Products

About

©2018 StudyMode.com

Comaprative Analiysis of Trait and Type Theories of Personality

Topics: Big Five personality traits, Personality psychology, Trait theory Pages: 3 (560 words) Published: February 16, 2013
Personality is an individual's unique thoughts, feelings and behavior that persist over time and different situations. It is unique set of traits that remain unchanged over a long period of time. Personality theorists attempt to describe how individuals remain consistent in their thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and how they differ in their personalities

Type/Constitutional/Biological Theories of personality:

Greek physician and philosophers Hippocrates and Galen claimed that a person's temperament depends on relative quantities of four humors, or fluids, in the body—blood (sanguine) and cheerfulness, phlegm (phlegmatic) and calmness, black bile (melancholic) and depression, yellow bile (choleric) and irritability.

Gall and Spurzheim related bumps and depressions on the skull to personality traits in their theory of phrenology.

William Sheldon related physique to temperament. According to his somatotype theory the soft, spherical endomorph is likely to be sociable and affectionate; the hard, muscular mesomorph is likely to be aggressive and courageous; and the linear and fragile ectomorph is likely to be restrained and happy to be alone.

German psychiatrist Ernst Kretschmer wrote a frail, rather weak (asthenic) body build as well as a muscular (athletic) physique were frequently characteristic of schizophrenic patients, while a short, rotund (pyknic) build was often found among manic-depressive patients.

Friedman and Rosenman gave Type A and Type B theory, that relates type to the disease.

Trait/Dispositional Theories:

Trait theorists try to describe basic behaviors that define personality and they assume that we each have relatively stable personality characteristics or dispositional attributes, called traits.

Gordon Allport defined traits into three categories: cardinal traits, central traits and secondary traits. This interpretation emphasizes that all traits are interdependent sets of attributes which come together to produce...
Continue Reading

Please join StudyMode to read the full document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • MOTIVATION THEORIES AND PERSONALITY TRAITS Essay

    ...Running Head: MOTIVATION THEORIES AND PERSONALITY TRAITS Motivation Theories and Personality Traits DeVry University Psychology: 110 November 27, 2013 MOTIVATION THEORIES AND PERSONALITY TRAITS 1. Take a look at the material on sensation seeking on page 286 (Ch. 11). Do you consider yourself a sensation seeker? Why or why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your level of sensation seeking? After reviewing the material in the textbook and answering all the questions on sensation seeking I find that I am not a sensation seeker. I say this for many reasons such as I like things to remain orderly and calm. Typically, I would rather be around the same group of people with the same interests rather than a wild crowd and I am not adept to trying new things such as white water rafting or jumping out of an airplane. Advantages to being a non-sensation seeker are that I can get things done without distractions or being to high-strung. For instance if I had an office job that required mostly sitting down at a computer all day I would not be trying to jump out of my seat all day or having the boredom effect. Disadvantages of being a non-sensation seeker would prevent me from trying new and exciting things that could very well enhance my personality and increase my happiness level. 2. How would you...

    Read More
    1149 Words 3 Pages
  • Personality Traits Essay

    ...Personality Traits There may be no such thing as a perfect partner, but everyone dreams of an ideal partner they want to marry and spend their whole life with. Although, we seek out specific qualities that are significant to us alone but there are certain characteristics both the partners can aim at to make the relationship successful and last longer. I always thought of my ideal partner as an honest, trustworthy, agreeable, open and respectful man. According to the traits I am moderate on most of the factors, since I am independent, agreeable, organized and trusting woman. Of course, I dream of someone of the same or almost the same level of traits as me. I believe, the big five traits are efficient way to test one’s personality. I mostly describe myself ranging in the moderate level of the traits. For instance, the trait conscientiousness explains me the most because I am organized, since I keep myself planned and structured beforehand. Also, carefulness and disciplined are one of my best personalities as I am well-mannered and cautious about everything I do. Correspondingly, openness and agreeableness describes me well since I am kind-hearted, imaginative, high on novelty preference because different things interest me rather than just paying attention to one same thing and as well as independent where I don’t depend on someone to get my...

    Read More
    911 Words 3 Pages
  • trait theory Essay

    ...contrast the aims and methods of Trait Theory with those of Personal Construct Theory. What makes the world and the people in it so interesting is that everybody is different and they possess their own personalities that are unique to each individual. It has been particularly interesting for psychologists to study and understand the differences between people, hence the great amount of research and work that has been conducted in relation to individual difference. In particular, the two theoretical perspectives that have attempted to explain personality are the trait theory and the personal construct theory. Throughout this essay I will be comparing the two theories by looking at their aims and methods, along with assessing their strengths and weaknesses in order to demonstrate the difference between the two theories. When we think of people’s personalities, we may think in terms of their characteristics and their traits, consisting of biological and genetic factors, impacting on how people behave in certain ways. The trait theory, a psychometric approach to personality, is concerned with the differences between people and how the combinations of different traits make up a personality which is unique to each individual and is fixed and...

