A number of psychologists have used
traits to formulate their theories of
personality. We will discuss some
important theories.
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Allport�s Trait Theory
Gordon Allport is considered the pioneer of
trait approach. He proposed that
individuals possess a number of traits,
which are dynamic in nature. They
determine behaviour in such a manner
that an individual approaches different
situations with similar plans. The traits
integrate stimuli and responses which
otherwise look dissimilar. Allport argued
that the words people use to describe
themselves and others provide a basis for
understanding human personality. He
analysed the words of English language to
look for traits which describe a person.
Allport, based on this, categorised traits
into cardinal, central, and secondary.
Cardinal traits are highly generalised
dispositions. They indicate the goal around
which a person�s entire life seems to
revolve. Mahatma Gandhi�s non-violence
and Hitler�s Nazism are examples of
cardinal traits. Such traits often get
associated with the name of the person so
strongly that they derive such identities as
the �Gandhian� or �Hitlerian� trait. Less
pervasive in effect, but still quite
generalised dispositions, are called central
traits. These traits (e.g., warm, sincere,
diligent, etc.) are often used in writing a
testimonial or job recommendation
for a person. The least generalised
characteristics of a person are called
secondary traits. Traits such as �likes
mangoes� or �prefers ethnic clothes� are
examples of secondary traits.
While Allport acknowledged the
influence of situations on behaviour, he
held that the way a person reacts to given
situations depends on her/his traits,
although people sharing the same traits
might express them in different ways.
Allport considered traits more like
intervening variables that occur between
the stimulus situation and response of the
person. This meant that any variation in
traits would elicit a different response to
the same situation.
Cattell: Personality Factors
Raymond Cattell believed that there is a
common structure on which people differ
from each other. This structure could be
determined empirically. He tried to identify
the primary traits from a huge array of
descriptive adjectives found in language.
He applied a statistical technique, called
factor analysis, to discover the common
structures. He found 16 primary or source
traits. The source traits are stable, and are
considered as the building blocks of
personality. Besides these, there are also
a number of surface traits that result out
of the interaction of source traits. Cattell
described the source traits in terms of
opposing tendencies. He developed a test,
called Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16PF), for the assessment
of personality. This test is widely used by
psychologists.
Eysenck�s Theory
H.J. Eysenck proposed that personality
could be reduced into two broad
dimensions. These are biologically and
genetically based. Each dimension
subsumes a number of specific traits.
These dimensions are:
(1) Neuroticism vs. emotional stability : It
refers to the degree to which people
have control over their feelings. At one
extreme of the dimension, we find
people who are neurotic. They are
anxious, moody, touchy, restless and
quickly lose control. At the other
extreme lie people who are calm, eventempered,
reliable and remain under
control.
(2) Extraversion vs. introversion : It refers
to the degree to which people are
socially outgoing or socially withdrawn.
At one extreme are those who are
active, gregarious, impulsive and thrillseeking.
At the other extreme are
people who are passive, quiet, cautious
and reserved.
In a later work Eysenck proposed a
third dimension, called Psychoticism vs.
Sociability, which is considered to interact
with the other two dimensions mentioned
above. A person who scores high on
psychoticism dimension tends to be
hostile, egocentric, and antisocial.
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire is the
test which is used for studying these
dimensions of personality.
The trait approach is very popular and
many advances in this respect are taking
place. These are beyond the scope of your
present studies. A new formulation has
also been advanced that provides a novel
scheme of organising traits
Psychodynamic Approach
This is a highly popular approach to
studying personality. This view owes
largely to the contributions of Sigmund
Freud. He was a physician, and developed
this theory in the course of his clinical
practice. Early in his career he used
hypnosis to treat people with physical and
emotional problems. He noted that many
of his patients needed to talk about their
problems, and having talked about them,
they often felt better. Freud used free
association (a method in which a person is
asked to openly share all the thoughts,
feelings and ideas that come to her/his
mind), dream analysis, and analysis of
errors to understand the internal
functioning of the mind.
Levels of Consciousness
Freud�s theory considers the sources and
consequences of emotional conflicts and
the way people deal with these. In doing
so, it visualises the human mind in terms
of three levels of consciousness. The first
level is conscious, which includes the
thoughts, feelings and actions of which
people are aware. The second level is
preconscious, which includes mental
activity of which people may become aware
only if they attend to it closely. The third
level is unconscious, which includes
mental activity that people are unaware of.
According to Freud, the unconscious is
a reservoir of instinctive or animal drives.
It also stores all ideas and wishes that are
concealed from conscious awareness,
perhaps, because they lead to
psychological conflicts. Most of these arise
from sexual desires which cannot be
expressed openly and therefore are
repressed. People constantly struggle to
find either some socially acceptable ways
to express unconscious impulses, or to
keep those impulses away from being
expressed. Unsuccessful resolution of
conflicts results in abnormal behaviour.
Analysis of forgetting, mispronunciations,
jokes and dreams provide us with a means
to approach the unconscious. Freud
developed a therapeutic procedure, called
psychoanalysis. The basic goal of
psychoanalytic therapy is to bring the
repressed unconscious materials to
consciousness, thereby helping people to
live in a more self-aware and integrated
manner.
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