TRAIT THEORY OF PERSONALITY

John is generally pleasant, but during final exams, he experiences more intense stress than other students experience. He is irritable and easily frustrated. According to the Big Five model of personality, John would be

• high in introversion

• high in neuroticism

• high in conscientiousness

• low in agreeableness

• low in openness to experience

Shanni loves to travel internationally, owns many unusual pieces of art from local artists, and enjoys attending concerts featuring an eclectic collection of musicians. According to theorists Paul Costa and Robert McRae, Shanni’s personality is likely high on

• neuroticism

• conscientiousness

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• openness to experience

Psychologist who emphasize the importance of personality traits are most often criticized for

• being naive and overly optimistic

• being subjective in interpreting unverifiable phenomena

• overestimating the number of basic traits

• underestimating the role of emotions

• underestimating the variability of behavior from situation to situation

In general, trait theories emphasize which of the following?

• The changing and temporary nature of human characteristics

• The role of current environmental conditions in controlling behavior

• The lasting nature of personal characteristics

• Identity confusion

• Early childhood experiences

According to trait theories of personality, _____.

• all people either have or do not have a particular trait

• we all have the same traits

• an individual can have more or less of a particular trait

• traits are not stable

One limitation of the trait perspective compared to the other perspectives is there is not much __________.

• control
• research
• description
• explanation

People who score high in ____ tend to be sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, and modest.

• neuroticism
• extraversion
• conscientiousness
• agreeableness

Cindy who is being described as trustworthy, altruistic and tender-minded is probably fairly high on the Big Five superfactor known as _________.

• openness
• neuroticism
• agreeableness
• conscientiousness

Raven is an artist who is relaxed, self-disciplined, and emotionally stable. She is very trusting and cooperative. She prefers staying at home to going out socially. Which of the following diagrams best represents Raven’s personality according to the Big Five trait dimensions?

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Match each facet to its corresponding factor in the Five-Factor Model of Personality.

• Imagination vs. Down-to-Earth

• Extraversion

• Orderliness vs. Disorganization

• Neuroticism

• Sociability vs. Reserved

• Agreeableness

• Anxiety vs. Emotional Stability

• Openness to Experience

• Compassion vs. Tough-Mindedness

• Conscientiousness