviour

V. Biographies of Robert McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr.

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 Robert Roger McCrae was born April 28, 1949 in Maryville, Missouri, the youngest of
three children. After completing his academic work, McCrae began working with Paul
Costa at the National Institute of Health, where he is still employed.
Paul T. Costa Jr. was born September 16 in Franklin, New Hampshire.
The collaboration between Costa and McCrae has been unusually fruitful, with well over
200 co-authored research articles and chapters, and several books.

VI. In Search of the Big Five

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Costa and McCrae, were building elaborate
taxonomies of personality traits, which they were using to examine the stability and
structure of personality.
they quickly discovered the traits of extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and openness
to experience (O) - NE,O

A. Five Factors Found

argued for a 3 factor model of personality, but by 1985 they begin to report work on the
five factors of personality, having added agreeableness (A) & conscientiousness (C).
Costa and McCrae did not fully develop the A and C scales until the revised NEO-PI
personality inventory appeared in 1992.
five factors have been found across cultures and using a number of languages.
the five factors show some permanence with age; that is, adults tend to maintain a
consistent personality structure as they grow older

B. Description of the Five Factors

personality traits are basically bipolar, with some people scoring high on one factor and
low on its counterpart.
it follows a bell-shaped distribution in that most people score near the middle of
each trait, with only a few people scoring at the extremes
Neuroticism and Extraversion are the two strongest and most ubiquitous personality
traits

VII. Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory

the five factors were simply a taxonomy, a classification of personality traits
however they shaped a theory from the remnants of taxonomy
By the late 1980s, M&C were confident that they had found a stable structure of
personality
In shaping a theory from the remnants of a taxonomy, they insisted that:
their personality structure was able to incorporate change and growth and is able
to organize research findings.
i.e. Five-Factor taxonomy was being transformed into a Five-Factor Theory (FFT).
M&C believed earlier theories relied too heavily on clinical experiences and on armchair
speculation

A. Units of the Five-Factor Theory

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McCrae and Costa predict behavior through an understanding of three central or core
components and three peripheral ones.

Three Core Components of Personality

1. basic tendencies
the universal raw material of personality (of capacities and dispositions that are
generally inferred rather than observed)
can be inherited, imprinted by early experience, or modified by disease
includes cognitive abilities, artistic talent, sexual orientation
stable, enduring
HOW we learn (talent, intelligence, aptitude)
OCEAN
2. characteristic adaptations
acquired personality structures that develop as people adapt to their environment
all acquired and specific kills e.g. English language or statistics
can be influenced by external influences
they fluctuate; subject to change over a persons lifetime
differs from culture to culture
e.g. expressing anger in the presence of a superior is more taboo in Japan
than it is in the United States
WHAT we learn
culturally conditioned phenomena, personal strivings, attitudes
3. self-concept
refers to knowledge, views, evaluations, and attitudes about oneself
it is a characteristic adaptation but it is an important one
the beliefs, attitudes, etc one has toward themselves are characteristic adaptations
in that they influence how one behaves in a given circumstance
e.g. if you believe you are an intelligent person, you are more willing to put
yourself into situations that are challenging
self-schemas, persons myths

Three Peripheral Components of Personality

1. biological bases
the sole cause of basic tendencies
the FFT rests on a single causal influence on personality traits
principle biological mechanisms that influences basic tendencies are genes,
hormones, and brain structures
2. objective biography
everything a person does, feels, or thinks over a lifetime
emphasizes what has happened in peoples lives (objective) rather than their
perceptions of their experiences (subjective)
objective experience - events and experiences in ones life
emotional reactions, mid career shifts, behaviour
3. external influence
knowledge, views, and evaluations of the self
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 how we respond to the opportunities and demands of the context
behaviour is a function of two things: characteristic adaptations and interaction
with external influences
behaviour = characteristic adaptations + external influences
The case of Joan
offered tickets to see the opera - external influence
long personal history of detesting opera - characteristic adaptation
refuses the offer - objective biography
being closed rather than open - basic tendency
cultural norms, life events: situation

Basic Postulates
The two most important core postulates are basic tendencies and characteristic
adaptations.

