The frequency concept of disposition: dominance and prototypically dominant acts^

Three studies of dominance explore the frequency concept of disposition, which entails categories of acts that are topographically dissimilar but nonetheless considered to be manifestations of a common disposition. In the first study, 100 difierent acts presumably belonging to the category of dominance were generated through a nomination procedure. In the second study, expert and student panels rated how prototypically dominant each act is, defined in terms of centrality of membership in the category of dominant acts. In this manner, an internal structure of the act category was specified such that some acts are more prototypically dominant while others are more peripheral members. Substantial agreement in these ratings exists within and between panels. The third study found that a multipleact criterion based on prototypically dominant acts is predicted by personality scales with significantly greater success than are multiple-act criteria based on more peripheral acts within the dominance domain. Discussion focuses on specifying the appropriate act category for other frequency dispositions and follow-up field studies of them. Implications for altemative notions of disposition (e.g., purposive-cognitive concepts) are considered. At the heart of personality research lies the concept of disposition: the tendency of individuals to behave in certain ways, for example, to be self-praising, to be subservient in relation to others, or to adopt a sensation-seeking orientation toward the environment. The diverse meanings of this basic concept of personality are pres1. This study was partially supported by a research grant awarded to David M. Buss from the Psychology Department, University of California, Berkeley. Requests for reprints should be sent to David M. Buss or Kenneth H. Craik, Institute of Personality Assessment and Research, 3657 Tolman Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Califomia 94720. We are grateful to J. M. Kilkowski for facilitating data collection for the Main Study, and to the expert panel members: D. S. Butt, L. Cartwright, J. Coyne, L. E. Dahlstrom, W. G. Dahlstrom, N. Feimer, D. W. Fiske, P. Gjerde, H. G. Gough, W. B. Hall, R. Helsen, G. LaRussa, D. W. MacKinnon, V. Mitchell, S. Nevo, D. Ozer, W. M. Runyan, A. Schnur, A. Thome, R. D. Tuddenham, D. Weiss, and J. S. Wiggins. Journal of Personality 48:3, September, 1980. Copyright © 1980 by Duke University Press.