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Overview of Trait Approaches in Personality Dr Archana Shukla, MA, Ph D Assistant Professor Department of Psychology University of Lucknow Lucknow Disclaimer: This content is solely for the purpose of e-learning by students and any commercial use is not permitted. The author does not claim originality of the content and it is based on the following references Overview of Trait Approaches in Personality Objective: Present content aims to specify the Trait Approach in Personality Theories. It gives a glimpse of its major contributors. Learning Outcome: Students will orient themselves as to what are major Personality Theories with special reference to the Trait Theories of Personality These theories are mainly concerned with the description or characterization of basic components of personality. They try to discover the ‘building blocks’ of personality. Human beings display a wide range of variations in psychological attributes, yet it is possible to club them into smaller number of personality traits. Trait approach is very similar to our common experience in everyday life. For example, when we come to know that a person is sociable, we assume that s/he will not only be cooperative, friendly and helping, but also engage in behaviors that involve other social components. Thus, trait approach attempts to identify primary characteristics of people. A trait is considered as a relatively enduring attribute or quality on which one individual differs from another. They include a range of possible behaviors that are activated according to the demands of the situation. To summarize, (a) Traits are relatively stable over time, (b)They are generally consistent across situations, and (c) Their strengths and combinations vary across individuals leading to individual differences in personality. A number of psychologists have used traits to formulate their theories of personality. We will discuss some important theories. Allport (central, secondary and cardinal traits), Cattell (source and surface traits). The five-factor model of Costa and McCrae. Gordon Allport (1897-1967) He is often called the father of personality theory. He was very much a trait theorist. Traits are specific dimensions along which individuals differ in consistent and stable ways. He believed in the individuality and uniqueness of the person and that people have consistent personalities. Allport who spent thirty years searching for the traits that combine to form personality, found nearly 18,000 dictionary terms that can be used to describe human behaviour. Allport believed that traits are essentially unique to each individual. On the basis of his studies, Allport concluded that personality traits could be divided into several categories that varied in their importance. The least important are secondary traits; these are traits that exert relatively weak and limited effects on behavior. More important are central traits- five to ten traits that together account for the uniqueness of an individual’s personality. Such traits are stronger and more resistant to situational forces. Finally, Allport noted that a few people are dominated by a single trait called cardinal trait. Nearly all of the individual’s actions can be traced back to such traits. Napoleon (ambition) and Alexander the Great (lust for power) are a few examples of such persons and their cardinal traits. According to Allport, more important than all of the searching into the past or the history of the organism is the simple question of what the individual intends to do in the future. Intentions include hopes, wishes, ambitions, aspirations, and plans of the person. It is the contention of this theory that what the individual is trying to do is the most important key to how the person will behave in the present. In this respect, he showed a strong similarity to certain views of Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. The principle of functional autonomy simply states that a given activity may become an end or goal in itself, in spite of the fact that it was originally engaged in for some other reason. For example, initially a child may learn to read because this pleases his teachers and parents. Later in life, however, the same person may read because he has come to enjoy this activity in itself. This contrasts with Freud’s view that the roots of adult personality are planted firmly in the soil of childhood. For Allport, such connections are not necessarily present, and our adult behaviour may spring from roots entirely different from those that give rise to our childhood behaviour. Cattell: (1905-1998) 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. Big Five Factor model of Costa and McCrae(1987) Researchers are of the view that there are five core personality traits. Evidences suggest that theory has gained gravity in recent years. There are big five key or central dimensions of personality (e.g. Costa and McCrae). These are sometimes labelled as the big five, and they can be described as follows: • Extraversion: A dimension ranging from energetic, enthusiastic, sociable, and talkative at one end to retiring, sober, reserved, silent, and cautious at the other. • Agreeableness: A dimension ranging from good-natured, cooperative, trusting and helpful at one end to irritable, suspicious, and uncooperative at the other. • Conscientiousness: A dimension ranging from well-organized, careful, self-disciplined responsible and precise at one end to disorganized, impulsive careless and undependable at the other. • Emotional Stability (sometimes labeled neuroticism): A dimension ranging from poised, calm, composed and not hypochondriacal at one end, to nervous, anxious, high strung and hypochondriacal at the other. • Openness to experience: A dimension ranging from imaginative, witty, and having broad interests at one end to down-to-earth, simple, and having narrow interests at the other. Summary: Sole purpose of this content was to give a overview of some bench marks in the area of Personality theories. References Morgan, C.T. (1961). An Introduction to Psychology. New Delhi: Tata McGraw and Hill. Morgan, C.T., King, R.A. Weisz, J.R., Schopler, J. (2001). Introduction to Psychology, Tata McGraw and Hill. McGeehan. (1990), Experimental Psychology (Indian edition). Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd. Singh, A.K. (2000). Uchchtar Samanya Manovigyan New Delhi: Motilal Banaras Snodgrass, J. A., Berger, G. L. and Maydon, M. (1985) Human Experimental Psychology, Oxford University Press. Spear, P.D, Peniod, S.O. & Bakes.T.B.(1998).Psychology Perspective son Behavior. John Wiley and Sons. 11. Zimbardo, P. G. & Weber, A.L. (1997). Psychology. New York: Harper Collins College Publisher
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