1. The Trait & Type Approaches

2. The Type Approach Attempts to group individuals according to particular characteristics, rather than describing them as having more or less of a trait In other words, types are categorical, while traits are dimensional

3. The ancient Greeks classified people according to the dominance of one of four body fluids, called humors –Sanguine –Choleric –Melancholics –Phlegmatics

4. Sanguine Then sanguine, or happy personality, had a preponderance of blood

5. Choleric The choleric, or angry personality, had too much ordinary bile

6. Melancholic The melancholic, who produced too much black bile, were unhappy and depressed

7. Phlegmatic The phlegmatic was apathetic due to their overproduction of phlegm

8. William Sheldon During the last century, Sheldon described personality in terms of body types –Endomorph –Mesomorph –Ectomorph

9. Endomorph Body type: Endomorph (soft, round, fairly weak muscles and bones) Personality: Viscerotonic (relaxed, loves to eat, sociable)

10. Mesomorph Body type: Mesomorph (muscular, athletic) Personality: Somatotonic (energetic, assertive, courageous

11. Ectomorph Body type: Ectomorph (thin, physically weak, sensitive nervous system) Personality: Cerebrotonic (restrained, fearful, introvert, artistic)

12. There is no research evidence to validate the relationship between body type and personality, and Sheldon’s theory is not popular today

14. The Trait Approach The trait or dispositional approaches to personality focuses on durable tendencies or dispositions to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

15. According to trait theories, people can be described in terms of the basic ways that they behave, such as friendly, moody, dependable, etc.

16. While trait theorists sometimes disagree on which traits make up personality, they all agree that traits are the fundamental building blocks of personality

17. Trait theorists also debate how many dimensions are necessary to describe personality Most trait approaches assume that some traits are more basic than others

18. Basic Assumptions of the Trait Approach Each person has stable dispositions to display certain behaviors, attitudes, and emotions These dispositions or traits are general and appear in diverse situations Each person has a different set of traits Trait theorists include Gordon Allport, Hans Eysenck, Raymond Cattell

19. Basic Five Traits A number of studies have revealed five basic dimensions of personality These are referred to as the Big Five traits or factors of production Some disagreement about how to name these five traits

20. The Big Five Openness (inquiring, independent, curious) Conscientiousness (dependable, self-controlled) Extraversion (outgoing, socially adaptive) Agreeable (conforming, likable) Neuroticism (excitability, anxiousness)

21. Evaluating the Trait Approach There is evidence to support the view that there are internal traits that strongly influence behavior across situations and some traits appear stable over time

22. Criticisms of Trait Theory Personality often does change according to a given situation Trait theorists do not attempt to explain why people have certain traits and it is not a comprehensive approach to the study of personality The debate continues concerning what (and how many) traits are related to personality