1. TRAITS
By naorem binita devi, date
5.12.2012 ,www.slideshare.net

2. Content:
• TRAITS: Introduction
• THE TRAIT CONCEPT
• WHAT IS A TRAIT?
• BASIC VIEWS SHARED BY TRAIT THEORISTS
• ALLPORT (1897-1967)VIEWPOINT
• EYSENCK’S VIEWPOINT (1916-1997)
• CATTELL’S VIEWPOINT (1905-1998)
• THE BIG FIVE CONSIST OF FIVE BROAD
PERSONALITY TRAITS: ( McCrae,Costa and
Piedmont,1993

3. TRAITS: Introduction
• Traits are those personality characteristics that are stable
over time and across situations, so it’s a good but that
somebody who is sensitive and kind today will also be
sensitive and kind a month from now.
• How can we characterize the consistent ways in which
individuals differ in their feelings, thoughts, and behaviour?
• How many different traits are needed to adequately
describe these personality differences?
• To what extent do individuals differences have a
genetic, inherited basis?
• If individuals can be described in terms of their
characteristic traits, how are we to explain variability in
behaviour across time and situations?

4. THE TRAIT CONCEPT
• People love to talk about personality. We can
spend hours discussing the characteristics of
individuals, such as the grumpiness of our
boss, the cheerfulness of the plumber, and
even the loyalty of our dog. When people talk
about personality, they often use traits.
• Personality researchers associated with the
trait approach consider traits as the major
units of personality.

5. WHAT IS A TRAIT?
• Personality traits refer to consistent patterns
in the way individuals behave, feel, and think.
It implies that traits may serve three major
functions:
• They may be used to summarize, to
predict, and to explain a person’s conduct.
• Traits are many things to many theorists
(Wiggins,1997,p.98).

6. BASIC VIEWS SHARED BY TRAIT
THEORISTS
• The basic assumption of the trait point of view is that
people possess broad predispositions, called traits, to
respond in particular ways i.e., likelihood of their
behaving, thinking or feeling in a particular way.
• Traits theorists agree that human behaviour and
personality can be organized into a hierarchy. Eysenck
suggests that at its simplest level behaviour can be
considered in terms of specific responses. However, some
of these responses are linked together and form more
general habits. Again, we generally find that groups of
habits tend to occur together to form traits.
• In sum, trait theorists suggest that people have broad
predispositions to respond in certain ways and that there is
a hierarchical organization to personality.

7. ALLPORT (1897-1967)VIEWPOINT
• Allport defined a trait (common trait)as a “neuro-psychic structure
having the capacity to render many stimuli functionally
equivalent, and to initiate and guide equivalent (meaningfully
consistent) forms of adaptive and expressive
behaviour”(1961,p.347).
• A personal disposition trait is defined as a “generalized
neuropsychic structure (peculiar to the individual) with the capacity
to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and
guide consistent (equivalent) forms of adaptive and stylistic
behaviour”.(1961,p.373).
• Cardinal, central and secondary dispositions:
• A cardinal disposition is so general that almost every act of a person
who possesses one seems traceable to its influence. This variety of
disposition is relatively unusual and not to be observed in many
people.

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• Central dispositions, which represent tendencies highly
characteristic of the individual, are often called into play, and are
very easy to infer. Allport suggested that the number of central
dispositions by which a personality can be fairly accurately known is
surprisingly few-perhaps 5 to 10.
• The secondary dispositions is more limited in its occurrence, less
crucial to a description of the personality, and more focalized in the
responses it leads to, as well as the stimuli to which it appropriate.
• In simpler terms, a trait is a predisposition to act in the same way
in a wide range of situation.
• Allport’s theory predicts that a person’s behaviour is relatively
stable over time and across situations.
• Traits are psychological entities that render many stimuli as well as
many responses equivalent. Many stimuli may evoke the same
responses, or many responses
(feelings, perceptions, interpretations, actions) have the same
functioning meaning in terms of the trait.
• For Allport, traits are not linked to a small number of specific stimuli
or responses; rather, they are relatively generalized and enduring.

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• Shortly before his death, Allport (1966) published an article entitled
“Traits Revisited” in which he summarized all that he had learned in
response to the question, “what is a trait of personality? In this article, he
proposed that eight basic criteria define a personality trait:
• A trait has more than nominal existence;
• A trait is more generalized than a habit;
• A trait is dynamic or at least determinative in behaviour;
• A trait’s existence may be established empirically;
• A trait is only relatively independent of other traits;
• A trait is not synonymous with moral or social judgment;
• A trait may be viewed in light of either the personality that contains it or
its distribution in the population at large.
• Acts or even habits that are inconsistent with a trait are not proof of the
nonexistence of the trait.

