RAYMOND CATTELL’S PERSONALITY

THEORY
RAYMOND CATTELL (1905-1998)
Born in Staffordshire, England
Received B.S.C. from University of London in 1924, Ph.D. in 1929
Worked at several universities including Columbia University, Clark University,
Harvard, University of Illinois, and University of Hawaii and Forrest Institute of
Professional Psychology
CATTELL’S DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
Personality = that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a
given situation
Surface traits versus source traits
­ Surface traits = clusters of overt behavior responses that appear to go together
­ Source traits = underlying variable that determine surface manifestations

Assessment and Research in Cattell’s theory

­ Factor analysis = correlational technique used to identify traits
CATTELL'S SIXTEEN BASIC SOURCE TRAITS
CATTELL'S SIXTEEN BASIC SOURCE TRAITS (CONTINUED)
APPLICATIONS OF THE BIG FIVE AND
THE FIVE FACTOR MODEL AND THEORY
Job performance

Job satisfaction

Personality disorders

Determine types of therapy

THINKING CRITICALLY
How abnormal is abnormal?
­ Do personality disorders and psychopathology represent qualitative or quantitative
difference in normality?
­ Allport believed that disorders represent a radical discontinuity from normal (qualitatively different)
­ Five factor model suggests disorders are quantitatively different than normal (rather than qualitatively different)
­ What do you think? Are people with personality disorders qualitatively or quantitatively different from normal
people? What impact does your answer have on our beliefs and feelings concerning what separates you from
individuals who warrant clinical diagnosis?
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS: BEHAVIORAL GENETICS AND
EVOLUTION
The genetic influence on traits
­ Behavioral genetics examines cause of individual differences in human behavior in terms
of heredity
­ Twin studies
­ Heritability is degree to which a trait or characteristic is caused by the genotype rather
than the environment
APPLICATIONS OF GENETIC RESEARCH
Quantitative Trait Loci
Human genome project
Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders
THINKING CRITICALLY
Using a genogram to chart personality traits in your family tree
­ Many traits seem to run in families
­ You can chart personality traits in your family tree by drawing a genogram
­ Start by interviewing relatives asking what traits have appeared throughout the generations and how the traits may
have varied in specific appearance
­ Create the chart by drawing a symbol to represent yourself and other individuals (see Figure 11.3)
­ Do such activities help you to answer the question of whether genes have an impact on our personalities?
EVOLUTIONARY PERSONALITY THEORY
A way of thinking about human behavior based on data drawn from biology,
anthropology, sociology, cognitive psychology, and the neurosciences
Specific behavior patterns of today are patterns that survived in our ancestors
because they were more successful than other behaviors
Big Five traits represent strategic differences summarizing important features of
the social landscape
SAMPLE GENOGRAM
PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE, AND ART:
FACTOR ANALYTIC TRAIT THEORIES
Based on highly objective and precise scientific techniques
Reflects current emphasis on quantitative methods and empirical data
Beyondism
Interest behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology provide shift from
focus on environmental forces