Psychology of personality
Consider Cattell’s Specification Equation. Using three traits that are different from the
ones in the examples, furnish your own example, including:
Cettel’ specification equation is an approach that quantifies human personality in order to
predict behavior. The equations break down the situations that individuals face. The equation
assumes that traits are stable, however, research has postulated that these traits changes with
environment. The equation used is: R=f(P,S)
In the formula, R is the person’s reaction, f is the function and P is the person’s personality
while S is the situation. Traits are within a person and predict behaviors of an individual.
Understanding traits and how important they are to a situation of interest is essential. The three
traits are ability, temperament and dynamic traits (Cattell, 2007). Ability traits relates to
intelligence and motivation of an individual towards certain goal. Learning and hereditary affects
this outcome. Temperament traits are inherited traits, which define how an individual reacts and
carries out in whatever activities the person is engaging in. Example is the level of anger of a
person. Dynamic traits on the other hand, are motivational traits and that they provide energy to
make decisions in a certain way. These traits are innate as well as learned in some people.
The weights of each trait vary with the situation, which an individual is facing. For
instance, if a person is faced with a problem, then the ability trait weight will be high because
intelligence is required to solve the problem. They have different signs. For instance, ability sign
is A, dynamic is D while Temperament is T, They signify the type of trait. In a situation of
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solving a problem, the prediction is that ability traits will be of greatest significant compared to
other traits.
Using original examples, describe the differences between:
a. ergs and sentiments
Ergs are innate motivational traits and are related to the; instincts found in animals. Ergs
include curiosity, pride, fear anger, greed among others. While sentiments are deep
underlying motivations that emerge early in a persons life and endure. These include feelings
about religion, home and family.
b. High and low scores on Factor I
High scores on Factor I refers to how an individual personality traits responses to certain
situation. For instance, when a person is good at reasoning has more intelligent and can
engage in abstract thinking; then that is high score while in case the personal has lower
general mental capacity and less intelligent then this is categorized as low score
c. A correlation and a factor
A correlation is the degree or the extend which two variables are related or tend to go
together. A good example to illustrate this is the blood pressure and the frequency of
exercise. The blood pressure may vary depending on the frequency of exercises. Factor on
the other hand, is that union which a trait is based. An example is reasoning.
d. Factor G and Factor O
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Factor G refers to general factors that summarize positive correlations among different tasks
(cognitive) which indicates some similarity in the functioning of an individual cognitive in
performing different tasks. Factor O on the other hand, refers to all the factors or overall trait that
help an individual in making different judgment.
Consider Ewen’s illustrative example of factor analysis on pp. 326-327:
The category preferred is dogs. Dogs have different traits or behaviors these include, strong
smelling scent, playful, strong eyesight, barking at strangers, good, respectful, brave, loving,
caring, attentive and energetic.
Correlation matrix
Factor
Strong smelling scent
Playful
Strong eyesight
Bark
Good/friendly
Respectful
Brave
Loving
Caring
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Attentive
Energetic
References
Cattell, R. (2007). Psychology of Personality The book is An Introduction to Theories of
Personality by Robert B Ewen. 7th Edition,