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Trait theory of personality in 500 words
Trait theory of personality in 500 words
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There are many different theories of personality which scientists have developed in order to help explain how people think, feel, and behave. The trait theory of personality is one that attempts to explain personality by identifying patterns of behavior that include relatively stable characteristics which in turn causes individuals to consistently behave in particular ways (Funder, 2015). While personality may change due to different situations or states, the trait theory proposes that overall personality characteristics are relatively constant and result in a person reliably acting a certain way. These characteristics, or traits, which remain relatively constant throughout one’s life are essential components of one’s personality (McLeod,
As expected, BPD is most strongly correlated with measures of psychiatric functioning associated with high levels of neuroticism such as depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation (Few, et al., 2016). With regard to personality disorders in general, the study showed the strongest correlations emerged for personality disorders characterized by high neuroticism, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness. Weaker correlations emerged for personality disorders characterized by low extraversion and high conscientiousness. The results of this study are not surprising as the Big Five personality traits correlate with different levels of functioning in areas especially associated with personality
Traits like neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion have all been found to influence behavior. These traits are also associated with different personality disorders. For example, it has been proven that being high in a trait like neuroticism is associated with having different personality disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder and Anti-Social Personality Disorders. The ways in which traits influence personality is crucial to our understanding of
Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Trait theory, or the concept that personality traits are strong, independent predictors of behavior, provides an incomplete picture of human behavior, thought, and emotion. The most encompassing approach to understanding behavioral implications is by approaching them from a person-situation interaction perspective. Bowers (1973) reported that while 13% of the variance in predicting behavior is due to the person (i.e., traits) and 10% of the variance is due to the situation, 21% of the variance is accounted for by the person-situation interaction; the interaction is more predictive than either one alone. Different situations impact different people differently for several reasons, including the fact that strong traits may not be expressed in
An individual’s behaviour may differ depending on the circumstances they are in though there are definite signs of repetitive behaviour when placed in majority of the situations. These characteristics are known as traits which make up the personality of each person (Engler, 2014). Personality theorists do not have a mutual agreement on how the term personality should be used. They each have their definition of personality thus providing a large number of diverse personality theories (Engler, 2014). For example, Eysenck (1970) defined personality as a relatively permanent and consistent composition of an individual’s disposition that in turn establishes how the person adjusts to their
Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. A. (2009). Theories of personality. New York:
This study was conducted by Sanjay Srivastava. The results came from people taking a test with questions. The five traits were founded by John A. Johnson he wrote descriptions of the five domains and thirty subdomains. These descriptions are based on an extensive reading of the scientific literature on personality measurement. The five include, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness An extraversion person enjoys being with people are full of energy and often experience positive emotions. Agreeableness describes people with this value getting along with others are friendly generous helpful willing to compromise interests with others Conscientiousness is when we control regulate and direct our impulses Neuroticism is mental distress emotional suffering and inability to cope with the normal depends of life Openness on the results means dimensions of the cognitive style that distinguish imaginative creative people from down to earth
Neuroticism boldly contrasts with the other personality traits in the Five Factor Model for personality (Openness, Agreeableness, Extraversion, Contentiousness, and Neuroticism). An individual being high in any of the other four traits could hardly be considered pathological. For example, high levels of agreeableness, within reason, would probably be considered to be a positive and healthy characteristic. However, the discussion regarding neuroticism certainly takes a darker turn. Gunthert, Cohen, and Armeli (1999) in their study, operationally define neuroticism as a predisposition to experience negative affect (negative emotional systems). Lahey (2009) defines it slightly differently, as the tendency to “respond with negative emotions to threat, frustration, or loss.” More generally, the personality trait is characterized by anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Neuroticism has critical implications outside of personality psychology. Some researchers suggest that neuroticism is significantly correlated with both physical and mental health issues more so than any other personality trait variable. This increased risk is not just for a particular group of pathologies; neuroticism has been linked to Axis I and II disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) across the board (Lahey, 2009). In some occupational performance studies, negative affect was negatively related to job performance (Kaplan, Bradley, Luchman, & Haynes, 2009). This may be extrapolated to individuals high in neuroticism, as it the trait is the predisposition for the experience of negative affect. Research on daily stress and coping showed th...
