Personality traits

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Personality traits and states are the characteristics of a person's personality. Traits are permanent; states are temporary. However, traits can be changed; doing so, however, does not come naturally and requires much more work than changing states, which may be involuntary (e.g. feeling sad because you lost your money). Trait theory offers ideas as to how traits arise and are maintained.

There are a large number of traits that have been described and studied by psychologists. See List of personality traits

Contents 1 Personality traits 1.1 Cardinal trait 1.2 Primary traits 1.3 Secondary traits 2 Personality states 3 Miscellaneous 4 Trait-state assessment 5 See also 6 References & Bibliography 6.1 Key texts – Books 6.2 Additional material – Books 6.3 Key texts – Papers 6.4 Additional material - Papers 7 External links

[edit] Personality traits

These are permanent characteristics. They are classified into three types:

[edit] Cardinal trait

This is a huge trait around which a person organises his/her entire life. People generally do not have more than one cardinal trait, if they have one at all.

[edit] Primary traits

These are smaller traits that most people would identify as 'what a person is like' in a non-psychology context. Examples would include affectionateness or loyalty.

[edit] Secondary traits

These have the smallest influence on a person's life and include minor traits like preferences.

[edit] Personality states

These are temporary characteristics; being in a 'bad mood' would be one, as a 'bad mood' is not a permanent characteristic.

[edit] Miscellaneous

States can sometimes eclipse traits; for example, a person who is normally cheerful might behave the opposite if he/she is in a 'bad mood'.

Also, traits can sometimes resemble states. For example, tendency to hold a grudge, a trait, would be increased if the person is in a bad mood (a state). The increased tendency to hold a grudge is a state as it will not stay on permanently after the person is out of his/her bad-mood state.

[edit] Trait-state assessment

State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI)

[edit] See also

• Charisma
• Codependency
• Cognitive syle
• Coronary prone behavior
• Egocentrism
• Emotionality (personality)
• Emotional instability
• Emotional stability
• Five factor personality model
• Individuality
• Instrumentality
• Internal external locus of control
• Leadership qualities
• Need for cognition
• Repression senitization
• Risk taking
• Tolerance

[edit] References & Bibliography

[edit] Key texts – Books

Mischel, W (1996) Personality and Assessment. LEA, ISBN 0805823301

[edit] Additional material – Books

[edit] Key texts – Papers

Steyer, R. Schmitt, M. Eid, M.(1999). Latent State-Trait Theory and Research in Personality and Individual Differences. European Journal of Personality, Vol 13; 5, p 389-408. ISSN 0890-2070

[edit] Additional material - Papers

• Google Scholar

[edit] External links