trait theory psychology definition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In psychology, trait theory (also called dispositional theory) is an approach to the study of human personality. Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion.ccording to this perspective, traits are relatively stable over time, differ across individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing whereas others are shy), and influence behavior.
Gordon Allport, one of the pioneers of trait theory, recognized that there are 4000 personality traits in the dictionary, so he split these up into three categories; Cardinal, Central and Secondary. Cardinal traits are defined as traits that summarize a person entirely. For example, someone who is narcissistic.s with all theories, there are holes in the Individual Trait Theory. While it does explain biological and social factors contributing to oneâs personality that can predispose a person to crime, there are many things it does not take into account, like situational decisions and the change in a person over time.