Are you sociable but your sister is not? Are you easy-going, but you need to persuade your friend to go on a trip? You can tell any story eloquently, but your boyfriend even tells a joke in a boring way? That's right, we are all different. Different character traits distinguish you from your loved ones and acquaintances.
According to trait theory, people may behave differently depending on their circumstances. Personality traits are formed in the process of human development, of each specific individual. But first, what is a trait? A trait is a quality that every person has that manifests itself in different situations. These qualities can differentiate one person from another.
In this article:
History of theories Types of traits What else you need to know or the main signs of a “trait” Basic personality traits Methods of identifying traits
What is personality?
A personality is a person who has a unique set of characteristics that determine his character, behavior and characteristics of interaction with other people. In everyday communication, the word “personality” is often used as a synonym for the word “person” or “individual”, but the meaning of these terms is still different.
In addition to the above, there are other definitions of the term “personality”. In particular, it can be used to reflect the social nature of man. That is, when a person is called a person, it is meant that he is part of a certain society and is revealed in social interaction. Sometimes the word “personality” is used to emphasize the moral maturity of a person, his responsibility and a high level of prudence.
All people change over time, sometimes quite dramatically. And if the changes in someone are too noticeable, they sometimes say about him: “He has become a completely different person!” Everyone understands that this is the same person, but these words imply that in communication he has become completely different, and old acquaintances “do not recognize” him.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the concept of “personality” implies a set of psycho-emotional properties of a person , formed under the influence of his life experience and determining his character, tastes, relationships with others, the level of personal and social responsibility, behavior in various life situations and other characteristics.
Thus, the term “personality” is quite multifaceted, but it has two main meanings:
- A set of characteristics of the psyche and behavior, formed on the basis of a person’s self-esteem, as well as on the basis of how he evaluates his life and environment.
- A unique person with his own value system, habits, way of thinking and other individual characteristics.
The term “personality” in Russian is derived from the word “personal” (that is, belonging to a specific person). Sometimes it is also associated with the word “mask” (previously it was the name of a mask or part of a helmet that covers the face). In English and other European languages, the term personality, derived from the Latin word persona (person), is used to denote this concept.
History of theories
Photo by Victoria Borodinova: Pexels
At the turn of the 30s and 40s. gg. XX century G. Allport (American psychologist) mentions the concept of personality traits in an article about the humanistic direction. According to his theory, a person, having some kind of personality trait, begins to build his life in accordance with his character traits. Traits were divided into general and individual.
- General traits (measurable)
All people have it to one degree or another
- Individual (morphological)
Characteristic for each specific person, reflecting the individual characteristics of a person. The study involved healthy people, whom Allport called “mature individuals.” Such a person could be responsible for his actions and commit them consciously. An unhealthy personality, in turn, is guided by unconscious motives, so it could not be fully assessed.
Differences between the concepts of “personality”, “individual” and “individuality”
These three concepts are quite close, and each of them can be used to emphasize that we are talking about a specific person. However, they all differ somewhat in meaning. Let's look at each concept in more detail.
- An individual is simply a unique person, like a character in a movie or story. For example, having met a new neighbor, you still do not know anything about him as a person or individual, but you can already quite identify him as an individual.
- Individuality is a system of psychological and behavioral characteristics of an individual, temperament, and communication style. Simply put, it is a set of qualities that distinguishes him from other people.
- Personality is the inner content of a person, realized in interaction with the outside world. A personality can be called an accomplished person who is unique for a reason, but because he has already formed an internal “core”. Sometimes the concepts of “individuality” and “personality” are identified.
Essentially, every person becomes an individual at the moment of birth. Gradually he grows, a certain character is formed, and individuality appears. As social experience accumulates, norms of morality and morality are formed, and principles of behavior are developed. It is these qualities that make him a person.
Types of traits
The study of trait theory was continued by Allport's students. One of them was G. Eysenck. He believed that all personality traits are combined into a single structure, and they also have a hierarchy. The scientist has identified several types of traits. Let's look at them:
5 main personality traits
- Introversion
Introverts, according to Eysenck, are considered more excitable. Because of this, they may avoid various social situations that may have unexpected consequences for them.
- Extraversion
Extroverts, on the contrary, tend to look for situations where they could be more excited.
- Neuroticism
People prone to neuroticism can react much more sharply to irritating factors.
- Stability
In people with stable traits, the reaction to irritating factors will be more stable and sustainable.
- Psychoticism
High levels of psychoticism, in extreme cases, can lead to deviant behavior.
Eysenck developed his own research methodology for these types of traits. It was called “Eysenck Personality Questionnaire”. This technique helped in the development of criminology and psychopathology.