10. EYSENCK’S VIEWPOINT (1916-1997)
• Eysenck distinguishes between the concept of trait and type.
• A trait refers to a set of related behaviours that covary or
repeatedly occur together. A person with a trait of sociability goes
to parties, talk with friends, likes to spend time with people and so
on.
• A type is a higher order or superordinate construct comprised of a
set of correlated traits.
• The distinction is that a type is more general and inclusive.
Eysenck’s model of personality includes three basic typological
dimensions:
• Introversion vs Extraversion;
• Neuroticism vs stability;
• Psychoticism vs Impulse control.

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• Traits making up the type concept of Neuroticism, Extraversion and Psychoticism.
•
• N
•
• Anxious shy Guilt feeling Moody
• Depressed
• Irrational emotional tense Low self esteem
•
•
•
E
• Sociable
•
•
• Lively carefree active sensation seeking Dominant
• Assertive surgent venturesome
•
•
P
•
•
•
Aggressive cold antisocial tough-minded egocentric
•
• Unempathic creative Impersonal
•

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• Eysenck provides the following description of the “typical”
extravert and introvert:
• “the typical extravert is sociable, likes parties, has many
friends, needs to have people to talk to, and does not like
reading or studying by himself. He craves excitement, takes
chances, often sticks his neck out, acts on the spur of the
moment, and is generally an impulsive individual. He is
fond of practical jokes, always has a ready answer, and
generally likes change; he is carefree, easy-
going, optimistic, and likes to “laugh and be merry.” He
prefers to keep moving and doing things, tends to be
aggressive and lose his temper easily; altogether his
feelings are not kept under tight control, and he is not
always a reliable person.”

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• The typical introvert is a quiet, retiring sort of
person, introspective, fond of books rather than
people; he is reserved and distant except to intimate
friends. He tends to plan ahead, :looks before leaps”
and distrusts the impulse of the moment. He does not
like excitement, takes matters of everyday life with
proper seriousness, and likes a well-ordered mode of
life. He keeps his feelings under close control, seldom
behaves in an aggressive manner, and does not lose his
temper easily. He is reliable, somewhat
pessimistic, and places great value on ethical
standards. (H.J. Eysenck,1975,p.5).

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• Eysenck describes neuroticism:
• The typical high N scorer as being an anxious, worrying
individuals, moody and frequently depressed. He is likely to sleep
badly, and to suffer from various psychosomatic disorders. He is
overly emotional, reacting too strongly to all sorts of stimuli, and
finds it difficult to get back on an even keel after each emotionally
arousing experience. His strong emotional reactions interfere with
his proper adjustment, making him react in irrational, sometimes
rigid ways….. if high N individual has to be described in one
word, one might say that he is a worrier; his main characteristic is a
constant preoccupation with things that might go wrong, and a
strong emotional reaction of anxiety to these thoughts. The stable
individual, on the other hand, tends to respond emotionally only
slowly and generally weakly, and to return to baseline quickly after
emotional arousal; he is usually calm,even tempered, controlled
and unworried. (H.J.Eysenck and Eysenck,1975,p.5).

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• Eysenck describes psychoticism:
• A high scorer, then, may be described as being solitary, not caring for
people; he is often troublesome, not fitting in anywhere. He may be cruel
and inhumane, lacking in feeling and empathy, and altogether insensitive.
He is hostile to others,even his own kith and kin, and aggressive,even to
loved ones. He has a liking for odd and unusual things, and a disregard for
danger: he likes to make fools of other people, and to upset them. this is a
description of adult high Pscores; as far as children are concerned, we
obtain a fairly congruent picture of an odd, isolated troublesome child;
glacial and lacking in human feelings for his fellow-beings and for animals;
aggressive and hostile, even to near-and –dear ones. Such children try to
make up for lack of feeling by indulging in sensation-seeking “arousal
jags” without thinking of the dangers involved. Socialization is a concept
which is relatively alien to both adults and children: empathy, feelings of
guilt, sensitivity to other people are notions which are strange and
unfamiliar to them (H.J.Eyseck and Eysenck,1975,PP.5-6).

16. CATTELL’S VIEWPOINT (1905-1998)
• For Cattell, traits are relatively permanent and pervasive tendencies
to respond with consistency from one situation to another and
from one time to another.
• Or Traits are hypothetical mental structures inferred from
behaviour which predispose the person to behave uniformly across
various circumstances and across time.
• Traits reflects the person’s stable and predictable characteristics
and are by far the most important of Cattell’s concepts.
• Surface traits versus source traits:
• A surface trait is represented by a set of behavioural characteristics
that all seem to “hang” together.
• For example, the observed characteristics of inability to
concentrate, indesicion, and restlessness may cluster together to
form the surface trait of neuroticism.

