Trait Theory

Definition

Trait theory suggests that personality is made up of broad traits or dispositions that tend to lead to characteristic responses - meaning people act in certain ways based on these traits.

Related terms

Big Five Personality Traits:

These are five broad dimensions used by some psychologists to describe human personality. They include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Personality Inventory:

This is a type of questionnaire designed to reveal the respondent's character or psychological makeup.

Factor Analysis:

A statistical method used to describe variability among observed variables in terms of fewer unobserved variables called factors. In psychology, it's often used in developing tests and identifying clusters of behaviors.