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Gulden Allport's Innovation: Why Is His Trait Theory So Important?
In psychology, trait theory (also called personality theory) is an approach to studying human personality. Researchers of trait theory focus primarily on measuring traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thinking, and feeling. According to this view, traits are aspects of personality that are relatively stable over time, differ between individuals (e.g., some people are extroverted while others are not), and are relatively consistent across contexts, influencing behavior. Traits correspond to states, which are more temporary situations.
Trait theory suggests that certain natural behaviors may give people an advantage in leadership positions.
Traits are defined in two main ways: as intrinsic causal properties or simply as descriptive summaries. The definition of intrinsic causation holds that traits influence our behavior and guide our actions to be consistent with the traits; in contrast, traits as descriptive summaries are simply descriptions of our behavior and do not attempt to infer causal relationships.
Historical BackgroundAmerican psychologist Gulden Allport was an early pioneer in trait research. His early work is considered the beginning of modern personality psychology research. In his research, he called traits “dispositions.” In his theory, "primary traits" are those that dominate and shape an individual's behavior, such as the desire for money or fame. In contrast, “central traits” such as honesty are characteristics that everyone possesses to some extent, while “secondary traits” are traits that only appear in certain situations (e.g., a particular like or dislike that a close friend might know about). ) to provide a comprehensive picture of human complexity.
Allport's trait theory not only laid the foundation for personality psychology, but also continues to be explored in other disciplines such as anthropology.
Over time, various alternative theories and scales have been developed, including Raymond Cattell's 16PF questionnaire, J. P. Guilford's theory of intelligence structure, Henry Murray's need system, Timothy Leary's Interpersonal Circle Diagram, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Gray's Biopsychological Theory of Personality, etc. Currently, two main theories are widely accepted: the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Big Five personality traits model.
Trait Theory in Cross-Cultural Studies
Cultural differences in various ways make the study of personality difficult because the meaning and expression of traits may differ among different cultural groups. Trait theory uses a trait hierarchy to isolate culture from traits, and it can be said that culture is ignored here in order to focus on individual traits and their association with individuals. However, Allport's trait theory also takes into account the influence of culture, which makes it continue to be valued in psychology and other related disciplines.
Trait theories tend to focus on individuals rather than the situations they find themselves in. This focus has been relaxed in contemporary research to include consideration of external factors.
Comparison between EPQ and the Big Five Model
Both the EPQ and the Big Five make extensive use of self-report questionnaires. The factors of these two theories are expected to be orthogonal (uncorrelated), however, weak positive correlations often exist between the factors. In particular, the Big Five model has been criticized for losing the orthogonal structure between factors. Eysenck argued that fewer factors are superior to more partially correlated factors. Although the two approaches are comparable in that they use factor analysis to construct a hierarchical taxonomy, they differ in their organization and number of factors. In particular, the trait of psychopathy makes the distinction even more stark; this trait is not present in the Big Five model.
High scores on neuroticism are associated with susceptibility to sleep and psychophysiological disorders, while the Big Five model can predict future psychological disorders.
Two higher-order factors that were clearly shared between the two classifications were Extraversion and Neuroticism. Most researchers generally accept that extraversion is associated with sociability and positive emotions, while neuroticism is associated with emotional instability and negative emotions. Although both models have similar low-order factors, there are still differences. Eysenck's three-order factor approach contains nine lower-order factors, while the Big Five model has only six. In terms of causality, while both main trait models are descriptive, only the third-order factor model provides a detailed causal explanation. Eysenck proposed that different personality traits arise from properties of the brain, which themselves are the result of genetic factors.
In the process of studying these personality traits, should we explore more deeply the applicability and importance of trait theory in contemporary society?
