UPI Study › Courses › Psychology of Personality › Free lessons › Lesson 13.1 Free with a free account
Trait Perspective: Definitions, Foundations, and Gordon Allport's Theory
Psychology of Personality · Chapter 13: Trait Theory, Personality Disorders, and CultureSection 13.1 · lesson 77 of 83video coming soon
← Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Humanistic Theory and ApplicationNext lesson: Traits, Motives, Behavior, and Historical Development of Trait Approaches →
In this lesson
Describing personality precisely, without explaining where it came from.
- Define the trait perspective and its two assumptions
- Distinguish cardinal, central and secondary traits
- Explain functional autonomy
- Contrast idiographic and nomothetic approaches
Free study notes
Get this lesson's notes by email
The key points and 4 practice questions with answers, in your inbox. One email, free.
One email. Unsubscribe in one click.
Transcript
Everything said in the video, section by section (900 words). Read along, or search it.
Trait Theory, Personality Disorders, and Culture
The Trait Perspective and Gordon Allport's Theory
We describe people constantly, and usually with three or four words. Warm. Dependable. Curious. Trait theory takes that everyday habit seriously. And asks whether those words point at something real. Gordon Allport thought they did. This section covers the trait perspective and its assumptions. And Allport's account of how traits are organised inside a person.
The Perspective
Personality as Stable Description
The trait perspective approaches personality as a set of stable, enduring characteristics. Characteristics that describe how a person typically thinks, feels, and behaves. Across situations, and over time. A trait is an internal disposition. Conscientiousness, or sociability, for example. And what a disposition does is make certain responses more likely. That is a modest ambition, deliberately chosen. Notice what this approach deliberately does not attempt. It does not try to explain the unconscious origins of personality. It concentrates on describing and measuring the basic dimensions. The dimensions along which people reliably differ from one another.
Two Assumptions
What the Whole Approach Rests On
The foundations of the perspective rest on two assumptions. First, that traits are consistent across situations, and stable across time. Second, that individuals can be meaningfully compared on the same set of dimensions. Both of those are doing real work. Drop the first, and prediction fails immediately. Drop the second, and comparison between people becomes meaningless. This descriptive, measurement-oriented stance has a consequence. It gives trait theory a strong empirical character. Which has made it one of the most research-active areas in personality. And a natural foundation for assessment.
Allport's Claim
Traits Are Real, Not Convenient Labels
Gordon Allport is often regarded as a founder of trait theory. And he made a strong claim about what traits are. He argued that traits are real neuropsychic structures that guide behaviour. Not merely convenient labels for patterns we notice. The difference matters for what traits can be asked to do. That is a substantive claim, rather than a definitional one. A label organises our descriptions of a person. A structure causes their behaviour. Allport was claiming the second of those.
Level One
Cardinal Traits
Allport distinguished three levels of trait. The first is the cardinal trait. A cardinal trait is so dominant that it shapes nearly all of a person's behaviour. And Allport was clear that these are rare. Most people do not have one at all. A cardinal trait is not simply a strong preference. The example given is a life ruled by ambition. Note the strength of that phrasing. Not someone who is ambitious. Someone whose ambition organises nearly everything else they do.
Levels Two and Three
Central and Secondary Traits
The second level is central traits. These are the handful of major characteristics that form the core of personality. They are what we actually use when we describe somebody. Honest. Kind. Anxious. The third level is secondary traits. These are more specific situational preferences and attitudes. They appear only in particular contexts. Preferring quiet on workdays, for instance. Confusing the two levels distorts the whole picture of a person. We might describe a friend as warm, dependable, and curious. Those are central traits, and they capture something core. Disliking crowded parties is secondary. It tells us much less about who they fundamentally are.
Functional Autonomy
Motives That Outlive Their Reasons
Allport also introduced a concept called functional autonomy. It proposed that motives can become independent of their origins. So a behaviour begun for one reason may persist for entirely different reasons in adulthood. What started as a means becomes an end in itself. The origin no longer explains the current behaviour. Even though it does explain how the behaviour started. And that puts a real limit on origin-hunting. Knowing why something began does not tell you why it continues. Which is a direct challenge to explanations built entirely on early causes.
Two Methods
The Individual and the Population
Allport also insisted on studying personality in two ways at once. The idiographic approach is the in-depth study of a single individual. The nomothetic approach is the study of traits common across many people. He emphasised the uniqueness of the individual. Advocating idiographic study alongside nomothetic measurement. That combination is unusual, and worth noticing. A measurement-driven field tends to drift entirely nomothetic. Because that is what its methods reward.
The Legacy
Measurement Plus Respect for the Person
This blend shaped the field that followed him. Measurement, held together with respect for individuality. Which is why Allport reads differently from later trait theorists. He treated the shared dimensions as genuinely useful. The person remains larger than their scores. Without concluding that a person is fully described by their position on them. That is a harder balance to hold than it sounds. And much of the later history of trait theory is about losing it.
Consolidate
The Elements of Allport's Theory
Bring the elements together. Cardinal traits dominate nearly all behaviour, and are rare. A life ruled by ambition. Central traits are the core characteristics describing a person. Honest, kind, anxious. Secondary traits are specific and situational. Prefers quiet on workdays. Functional autonomy is a motive outliving its origin. A habit kept for its own sake. And the idiographic focus is the in-depth study of one person. A case analysis of an individual. The first three are a hierarchy. The last two are commitments about method.
Apply It
Sort the Core From the Situational
Why does the trait perspective matter? It gives a clear vocabulary for describing stable individual differences. Which is the precondition for measuring them at all. And how do you apply Allport's version of it? Distinguish a person's core central traits from their situational secondary ones. Before drawing conclusions about them. The everyday failure mode is reading a secondary trait as though it were central. Treating a context-bound preference as evidence about who someone fundamentally is.
About Psychology of Personality at UPI Study
Psychology of Personality (Psychology 300) is a self-paced online course of 83 video lessons in 13 chapters, from Freud, Adler and Jung to biological, behavioral, cognitive, existential and humanistic theories, traits, personality disorders and culture. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.
Every lesson transcript is free on pages like this one, and the videos are free with a free UPI Study account. Enrolling adds a practice quiz after each lesson, the graded work and final exam that earn the credit, lifetime access, and an official transcript on completion. UPI Study has helped over 130,000 students with college credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Enroll now → Course details Download the syllabus All Psychology and social science courses Every course with PRO →
Why take it here
Why students take Psychology of Personality with UPI Study
Where the credit goes
Universities that work with NCCRS
Psychology of Personality carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Thomas Edison State UniversitySigned partner
University of the PeopleSigned partner
Charter Oak State CollegeSigned partner
Strayer UniversitySigned partner
Columbia Southern UniversitySigned partner
Indiana TechSigned partner
Penn StateWorks with NCCRS
Southern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRS
SUNYWorks with NCCRS
+many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →Find my college → Not listed? Ask Athena in the corner of this page, or book a 15-minute call.
FAQ
Questions students ask us
About Trait Perspective: Definitions, Foundations, and Gordon Allport's Theory
What is the trait perspective in personality psychology?
What are cardinal, central, and secondary traits?
What is functional autonomy in Allport's theory?
Did Gordon Allport think personality traits were real?
About the Psychology of Personality course
How many college credits is Psychology of Personality?
How much does Psychology of Personality cost and what is included?
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
How long does Psychology of Personality take?
How are the exams done?
How do my credits reach my college?
Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in Psychology of Personality.
83 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.
3 credits · NCCRSEnroll →