Trait Approach of Personality (Part II)

Meaning of Trait Approach

            Trait means a genetically determined characteristics that remains stable over lifetime. In psychological parlance trait is stable, persistent and specific way of behaving. These are the observable subjective and abstract qualities of an individual that ensure the consistency in behaviour across situations. Traits are the fundamental [guiding] factors over which consistent behavioural outcomes are based. They are found in each individual with varying intensity and magnitude. This approach considers traits as the building blocks of personality.

According to Atkinson, et al. “A trait refers to any characteristic that differs from person to person in a relatively permanent and consistent way.” Trait theorists believe that different personality types result from the varied combinations of psychological attributes. The active & simultaneous interaction among the traits produces different & unique behavioural patterns. On the basis of similarities in intensity and type of trait, the persons are classified into different personality types.

Various Trait Theories

Part I

1.         Allport trait theory

2.         Cattell’s trait theory

Part II

3.         Eysenck’s trait theory

4.         Five factor theory

Part II

3.       Eysenck’s Trait Theory

         H. J. Eysenck (1952, 67 and 82) proposed two broad dimensions of personality based on biology and genetics. Different types of distinct traits are found in each dimension.

(1)       Neuroticism vs. Emotional Stability – This refers to the extent to which people have control over their own emotions. According to him, at one end of the dimension there are people who are mentally deranged. They are anxious, moody, nervous, restless and quickly lose control of themselves. At the other end, are people who are calm, even temperate, reliable and self-controlled. It means at  one end of the continuum is emotionally stable and at the other end emotionally unstable.

(2)       Extrovert versus Introvert – It refers to the degree of socially outgoing or socially withdrawing trait. At one end there are those who are active, sociable, impulsive and thrill seekers. At the other end are those who are passive, calm, alert and self-contained.

Later he proposed a third dimension i.e

(3)       Psychoticism vs. Sociability – After studying the persons suffering from psychological disorders, he added this as a third dimension of personality. He suggested that individual is not purely psychotic but shows various traits usually found in psychotic patients.  A person who scores high on psychoticism dimension tends to be hostile, egocentric, disregard for conventions, reckless, inappropriate emotional expression, antisocial and face difficulty in dealing with reality.

4.       Five Factor Theory of Personality

        Tupes and Christal (1961), Goldberg (1982), Cattel,l Costa and McCrae (1987) arrived at similar results that defined personality in five broad factors. This model is also called OCEAN model. These factors are: -

(i)        Openness to experience

(ii)       Conscientiousness

(iii)      Extraversion

(iv)      Agreeableness

(v)       Neuroticism

Traits of Personality Factors
O	C	E	A	N
Fantasy	Competence	Warmth/Love	Trust	Mood Swings
Aesthetics	Order	Gregariousness/social	Straightforwardness	Anxious
Feelings	Dutifulness	Assertiveness/bold	Altruism/humanity	Pessimist
Actions	Achievement Striving	Activity	Compliance/obedience	Negative
Ideas	Self-Discipline	Excitement seeking	Modesty	Emotionally Unstable
Values	Deliberation	Positive emotion	Tender mindedness	Stressful

(i)      Openness to Experience – The individual with this trait are curious, appreciate art, ready to try new ideas, imaginative & novelty seeking. They are found to be creative, risk taking and love to tread new path by following unconventional ideas.

(ii)   Conscientiousness – Such people display higher self-control, self-discipline, conscious control over their impulses, high on achievement motivation and believe in planned behaviour.

(iii)      Extraversion – The individual with this trait loves to enjoy the company of others, are full of energy, highly sociable, dominate groups, action oriented, enthusiastic and have relatively large number of contact numbers stored in their mobile phones.

(iv)      Agreeableness – Agreeableness is a social trait that reflects the concern for the social set up. They are oriented to move with others, they can be trusted, kind, faithful, high on optimism, and positive about the human nature. Interestingly, they more often compromise with their own interest for the sake of others. People tend to have high regard for such people.

(v)       Neuroticism – The individual with this trait displays frequent mood swings, anxious behaviour, pessimism, frequent negative feelings, are emotional unstable, find it difficult to deal with stress and have low tolerance for criticism etc.

References:

1.         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu%E1%B9%87a.

2.         http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/ 23532/1/Unit-1.pdf.

3.         https://dictionary.apa.org/surface-trait.

4.         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_ personality_traits.

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