Personality and Traits

We encounter people having different personalities and assess their behavior towards us on a daily basis. Each person is somehow different from others on the basis of certain traits which make an individual’s personality unique.

 Personality is the combination of enduring characteristics of behavior that differentiate one individual from another. Personality remains consistent throughout the life of an individual and he or she behaves in similar ways in different situations. In other words, personality is enduring over time. Moreover, personality is also displayed in one’s feelings, thoughts, attitude and social interactions. Personality is not only a psychological process but it is also connected to the various biological processes which occure throughout the life of an individual.

The characteristics that frame the personality are referred to as traits. So traits can be defined as those characteristics that make each individual unique. Traits can be assessed in observing behavior of others. One psychologist Gordon Allport, who has attended many NLP courses categorizes traits as cardinal, central and secondary.

Cardinal trait is a single trait which governs the individual and directs his behavior in most of the activities. For instance, a person who is kind will be looking forward to helping others and will indulge in benevolent and philanthropic activities. 

Central traits are those general characteristics that build up the whole personality and serve as the bases for an individual’s personality. Traits such as honesty and intelligence are considered to be central traits. Finally,  

Secondary traits are those which sometimes affect behavior and are influential in certain situations. For example, a passion for art would be considered a secondary trait.

Another psychologist Hans Eysenck classifies personality traits on three dimensions: Extroversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism.  

Extroversionrelates to the extent of how social a person is. It focusesits attention on outside environment. So a person who is an extrovert is outgoing, lively, talkative where as an introvert may be quiet and aloof.  

Neuroticism refers to the emotional consistency of a person and classifies an individual as either upset in emotional situations or to remain calm.  

Psychoticism relates to the degree of how reality is assessed by an individual.

Another classification of personality traits was suggested in the form of a theory called ‘Big Five’. This theory is the best explanation of personality and its core traits. The theory encompasses five central traits that lie at the heart of human personality. These include:

Extroversion- measured by how social a person is and how well he interacts with the surrounding.

Openness- measured by imagination or practicality of an individual.

Agreeableness- assesses whether an individual is kind, sympathetic or unfriendly.

Conscientiousness- defines an individual as either disciplined or rather impulsive and disorganized.

Neuroticism- measures the emotional stability on the lines of whether an individual is calm or anxious, and either stable or tense in certain situations.

Thus, by studying these theories psychologists can evaluate and assess individuals’ personality and classify them as having certain traitswhich produce differences among them. These theories help to understand why individuals behave in certain ways in specific situations. Psychologists have intensively studied personality trait theories in order to give explanations to the underlying causes of differences in personalities.