    Read More
    1873 Words 3 Pages
  • Essay on Trait Theory

    ... Trait Theory Gerald Joseph Camilleri University of Chaminade Trait Theory Do you remember taking those personality quizzes where they ask you to describe your personality? What types of things did you mark? Did you mark terms such as friendly, caring, outgoing, and talkative? All these are prime examples of traits. The study of human personality has fascinated people from the dawn of time. The four major personality perspective attempts to describe patterns in personality, how they differ, and how they are formed. The theory that will be discussed in this paper is trait theory of personality or also sometimes referred to as dispositional theory. Trait perspective of personality is concern with identifying, describing, and measuring specific traits that make up the human personality. Trait personality theory is unlike humanistic or psychoanalytic theory. The primary focus of trait theorist is to measure the differences between traits and how they make up the human personality (Cherry). A trait is a stable characteristic that causes someone to...

    Read More
    1105 Words 6 Pages
  • Trait Theory and Brand Personality Framework Essay

    ...This paper discusses about Trait Theory and Brand Personality Framework in personality. Details of the two theories will be explained first, along with some real examples of how firms make use of personality traits to strengthen their brands. The shortcomings of the two existing theories will then be analyzed, and some measures developed by recent researchers will be introduced in order to overcome the weaknesses. I chose this topic because I am interested in psychology and personality traits. Many personality tests usually try to figure out interviewee’s personalities by asking questions regarding their behavior. This topic has a similar concept, but it is inversely about how marketers use personality theories to predict consumer’s behavior, so I am interested to understand more about it as it will be helpful when I become a marketer someday. Personality refers to an individual’s relatively consistent responses to the environmental stimuli over time (Kassarjian & Sheffet, 1991). One of the most commonly used personality theories is Trait Theory, which focuses on the quantitative measurement of personality traits, or identifiable characteristics that define a person. Some...

    Read More
    1671 Words 6 Pages
  • Personality theory Essay

    ...Extraversion is one of the five core personality traits described in the big five theory of personality. This trait is characterized by sociability, assertiveness, emotional expressiveness and excitability. People who are high in this trait are often described as being outgoing ad talkative, while those low in this trait are described as quiet and reserved. An extroverted disposition ; concern with what is outside the self rather what is inside. Introversion is one of the major personality traits identified in many theories of personality. People who are introverted tend to be inward turning, or focused more on internal thoughts, feelings and moods rather than seeking out external stimulation. Introversion is genereally viewed as existing as part of a continuum along with extraversion. Introversion indicates one end of the scale, while extraversion represents the other end. An introverted disposition ; concern with one's own feelings and thoughts. The terms of introversion and extraversion were popularized through the work of Carl Jung and later became central parts of other prominent theories including the big five theory of personality. The introversion - extraversion dimension is also one of the four areas identified by the Myers - Bruggs type indicator....

    Read More
    1741 Words 5 Pages
  • Personality Theory Essay

    ...Character Personality Analysis Elizabeth F. Psych 504 February 4, 2013 Character Personality Analysis Introduction Leigh Anne Touhy is the fictional representation of the real life Leigh Anne, famed adoptive mother of Michael Oher from the 2009 film The Blind Side. Leigh Anne is a white interior designer, living in the south with her husband and two children. The family is considered to be part of the upper class, and made their money from owning a string of fast food chains. Leigh Anne and her family take in a black homeless boy, Michael, and throughout the film experience a growing love and bond. They eventually adopt Michael and the Leigh Anne becomes a fiercely protective mother. Very little is revealed about her upbringing or background. The only pre-film time period information that is truly shared is her attendance at Ole’ Miss and her career as a cheerleader. A Sullivan View Leigh Anne is a deeply devoted, caring and hard working mother, wife and member of her southern community. As open as her heart is, her emotional openness is lacking. When looking at her inability or unwillingness to show emotion, even to her family, Sullivan’s interpersonal theory would view this as a self-security measure (Sullivan, 1953). Leigh Anne strives to always show her “good self”, and while there may be an underlying lack of self esteem, there is a greater desire to protect herself and her loved ones from the bad in the world,...

    Read More
    1003 Words 3 Pages
  • Theories of Personality Essay

    ...Theories of Personality Psychoanalytic perspective is based on Sigmund Frued perspectives about early experiences it focuses on the importance of the unconscious mind which contains thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories/past experiences in which we are unaware of. The id operates on the pleasure principle by satisfying basic urges, needs, and desires. Ego operates on the reality principle, satisfies the id’s desires in ways that it will cause pleasure instead of pain. Superego strives for perfection, positive feelings and negative feelings of guilt. These three systems were interactions of Frued’s view of personality structure. Freud perspective also focused on psychosexual stages which is the childhood stages of development. Defense mechanisms are methods of reducing anxiety. This perspective could account for the development of introverted and an extroverted personality Humanistic perspective focuses on an individual’s uniqueness and their ability and responsibility to make choices in their lives. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers were the founders of this theory they believed that a person's free choice, free will, and understanding of their own experiences and feelings. The meanings of events in his or her life are the most important things to study. Carl Rogers believed that Human nature is viewed as basically good and that we all strive for actualizing tendencies but never...

    Read More
    1015 Words 4 Pages

Popular Essays

Become a StudyMode Member

Sign Up - It's Free