Allport Trait Approach

Trait Approach
Trait approach to personality was a major theoretical study of human behaviour and characteristic (Kendra, n.d.), it show that each person have a different dispositions of personalities. Trait approach to a person behaviour can be easily define when you get along with him or she for a certain time period or someone you know, example of trait such as kind-hearted, talkative and even tempered. Different kind of people have a set of different combination of trait, it consider unique when define a person. It used to identify and measure individual personality characteristic.
Gordon Allport was the first psychologist who uses trait approach into personality. He found that trait was the most appropriate theory to describe personal behavioural. Allport had declared trait theory into three levels, which is cardinal trait, central trait and secondary trait. Cardinal trait use to reflect a person personality by his or her daily behavioural which can be observe, it was often match to which conduct people use to describe that person. Central trait was a general characteristic of a person; example was shy and silly which just a term to describe another person by his or her behaviour. Secondary trait was which characteristic may not know while first meet, because it appear just in certain time for a person behavioural. Example like impatient while waiting (Kendra, n.d.).
Define a person’s personality assessment was an importance process in getting know to him or her, by using Allport’s trait theory there may be advantages and disadvantages occur while evaluating a person. Allport trait theory was mainly comparison of people’s personalities; this was needed especially when promoting an employee to higher position in organisational structure. This theory was being used in personality’s assessment because everyone is unique, without comparison was very hard to evaluate a person’s characteristic. If you feel that a person is bad, with comparison to a worse person, you will feel that the person is actually good enough.
Besides, Allport belief that motivation occur because of past experiences. Consider of past experiences into personality assessment will bring a more accurate evaluate. By this theory, it shows that pass experiences guide person behaviour into habitual. Example a person who late for work in his past employment, he may keep late to work in the organisation which is currently recruit. Allport’s trait theory show that personality assessment can be measure by both observation and experiment, it was efficiency to measure a person behaviour by observe him or her activities, because through daily activities, we will know his or her attitude toward jobs in the organisation. Out of observation, experiment can clearly show out a person’s personality assessment, because many aspect of personality do not surface before his or her interact with others, this definition was define by Allport and his older brother Floyd Allport, a social psychologies (Louise, 1999). Example a person who always doing well in his or her job, but once he receive a group work task, he may not work out as well as before because he did not interact with others members and may not achieve the goal, this situation will not appear if experiment not giving out.
However, Allport’s trait theory may bring some weaknesses into personality assessment. Define a person behaviour by pass experience may not indeed that person’s personality. Example if a man who had been imprisoned was much difficult to get recruitment even he has change his attitude, other staff in that organisation may also not show confidence and trusted him. Moreover, by using comparison to evaluate personality assessment may not that accurate due to the person in comparison. If both who take into comparison was perfect, there must be one of them not that perfect as the other one, he or she may be consider as good instead of perfect under comparison. While on the other hand, if both who take into comparison are worse, one of them who is batter may consider good, but there was no necessary to find out who is batter because there must be others choices instead of both of them.
In conclusion, Allport’s trait approach to personality assessment was useful for an organisation as well as other usage, to make sure that the theory was use in appropriate ways and you will found out that it bring a lot of benefit. Those three level of trait define by Allport was a component use to correct the sense by others while evaluating a person; it is suitable to define personality of people around us.