Basic tendencies have 4 postulates IODS

1. The individuality postulate stipulates that every adult has a unique pattern of
traits.
2. The origin postulate assumes that all personality traits originate solely from
biological factors, such as genetics, hormones, and brain structures
all personality traits are the result solely of endogenous (internal) forces
the family environment plays no role in creating basic tendencies
3. The development postulate assumes that traits develop and change through
childhood, adolescence, and mid-adulthood.
developments slow in adolescence and change in personality in mid-
adulthood stops altogether
when people are young and are establishing relationships and careers, high E,
O, and N would be beneficial, but as they settle these traits are no longer as
adaptive as before
4. The structure postulate states that traits are organized hierarchically from narrow
and specific to broad and general.

Characteristic Adaptations
1. Over time, people adapt to their environment by acquiring patterns of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours, that are consistent with personality traits and earlier
adaptations
traits affect the way we adapt to the changes in our environment
2. Maladjustment, which suggests that our responses are not always consistent with
personal goals or cultural values
e.g. extreme introversion means holding down a job - becomes too rigid and
compulsive that it becomes maladaptive
3. Basic traits may change over time, in response to biological maturation, changes in
the environment, or deliberate interventions
plasticity postulate: recognizes that although basic tendencies may be rather
stable over the lifetime, characteristic adaptations are not
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 e.g. psychotherapy may have a difficult time changing a persons fundamental
traits but it can be potent enough to alter a persons characteristic response

VIII. Related Research

Costa and McCrae have developed a widely used personality inventory: the NEO-PI
(Costa & McCrae, 1985, 1992).

A. Personality and Culture

If personality has a strong biological bases, then the structure of personality should not
differ much from culture to culture. The major traits do appear consistent in most
countries of the world (McCrae, 2002; Poortinga, Van de Vijver, & van Hemert, 2000). Our
biological makeup influences our personalities on similar dimensions such as extraversion
or neuroticism; how and when traits are expressed are influenced by cultural and social
context. In short, personality is shaped by both nature and nurture.

B. Traits and Academics

Erik Noftle and Richard Robins (2007) studied the relationship of traits and academic
performance.
They found that conscientiousness was the most important trait for predicting
GPAs in high school and college, but not for SAT scores.
The Big 5 factors were not strong predictors of SAT math scores, but openness was
related to SAT verbal scores. These differences are attributed to differences between
aptitude and achievement measured by SATs versus GPAs.
Michael Zyphur and colleagues (2007) studied the relationship between neuroticism and
retaking the SAT. Their findings are important in that high scores on neuroticism are
often viewed negatively, but the anxious tendencies of those high on neuroticism were
very adaptive in this study, because these tendencies led them to retake the SAT and
score higher each time they did.

C. Traits and Emotion

Murray McNiel and William Fleeson (2006) studied the direction of causality for the
relationships between extraversion and positive mood, and neuroticism and negative
mood. They wanted to know if behaving in an extraverted manner causes people to
have positive feelings and behaving in a neurotic manner causes them to have negative
feelings. Their results showed that when people act in a certain way, their behavior
does indeed influence their mood to fit the behavior. Participants reported higher
positive mood ehnt hey were instructed to act extraverted than when they were
instructed to act introverted.
Michael Robinson and Gerald Clore (2007) have found recently that individual
differences in the speed of processing information can influence the relationship
between neuroticism and negative mood, such that not everybody who scores high on
neuroticism experiences more negative emotion. They discovered that people who
process environmental stimuli faster do not need to rely on neuroticism to interpret
events and interpret their environment objectively, whereas slower processors are more
subjective in their evaluations by relying on trait dispositions to interpret events. So
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 those high on neuroticism but fast at processing did not report any more negative
emotion than those low on neuroticism. These results show that the early research
findings that extraversion is related to positive mood and neuroticism to negative
mood.

Chapter 14 - EYSENCK

I. Overview of Factor and Trait Theories

Hans Eysenck and others have used factor analysis to identify traits
traits: relatively permanent dispositions of people
He based his taxonomy in both factor analysis and biology, and derived only three
general factors, which yielded three general bipolar factors or types: extraversion/
introversion, neuroticism/stability, & psychoticism/superego
Individual differences in peoples personalities were biological
genetic differences lead to structural differences in the central nervous system

Temperament; biologically based tendency to behave in particular ways from very early
in life
Janet DiPietro (1996) found that infants born to mothers who have experience an
unusual amount of stress during pregnancy tend to have impaired stress function
heritability: the extent to which a characteristic is influenced by genetics
studied through twin-adoption studies and gene-by-environment
electroencephalography (EEG)
shows WHEN brain activity occurs
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
tells us WHERE activity in the brain is occurring during particulars tasks by tracking
blood oxygen

