Cattell and and his theory on traits seem to be very popular. A person may be vi

Question

Cattell and and his theory on traits seem to be very popular. A person may be viewed in his or her personality as being polite or rude, excited or bored, self-assured or insecure. We also tend to be somewhat rigid in viewing a person as having either the good or positive side of these traits or more towards what we believe is the poor or negative side of these traits. You are to give a real-life example, using at least FIVE source traits (there are 16 in all) and describe a person you know with these characteristics. You can use a famous person, but if you use someone you know, please do not give identifying information such as his or her name. Now provide at least two examples of HOW he or she demonstrates these traits in real-life.

Explanation / Answer

With the help of factor analysis, Cattell came up with a list of sixteen factors which strongly depicts the personality of an individual. These were called as 16 PF, a theory which makes use of trait approach to personality description and testing. The 16PF provides a measure of normal personality and can also be used by psychologists, and other mental health professionals, as a clinical instrument to help diagnose psychiatric disorders, as well as help with prognosis and therapy planning. These are- warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstractedness, privateness, apprehension, openness to change, self reliance, perfectionism, and tension. The individuals range from low to high on each trait or factor. The results on Cattell’s 16 PF provide a general picture or model of the individual or test taker.

There is one individual whom I know has some of the above personality factors. These factors are – vigilance, sensitivity, warmth, emotional stability and self-reliance. This individual is aware of the feelings of the other person, is unconditional in giving love and respect to the people around him, is intuitive in nature, is emotionally stable when it comes to taking decisions, is flexible and open to change and experience newness in his life.

In his life, this person has always taken decisions while keeping in mind the repercussions it will have on people at large, he is always adventurous to seek new experiences but at the same time is vigilant not to put his life at stake.

Overall, he tends to have a good mixture of the 16 personality factors given by Cattell.

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