Ch. 7 Trait Approach
• Basic ideas/assumptions
• Trait theorists versus Psychoanalytic theorists
• Famous Trait theorists
– Allport
– Cattell
– Murray
Trait Approach
• People possess broad predispositions to respond in particular ways
• Predispositions = traits
• 2 important assumptions
– Personality characteristics (traits) are relatively stable over time
– Personality characteristics (traits) are relatively stable across situations
• Traits are the fundamental building blocks of the human personality
Trait Theorists versus Psychoanalytic Theorists
• Academic theorists
• Focus on describing & predicting behavior
• Focus on the conscious level of awareness
• Predict group behavior
• Psychotherapists
• Focus on unconscious motives for behavior
• Focus on the unconscious level of awareness
• Predict individual behavior
Gordon Allport (1897 – 1967)
• Background
• Introduced traits to the field of personality
• 2 types of traits (common & personal)
• Common – used to characterize a group of individuals
– Example – intelligence; assertiveness
• Personal – individual disposition
– Specific to that individual
Personal Traits
• Cardinal Traits
– Trait that dominates a person’s life
– Determines everything they do
– Example – ?
• Central Traits
– 5 – 10 traits most characteristic of a person
– Example – ?
• Secondary Traits
– Not central but occur with regularity
– Preferences
– Example – ?
Personality Development
• Where do traits come from?
• Have no personality at birth
• Traits emerge through learning, maturation & socialization
• Differs from Freud – roots of adult personality are planted in childhood
• Allport feels that behavior occurs because of contemporary factors – not past ones
Personality Development
• Functional autonomy of motives
– Behaviors are originally undertaken to satisfy extrinsic goal become intrinsically
satisfying
– Examples
– The adult motive is autonomous (independent) of the earlier childhood motive