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• Source traits are the basic,underlying structures which Cattell views
as constituting the building blocks of personality. They represent
the unitary dimensions or factors that ultimately determine the
consistencies in each person’s behaviour. In effect, source traits
exist at a deeper level of the personality and are the causes of
behaviour in diverse domains over an extended period of time.
• 16 pf is based on source traits which constitute the underlying
structure of personality.
• ( A,B,C,E,F,G,H,I,L,M,N,O,Q1,Q2,Q3,AND Q4).
• Cattell maintains that source traits can be divided into two
subtypes---depending on their origins.
• Constitutional traits---derive from the biological and physiological
conditions of the person.
• For example, recovery from cocaine addiction may cause a person
to be momentarily irritable, depressed, and anxious. Cattell would
contend that these behaviours result from changes in the person’s
physiology and thus reflect constitutional source traits.

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• Environmental-mold traits are determined by influences in
social and physical environment. These trait reflect learned
characteristics and styles of behaving and form a pattern
that is impaired on the personality by the individual’s
environment.
• Source traits can be further divided in terms of the
modality through which they are expressed. Ability traits
determine the person’s skill and effectiveness in persuing a
desired goal. Intelligence, musical aptitude and hand eye
coordination are a few example.
• Temperament traits relate to other emotional and stylistic
qualities of behaviour. For example, people may either
work quickly or slowly on a task or respond calmly or
hysterically to a crisis.

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• Cattell considers temperament traits to be constitutional source traits that
determine a person’s emotionality. Finally, dynamic traits reflect the
motivational elements of human behaviour. These are traits that activate
and direct the person toward particular goals. Thus, person may be
characterized as ambitious,power-oriented or interested in acquiring
material possessions.
• Dynamic traits in Cattell’s system are of three kinds: attitudes, ergs and
sentimenrs.
• Ergs correspond roughly to biologically based drives; sentiments focus on
a social object; such as one’s college or mother or country. They are
acquired through learning and they serve as “subgoals on the way to the
final ergic goal.” (Cattell, 1985.,p.14).
• Attitudes are dynamic surface traits; they are the specific manifestations
or combinations of underlying motives.
•
• Cattell again classified traits as either common or unique trait.
• A common trait is one that is shared in varying degrees by all members of
the same cultures. Examples include self-esteem, intelligence and
introversion. Unique traits are those shared by few or perhaps no other
people. Cattell suggests that unique traits are especially evident in the
areas of interest and attitudes.

20. THE BIG FIVE CONSIST OF FIVE BROAD PERSONALITY
TRAITS: ( McCrae,Costa and Piedmont,1993)
• 1.Extraversion (E);
• 2. Agrreableness (A);
• 3. Neuroticism (N);
• 4. Conscientiousness (C) ;
• 5. Openness (O ).

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• EXTRAVERSION: The first factor ‘extraversion’, has also been called
‘dominance-submissiveness, and ‘surgency’ (John,1990).
• Description of high scorer on Extraversion:
talkative, passionate, active, dominant, sociable,.
• Description of Low scorer: quiet, unfeeling, passive.
• AGREEABLENESS (A): it sometimes called adaptability or likability
(John,1990), indicates a friendly, compliant personality, one who
avoids hostility and tends to go along with others.
• Description of high scorer on A: Good-natured, soft-
hearted, trusting.
• Description of low scorer on A : Irritable, ruthless, suspicious.
• NEUROTICISM (N): it describes people who frequently are troubled
by negative emotions such as worry and insecurity (MacCrae and
Costa,1987).
• Description of high scorer on N:
worrying, emotional, vulnerable, anxious.
• Description of low scorer on N: calm, unemotional, hardy, self-
controlled, sense of well being.

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• OPENNESS (O): The factor openness is perhaps the most difficult to
describe, since it doesnot correspond to everyday language as well as the
other factors (macCrae,1990). Experts have given this factor various
names: culture, Intellect, Intellectual Interests, Intelligence, and
Imagination (John,1990; sneed, MacCrae and Funder,1998).
• Description of high scorer on O: creative, Imaginative, prefers variety.
• Description of low scorer on O: Uncreative, down-to-earth, prefers
routine.
• CONSCIENTIOUSNESS ( C ): IT , also called dependability, Impulse
control, and will to achieve (John,1990), describes differences in people’s
orderliness and self-discipline.
• Description of high scorer on C:
conscientious, hardworking, ambitious, responsible.
• Description of low scorer on C : negligent, lazy, aimless, irresponsible.
• ( adapted from MacCrae,1990,p.402 and MacCrae, Costa, and
Piedmont,1993).

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• SPECIFIC FACETS OF THE BIG FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY:
• Factor :
• Extraversion (E): facets are
warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-
seeking, positive emotions.
• Agreeableness (A ): facets are
Trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-
mindedness.
• Neuroticism (N ): facets are anxiety, hostility, depression, self-
consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability.
• Openness (O ): facets are
fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values.
• Conscientiousness ( C ): facets are
competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-
discipline, deliberation.
• (adapted from Costa and MacCrae and Dye,1991).
•

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