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What is a trait?

Burger - categories used to define people based on the degree they show that specific characteristic

Mischel - category of behaviour in a context

T

Trait Theorists make 2 assumptions - stable over time, stable across contexts

Also take nomothetic approach

Sheldon Somatypes Theory

Each somatype has their own stereotypes

fat and lazy, popular, intelligent but scared

Early Lexical Approaches eg Galton

•The

Lexical Hypothesis:

–Important

individual differences between people become encoded as single terms

–Frequency

of descriptor denotes importance

(Also, number of synonyms)

Allport

•Lexical researchers limited to

counting terms, identifying synonyms and producing lists

•Allport and Odbert (1936)- 18,000 words identified - 4,500 describing personality traits

•Distinction between nomothetic and idiographic (later work)

–Common personality traits

–Personal disposition

•Personality traits

–Cardinal traits – single dominating trait

e.g., competitiveness

–Central traits – 5-10 best descriptors

–Secondary traits – preference rather than

core constituent

•Proprium

–Synonym for self, representing all parts comprising concept of self

(challenge to psychologists!)

Cattell

•Application

of empirical methods to discover basic structure of personality

•Cattell’s process…

–Large

samples of individuals asked to rate degree to which

attributes apply to them

–Factor analysis (Identification

of clusters - correlated items)

He also identified different types of traits:

constitutional, environmental mold, ability, dynamic, temperament, common,

unique.

He also suggested there were surface traits which were a

cluster of traits occurring in many people, and source traits which are

responsible for the observed variation in traits.

–Surface

traits

•Collections

of trait descriptors that cluster together

in many individuals and situations

–Source

traits

•Responsible

for the observed variation in surface traits

•Represent

underlying structure of personality

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