The Trait & Type Approaches

The Type Approach

• Attempts to group individuals according to particular characteristics, rather than describing them as having more or less of a trait

• In other words, types are categorical, while traits are dimensional

• The ancient Greeks classified people according to the dominance of one of four body fluids, called humors– Sanguine– Choleric– Melancholics– Phlegmatics

Sanguine

• Then sanguine, or happy personality, had a preponderance of blood

Choleric

• The choleric, or angry personality, had too much ordinary bile

Melancholic

• The melancholic, who produced too much black bile, were unhappy and depressed

Phlegmatic

• The phlegmatic was apathetic due to their overproduction of phlegm

William Sheldon

• During the last century, Sheldon described personality in terms of body types– Endomorph– Mesomorph– Ectomorph

Endomorph

• Body type: Endomorph (soft, round, fairly weak muscles and bones)

• Personality: Viscerotonic (relaxed, loves to eat, sociable)

Mesomorph

• Body type: Mesomorph (muscular, athletic)

• Personality: Somatotonic (energetic, assertive, courageous

Ectomorph

• Body type: Ectomorph (thin, physically weak, sensitive nervous system)

• Personality: Cerebrotonic (restrained, fearful, introvert, artistic)

• There is no research evidence to validate the relationship between body type and personality, and Sheldon’s theory is not popular today

The Trait Approach

• The trait or dispositional approaches to personality focuses on durable tendencies or dispositions to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

• According to trait theories, people can be described in terms of the basic ways that they behave, such as friendly, moody, dependable, etc.

• While trait theorists sometimes disagree on which traits make up personality, they all agree that traits are the fundamental building blocks of personality

• Trait theorists also debate how many dimensions are necessary to describe personality

• Most trait approaches assume that some traits are more basic than others

Basic Assumptions of the Trait Approach

• Each person has stable dispositions to display certain behaviors, attitudes, and emotions

• These dispositions or traits are general and appear in diverse situations

• Each person has a different set of traits

• Trait theorists include Gordon Allport, Hans Eysenck, Raymond Cattell

Basic Five Traits

• A number of studies have revealed five basic dimensions of personality

• These are referred to as the Big Five traits or factors of production

• Some disagreement about how to name these five traits

The Big Five

• Openness (inquiring, independent, curious)

• Conscientiousness (dependable, self-controlled)

• Extraversion (outgoing, socially adaptive)

• Agreeable (conforming, likable)• Neuroticism (excitability,

anxiousness)

Evaluating the Trait Approach

• There is evidence to support the view that there are internal traits that strongly influence behavior across situations and some traits appear stable over time

Criticisms of Trait Theory

• Personality often does change according to a given situation

• Trait theorists do not attempt to explain why people have certain traits and it is not a comprehensive approach to the study of personality

• The debate continues concerning what (and how many) traits are related to personality