Psychological Literature On Personality And Character Cited Numerous Sources That Involved Trait Theories Essay

Guilford (1959) defines personality traits as being ‘any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from another’. Subsequently, trait theory can be identified as an approach to the study of human personality. The aim of psychologists, specifically trait theorists, is to explain similarities and differences between individuals based on traits. Although numerous psychologists differ on the amount of traits that are significant, each theorist categorizes personality traits along several broad type spectrums. This assignment will focus on comparing and contrasting Eysenck’s Hierarchical Theory of Personality and Costa and McRae’s Five Factor Model (FFM), two different trait theories of personality.

The insecurity associated with neuroticism can lead to quitting and dissatisfaction with one’s job. Analysis suggests a correlation between neuroticism and academic achievement, particularly for the anxiety and impulsiveness facets. This relationship may be due to the correlation that neuroticism has with study attitudes. Agreeable people may often be high-performing individuals due to their willingness to adapt to and understand their environment. Although the temperamental precursors of agreeableness, such as prosocial orientation, relate to better social adjustment, relations between these temperamental precursors and academic attainment are consistently insignificant. Extraversion has been positively correlated with occupations that require social interactions, training proficiency, and leadership abilities. Extraversion has also been positively correlated with job satisfaction and leadership abilities in general, there does not seem to be a relationship between extraversion and college performance, although some studies have found evidence for a small, negative

In psychology, there are four major theories of personality: psychodynamic, trait or five-factor model, humanistic, and social-cognitive. The psychodynamic theory primarily focuses on the role of the unconscious mind. The social cognitive theory focuses on the effect of the environment on behavior and is based on theories of learning. Whereas, the humanistic theory emphasizes conscious life experiences and choices. The trait or five-factor model focuses on characteristics themselves and not the roots of personality.

The five-factor model (FFM) is a contemporary construct describing personality. It incorporates five traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism also referred to as OCEAN. Within each dimension, there are specific personality attributes, for example, openness includes subcategories of feelings and actions. The FFM was influenced by Cattell’s 16-factor model (1957) and shares traits with many other personality theories such as Eysenck’s PEN model. There has been an ongoing debate discussing how many factors appropriately represent the brain structure of personality, suggestions have varied from 2-7, recently Almagor et al. (1995) advocated that a 7-factor model unfolds when evaluative traits are involved. Costa & Mcrae (1992) claim that the FFM is the best theory of personality, however, the model has received much criticism. Through examining different aspects of the model its credibility can be explored.

However with advantages come disadvantages. For example, with correlational studies there is no background information obtained. Therefore, the reliability of the correlational studies is questioned.

The single trait approach is a way of analyzing personality by taking one trait a person exhibits and using that to predict many behaviors from it (Funder, 2016). For Charles Evans Whittaker, the most pronounced trait in his later years was his neuroticism, which ultimately led to his breakdown and retirement from the Supreme Court. Neuroticism is one of the Big Five Personality Traits and is marked by emotional instability and negative emotions (Funder, 2016). Neuroticism is also characterized by indecisiveness and stress, as well as negative reactions to stress (Funder, 2016). A study done by Schneider, Rench, Lyons, and Riffle, found that neuroticism indirectly made performance worse (Schneider, Rench, Lyons, & Riffle, 2011). They investigated several Big Five traits to see how they affected stress responses. What was found in this study concurs with the textbook that neuroticism has a high impact on stress, and in highly stressful situations neuroticism is linked to poorer outcomes (Schneider, et all 2011). IT was also found that people higher in neuroticism were more likely to have higher threat appraisals for stressful tasks (Schneider, et all 2011). This means that participants viewed what was expected of them was more demanding than the resources they had to cope with that demand (Schneider, et all 2011). One factor that can affect high or low neuroticism is the gene 5 HTT. If a person has the short allele for 5 HTT, which affects serotonin levels, and is presented with a stressful environment they are more likely to experience depression after a stressful event (Funder, 2016). The gene also regulates serotonin found in the amygdala. Although the single trait is being used here to discuss aspects of Whittaker’s personality, the behavioral genetics behind serotonin

There are many character traits that make someone successful in life. Some traits you are born with, other traits are mindsets. There are a few character traits that coaches, teachers, bosses, or any other significant figure looks for in particular. One of the most important character traits is a hard-working attitude. You aren’t born with a hard-working attitude. It is a mindset. You may not be the best employee, but an employer will be more willing to work with someone that works hard than someone that can do the job but is lazy. Although I am not the best at everything, I give 100% effort in everything that I do and believe that working hard is the most important trait a person can possess.

