Trait Approaches to Personality

Cardinal Traits

= rare traits that dominate your personality

• so intrinsic to one’s personality that the person becomes synonymous with trait

ex. mother teresa = good, charitable

ex. abraham lincoln = honest

Central Traits

= main traits that form your personality

• these influence but don’t determine behavior
• found in almost every person

ex. honesty, agreeableness, jealousy, etc.

Secondary Traits

= variable traits, which differ depending on the circumstance/context

ex. normally being easy-going, but when under a lot of pressure, you become short-tempered

Eysenck’s 3 personality scales

= theory: “everyone falls somewhere on 3 dimensions”

= “personality is biological in origin” (AKA personality comes from genetics)

• Introversion vs. Extroversion
• Stability vs. Neuroticism
• Self-Control vs. Psychoticism

Neuroticism

= broad personality trait dimension representing the degree to which a person experiences the world as distressing, threatening, and unsafe

= trait disposition to experience negative affects, including anger, anxiety, self‐consciousness, irritability, emotional instability, and depression

high in this trait = mood fluctuations, unpredictable

Psychoticism

dimension of personality in Eysenck's dimensions characterized by aggression, impulsivity, aloofness, and antisocial behavior,

• indicates a susceptibility to psychosis and psychopathic disorders

the big 5 traits

OCEAN

Openness

one of the big 5 traits

= cautious vs. curious

= how open-minded, imaginative, creative and insightful a person is or can be

Conscientiousness

one of the big 5 traits

= careless vs. organized

= individual differences in the propensity to follow socially prescribed norms for impulse control, to be goal-directed, planful, able to delay gratification, and to follow norms and rules

Extraversion

one of the big 5 traits

= reserved vs. outgoing

Agreeableness

one of the big 5 traits

= competitive vs. friendly

Neuroticism (big five)

one of the big 5 traits

= confident vs. nervous/sensitive

Personality Factors

Cattell identified 16 factors or dimensions of personality:

(see pic)

Type A

pattern of behavior and personality associated with high achievement, competitiveness, and impatience,

Type B

pattern of behavior and personality associated with being easygoing, relaxed, and highly flexible

HEXACO

A model of personality structure positing that human personality traits can best be summarized by 6 broad, independent dimensions:

honesty-humility,

emotionality,

extraversion,

agreeableness,

conscientiousness,

openness to experience

Criticism of Trait Theories

1. traits are often poor predictors of behavior (When behavior is broken down to traits, we have no way of knowing how they are actually expressed in life)
2. a change of the environment may alter the expression of a trait. (While an individual may score high on assessments of a specific trait, they may not always behave that way in every situation.)
3. do not address how or why individual differences in personality develop or emerge.

Grit

= passion and perseverance for long-term goals

NOT talent, luck, desire

• explains why some achieve more than others

1. courage → not afraid of failure, resilient
2. conscientiousness → meticulous, careful, strive for excellence!