The purpose of this research report is to investigate the personality of Beyoncé Knowles in terms of humanistic and trait conceptions of personality.
Personality can be defined as an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting. Many personality theorists have put forward claims as to where personality is derived from and how it develops throughout an individual’s life. The two main personality theories this essay will be focusing on is the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986) and the Trait Theory – Five Factor Theory (FFT) (McCrae and Costa, 1995). The SCT allocates a central role to cognitive, observational learning and self-regulatory processes (Bandura, 1986). An individual’s personality develops through experiences with their sociocultural environment. Whereas the Trait Theory proposes that all individuals are predisposed with five traits (Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism) which determines our personality. This theory also puts forward that personality is stable and cannot change as it’s biologically determined.
A person’s personality has been the subject of psychological scrutiny for many years. Psychologists have drawn up several theories in an attempt to accurately predict and determine one’s personality. Foremost amongst these, is the “Big Five Trait Theory” which stemmed from Raymond B. Cattell’s theory.
Personality is massive part of an individual’s identity. Our personalities dictate our patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. An individual’s personality exposes them to predispositions and habits that influence their actions and lives. Early on, personality assessments consisted of physical features ranging from head shape and facial characteristics to body type. In today’s world, personality assessments are mainly based around traits. Traits are simply descriptions of one’s habitual patterns of behavior, thought and emotion. The most popular personality assessment is the Five-Factor Model, also known as The Big Five. This model allows us to describe people based on the five main traits/dimensions. These traits are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Each of these five traits measures a different aspect of one’s personality. Extraversion is based on one’s level of engagement with the world,
The study of personality traits is beneficial in identifying the many variables that exist from human to human; the combinations of these variables provide us with a true level of individuality and uniqueness. In the field of psychology, trait theory is considered to be a key approach to the study of human personality (Crowne, 2007; Burton, Westen & Kowalski, 2009). This paper aims to identify a number of significant contributors who have played crucial roles in both the development and application of trait theory. This paper then moves focus to these theorists, outlining their theory and analysing both the strengths and weaknesses of those theories. An illustration of the methods used in trait measurement is given and includes the arguments for and against such procedures.
Personality is the study of an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving over time and across situations and it is what distinguishes one individual from another. In the past changes in personality were thought to have only occurred in the developmental stages of childhood and solidifies in adolescence. After the teenage years it was thought to be set like plaster or the change seen to be inconsequential or absent( Srivastava, John, Gosling, and Potter, 2003). However, recent studies have suggested that changes in personality traits continue to occur throughout an individual’s lifespan due to multiple reasons.
Trait approach covers the big five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. These five traits have been identified as the most identifiable personality traits, even across cultures and societies. According to McCrae, Costa, and Busch’s (1986) study on personality system comprehensiveness, the big five personality model included the five traits most identified with by individuals asked to describe themselves and others. I found this segment of the class especially intriguing as it helped me not only learn so much about myself, but also take a deeper look into the personality of my family, peers, and even strangers. I am also more conscious of how I self-monitor my personality traits. For example, I am very much so an introverted person but at times I try to be extroverted based off the environment. In highly social environments, I consciously smile and try to talk to people because I want to be perceived in a favorable light, not actually because I feel the need to be sociable. In other words, I don’t want to be perceived as odd. I believe I developed this form of self-monitoring because when I am introverted at social events people will constantly ask me if I’m ok since I’m quiet, which makes me uncomfortable as they make me the focus. Being the center of attention makes me anxious, and therefore to prevent that I have developed being a fake-extrovert to avoid it. This exemplified how I apply self-monitoring to my everyday life. Trait approach gave me insight into how to identify vastly accepted personality traits, as well as, how each of these traits can be influenced and
The concept of personality has numerous definitions (Fatahi, Moradi, & Kashani-Vahid, 2016). Schultz and Schultz (2009), define personality in its broad sense as the manner of an individual’s behaviour in different situations. This essay explores the nature of personality, with the intention of highlighting its flexibility. The results of numerous empirical research studies are examined in order to investigate if, and how personality changes over time. It will be argued that an individual’s personality has the ability to change throughout their life.
Evaluate your personality and identity development by incorporating three theorist’s views on personality traits whether it's for or against your identity and personality development.