Read the following description of a person named Jordan. Based on the six-factor framework of personality that includes Honesty-Humility, identify the two traits that are most strongly and clearly demonstrated. For each of the two traits you identify, provide a specific behavioral example from the text that supports your choice.

Personality Profile Analysis

A model of personality with the HEXACO acronym for six traits: honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

Columbia University

Google

Trait theorists suggest that individuals have certain characteristics that tend to remain stable over time and appear in many situations. These theorists suggest individual traits to be the unit of analysis. They aim to determine which traits occur together and their specific patterns of organization within individuals.

Trait Theories

- Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
- Big Five Personality Test (Five-Factor Model)
- HEXACO Personality Inventory

Types of Self Report Inventories

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Relates to how we use traits to describe others

Traits and Personality/Person Descriptions

Critique of the Big 5 Model that adds a honesty-humility dimension to the existing extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness dimensions.

HEXACO Model

This approach focuses on a single trait and aims to learn as much as possible about behaviors and life outcomes associated with that trait. 

Examples: 
-  Self Monitoring
-  Narcissism 

Single Trait Approach 

This approach focuses on one behavior and investigates how that behavior correlates with many different personality traits in order to explain that behavior. 

Examples:
-  California Q set 
-  Political Beliefs/Behaviors

Many Trait Approach

This approach focuses on narrowing 1000's of traits and terms into shorter, meaningful lists. 

Examples:
-  Theoretical Approach 
-  Big 5 Personality Traits

Essential Trait Approach

This approach focuses on identifying types/groups of individuals based on patterns of traits. Results are often very descriptive as they analyze the entire individual, not just a single trait. 

Example:
-  Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Typological Approach 

Relatively consistent patterns of thought and behavior.

Personality Traits

According to Gordon Allport personality traits are the building blocks of an individual's personality and that personality develops over time and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. After finding 4,500 words in the English language that could be used to describe individuals, Allport proposed three categorize of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary.

Allport's Theory of Personality

The HEXACO Model of Personality

Attribution is the process of inferring the causes of events or behaviors. In social psychology, this often involves determining whether a behavior is due to internal factors, such as personality and character (a dispositional attribution), or external factors, such as the environment and social context (a situational attribution).

Attribution

Which of the Following Describes Trait Theories of Personality?

In contrast to earlier theories that focused on explaining the origins of personality, the modern study of personality has adopted a more quantitative approach. This method centers on identifying and measuring specific personality traits to understand how they interact and predict an individual's behavior in various situations.

Quantitative Approach in Personality Research

A personality trait is a relatively consistent and enduring pattern of thought and behavior that an individual exhibits across various situations and throughout their lifespan. Modern personality research focuses on identifying and measuring these traits to predict behavior.

Personality Trait

The Five-Factor Model, commonly known as the “Big Five,” proposes that human personality variations can be captured by five core dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Research indicates that these five trait dimensions are influenced by genetics and remain relatively stable throughout an individual's lifespan.

The Big Five Personality Traits (Five-Factor Model)

Based on an extensive survey of psychological literature, Walter Mischel concluded that empirical data failed to support the core principle that an individual's personality traits remain consistent across various situations. This finding suggested that the situation itself could be a more powerful determinant of behavior than internal traits.

Mischel's Critique of Trait Consistency

Early trait theories represent foundational attempts to systematically identify and organize the fundamental components of human personality. Prominent examples include the theories developed by Raymond Cattell and Hans & Sybil Eysenck.

Early Trait Theories

Early trait theories were criticized for their scope. Raymond Cattell's 16-factor model was often viewed as too broad and complex, while the Eysencks' two-factor system was criticized for being too narrow and simplistic. The Five Factor Model emerged as a widely accepted middle ground, providing a more balanced framework for describing personality.

Critiques of Early Trait Theories and the Rise of the Five Factor Model

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most widely used self-report personality tests, featuring a true/false question format. First published in 1943 with 504 questions, it was developed using a limited sample of Minnesota farmers and psychiatric patients. The inventory was updated in 1989 to the MMPI-2, which expanded to 567 questions and was standardized using a more representative national sample. A more recent version, the MMPI-2-RF, was released in 2008 with 338 questions, taking about half the time to complete. Despite the newer version's efficiency, the MMPI-2 remains more established and is more commonly used. The test is typically administered via computer. In addition to its clinical scales, the MMPI also includes validity and reliability scales to assess the truthfulness of responses.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Psychologist Raymond Cattell developed the 16PF, a personality assessment designed to measure the 16 personality factors he identified. Individuals can take this assessment to determine which traits are most dominant in their personality. Rather than classifying a trait as simply present or absent, the 16PF scores each dimension on a continuum from high to low.

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