MCCRAE AND COSTA

• Robert R. McCrae


  • Born on April 28, 1949 in Maryville, Missouri
  • Youngest of three children
  • Father: Andrew McCrae
  • Mother: Eloise Elaine McCrae
  • Primarily studied Philosophy before studying Psychology
  • He has a quiet and introverted personality
  • Started working with Costa when he was hired by the National Institute on Aging's Gerontology Research Center
• Paul T. Costa Jr.


  • Born on September 16, 1942 in Franklin, New Hampshire
  • Youngest of three children
  • Father: Paul T. Costa, Sr.
  • Mother: Esther Vasil Costa
  • Studied Psychology and Human Development
  • Co-authored a book on Humanistic theory of personality with Salvatore Maddi
  • Married Karol Sandra Costa whom he had three children with
• Five-Factor Model of Personality

  • The most reliable and commonly used personality structure
  • Traits/factors are bipolar and follow a bell-shaped distribution
• Neuroticism


  • High score: Anxious, Temperamental, Self-pitying, Self-conscious, Emotional, Vulnerable to stress-related disorder
  • Low score: Calm, Even-tempered, Self-satisfied, Comfortable, Unemotional, Hardy
• Openness to Experience


  • High score: Imaginative, Creative, Original, Prefers variety, Curious, Liberal
  • Low score: Down-to-earth, Uncreative, Conventional, Prefers routine, Uncurious, Conservative
• Dynamic Processes


  Indicate the direction of causal influence, may be manifested through perception, coping, role playing, reasoning, etc.
• Basic Tendencies


  Defines the individual's potential and direction with personality capacities and dispositions that are generally inferred than observed
• Characteristic Adaptations


  Acquired personality structure that develop as people try to adapt, flexible compared to basic tendencies
• Self-concept


  Consists of one's knowledge, views and evaluations of the self as their characteristic adaptation influences how one behaves in a given circumstances
• Biological Bases


  The principal biological mechanisms that influence basic tendencies, including genes, hormones, and brain structures
• Objective Biography


  Everything the person does, thinks, or feels across the whole lifespan
• External Influences


  Particular social and physical situations that influence behavior or personality
• Individuality/Uniqueness Postulate


  • Much of our uniqueness results from variability in our genotype, the precise amount of the five-factor traits we all have
• Origin Postulate


  • Our personality traits originate from our genetics, hormones and brain structures, not our environment
• Development Postulate


  • Our personality traits develops through childhood, but the development slows and gradually stops in adulthood
• Origin Postulate


  • Our traits are hierarchically organized from narrow and specific to broad and general
• Characteristic Adaptations Postulates


  • People acquire patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are consistent with their personality traits that affect the way they adapt to the environment
  • Maladjustments occur when responses are not consistent with personal goals or cultural values
  • Basic tendencies may be rather stable over the lifetime, characteristic adaptations are not, as it changes over time in response to biological maturation, environment or deliberate interventions