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Raymond Cattell’s major influence on psychology was to make it a more scientific field of study through the use
of multivariate research and factor analysis. Cattell used these scientific methods to study personality and
discovered 16 personality traits that influence human behavior.
Early Life and Education
Raymond Cattell was born in Hilltop, England on March 20, 1905. Cattell developed an early interest in science
and sailing that would prove to become a lifelong fascination. Cattell was awarded a BS in Chemistry from the
University of London at age 19. He was the first in his family to get a college degree. After World War I Cattell
changed his field of study to psychology. He received his Ph. D. in Psychology in 1929 from the University of
London.
Career Highlights
Raymond Cattell began his career at Exeter University teaching college classes while pursuing his Ph. D. Cattell
wasn’t happy with Exeter because he didn’t have the resources to carry out research at the university. Fortunately
in 1937, Edward Thorndike invited Cattell to Columbia University. Then in 1938, Cattell moved on to become a
professor at Clark University. After a few industrious years at Clark in 1941, Cattell went to Harvard where he
began personality research that would become the foundation for all his later work.
Major Contributions to Psychology
A. Multivariate Analysis and Research
Cattell felt that the early psychological theorists used subjective and inadequate definitions for research. For
example, in 1965, Cattell explained that anxiety had so many different meanings among researchers that studies
couldn’t even be integrated. So Cattell took a multivariate approach in a natural setting. This multivariate
approach focused on three specific domains: personality traits, motivational traits and abilities.
B. Factor Analysis
Factor analysis was based upon the correlation coefficient that measures how or to what degree two variables are
related. For example, if “frequency of exercise” and “weight” were measured on a large group of people, then
comparing these two variable data could indicate a degree to which “exercise” and “weight” are directly related.
C. Personality Theory
Cattell applied factor analysis to personality research. He focused on three types of data for a comprehensive
sampling of personality: life data, experimental data and questionnaire data.
1. Life data includes collecting and analyzing data from a person’s everyday behaviors and measuring these
behavior patterns in a real world setting. For example, the number of traffic accidents, grade point averages and
the number of divorces are specific behavior patterns that can be studied.
2. Experimental data involves objectively observing and measuring reaction to standardized experimental
situations occurring in a lab setting.
3. Questionnaire data is direct questioning that involves introspection by an individual about his or her own
feelings and behaviors. Questionnaire data measures subtle internal states and viewpoints that can be difficult to
measure through external observation.
Cattell’s factor analysis studies created 16 fundamental factors underlying human personality. These studies have
been revalidated by researchers around the word. These 16 basic traits are useful in predicting and understanding
real life behaviors to include compatible career choices, frustration, interpersonal skills, creativity and learning
styles just to name a few.
Publications
Raymond Cattell’s books and research papers are the 7th most referenced in psychology journals over the past
century. His seven most widely recognized books on personality and their organizing principles include:
1. The Description and Measurement of Personality (1946)
2. Personality: A Systematic, Theoretical and Factual Study (1950)
3. Factor Analysis (1952)
4. Personality and Motivation Structure and Measurement (1957)
5. The Scientific Analysis of Personality (1965)
6. Personality and Mood by Questionnaire (1973)
7. The Scientific Use of Factor Analysis in Behavior and Life Sciences (1978)