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Allport
Cattell
Strengths of trait theory
Weaknesses of trait theory
There are many criticisms of the way in which the humanistic theory attempts to
measure personality. Therefore, alternative measures have been put forward which
try to do the following:
A trait is also thought to be a stable characteristic that remains the same regardless
of the situation. Therefore, if three people were all caught in a rainstorm without a
coat, the short-tempered person might become angry about this, the kind person
might offer to let them walk under a shelter at their own expense and the needy
person might feel aggrieved that they have not been offered the shelter because
they feel like they will be more inconvenienced by the situation and therefore need
it more.
One individual does not have one trait; according to the trait theory, someone will
have several traits, which combine to make their personality. Allport and Cattell are
two of the main researchers in this area and we shall now consider their work.
Allport
Gordon Allport was one of the first researchers to come up with a trait theory. His
main idea was that personality came about like a series of building blocks; referred
to here, of course, as traits. He further believed that personality was biologically
determined but could be shaped by someone’s environment.
Cattell
Raymond Cattell based his theory on sources other than self-report, which can be
an unreliable method of testing anything, as it is subject to individual bias.
He also argued that other methods of exploring personality were too narrow and
that it was also necessary to consider other areas when determining someone’s
personality.
The traits were identified using factor analysis on three different kinds of data:
Cattell contended that there were sixteen major source traits which everyone
possessed to a greater or lesser degree, and these were classified as either:
Surface traits: very obvious traits that others can easily identify
Source traits: less visible to other people and may be strong motivators
of some kinds of behaviour
Using this information, Cattell developed a personality test known as the 16PF
which has been used to provide personality profiles and which has been used quite
extensively within applied psychology.
Despite it being a new and unique way of trying to determine the origins of
personality, critics of Cattell contend that his categories are too rigid and exclude
people from fitting into them easily.
His personality model has also been criticised for being over simplified and
superficial and critics argue that his model is too focused on classifying people as
similar, meaning that we become blinded to the ways in which people are different.
Strengths of trait theory
It acknowledges the potential role of biological influences in personality
development
It acknowledges that although most traits are stable that there can be
some variation in behaviour dependent upon the situation
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