Trait Theory

Allport was 1 of 4 children born to a teacher & country doctor in Indiana.

Graduating 2nd in his class, Allport joined his brother, Floyd, at Harvard University, where he studied psychology & social ethics.

After graduation, Allport taught abroad in Eastern Europe & visited with Freud on his way back home

He tried to impress Freud with his powers of observation, but instead was mistaken for a patient seeking therapy.

This led Allport to want to focus on conscious self reports as opposed to hidden unconscious impulses.

Gordon studied personality traits as a graduate student & earned his Ph.D. in 1922 at 24.

He accepted a teaching position at Harvard in 1924.

He taught at Harvard for most of his life, where he introduced the first “Personality” course ever taught in the US.

He published in numerous journals about his views on personality traits, was the President of the APA, & editor of many journals.

Consistency of personality

The concept of the self

Interaction of personality and social influences

“Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to the environment.”

This is not tacitly accepted by personality psychologists.

Dynamic organisation

Psychophysical systems

Determinative

Unique

Adjustments to the environment

Jack hits Bob (behaviour)

We observe hitting behaviour & say that Jack is high on “aggression” (a trait).

When asked why Jack is aggressive—we say “Because he hit Bob.”

Allport felt that our personality was made up of traits.

If you know a person’s traits, you can provide a description of their personality.

Allport argued we have both individual traits & common traits.

Individual traits -- possessed by only 1 person.

Common traits-- possessed by all people to a varying extent.

1. We can infer them from language (Dictionary Study).

From behaviour

From personality measurement.

 

Self-report questionnaire-- 60 questions. Scores have norms based on 1960. Looks at who scores high on which values.

Allport reported that college students who entered different occupations had different value scores.

Recently, Huntley and Davis (1983) found that scores on the study of values taken during college were associated with occupations of male students 25 years later.

Scale Description of value Typical

Occupation Social helping people

Social work Theoretical search for truth

Professor Economic Pragmatic, applied

Business AestheticArtistic values Artist Political Power & influence

Politics Religious Religion, harmony

Clergy

It varies with the trait.

Allport argued we have three categories of traits: cardinal, secondary, & central.

Cardinal traits are most pervasive; secondary traits least pervasive.

Central traits are the major characteristics of an individual.

These usually number from 5 to 10 in any one person (e.g., honesty, sociability).

These are rather pervasive & effect many behaviours. We can use a small number of adjectives to describe someone.

These are characteristics that effect behaviour in fewer situations & are less influential than central or cardinal traits.

A preference for ice cream or dislike of modern art would be considered a secondary trait.

This is a single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities.

It is so pervasive that it dominates just about everything that a person does.

E.g., A person so power-hungry that they are solely driven by that need for control.

Raymond Catell’s sixteen personality questionnaire

Eysenck’s three dimensions of personality

The five factor theory of personality

Ongoing debate over number of traits that describe personality.

Has more objectivity compared to other theories.

Individuals may behave differently from their predicted traits

Does not address why individual differences in personality emerge.