Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 14. Eysenck, McCrae, and
Costa’s Trait and Factor
Theories© The McGraw−Hill^441
Companies, 2009than clinical judgment, 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 the-
ories of Eysenck and Costa and McCrae must be rated very high. Figure 14.7 shows
the comprehensiveness of Eysenck’s personality theory. The middle square embraces
the psychometric properties of his theory; that is, psychoticism, extraversion, and
neuroticism. This figure also shows that Eysenck’s personality theory is much more
than a simple classification. The genetic and biological antecedents of behavior are
suggested by the two squares on the left, whereas some of the consequences, or out-
comes, of Eysenck’s research are found in the two squares on the right. These con-
sequences are a result of experimental studies on conditioning, sensitivity, vigilance,
perception, memory, and reminiscence. Areas of research on social behavior are
shown in the box on the far right and includes such topics as sociability, criminality,
creativity, psychopathology, and sexual behavior. Eysenck and his colleagues have
reported significant amounts of research in these and other fields of research.
The trait theory of McCrae and Costa and other advocates of the Big Five per-
sonality structure have also generated large amounts of empirical research. That re-
search has shown that the traits of extroversion, neuroticism, openness to experience,
agreeableness, and conscientiousness are not limited to Western nations, but are
found in wide variety of cultures, using myriad translations of the revised NEO-PI.
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 fac-
tor theories receive a moderate to high rating. Much of Eysenck’s research results—
for example, his investigations of personality and disease—has not been replicated
by outside researchers. 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 knowl-
edge.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.
Fourth, a useful theory has the power to guide the actions of practitioners,and
on this criterion, trait and factor theories receive mixed reviews. Although these the-
ories provide a comprehensive and structured taxonomy, such a classification is less
useful to parents, teachers, and counselors than it is to researchers.
Are trait and factor theories internally consistent?Again, the rating must be
equivocal. The theories of Eysenck and advocates of the Big Five are each a model
of consistency, but the two theories taken together are somewhat inconsistent.
Eysenck remained convinced that his Giant Three factors were superior to the Big
Five model. This inconsistency presents a problem, especially because factor
Chapter 14 Eysenck, McCrae, and Costa’s Trait and Factor Theories 435