The Trait Perspective on
Personality
From Freud, psychoanalysis and the unmeasurable unconscious to rock solid
traits and characteristics
The Trait Perspective
 People
have tried to classify and label
people’s personalities for thousands of years
 It
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all started with the Ancient Greeks
Labeled people and personality in terms of
humors or the type of body fluid flowing in a
person
4 types
Blood – Sanguine – cheerful and passionate
Black Bile – Melancholic – unhappy and depressed
Yellow Bile – Choleric – angry and hot-tempered
Phlegm – Phlegmatic – dull and unemotional
Identifying Traits
Eventually people moved on from “humor” to body type as a
measurement of personality
However, most psychologists realized that this was an
oversimplified way of looking at personality
So they went about finding new ways to define personality
Trait
A relatively stable set of characteristics that
influences your thoughts, feelings, and behavior
 Believed to be found in your Genes and DNA
Trait vs. States
What is the Difference??
trait = stable and consistent over time
state = a temporary emotional condition
dependent on situation and motive
May have trait of calmness but be in a state of anxiety
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE!!
How do we measure or find
out our personality traits?
Objective Tests
– a questionnaire where people respond to
different items attempting to measure
aspects (traits) of their personality
• Yes-no, true-false, agree-disagree
• Also called Personality Inventories
MMPI
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory:
•the most widely used personality
inventory test.
•567 questions
•Originally used to identify
emotional/mental disorders.
Now used for screening purposes.
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Objective Tests
• Get standard answers to standardized
questions
• However, contain transparent questions
– Often will include lie detectors
• Social desirability bias
– people might state what they wish were true
rather than what IS true
• BAD !!! – Objective Tests don’t tell us WHY
we behave the way we do – they just tell us
HOW we behave
The Theories
Behind the Tests
Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory
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Believed traits were inherited but influenced by experience
Believed some traits were more important than others
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Central Traits or Source Traits
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example – competitiveness, generosity, independence
Secondary Traits or Surface Traits
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Easily recognized and have a strong influence on personality
More specific to certain situations and have less effect on
personality
traits like personal styles and preferences (particular
styles of clothing or types of music that affect behavior
in fewer situations)
Allport believed in total there were around 16,000
different types of traits
Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Traits
Believed that Allport went to far with his traits
 Identified only 16 fundamental traits that all
people posses
 Each trait is represented on a continuum (scale) and
they are found in every person to some degree on the
continuum
 To measure these traits Cattell used a test
called the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16 PF for short)
16 personality factors
However, many psychologists still thought
this was still too many traits
Hans Eysenck: A simpler Trait Model
3 major traits
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Introversion – Extraversion
– Are people outward or inward focused?
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Neuroticism
– Emotional instability or stability
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Psychoticism
– Cold and hostile, or warm and concerned with
others
The combination of these produced 4 basic
personality types
The Big Five - Five-Factor Model (FFM)
16 to many - - 3 to few
Openness (to experience)
• imaginative, curious, intellectual, open to nontraditional values vs.
conforming, practical, conventional
• Sample Openness items
•I am full of ideas. - I am quick to understand things. - I have a rich
vocabulary. I have a vivid imagination. – I prefer practical ideas
(reversed) - I do not have a good imagination. (reversed) - I have
difficulty understanding abstract ideas. (reversed)
Conscientiousness
• organized reliable, hardworking
• Sample Conscientiousness items
•I am always prepared. - I am exacting in my work. - I follow a
schedule. - I get chores done right away. - I like order. - I leave my
belongings around. (reversed) - I make a mess of things. (reversed) - I
often forget to put things back in their proper place. (reversed)
Extraversion
•Active, energetic, affectionate
• Sample Extraversion items
•I am the life of the party. - I don't mind being the center
of attention. - I feel comfortable around people. - I start
conversations. - I am quiet around strangers. (reversed) - I
don't like to draw attention to myself. (reversed) - I don't
talk a lot. (reversed) - I have little to say. (reversed)
Agreeableness
• Forgiving, generous, trusting
• Sample Agreeableness items
– I am interested in people. - I feel others’ emotions. - I
have a soft heart. - I am not really interested in others.
(reversed) - I feel little concern for others. (reversed) I insult people. (reversed)
Neuroticism
• (our level of emotional instability/stability)
anxious, tense, vulnerable
• Sample Neuroticism items
– I am easily disturbed. - I change my mood a lot.
- I get irritated easily. - I get stressed out
easily. - I am relaxed most of the time.
(reversed) - I seldom feel blue. (reversed)
Remember by = OCEAN
Personality by Birth Order
• Modern theories
– Myers-Briggs
Personality Tests
• http://theinkblot.com/index.htm
• online inkblot test – fun to take but don’t make
much of the results
• http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_invento
ry.html
• get a myers-briggs personality type – good test
with good summaries
• http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgiwin/JTypes2.asp
• Jung personality profile – great, in-depth test
• http://similarminds.com/cattell-16-factor.html
• Cattell’s 16 Factor Test
• http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/simpsons/
• - find out what Simpson you most resemble