Trait Perspective of Personality

Trait

A stable personality characteristic that influences behavior and varies between people.

Trait perspective

An approach that explains personality through measurable individual characteristics.

Gordon Allport

A psychologist who emphasized individual uniqueness and classified traits as cardinal, central, or secondary.

Cardinal trait

A rare, dominant trait that shapes nearly every aspect of a person's life.

Central traits

Major characteristics that describe a person's general personality, such as honesty or friendliness.

Secondary traits

Characteristics or preferences that appear mainly in specific situations.

Functional autonomy

When a behavior continues for reasons different from those that originally motivated it.

Proprium

Allport's term for a person's sense of self and identity.

Idiographic approach

Studying the unique characteristics and experiences of an individual.

Nomothetic approach

Studying general principles and patterns that apply across people.

Raymond Cattell

A psychologist who used factor analysis to identify 16 primary personality factors.

Factor analysis

A statistical method that groups related variables to identify underlying factors.

Surface traits

Observable behaviors that tend to occur together.

Source traits

Underlying characteristics that help explain observable behaviors.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason and solve unfamiliar problems.

Crystallized intelligence

Knowledge and skills gained through education and experience.

Psychometrics

The scientific measurement of psychological characteristics.

16PF

Cattell's questionnaire measuring 16 primary personality factors.

Hans Eysenck

A psychologist who proposed three broad personality dimensions with biological influences.

PEN model

Eysenck's dimensions of psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism.

Extraversion

A tendency to be outgoing, sociable, energetic, and stimulation-seeking.

Introversion

A tendency to be reserved, reflective, and comfortable with less stimulation.

Neuroticism

A tendency to experience anxiety, worry, mood changes, and emotional distress.

Emotional stability

A tendency to remain calm and emotionally steady; the opposite end of neuroticism.

Psychoticism

Eysenck's dimension involving aggression, impulsivity, tough-mindedness, and low empathy; it does not automatically indicate psychosis.

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

A questionnaire measuring the PEN personality dimensions.

Five-Factor Model (Big Five)

A model describing personality through openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Openness to experience

A tendency toward curiosity, creativity, and interest in new experiences.

Conscientiousness

A tendency toward organization, responsibility, and dependability.

Agreeableness

A tendency toward cooperation, kindness, and consideration for others.

Personality inventory

A structured questionnaire used to assess personality characteristics.

MMPI

A psychological inventory used to assess personality and patterns of mental health difficulties.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A self-report assessment assigning 16 personality types based on four preference pairs.

MBTI preference pairs

Extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.