Raymond CattellFactor Analytic Trait Theory

Biography•Cattell was born in England in 1905 to a family of

engineers.

•Cattell was a bright student, graduating with his doctorate in psychology in 1929 from the University of London at 23.

•  A bleak job market forced Cattell to take a clinical position doing school psychology for 5 years.

• This helped him with his future career in personality research.

Biography contd.In 1937, Cattell was invited to the states by E.L.

Thorndike in New York.

Cattell stayed in the US after this, taking positions at Clark University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois.

It was in Illinois, that he spent his most productive years developing personality tests.  

In 1997, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the American Psychological Foundation.

Factor Analytic Theories

•Factor analytic theories strive to summarize the relationships among a large number of variables into fewer, more general patterns.

•This is done to describe the fundamental dimensions of individual differences.

Personality—Cattell’s time-lineCattell argued--personality went through 3 phases.

Phase 1: Occurred from ancient times till the 1900s century, when scholars wrote about their intuitive insights into personality.

Phase 2: In the early 1900s, clinically oriented theorists proposed their views of personality (Freud, Adler, Jung) with some experimental work.

Phase 3: Following WWI, theorists employed more experimental & quantitative methods to assess personality.

What did Cattell believe was his place in personality field?•Cattell observed the important insights of earlier

theorists & used modern methods & technology (computers) to assess the importance of these insights in determining personality.

Factor Analysis

•A statistical produce based on correlation, that is used to examine factor analytic theories.

•A correlation coefficient provides an index of the relationship between two or more variables.

• It may range from –1.00 to +1.00, where the sign indicates the direction & the # indicates the magnitude of the relationship.

Factor Analysis contd.Many correlation coefficients are computed during the

course of a factor analysis.

The correlations among all pairs of variables are computed to form a correlation matrix.

Patterns of correlations often disclose redundant information, which may be systematically described.

Factor analysis allows the personality researcher to identify a smaller number of dimensions (factors) that the variables fit into.

Example:Imagine we administer intelligence tests.

We would find that:Tests of verbal ability would be positively correlated

(vocabulary, grammar, & spelling), but have lower correlations with tests of mathematical abilities.

Tests of math ability would be positively correlated (geometry, algebra, calculus), but have lower correlations with tests of verbal ability.

Factor analysis of these variables would reveals two factors: mathematical ability a& verbal ability.

Cattell’s view of traits

•Cattell saw traits as important units of personality that have predictive value.

• In contrast to Allport, who felt traits were part of our biology, Cattell thought of traits as abstract concepts.

Measurement

•Cattell sought to systematically & methodically describe personality.

•He believed that it was imperative to have a method for obtaining reliable & valid measure of personality factors.

•His best known personality test is the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) that can be used with normal Ss & with clinical populations.

Types of data

•1. Q-data (questionnaire data) –is obtained by asking people to describe themselves in response to a set of standard questions (Multiple choice, true/false).

•Pros—easy to administer & quick access to information.

•Con– people may impression manage (e.g., lie to make themselves look good).

Types of data

•2. T-data (objective test data) –is obtained by asking people to take various tests (projective, physical, reaction times) in which the purpose of the test isn’t obvious.

•Pros-this should reduce impression managing; provides objective data.

•Cons-objective tests may be of limited use.

Types of data

•3. L-data (life record data) – is obtained by gathering life history of person (personal records), such as grade point average, driving history, letters of recommendation, etc.

•Pros—information can be obtained with requiring Ss to fill out questionnaires.

•Cons– provides limited information about the individual.

Surface traits

•Refers to those traits that seem readily apparent.

•E.g., you encounter a friendly, gregarious librarian who is very helpful & you infer she possesses the trait of sociability.

•However, surface traits are based on people’s perceptions of personality; they don’t necessarily provide the best description of underlying personality dimensions.

Source traits

Refers to the deeper patterns underlying personality.

These source traits emerge despite differences in testing situations, questionnaire methods, & so forth.

Cattell used factor analysis to identify 16 source traits. Using these 16 source traits he developed the 16PF.

The set of scores on all factors is the profile of the

individual.

Second-Order Factors

•There may be correlations among the 16 factors. That is, there is some redundancy in the 16 source traits Cattell identified.

•We can reduce this number down, by doing another factor analysis on the 16 personality factors.

•This second-order analysis, often yields 5 second-order factors.

Three types of traits

•1. Ability traits- define intelligence.

•Cattell argued that we have 2 types of intelligence: Fluid & crystallized.

•Fluid intelligence-the innate ability to learn•Crystallized intelligence-what has been learned

from education.

Intelligence

•Cattell believed that 80% of the variance in intelligence was the result of heredity; the remaining 20% due to experience.

•This position supported both the Eugenics movement & the Nazis.

2. Temperament traits

These traits determine the general way a person behaviors. (high-strungness, speed, energy, etc.)

****Thought to be largely inherited. **

23.   Dynamic traits—are motivational. These guide us in our behaviors & interactions with others.

24. Cattell felt some of these are inherited, others learned.

The Big Five

•Based on Cattell’s model of factor analysis, five factors have been identified that may describe the full spectrum of personality.

•The proponents of the Big Five are Paul Costa Jr. & Robert McCrae, who are interested in describing personality.

The Big FiveFive broad factors have been identified to describe

personality. They are: ExtraversionAgreeablenessNeuroticismConscientiousnessOpenness (They spell “OCEAN”)

1. Extraversion

•People high in extraversion are often talkative, passionate, active, dominant, & sociable.

•Those scoring high have more interactions with others than those scoring low.

•Extraverts tend to develop more social relationships during college, are more likely to fall in love, & are more responsive to pleasure.

2. Agreeableness•Agreeableness refers to how “likable” we are.

•People scoring high on agreeableness tend to be good-natured, soft-hearted, and trusting. Those low on the factor are irritable, ruthless, and suspicious.

•People who score high on this factor report little conflict in their relationships. They are less likely to assert power when they do experience conflict as well.

3. Neuroticism

•Describes people who frequently are troubled by negative emotions such as worry & insecurity.

•People high on neuroticism can be described as those who worry, those who emotionally unstable, they are often anxious, & have low self-esteem.

•People who score low on this factor report being much happier than people scoring higher on this dimension.

Conscientiousness

•Describes someone who is hardworking, dependable, ambitious, responsible, & is tenacious.

•People scoring high on this dimension value cleanliness, & ambitiousness.

•They tend to be organized, punctual, do well academically, are well liked by their superiors, & dedicated to their significant others.

Openness

•Refers to how cultured, intelligent, & receptive a person is to new ideas, places, & interests.

•Those who score high in openness are more likely to be artistic, curious, imaginative, insightful, and intuitive.