Chapter 3: Personality Theories

• Nomothetic approach


  Compares people on a number of traits common to all
• Idiographic approach


  Interested in the personality in its entirety, emphasizing its uniqueness
• The nomothetic definition of a person is: those relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals that distinguish them from other people, making them unique, but at the same time allowing them to be compared to one another
• Ideography defines a person as: Each individual is a unique creation of nature. There never was a human quite like he/she, and there never will be again
• Hans Eysenck's neurobiological model of personality


  • All people can be described along the introversion-extraversion dimension
  • 70% of people in the world are ambiverts, i.e., bearers of both introverted and extraverted traits in different individual ratio
• Extraversion


  Mental energy is directed outward toward people and events from the external environment
• Introversion


  Mental energy is directed inward toward thoughts and experiences of their inner world
• The nomothetic and idiographic approaches are increasingly seen as complementary and interdependent, and it is good to use both
• Every person is to some extent like all other people, looks a little like some people, and is like no other person
• Eysenck's neurobiological model of personality


  • Personality is determined by innate attitudes corresponding to features of the nervous system, namely – introversion-extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism
  • These are presented as a continuum along which each person can be described
• Introvert


  Quiet, shy, introspective, more interested in books than people, reserved and distant except to close friends, plans ahead, prefers a well-structured lifestyle, rarely behaves aggressively, demonstrates emotional restraint, reliable, partially pessimistic with emphasis on ethical norms
• Extravert


  Social, maintains an extensive social network, craves excitement, is drawn to risk-taking, acts spontaneously, impulsive, appreciates humour, has prompt responses, displays preference of change, carefree, light-hearted, optimistic, cheerful, active, prone to aggression, emotional, unreliable
• Neuroticism


  Anxious, worried, often depressed, excessively emotional, susceptible to stress, exhibits heightened response to stimuli and encounters challenges in achieving emotional equilibrium following an affective event

  
• According to the ancient Greek theory of the Four temperaments (Galen, 2nd century AD) or the Four Fluids, there are four types of people: choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic
• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) is one of the most established methods in the assessment of personality traits along with Psychoticism and Social desirability (or Lie) scales
• Eysenck believed that some psychiatric disorders represented extreme variants of personality dimensions
• Eysenck's Extraversion and Neuroticism scales have proven its longevity, hence the rationale of their inclusion to the Big Five Personality Traits model
• Openness to experience


  Imaginative, Intelligent, Creative
• Conscientiousness


  Organized, Diligent, Competent
• Extraversion


  Friendly, Sociable
• Agreeableness


  Kind, Trusting, Caring, Altruistic, Humble
• Neuroticism (or Emotional stability)

  Anxious, Depressed, Impulsive
• The Big Five model offers a descriptive rather than a causal classification of individual differences
• Robert Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality

  • Personality is considered as a complex adaptive system, including interaction between temperament, character and the so-called psyche (i.e., soul, spirit)
  • Temperament involves heritable variation in basic emotions and their associated behavioral responses
  • Character involves more complex cognitive functions underlying an individual's goals and values

  
• Novelty seeking


  Tendency for seeking behaviour and exploring new things (Low dopaminergic activity)
• Harm avoidance


  Tendency to react intensely to unpleasant stimuli and inhibit one's behaviour (High serotonergic activity)
• Reward dependence


  Tendency of behavior to be strongly influenced by social approval (Low noradrenergic activity)
• Persistence


  Tendency to persevere despite frustration and fatigue
• Self-directedness


  Presence of responsibility, purposefulness, ability for integrity, flexibility
• Cooperativeness


  Responsive, compassionate, constructive, empathetic and socially tolerant
• Self-transcedence


  Patience and experience in creative and fully committed people
• TCI is one of the most reliable assessment methods for personality
• The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is widely used in scientific research, clinical and forensic psychology
• Personality traits


  • Sensitive
  • Sympathetic
  • Socially dependent
  • Persistence
  • Indifferent
  • Skittish
  • Losers
  • Ambitious
  • Perfectionists
  • Self-directedness
  • Blaming
  • Aimless
  • Responsible
  • Purposeful
  • Cooperativeness
  • Intolerant
  • Callous
  • Unhelpful
  • Vengeful
  • Socially tolerant
  • Empathic
  • Helpful
  • Compassionate
  • Practical
  • Materialists
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)


  A test widely used in scientific research, clinical and forensic psychology to precisely diagnose both mental states and personality traits
• The original version of the MMPI was published in 1943, subsequently undergoing many revisions
• The full version of the MMPI contains 567 items, which are answered with True or False
• The MMPI is highly sensitive to norm variations and precisely diagnoses both mental states and personality traits
• Current versions of the MMPI

  • MMPI-2
  • MMPI-2-RF
  • MMPI-A
  • MMPI-A-RF
  • MMPI-3
• The MMPI contains standard clinical scales, subscales, content, supplemental, and restructured scales, as well as personality psychopathology rating scales