Trait Theory

Genetic or biological factors of personality focus on biological and physiological factors as determinants of behavior. Trait theory is a means to explain in a straightforward way the consistencies in a person’s behavior. Traits are described as behavioral patterns; thinking, acting, and feeling that are relatively consistent in people in different situations and those traits determine specific characteristic responses.

Biological factors of personality according to the beliefs and research of Gordon Allport. are that people can be described in terms of the basic way they behave. Referred to as the father of American personality psychology, Allport disagreed with the negative views of humanity that Freudian psychoanalytical perspectives portrayed. In response to the Freudian/NeoFreudian perspectives of personality Allport rejected the theory that the unconscious was central to understanding personality. Allport believed that to understand healthy behavior that one must focus on the individual’s life in the present, not his or her childhood experiences. In defining personality, Allport stressed that individual uniqueness is derived from the person’s capacity to adapt to the environment and Allport concluded that the ability to adapt is derived by genetic, biological personality traits.

The trait approach is comprised of three basic assumptions. These assumptions are that specific genetics or traits are relatively consistent and can be predicted over time, across situations, and that people with the same traits will differ contingent upon the level of trait possessed. Allport’s original trait theory consisted of central and secondary traits. Allport and his colleague H.S. Odbert, identified 4500 words or traits that could be used to describe a person; this method of determining personality was referred to as the lexical approach. In response to this method, Raymond Cattell applied factor analysis to the Allport and Odbert traits and concluded that 16 underlying factors of personality could summarize the lexical data. This work led to the development of Cattell’s 16PF personality scale. W.T. Norman reanalyzed Cattell’s data and concluded that only five factors were needed to determine personality traits. To date, these five traits are known as the “Big Five Model of Personality.” The big five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

After researching the big five traits using factor analysis Hans Eysenck concluded that personality is determined by two factors, Introversion/Extraversion and Emotionality/Stability. Eysenck argued that personality variations were related to one’s biology specifically the nervous system and the individual’s brain. Eysenck suggested a connection between extroverts inheriting lower levels of arousal and introverts inheriting higher levels of arousal. Eysenck also argued the different levels of stress that one could tolerate would influence a person’s stability or emotional instability.

References:
Bernstein, D.A. & Nash, P.W. (2008). Essentials of psychology (4th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Feldman, R. (2013). Essentials of understanding psychology (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Friedman, H.S. & Schustack, M.W. (2012), Personality: classic theories and modern research (5th ed). Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
McGraw-Hill.McGraw Hill Higher Education (2013), The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
Ryckman, R. M. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.