Trait TheoriesPersonality TheoriesPrepared ByManu Melwin JoyAssistant ProfessorIlahia School of Management StudiesKerala, India.Phone 9744551114Mail manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.comKindly restrict the use of slides for personal purpose.Please seek permission to reproduce the same in public forms and presentations. On the play ground, 6 year old Sam pushes little Samanthaoff her tricycle and rides away on it.Why?SAMSAMANTHATraitsAggressiveHot TemperedUndisciplinedpersonality traits are "enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts." A trait is what we call a characteristic way in which an individual perceives, feels, believes, or acts.Theorists generally assume 1. Traits are relatively stable over time, 2. Traits differ among individuals 3. Traits are also bipolar and 4. Traits influence behavior. Three trait theoryIn1936, psychologist Gordon Allport foundthat one English-language dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 wordsdescribingdifferent personalitytraits. Hecategorizedthesetraits into three levels.Three trait theory1. Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individuals whole life, often to the pointthat the person becomes known specifically for these traits. Freudian,Machiavellian, narcissism, Don Juan, Christ-like, etc.2. Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that formthe basicfoundations of personality. Terms such as intelligent, honest, shy and anxiousare considered central traits.3. Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes related to attitudes orpreferences andoftenappear only incertainsituations or under specificcircumstances. Some examples would be getting anxious when speaking to agroup or impatient while waiting in line.16 personality factor theoryTrait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the number of main personalitytraits from All ports initial list of over 4,000 down to 16 by means ofa statistical technique called factor analysis.16 personality factor theory1. emotional, easily upset vs. calm, stable2. Intelligent vs. unintelligent3. suspicious vs. trusting4. reserved, unfriendlyvs. outgoing, friendly5. assertive, dominantvs. not assertive, humble6. sober, seriousvs. happy-go-lucky7. conscientiousvs. expedient8. shy, timidvs. venturesome9. tender-minded vs. tough-minded10.practicalvs. imaginative11.shrewd vs. forthright12.self-assured, placid vs. apprehensive13.conservative vs. experimenting14.group orientedvs. self-sufficient15.undisciplined vs. self-disciplined16.Relaxed vs. tense, drivenUniversal trait theoryBritish psychologist Hans Eysenck developed a model ofpersonality based upon just three universal traits were sufficient todescribehumanpersonality. DifferencesbetweenCattell andEysenckemergedduetopreferencesfor different formsoffactor analysis, with Cattell using oblique, Eysenck orthogonalrotation to analyze the factors that emerged when personalityquestionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis.1. Introversion/Extraversion: Introversion involves directing attention on inner experiences, whileextraversion relates to focusing attention outward on other people and theenvironment. So, a person high in introversion might be quiet and reserved, while anindividual high in extraversion might be sociable and outgoing.2. Neuroticism/Emotional Stability: This dimension of Eysencks trait theory is related to moodinessversus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an individuals tendency to becomeupset or emotional, while stability refers tothe tendency toremainemotionallyconstant.3. Psychoticism: Later, after studying individuals suffering from mental illness, Eysenck added apersonalitydimensionhecalledpsychoticismtohistraittheory. Individualswhoarehighonthistraittendtohavedifficultydealingwithrealityandmaybeantisocial,hostile, non-empathetic and manipulative.Universal trait theoryBig five modelBothCattells andEysencks theory have been the subject ofconsiderable research, which has led some theorists to believe thatCattell focused on too many traits, while Eysenck focused on too few.As a result, a new trait theory often referred to as the "Big Five" theoryemerged.Thisfive-factormodel ofpersonalityrepresentsfivecoretraits that interact to form human personality. Lewis Goldberg proposed afive-dimension personality model, nicknamed the Big five.Big five model1. Openness to Experience: the tendency to be imaginative, independent, and interested invariety vs. practical, conforming, and interested in routine.2. Conscientiousness: the tendency to be organized, careful, and disciplined vs.disorganized, careless, and impulsive.3. Extraversion: thetendencytobesociable, fun-loving, andaffectionatevs. retiring,somber, and reserved.4. Agreeableness: thetendencytobesoft-hearted, trusting, andhelpful vs. ruthless,suspicious, and uncooperative.5. Neuroticism: the tendency to be calm, secure, and self-satisfied vs. anxious, insecure,and self-pitying.HEXACO modelMichael Ashton and Kibeom Lee , in 2008, proposed a six dimensionalHEXACOmodel ofpersonalitystructure. AshtonandLeeespeciallyemphasize the Honesty-Humility (H) factor as differentiating theHEXACO model from other personality frameworks. Specifically, the Hfactor is described as sincere, honest, faithful/loyal,modest/unassuming, fair-minded, VERSUS sly, deceitful, greedy,pretentious, hypocritical, boastful andpompous. TheHfactorhasbeenlinkedtocriminal, materialistic, power-seekingandunethicaltendencies.HEXACO model1. Honesty-Humility 2. Emotionality 3. Extraversion 4. Agreeableness 5. Conscientiousnessand 6. Openness to Experience . Criticisms of trait theories1. being purely descriptive and offering little explanation of the underlying causes of personality2. Lead some people to accept oversimplified classifications3. Underestimate the effect of specific situations on people's behavior.4. Poor predictors of behavior.Other TA topics available on slideshare1. Strokes - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/strokes-24081607.2. Games People Play - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/psychological-games-people-play.3. Structural Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/the-ego-state-model.4. What is TA? - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/what-ta-is5. Cycles of Development - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/cycles-of-developement-pamela-levin-transactional-analysis.6. Stages of Cure - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stages-of-cure.7. Transactions - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/transactions-33677298.8. Time Structuring - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/time-structuring.9. Life Position - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/life-position.10. Autonomy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/autonomy-33690557. 11. Structural Pathology - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/structural-pathology.12. Game Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/game-analysis-33725636.13. Integrated Adult - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/integrated-adult.14. Stroke Economy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stroke-economy-33826702.