1

CLASSIFYING TRAITS (I)

TAXONOMIES & TYPOLOGIES

JUNG’S TAXONOMY3 dimensions

YORK & JOHN’S TYPOLOGY

2

How can we best organize & classify the thousands and thousands of existing traits ?

ambitious awkward bitter boastful boring brave careful cheerful chic clever clumsy clumsy cowardly creative dainty dignified dishonest dull excitable

fanciful forgiving ecstatic energetic gentle glamorous gutless handsome hateful honest hot-tempered imaginative intelligent kind lazy lonely loving loyal mean

mushy neat patient poetic practical proud quarrelsome romantic sarcastic self-centered selfish shy silly sincere sloppy smug somber stingy stubborn

stupid sullen superstitious sweet understanding vain wasteful wise

que lio !

3

TAXONOMIES

8 Groups of Basic Elements

4

PERSONALITY TAXONOMIES ?

Can psychologists reliably identify a basic set of trait categories (dimensions) upon which all personality dispositions can be placed on or understood?

5

YES! ……..

Jung’s 3 basic & broad trait dimensions:

• Extroversion-Introversion• Thinking-Feeling• Sensing-Intuiting

‘Big Five’

6

JUNG’S TAXONOMY

• Rationally (vs. empirically) derived

• 3 basic dimensions (elements):

• Extroversion-Introversion

• Thinking-Feeling

• Sensing-Intuiting

Both poles of each tendency exist in each of us but one pole tends to predominate in our personality.

7

Extroversion -------------- IntroversionEnergy directed toward outer objective or inner subjective world

Directionality of our psychological energy

8

…… plus 2 psychological processes:

• Thinking-Feeling

• Sensing-Intuiting

9

Sensing ----------------------- IntuitionPreference for sensual perception (literal: what you see, touch, hear) vs. unconscious perception (symbolic: vibes, impressions, intuitions)

How is information gathered (perception):

‘seeing is believing’ ‘follow your intuitions’

10

Thinking ----------------------- FeelingInformation is dealt in a logical, objective way vs. in a personal, emotionally-oriented way

How is information used (processing):

‘be objective’ ‘passion is everything’

11

S N

Search behavior(acquiring information)

sensing intuition

T FMaking decisions

(using information)

thinking feeling

E IManaging relationships

(energy)extroversion introversion

In summary ...

12

MEASUREMENT OF JUNG’S DIMENSIONS?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI; 1962)

Perhaps the most widely used test in the world (particularly for personnel selection)

13

TYPOLOGIES

Mineral Types: particular combination of elements

14

PERSONALITY TYPOLOGIES ?

Can psychologists identify a manageable set of personality types (groups of people) representing unique combinations of basic traits?

15

JUNG’S TYPOLOGY

8 types based on all possible permutations of 3 basic traits:

• Extroversion-Introversion• Thinking-Feeling• Sensing-Intuiting

2 x 2 x 2 = 8 types (or 16 if order is considered)

• Rationally-derived (vs. empirically)• Moderate empirical support from applied psychologists (but not popular among researchers)

16

Learn from textbook about 8 types (e.g., thinking extrovert vs. thinking introvert, etc.)

17

‘NEW AGE’ TYPOLOGIES:

EXAMPLE: THE ENNEGRAM

Take the understanding of the East,and the knowledge of the West ...and then seek.G. I. GURDJIEFF (1866-1949)

• Rationally-derived (vs. empirically)• Dubious (no empirical basis whatsoever)• Other popular ‘typologies’: Chinese and Western Horoscopes

18

19

YORK & JOHN’S (1992) 4 PROTO-TYPES

• Empirically-derived (ie., types naturally emerged from statistical analyses of women’s self-descriptions on a wide selection of personality measures)

Individuated Conflicted Traditional Assured

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TAXONOMY & TYPOLOGY ?- TAXONOMY: Looking for basic dimensions -->identify groupings of variables (traits) that share certain properties

- TYPOLOGY: Looking for basic types -->identify groupings of people that share a unique combination of variables (traits)

20

21

Question for the class:

For most of us, it would be hard to memorize traits within each of these four types, why?

22

Because within each type there are different kinds of traits related to sociability, intelligence, warmth, etc.

It would help to know how predominant on each type are particular categories of traits

… the ‘Big Five’ does exactly that!