Psychology - Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages that Narrowband Theories of Personality have Over Traditional Trait Theories

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Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages that Narrowband Theories of Personality have Over Traditional Trait Theories - Exam Question Prep Essay

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[...] The fact that this dimension measures a specific factor suggests that it is a narrowband theory. However, when it was developed the participants were interviewed, which was found to be incredibly time consuming, therefore a questionnaire was developed (Jenkins, Stephen & Rosenman, 1974). Freidman and Rosenman (1974) found that patients who had suffered a heart attack behaved differently to other people; they generally were more aggressive and energetic. It was said that a type A personality was made up of three traits: competitive achievement motivation, time urgency and hostility, yet according to Williams (2001) hostility is the only trait worth considering. [...]

[...] Narrowband theories have been found to be more effective in predicting specific criterion (Reise, Waller & Comrey, 2000). They have been used to predict managerial success (Bergner, Naubauer & Kreuzthaler, 2010), personnel selection (Ones & Visweswaren, 1996; Stepp et al, 2012) and alcohol dependence (Malouff & Schutte, 2002). A further example of a narrowband theory would be the single item narcissism scale (SINS) for measuring narcissism, which is a big five factor. People who are narcissistic are considered as being absorbed in self-admiration (Ellis, 1998). [...]

[...] Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages that Narrowband Theories of Personality have Over Traditional Trait Theories Traditionally trait theories such as the big five have been used to measure the whole of a person's personality. More recently, whether it is necessary to measure the whole of personality all of the time is being debated and narrowband theories are being used to measure personality. This essay will discuss the differences between traditional trait theories and narrowband theories of personality, giving examples of both, before exploring the advantages and disadvantages of using narrowband theories. [...]

[...] However, where you have the time and resources to use a traditional trait theory, one should be used. Overall, they provide a greater test-retest reliability and they are more established. There are measures that can be taken to reduce the fatigue or boredom effects, which were the main criticisms when considering traditional trait theories. Future research should focus on testing more narrowband theories of personality and comparing the results to those of broadband theories to adapt them further to improve them. [...]

[...] Moreover the TIPI has been shown to have good test-retest reliability (Romero, Villar, Gomez-Fraguela & López-Romero, 2012; Łaguna et al, 2014). However it isn't always necessary to measure every aspect of personality when there is only one specific factor of interest. Theories that focus on only certain aspects of personality are known as narrowband theories. Narrowband theories are designed to answer questions such as "Why do people act the way they and "what factors can influence a person's behaviour?", more directly than using broadband theories. [...]