Trait
Trait Approach
Trait Theory of Personality
Allport's Trait Theory
What is a Trait ?
A trait is a personality characteristic that meets three
criteria:
it must be consistent, stable, and vary from person to
person.
A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable
characteristic that causes individuals to behave in
certain ways.
If someone asked you to describe a
close friend's personality, what kind
of things would you say? A few things
that might come to mind are
descriptive terms such as "outgoing,"
"kind" and "even-tempered." All of
these represent traits.
Trait Approach
& Trait Theory
of Personality
The trait approach is supported by trait theory. It
states that a person's personality is determined by
characteristics that are consistent and stable over
long periods of a person's life.
Examples of the trait approach, or personality trait
theory, include people that view the world as very
depressing and negative. They would be considered
as having pessimistic character traits. On the
opposite side of this, a person that is happy and looks
forward to new things could be described as having
an optimistic character trait.
The trait theory of personality suggests that people have
certain basic traits and it is the strength and intensity of
those traits that account for personality differences. The
trait approach to personality is one of the major
theoretical areas in the study of personality. Trait theory
suggests that individual personalities are composed of
broad dispositions.
The combination and interaction of various traits form a
personality that is unique to each person. Trait theory is
focused on identifying and measuring these individual
personality characteristics.
There are four trait theories of personality: Allport's
trait theory, Cattell's 16-factor personality model,
Eysenck's three-dimensional model, and the five-
factor model of personality.
Allport's Trait
Theory
The first trait theory was proposed by a psychologist
named Gordon Allport in 1936. Allport found that one
English-language dictionary contained more than 4,000
words describing different personality traits. He
categorized these traits into three levels:
Cardinal traits are the obvious main traits that dominate
an individual's life. These traits are rare, and they often
take years to develop. When cardinal traits are present,
they form a person's sense of self, emotional composition,
and attitude. Honesty even and integrity are examples of
cardinal traits.
Central traits are less pronounced than cardinal
traits but are significant and distinct in every
individual. These traits are responsible for many
behaviors, and examples of these traits include
shyness and intellect.
Secondary traits are less obvious, less consistent,
and less important in defining our personality
than cardinal and central traits. They have
significantly fewer generalized and relevant
dispositions. They are only seen in specific
situations or under conditions. specific Food
preference or music genre can be examples
secondary traits.
Strengths of Trait Theory
It can list and categorize some observable behaviors. Predictable
behavior patterns are found when an individual's actions are
observed over prolonged periods. These studies were conducted
by placing the person in different environments. The findings
provided a substantial evidence to support outcome of the more
predictable individual's reactions to the actions to which they
were subjected.
Objective criteria have been used to study traits and categorize
and measure them. A factor analysis was performed, and the
findings demonstrated that specific sets of traits could be
identified.
Criticism of Allport's Theory
Allport's trait theory is regarded as a seminal work in personality.
Many people have criticized Allport's trait theory of personality,
and some argue that it does not take a person's status or
behavior into account. temporary
Despite its simplicity, this theory fails to produce clear results.
This theory could not produce a set of qualities that could
differentiate leaders from non-leaders in one of the research.
Conclusion:
Allport's theory is considered humanistic in one sense and
personalistic in another sense. He combines the opposites in his
theory such as objectivity and subjectivity, rationality and
irrationality etc.
Allport's approach to human psychology combined the empirical
influence of the behaviorists with the acknowledgment that
unconscious influences could also play a role in human behavior.
So this theory of personality is considered pioneering work in the
personality field. It relied on statistical data rather than on the
personal experience of the individuals.
Thank You