The tendency to be emotionally reactive, anxious, susceptible to stress, hostile, and insecure would describe the traits of a person with neuroticism or neurotic tendencies, neuroticism is rated low on effectiveness according to the Factor Five Model. Goodall’s attempts to gain access to chimpanzee’s habit required hours of quiet reflection and meditation, she sat for weeks before the first chimp approached her. This kind of diligence and perseverance is not expected from a person with neurotic tendency. Nor do I see neurotic qualities in myself.

According the Carver & Schreier (2012), “the trait approach to personality can be exemplified by two traits” (p. 52). One trait can be described as consistency while the other trait usually describes an individual being different from their neighbors. Vollrath and Torgersen argue that the extraversion and neuroticism traits are substantially present among individuals who are likely to participate in “risky health behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking and drunk driving, drug use and sexual behaviors” that risks the overall wellbeing of a person or a person who lacks both of the following traits in larger quantities. They are generally regarded as individuals who can withstand temptation and are less likely to participate in risky behaviors. “Extraversion seems to relate to having social impact.” (Carver & Schreier, 2012) People with high levels of extraversion seemingly engage with and enjoy being with other people and often are the assertive ones in the group. People with high levels of neuroticism react differently in situations of stress, oftentimes unable to cope with situations. Torgersen (1995) “proposed a typology defined as priori” (p.288). “This typology represents the possible combinations of the Big Three personality factors, which result in eight unique types” (Vollrath & Torgersen, 2008). This study examined that high neuroticism and low constraint played a role in high risk behaviors. Torgersen’s definition of constraint is what the United States

Depression is a serious mental illness that is more than just a sad feeling. It has proven to be much more complex and has associations with personality as well as its traits, specifically two out of the Big Five personality traits; neuroticism and conscientiousness (McCrae & Costa, 1999). The research conducted by Philip I. Chow and Brent E. Roberts of the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois, have conducted their own research to provide evidence that these static levels of personality can not only be associated with depression, but that personality and its traits can be predictors of depression as well.

Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)

Personality theories suggest explanations for behaviors and how to change them. Multiple personality theories exist however one of the most interesting is the theory of personality by Carl Rogers. Rogers writes, “the core of man’s nature is essentially positive” (1961, p.73). “Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8,1902- February 4, 1987) was an influential American psychologist who, along with Abraham Maslow founded the humanistic approach to psychology” (“Carl,” 2017, para. 1). Carl Rogers was an instrumental humanistic psychologist who received many awards including the first APA award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology in 1972 (“Carl,” 2017). Carl Rogers’ made many contributions to therapy

Rogers was the fourth of six children in his family. His parents were very strict, religious, and domineering. He and his siblings were not allowed to “dance, play cards, attend movies, smoke, drink, or show any sexual interest” (Schultz & Schultz, 1998, p. 310). There was a lot of competitiveness between them because Rogers felt that his parents showed favoritism towards his older brother.

The study of personality traits is beneficial in identifying the many variables that exist from human to human; the combinations of these variables provide us with a true level of individuality and uniqueness. In the field of psychology, trait theory is considered to be a key approach to the study of human personality (Crowne, 2007; Burton, Westen & Kowalski, 2009). This paper aims to identify a number of significant contributors who have played crucial roles in both the development and application of trait theory. This paper then moves focus to these theorists, outlining their theory and analysing both the strengths and weaknesses of those theories. An illustration of the methods used in trait measurement is given and includes the

Personality is a large part of being human, as each person has a unique set of characteristics and traits. One person can be kind and patient and another can be rude and ill tempered. This variability is both what makes the study of personality fascinating and incredibly difficult. Although there are a myriad of different personality traits that can be used to describe a person, psychologists have narrowed it down to five overarching ideas. These are commonly referred to as the “Big Five” personality traits and they consist of, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. In particular, this study will focus on neuroticism, the trait that is characterized by high emotionality and instability, anxiety, and irritability (Soto, John, Gosling, & Potter 2011). Of the five, neuroticism is the only one with a negative connotation, which separates it from the others. Nonetheless, despite its poor reputation, neuroticism is an incredibly important trait to study as it is often linked with anxiety and depression (Soto et al., 2011). For example, one study found that participants who were clinically depressed and those who were not but scored highly on the neuroticism scale both had significantly greater negative self-perceptions (Thomson, 2016). Although currently there is only a correlation between these mental disorders and neuroticism, further experimentation could lead to more conclusive result. Recently, mental health has