Lesson Notes

Lesson 13.1a  Early Trait Theorists: Allport, Cattell, and Eysenck

So, what words describe personality? Although you may think that this wouldn’t be that hard, there are essentially thousands of words in the English language that describe personality. In this lesson, you’ll see how different psychologists over the years have attempted to narrow down this list to a more manageable level of traits. Gordon Allport was the original trait theorist who believed that studying the individual gave the best insight into a person’s personality. One of the complications behind Allport’s method was that it could be considered too subjective and lacks validity. As a result, Raymond Cattell condensed the list of traits (30-35) by the use of factor analysis. After Cattell, Hans Eysenck  narrowed down the list to four traits. Within a 30 year span, the research in trait theory had evolved to a more scientifically measurable number of traits.

Lesson 13.1b  The Five-Factor Model: Five Basic Personality Traits

This lesson looks at the most popular trait theory today. The Five-Factor Model, also dubbed the “Big Five”, narrow traits down to five major categories. How do you think you would fit along the dimensions of the “Big Five”? Remember, when you are trying to memorize these traits to use the acronym OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). 

Lesson 13.1c  Evaluating Trait Theories: The Pros and Cons

This lesson focuses on the pros and cons with trait theory. Many psychologists believe that the Five-Factor Model does very well in describing human personality. Where trait theory appears to fall short is in its ability to explain how these traits develop, how they change or stay stable over time, and what affect situational factors may play in developing or changing personality traits.