II. Biography of Hans J. Eysenck

Hans Eysenck was born in Berlin in 1916, but moved to London to escape Nazi tyranny.
most prolific writer

III. Eysencks Factor Theory

Overview
Eysencks personality theory has strong psychometric and biological components
First: Extraversion/Introversion, Neuroticism/Stability
Second: Psychoticism/Supergo
Hans Eysenck:
1. employed the deductive method
was more likely to theorize before collecting and analyzing data
began with a theory and then gathered data that are logically consistent
with that theory
2. extracted fewer factors
3. used a wider variety of approaches to gather data

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A. Criteria for Identifying Factors
Eysenck insisted that personality factors must:
1. be based on strong psychometric evidence
2. fit an acceptable genetic model
3. make sense theoretically
4. possess social relevance

B. Hierarchy of Behavior Organization

Eysenck recognized a four-level hierarchy of behavior organization:
1. specific acts/behaviours or cognitions;
individual behaviours or thoughts that may or may not be characteristic of a person
e.g. finishing an assignment
2. habitual acts or cognitions;
responses that recur under similar conditions
must be reasonably reliable or consistent
3. traits, or personal dispositions
important semi-permanent personality dispositions
4. types or superfactors
made up of several interrelated traits

IV. Dimensions of Personality

Eysenck's methods of measuring personality limited the number bipolar personality types
to only three.
1. extraversion/introversion
2. neuroticism/(emotional) stability
3. psychoticism/superego function
ENP

His super factors are at the fourth level

Each factor is unimodally distributed
most people are near the centre of a bell-shaped distribution

A. Extraversion
Eysenck believed that the principal difference between extraverts and introverts is one of
cortical arousal level.

Extraverts are characterized by sociability, impulsiveness, jocularity, liveliness,

optimism, and quick-wittedness
lower level of cortical arousal
higher sensory thresholds
lesser reactions to sensory simulation
introverts are quiet, passive, unsociable, careful, reserved, thoughtful, pessimistic,
peaceful, sober, and controlled.
higher level of cortical arousal

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 lower sensory thresholds (which is why they avoid situations that will cause
excitement)
greater reactions to sensory simulation

B. Neuroticism
High N
anxiety, hysteria, and obsessive-compulsive disorders
tendency to overreact emotionally and to have difficulty returning to a normal
state after emotional arousal
may suffer a neurotic reaction as a result of only a minimal level of stress
the higher the neuroticism score, the lower the level of stress necessary to
suffer from a neurotic disorder
They often complain of physical symptoms such as headache and backache
Diathesis-stress model: suggests that some people are vulnerable to illness because
they have either genetic or acquired weakness that predisposes them to an illness.
The predisposition (diathesis) can interact with stress to produce a neurotic
disorder

Low N
predicts emotional stability
healthy end of N: more able to resist a neurotic disorder in periods of extreme stress

C. Psychoticism
The latest and weakest of Eysenck's personality factors is psychoticism/superego.

High P
egocentric, cold, nonconforming, compulsive, hostile, aggressive, suspicious,
psychopathic, and antisocial
have a high predisposition to succumb to stress and develop an illness
are genetically more vulnerable to stress than are low P scorers

Low P (in direction of superego)

strong superego
altruistic, highly socialized, emphathy, caring, cooperative, conforming, and
conventional

V. Measuring Personality
Eysenck and his colleagues developed four personality inventory to measure
superfactors, or types
Maudsley Personality Inventory (assessed only E and N and yielded some correlation
between these two factors) - MPI
Eysenck Personality Inventory (which measures only E and N, contains a lie scale to
detect faking and measure E and N independently, with a near zero correlation between
E and N) - EPI
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (which also measures all three factors) - EPQ

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VI. Biological Bases of Personality
ENP all have powerful biological determinations
3/4 of the variance of all three personality dimensions can be accounted for by heredity,
and 1/4 by environmental factors
ANTECEDENT and CONSEQUENCE
antecedent: genetic and biological
consequences: experimental variables such as conditioning experiences,
sensitivity, and memory, as well as social behaviours such as criminality, creativity,
and sexual behaviour
personality has genetic determinants that indirectly shape biological intermediaries,
which help old E,N,P

VII. Personality as a Predictor

A. Personality and Behavior
According to Eysenck's model, P, E, and N should predict both proximal and distal
consequences, and he and his colleagues cited studies that predicted behavior in both
laboratory studies and studies of social behavior. They found a relationship between
superfactors and a large number of behaviors and processes, such as academic
performance, creativity, antisocial behavior, as well as behaviors that may lead to disease.

