The Trait Model Of Personality

This theory consists of broad, long-lasting dispositions that can be assessed. The five-factor model consists of representations of the core description of human personality, the only dimensions necessary to understand what makes us tick. The “Big Five” in the model are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The advantages of this theory are being able to identify personality traits using assessments and questionnaires as a more reliable method of assessing personality. Disadvantages of the trait theory includes a focus on broad dimensions instead of uniqueness of individuals and the tendency for biased

Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. (2013). Theories of personality (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Personality and how we behave have been of much interest to psychologists for a long time now and because of this there have been many theories and theorists that have been developed. Personality is defined as consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within and individual (Fritzley, 2012, p. 10). There are six main approaches to personality psychology they include: biological approach, humanistic approach, behaviorist approach, trait approach, psychoanalytic approach and cognitive approach. Each approach shines a little light onto why we behave the way we do and how our personalities are formed, the approaches contain many different theories from

Characteristic theorists consider personality to be a steady and persevering example of conduct. They depict our disparities as opposed to attempting to clarify them. Utilizing component examination, they distinguish bunches of conduct propensities that happen together. Hereditary inclinations impact numerous attributes.

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

Many contemporary psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of personality and refer to them as the ‘Big Five’. The five-factor model (FFM) of personality is a theory based on five core categories of human personality – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. While different theorists may use different terminology, the five factors or personality traits have shown a rather consistent pattern over time. This study briefly examines the history, strengths and limitations of the five-factor model.

Burger (2008), says that there are many theories of personality and psychologists try to explain it with their own approaches. Discussed here will be the psychoanalytic approach, the trait approach, the biological approach the humanistic approach, the behavioural/social learning approach and the cognitive approach. They were devised to search for specific patterns in behaviour and ways of thinking about these

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.

Personality is defined as, “the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.” There are many different theories for what makes up a person’s personality. These theories are classified under 5 general categories. These categories are: biological, behavioural, psychodynamic, humanist, and trait theories. If we look at the trait theories category, two particular theories come to mind. These two theories are, “Big 5 theory” and Eysenck's “Three Traits Theory.” In this essay, I will approach the question, which personality trait perspective is the best way to think about personality? To solve this question I will compare the Big 5 theory to the Three Trait theory.

The term ‘personality’ itself derives from the Latin word persona, meaning ‘mask’ (Kassin, 2003), though the popularisation of its use as a psychological expression rose only preceding the publication of Gordon Allport’s Personality: A Psychological Interpretation in 1937 (Day, Macaskill, & Maltby, 2007). There has been a vast number of suggested possible traits from numerous different trait theorists throughout the years commencing the popularity of personality psychology; from Allport and Odbert’s list of 4,000 (1936), Cattell’s 16

To understand personality there are three main aspects that must be looked at: LArsen and Buss Definition of personality, The Six Domains of knowledge of personality, and Costa and McCrae's Five Factor Theory. In this essay I will first break down larsen and Buss definition and connect it to the domains, then connect the domains to the five factor thoery (FFT).

The essence of what defines us, as human beings, is complex, ever evolving process of a combination of biology and life experiences. A person’s personality is innate, yet it can become molded over time due to experience; it is a multitude of interactions and constructs. The construct of personality is challenging to define as personality theorists continue to debate on its definition. Rather than settling on one universal definition, each personality theorist evolved their own distinct perspective. Due to a lack of agreement, the definition for personality will be defined as “a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior” (Feist and Feist, 2013).

In describing what personalities are like, Kelly abandons the classical threefold division of psychological phenomena: cognition, affection and conation (Kelly, 1955, p.130). Instead, he formulates his own personality theory with a single structure named "Construct". In this section, let's review the concept of construct and some of its features.

Allport believed that personality was an evolving structure within an individual psychophysical system that determined characteristic behavior and thought. He defined traits as structures within a person that influence behavior and he distinguished between common traits and personal traits, which he later called personal dispositions to clarify uniqueness among each individual. Cardinal traits are powerful and pervasive, whereas central traits central traits are less persuasive. Also secondary traits are less conspicuously and less consistently than other types of traits. Allport's idea of the proprium, which was termed

To demonstrate my understanding of personality theory, I choose to create a personality profile for a close friend. She is a very driven individual with some unique interests. I wanted to evaluate her personality because she is a very close friend of mine and I know her vary well. I chose Allport’s trait theory because he uses 3 types of traits to describe people. I liked the way he organized traits in to types of traits. I think its easier to understand his theory because of the organization. I organized my friend’s traits in to 3 categories: central, secondary, and cardinal. Allport’s theory focuses on individual differences. His theory suggest that “ individuals differ in the traits that predominate in there personalities. some traits are common; others are unique”(Cloninger 2013 page 128). He goes on to explain that some traits are individual or unique while others are common.