Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 14. Eysenck, McCrae, and
Costa’s Trait and Factor
Theories(^442) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Concept of Humanity
How do trait and factor theorists view humanity? Eysenck and the Five-Factor the-
orists were not concerned with traditional themes such as determinism versus free
choice, optimism versus pessimism,and teleological versus causalinfluences. In fact,
their theories do not lend themselves to speculation of these topics. What, then,
can we say concerning their view of humanity?
First, we know that factor analysts see humans as being different from other
animals. Only humans have the ability to report data about themselves. From this
fact, we can infer that Eysenck believed that humans possess not only conscious-
ness,but self-consciousness as well. People are also able to evaluate their per-
formance and to render reasonably reliable reports concerning their attitudes, tem-
perament, needs, interests, and behaviors.
Second, Eysenck, as well as McCrae and Costa, placed heavy emphasis on ge-
netic factorsof personality. They believe that traits and factors are largely inher-
ited and have strong genetic and biological components. Therefore, we rate trait
and factor theories very low on social influences.
On the dimension of individual differences versus similarities,trait and factor the-
ories lean toward individual differences. Factor analysis rests on the premise of differ-
ences among individuals and thus variability in their scores. Eysenck (1981), for
instance, wrote that “people are above all else individuals”(p. xi). Thus, trait theories
are more concerned with individual differences than with similarities among people.
analysis is a precise mathematical procedure and because factor theories are heavily
empirical.
The final criterion of a useful theory is parsimony.Ideally, trait and factor the-
ories should receive an excellent rating on this standard, because factor analysis is
predicated on the idea of the fewest explanatory factors possible. In other words, the
very purpose of factor analysis is to reduce a large number of variables to as few as
possible. This approach is the essence of parsimony.
436 Part IV Dispositional Theories
Key Terms and Concepts
- Trait and factor theories of personality are based on factor analysis,a
procedure that assumes that human traits can be measured by correlational
studies. - Eysenck used a hypothetico-deductive approach to extract three bipolar
factors—extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and
psychoticism/superego. - Extravertsare characterized by sociability and impulsiveness; introverts,
by passivity and thoughtfulness.