Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

trait theory
A model of personality 
that seeks to identify the basic traits 
necessary to describe personality.
traits
Consistent personality charac-
teristics and behaviors displayed in 
different situations.
Key Concept
What are the major aspects of 
trait, learning, biological and 
evolutionary, and humanistic 
approaches to personality?
M O D U L E 4 1
Trait, Learning, Biological and 
Evolutionary, and Humanistic 
Approaches to Personality 
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 Module 
41 
Trait, Learning, Biological and Evolutionary, and Humanistic Approaches to Personality 
449
mine. The major challenge for trait theorists taking this approach has been to identify 
the specifi c primary traits necessary to describe personality. As we shall see, different 
theorists have come up with surprisingly different sets of traits. 
ALLPORT’S TRAIT THEORY: IDENTIFYING 
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS 
When personality psychologist Gordon Allport systematically pored over an unabridged 
dictionary in the 1930s, he came up with some 18,000 separate terms that could be 
used to describe personality. Although he was able to pare down the list to a mere 
4,500 descriptors after eliminating words with the same meaning, he was left with a 
problem crucial to all trait approaches: Which of those traits were the most basic? 
Allport eventually answered this question by suggesting that there are three 
fundamental categories of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary (Allport, 1961, 
1966). A cardinal trait is a single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities. 
For example, a totally selfl ess woman may direct all her energy toward humanitarian 
activities; an intensely power-hungry person may be driven by an all-consuming 
need for control. 
Most people, however, do not develop a single, comprehensive cardinal trait. 
Instead, they possess a handful of central traits that make up the core of personality. 
Central traits, such as honesty and sociability, are an individual’s major characteristics; 
they usually number from fi ve to ten in any one person. Finally, secondary traits are 
characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations and are less infl uential than 
central or cardinal traits. For instance, a reluctance to eat meat and a love of modern 
art would be considered secondary traits (Nicholson, 2003; Glicksohn & Nahari, 2007).