B. Personality and Disease

For many years, Eysenck researched the relationship between personality factors and
disease. He teamed with Ronald Grossarth-Maticek to study the connection between
personality characteristics and both cancer and cardiovascular disease. He found that:
people with a helpless/hopeless attitude are more likely to die from cancer
people who react to frustration with anger and emotional arousal are more much more
likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

VIII. Related Research

The three-factor theory of Eysenck has drawn a considerable amount of research, and is
very popular in the field of personality. Eysenck developed the Eysenck Personality
Inventory and its offshoots (Eysenck, 1959; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1964, 1968, 1975, 1993)

Biology and Personality

Eysenck assumed that personality springs from genetic and neurophysiological bases. If
this assumption has validity, neurophysiological differences should exist between people
high on one end of a dimension (for instance, introversion) and those high on the other
end of that dimension (extraverts). Second, the basic personality dimensions should be
universal and not limited to a given culture. Over the last 30 years, a substantial amount
of research has shown physiological differences between extraverts and introverts, thus
supporting Eysenck's biology-based theory (Beauducel, Brocke, & Leue, 2006; Eysenck,
1990; Stelmack, 1990, 1997). Interestingly, one study found that extraverts may move
faster, but they do not think faster than introverts (Doucet & Stelmack, 2000). Another of
Eysencks hypotheses that has generated some research is optimal level of arousal.
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Eysenck theorized that introverts should work best with lower levels of sensory stimulation
and extraverts with higher levels (Dornic & Ekehammer, 1990). Russell Geen studied this
(1984), and his findings supported Eysencks theory.

Chapter 15 - BUSS
I. Overview of Evolutionary Theory of Personality
Charles Darwin (1859) laid the foundation for modern theory of evolution Darwins major
contribution was not the theory of evolution but rather an explanation for how evolution
works, namely through selection (natural and sexual) and chance.
Chance occurs mostly through random genetic mutation and we wont have much to
say about chance.
Three different kinds: artificial selection, natural selection, and sexual selection.
The evolutionary process (natural and sexual selection and chance) results in three
distinct outcomes: adaptations, by-products and noise.
adaptations: evolved strategies that solve important survival and reproductive
problems
must have a genetic or inherited basis to them
e.g. sweat glands, are adaptations because they solve the problem of thermal
regulation
by-products; traits that happen as a result of adaptations, but are not part of the
functional design
e.g. scientific ability or driving skill
e.g. one by-product of the evolution of human intelligence
noise; random effects, which occurs when evolution produces random changes
in design that do not affect function
e.g. shape of a belly button
tends to be produced by chance and not selected for

II. Biography of David Buss

David Buss was born April 14, 1953 in Indianapolis Indiana to Arnold H. Buss, Sr. and
Edith Nolte.

III. Principles of Evolutionary Psychology

Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer were the first thinkers to argue for an evolutionary
perspective of psychological thought and behavior.
evolutionary psychology: can be defined as the scientific study of human thought and
behavior from an evolutionary perspective and focuses on four big questions

1. Why is the human mind designed the way it is and how did it come to take its current
form?
2. How is the human mind designed, that is, what are its parts and current structure?
3. What function do the parts of the mind have and what is it designed to do?
4. How do the evolved mind and current environment interact to shape human
behavior?

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IV. Evolutionary Theory of Personality
The true origin of personality is evolution
evolution = an interaction between an ever changing environment and a changing
body and brain.
Tooby and Cosmides; proponents of evolutionary psychology
pointed out that natural selection works to LESSEN individual differences, and thus
successful traits and qualities become the norm and less adaptive traits die out

The field of evolutionary personality psychology itself has been divided by psychologists
arguing for two solutions: personality differences were either noise or they were
perhaps by-products of evolved adaptive strategies. More recently, however, other
theorists have made the case for personality traits being something more than noise
or byproducts, namely adaptations. David Buss was the first and most prominent
theorist to take up the cause of developing an evolutionary theory of personality. The
essence of Busss theory of personality revolves around adaptive problems and their
solutions or mechanism, with a foundational understanding of the nature and nurture of
personality.

