404 Part IV Dispositional Theories
portray the complete picture of the complex relationship between traits and
emotion. The research by McNiel and Fleeson (2006) showed that acting extra-
verted, even if you are not high on extraversion, can increase positive mood.
Furthermore, although neuroticism is related to experiencing more negative
mood, Robinson and Clore (2007) demonstrated that this was the case only for
those who not only were high on neuroticism but also were relatively slow at
categorizing incoming information. Traits are good predictors of grades in
school, SAT scores, compulsive internet use, and even daily mood, but traits
are not an immutable destiny. Even if your traits predispose you toward certain
types of behavior, your actions can subvert those dispositions.Critique of Trait and Factor Theories
Trait and factor methods—especially those of Eysenck and advocates of the Big
Five model—provide important taxonomies that organize personality into meaning-
ful classifications. As pointed out in Chapter 1, however, taxonomies alone do not
explain or predict behavior, two important functions of useful theories.
Do these theories go beyond taxonomies and produce important personality
research? The trait and factor theories of Costa and McCrae are examples of a strictly
empirical approach to personality investigation. These theories were built by collect-
ing as much data as possible on a large number of people, intercorrelating the scores,
factor analyzing correlation matrices, and applying appropriate psychological sig-
nificance to the resultant factors. A psychometric approach, rather than clinical judg-
ment, is the cornerstone of trait and factor theories. Nevertheless, like other theories,
trait and factor theories must be judged by six criteria of a useful theory.
First, do trait and factor theories generate research? On this criterion, the
Five-Factor Model of Costa and McCrae must be rated very high. The trait theory
of McCrae and Costa and other advocates of the Big Five personality structure
have also generated large amounts of empirical research. That research has shown
that the traits of extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness,
and conscientiousness are not limited to Western nations, but are found in a wide
variety of cultures, using myriad translations of the revised NEO-PI (McCrae,
2002). In addition, McCrae and Costa have found that basic personality traits are
somewhat flexible up to about age 30, but, after that time, they remain quite stable
over the lifespan.
Second, are trait and factor theories falsifiable? On this criterion, trait and
factor theories receive a moderate to high rating. The work of McCrae and Costa
lends itself to falsification, even though some of the research coming from non-
Western countries suggests that traits other than the Big Five may be needed to
explain personality in Asian countries.
Third, trait and factor theories are rated high on their ability to organize
knowledge. Anything that is truly known about personality should be reducible to
some quantity. Anything that can be quantified can be measured, and anything that
can be measured can be factor analyzed. The extracted factors then provide a
convenient and accurate description of personality in terms of traits. These traits,
in turn, can present a framework for organizing many disparate observations
about human personality.