
Describe personality in terms of fundamental
traits

Not trying to explain why these traits exist,
only describe them and classify them

Trait = a characteristic pattern of behavior or
a disposition to feel and act
 e.g. introvert, outgoing, cheerful, anxious, …

How do we describe and classify traits?
 According to “types”
 Many different systems have been used

Ancient Greeks: according to the four body
humors
- Melancholic (depressed)
- Phlegmatic (unemotional)

- Sanguine (cheerful)
- Choleric (irritable)
Sheldon’s Body Types:
- Mesomorph - Ectomorph
- Endomorph

Myers-Briggs Types:
 Classifies personality according to four
dichotomies (opposites)
Extrovert 
Sensing 
Thinking 
Judgment
Introvert
Intuition
Feeling
Perception
 How do we know which systems is the best?

Factor Analysis: statistical procedure to
identify clusters of behavior that are related,
and reflect a basic trait
 e.g. outgoing people tend to say they like
excitement and practical jokes, and dislike quiet
reading
▪ Trait = extraversion
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire:

The Big Five:
 Slightly expanded set of factors that is still
considered the standard in describing personality
▪ Emotional Stability
▪ Extraversion
▪ Openness
▪ Agreeableness
▪ Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
• Calm : Anxious
• Secure : Insecure
• Self-Satisfied : Self-Pitying
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
• Organized : Disorganized
• Careful : Careless
• Disciplined : Impulsive
• Sociable : Retiring
• Fun-Loving : Sober
• Affectionate : Reserved
THE BIG FIVE
Agreeableness
Openness
• Soft-Hearted : Ruthless
• Trusting : Suspicious
• Helpful : Uncooperative
• Imaginative : Practical
• Variety : Routine
• Independent : Conforming

More recent research has revealed:

Characteristics of the Big 5:
 More stable in adulthood
 50% hereditary
 Cross-Cultural
 Can be used to predict behavior

Personality Inventories: long questionnaires
where people respond (T/F) to items designed to
gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)
 Compared responses to hundred of questions
between normal and disordered people
 Retained any statements that differed from normal
▪ e.g. “Nothing in the newspaper interests me except the
comics”  indicative of depression

Person-Situation Controversy:
 Remember: Is our behavior influenced by our
personal disposition, or situational context?

Do personality traits persist over time and
across situations?
 Time: Personality trait scores correlated well over time
▪ Children (0.31), Collegians (0.54), 30-Year olds (0.54), Over 70 (0.74)
YES
 Situation: little correlation between behavior in one
situation and the next.
NO

Therefore, scores on personality tests only
mildly predict behavior
 Example: If one test determines you are an extrovert,
it does not predict how you will act in each social
situation

But, we can use personality tests to predict the
average of our traits.

The best indicator = people who know us well!

This test is based on Carl Jung and Isabel
Briggs Myers typological approach to
personality:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgiwin/JTypes1.htm

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?