Personality structure
Personality is a rather complex system, to structure which psychologists use four levels:
- Lower. Innate mental properties, as well as those determined by age, gender and physiological characteristics.
- Second. Peculiarities of perception, thinking and behavior, formed under the influence of first-level factors.
- Third. Personal experience, including acquired knowledge and skills. The formation of this level depends on social interaction and life experiences.
- Higher. At the highest level are principles, ideals, self-esteem, desires, interests and other “personal” things. It is this level that determines the inner content of a person.
At each level you can find unique features that characterize a specific person. The ability to distinguish between them and the personal qualities associated with them is a very useful skill, having mastered which, you can learn to better understand your loved ones and yourself.
What else you need to know or the main signs of the “trait”
When you look at trait theory, the focus is on the individual, not the circumstances that influenced him. Based on this, it is very important to understand what a “trait” is and what its main features are.
Giphy
- A trait is not a condition. It is rather a reaction to behavior and an expectation from this behavior. (“I am friendly” - denotes a person’s stable reaction to the behavior of another)
- Has a quantitative dimension
(You can be the least and most friendly)
- Trait combines formal and informal theories of personality
- A trait has a hierarchy; from one common trait there can be several others.
Hans Eysenck's theory of personality types
The essence of Eysenck's theory is that personality elements can be arranged hierarchically. In his schema there are certain supertraits, or types, such as extraversion, that have a powerful influence on behavior. In turn, he sees each of these supertraits as built from several component traits. These composite traits are either more superficial reflections of the underlying type or specific qualities inherent in that type. Finally, traits consist of numerous habitual responses, which in turn are formed from specific responses. Consider, for example, a person who is observed to exhibit a specific response: smiling and extending his hand when meeting another person. If we see him doing this every time he meets someone, we can assume that this behavior is his habitual response to greeting another person. This habitual response may be associated with other habitual responses, such as a tendency to talk to other people, going to parties, etc. This group of habitual responses forms the trait of sociability, which usually exists in conjunction with a predisposition to respond in an active, lively and confident manner . Collectively, these traits make up a supertrait, or type, which Eysenck calls extraversion.
Considering the hierarchical model of personality according to Eysenck, it should be noted that here the word “type” assumes a normal distribution of parameter values on the continuum. Therefore, for example, the concept of extraversion represents a range with upper and lower limits within which people are located in accordance with the severity of this quality. Thus, extraversion is not a discrete quantitative indicator, but a continuum. Therefore, Eysenck uses the term “type” in this case.
Eysenck used a variety of methods to collect data about people: self-observation, expert assessments, analysis of biographical information, physical and physiological parameters, as well as objective psychological tests. The obtained data were subjected to factor analysis to determine the personality structure. In his early research, Eysenck identified two main types, which he called introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability. These two dimensions of personality are orthogonal, i.e. they are statistically independent of each other. Accordingly, people can be divided into four groups, each of which represents some combination of a high or low score in the range of one type, together with a high or low score in the other type range. Thus, each type is associated with characteristics whose names resemble descriptions of personality traits.
In considering the nature of these four groups, two points must be kept in mind. First, both type ranges are normally distributed, continuous, and thus allow for a wide range of individual differences. Second, the descriptions of the traits associated with each type represent extreme cases. Most people tend to be closer to the middle point - in both ranges of types and therefore end up with less extreme characteristics.
Each category, including its constituent traits, results from a combination of high and low levels of introversion and extraversion with high or low levels of stability and neuroticism.
People who are both introverted and stable tend to adhere to norms and rules, and to be caring and considerate. Conversely, the combination of introversion and neuroticism suggests an individual's tendency to exhibit more anxious, pessimistic, and withdrawn behavior. The combination of extraversion and stability brings to behavior such qualities as caring, generous and sociable. Finally, people with extraversion and high neuroticism are likely to be aggressive, impulsive, and excitable. It should be noted that Eysenck attached particular importance to individual differences. Thus, no combination of these personality types can be preferred. The carefree and sociable type of behavior has both good and negative aspects; the same can be said about a quiet, reserved demeanor. They're just different.
Not long ago, Eysenck described and introduced into his theory a third type of personality dimension, which he called psychoticism - the strength of the superego. People with a high degree of expression of this supertrait are self-centered, impulsive, indifferent to others, and tend to resist social principles. They are often restless, have difficulty communicating with people and do not receive their understanding, and deliberately cause trouble to others. Eysenck proposed that psychoticism is a genetic predisposition to become a psychotic or psychopathic personality. He views psychoticism as a personality continuum on which all people can be placed and which is more pronounced in men than in women.