A. The Nature and Nurture of Personality

Fundamental situational error: tendency to assume that the environment alone can
produce behaviour void of a stable internal mechanism
Fundamental attribution error: our tendency to ignore situational and environmental
forces when explaining the behaviour of other people, and instead, focus on internal
dispositions

B. Adaptive Problems and their Solutions (Mechanisms)

Two fundamental life problems: reproduction and survival
Mechanisms: solutions to the two basic problems of life
Physical mechanisms: physiological organs and systems that evolve to solve
problems of survival
Psychological mechanisms: internal processes that solve specific survival and
reproduction problems

Evolutionary biology focuses on the original of physical mechanisms, while evolutionary

psychology focuses on the origin of psychological mechanisms

C. Evolved Mechanisms
Psychological mechanisms can be grouped into three categories:
1. goals/drives/motives
2. emotions
3. personality traits
GEP

D. Motivation and Emotion as Evolved Mechanisms

two goals and motivates that act as evolved mechanisms: POWER & INTIMACY
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 drives = adaptations, because they directly affect the health and well-being
emotions are adaptations because they directly alert the individual to situations that
are either harmful or beneficial to his other well being

E. Personality Traits as Evolved Mechanisms

The BIG Five can be best thought of as a way of signalling to other people ones ability to
solve survival and reproductive problems

1. Surgency (i.e. extraversion/dominance)

being able to experience positive emotional stages
to engage in ones environment
to be sociable and self-confident
driven to achieve and often tends to dominate and lead others
in ancestral times:
involves hierarchy proclivities; how people negotiate and decide who is
dominant and who is submissive
2. Agreeableness/hostility
a persons willingness and capacity to cooperate and help the group or to be
hostile/aggressive on the other
likely to work to smooth over group conflict and form alliances between people
foster group cohesion and conform to group norms, so they get along with others
marked by a persons willingness and capacity to cooperate and help
the group on the one hand or to be hostile and aggressive on the
other.
3. Neuroticism/emotional stability
vigilance or sensitivity to harm and threat
involves ones ability to handle stress or not
4. Conscientiousness
ones capacity and commitment to work
careful, detail-oriented, focused, reliable
signals to others whom we can trust with tasks and responsibilities, and whom we
can depend on in times of need
5. Openness
involves ones propensity for innovation and ability to solve problems
aligned with intellect, and a willingness to try new things
explorers of a group - forge ahead when others are hesitant
SANCO

Surgency/extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are the most important

traits - SAC

F. Origins of Individual Differences

Environmental Sources
the environment contributes to adaptive individual differences

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 adaptive differences increase reproductive success and ones chance of survival
early experimental calibration: childhood experiences make some behavioural
strategies more likely than others
e.g. not growing up with a father means they are more likely to be sexually active
and have more sex partners in their life
alternative niche specialisation: different people find what makes them stand out from
others in order to gain attention from parents or potential mates
e.g. birth order
Frank Sulloway (1996) argued that first born find their niche by identifying with
parents and authority figures, while second and later borns find their niche by
being focused on overthrowing those in power (i.e. older siblings)

Heritable/Genetic Sources
heritability: the extent to which a trait is under genetic influence
muscular men will garner more female attention which leads to more opportunities for
sexual activity

Nonadaptive Sources
some sources of individuals do not BENEFIT survival or reproductive success
neutral genetic variations: take the form of genetic mutations
mutations can be neutral in that they are neither beneficial nor harmful

Maladaptive Sources
maladaptive traits are those that ACTIVELY HARM ones chance for survival or decrease
ones sexual attractiveness
stems from either genetic or environmental sources
genetic defect
environmental trauma: brain or spinal cord injury

V. Common Misunderstanding in Evolutionary Theory

When evolutionary theory first became popular in the 1980s it caused quite a bit of
controversy. There was a lot of resistance both from inside and outside university settings
against applying evolutionary ideas to human thought and behavior. Evolution is all about
the body changing due to changes in the environment. In this sense it is inherently a
nature and nurture interaction perspective. Evolution occurs from the interaction
between adaptations and input from the environment that triggers the adaptations. More
generally, the discovery of epigenetics is an even more powerful example of how genetic
influence is not set in stone at the moment of conception and interacts with input from
the environment. Epigenetics is change in gene function that does not involve changes in
DNA.

VI. Related Research

The evolutionary model of personality cannot be tested directly in so far as we cannot
conduct studies over hundreds of generations. And yet, just like in biology, there is much
support for the evolutionary basis of human personality, which can be divided into at least
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three general topics: temperament, genetics, and animal personality. All three lines of
evidence support the view that personality has a biological basis and that these biological
systems have evolved.

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