TRAIT AND PERSONALITY
THEORIES
CONTENTS
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
CONCEPT OF THEORY
CRITICISMS
PERSONAL EVALUATION
RESEARCH VALIDATION
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
TRAIT PERSONALITY THEORIES OUTLOOK ON HUMAN NATURE CAN
BE CONSIDERED AS NEUTRAL. THE THEORY LOOKS ON HUMANS
AS NEUTRALS, POSSESSING NEITHER POSITIVE NOR NEGATIVE
TRAIT. ONE OF THE BASIC ASSUMPTION THE TRAIT THEORIES HAS
IS THAT PEOPLE POSSESS A BROAD NATURES, CALLED TRAIT TO
RESPOND IN A PARTICULAR WAYS. (CERVONE & PERVIN, 2008).
AS HUMAN BEINGS, TRAIT THEORIES STATES THAT WE POSSESS
WIDE VARIETY OF TRAIT CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE CONSTANT
OVER TIME. ALTHOUGH HUMANS POSSESS WIDE VARIETY OF
TRAIT CHARACTERISTICS, NOT EVERYONE SHARES THE SAME
TRAIT CHARACTERISTICS.
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
THE DIFFERENT COMBINATION OF TRAITS FOUND IN EACH
PERSON ARE THE ONES THAT MAKES EACH UNIQUE. TRAIT
THEORIES ARE THEREFORE FOCUSED ON THE DIFFERENCES IN
PEOPLE WITH RELATION TO THEIR OWN SET OF PERSONALITY
TRAITS.
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
THE HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF TRAIT THEORY IS BASED AROUND
THE MEASUREMENT AND COMPREHENSION OF TRAITS. TRAITS ARE
CHARACTERISTIC PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR THAT ARE ASSESSED USING
OF A VARIETY OF METHODS. THE TRAIT THEORY BELIEVES TRAITS ARE
STABLE OVER TIME. THIS MEANS A PERSON'S TRAITS DO NOT CHANGE
WITH TIME AND ENVIRONMENT. THE TRAIT THEORY ALSO PROMOTES
DIFFERENCE IN TRAITS IN INDIVIDUALS AND THE INFLUENCE OF
TRAITS ON BEHAVIORS. THE TRAIT THEORY SUPPORTS THE IDEA THAT
TRAITS VARY FROM PERSON TO PERSON AND THAT TRAITS REMAIN
CONSTANT. THE TRAIT THEORY ALSO BELIEVES ATTRIBUTES BEHAVIOR
TO TRAITS. THE TRAIT THEORY IS USED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF
BEHAVIORS IN INDIVIDUALS COMPARED TO OTHERS.
ALLPORT’S TRAIT THEORY
OF PERSONALITY
GORDON W. ALLPORT
NOVEMBER 11, 1897-OCTOBER
9,1967
GORDON W. ALLPORT WAS A LONGTIME
AND INFLUENTIAL MEMBER OF THE
FACULTY AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY FROM
1930 TO 1967. IN 1931, HE SERVED ON
THE FACULTY COMMITTEE THAT
ESTABLISHED HARVARD'S SOCIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT.
HE RECEIVED THE APA'S DISTINGUISHED
SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION AWARD.
GORDON ALLPORT DIED ON OCTOBER 9,
1967 IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS OF
LUNG CANCER. HE WAS SEVENTY YEARS
OLD.
GORDON W. ALLPORT
NOV.11, 1897-OCT.9,1967
ALLPORT WAS BORN IN MONTEZUMA
,
INDIANA
,
THE YOUNGEST OF FOUR SONS OF JOHN
EDWARD AND NELLIE EDITH (WISE) ALLPORT.
WHEN GORDON WAS SIX YEARS OLD, THE
FAMILY HAD MOVED MANY TIMES AND FINALLY
SETTLING IN OHIO; HIS EARLY EDUCATION WAS
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.
HE WORKED AS AN INSTRUCTOR IN
PSYCHOLOGY FROM 1924 TO 1926 AND BEGAN
TEACHING HIS COURSE "PERSONALITY: ITS
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS" IN
1924; IT WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST COURSE IN
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY EVER TAUGHT IN
THE U.S.
GORDON W. ALLPORT
NOV.11, 1897-OCT.9,1967
ALLPORT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
PSYCHOLOGIST TO FOCUS ON THE
STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAITS.
