3/10/2018

Personality Theories
• Trait Theories
• Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theories
• Behavioral Theories
• Cognitive Theories
• Social Learning Theories
• and many…
Ditex George
Faculty of Management
Markaz Law College,
Kozhikode

Trait Theories
Allport’s Three trait theory
1. Allport's three trait theory
2. 16 personality factor theory
3. Big five Model Gordon Allport located more than
4,000 words describing different
personality traits in English dictionary.
Assumptions of Trait Theories
He categorized these traits into three
 Traits are relatively stable over time
levels.
 Traits differ among individuals
 Traits are also bipolar
 Traits influence behavior.

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Three trait theory

16 personality factor theory
1. Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s whole life, often
to the point that the person becomes known specifically for these
traits. Eg: Mother Theresa for goodness & Charity - Hitler for
Trait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the
ruthlessness - Einstein for brilliance
number from Allport’s initial list of personality
2. Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form the
trait’s to 16 from over 4,000 by means of a
basic foundations/building blocks of personality. Eg: Intelligence,
statistical technique called factor analysis.
honesty, shyness and friendliness.
3. Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes related to
It is not a trait’s absence or presence which reflect one’s uniqueness. All
attitudes or preferences and often appear only in certain situations of our personalities are actually made up of the same traits; we differ
or under specific circumstances. Eg: Getting anxious when speaking only in the degree to which each trait is expressed.

to a group or Impatient while waiting in line.

16 personality factor theory

1. emotional, easily upset
2. Intelligent
3. suspicious
4. reserved, unfriendly
5. assertive, dominant
6. sober, serious
7. conscientious
8. shy, timid
9. tender-minded
10.practical
11.shrewd
12.self-assured, placid
13.conservative
14.group oriented
15.undisciplined
16.Relaxed
Big five model
vs. calm, stable
The five-factor model of personality represents five core traits that interact to form
vs. unintelligent human personality. Lewis Goldberg proposed a five-dimension personality model,
vs. trusting nicknamed the Big five.
vs. outgoing, friendly
vs. not assertive, humble
vs. happy-go-lucky
vs. expedient
vs. venturesome
vs. tough-minded
vs. imaginative
vs. forthright
vs. apprehensive
vs. experimenting  These Five fundamental traits are specially relevant to organisations.
vs. self-sufficient  Each trait has two extreme points – High & Low
vs. self-disciplined Trait
vs. tense, driven High Low

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Big five model Summary of Big five model

O 1. Openness to Experience: The tendency to be imaginative, independent, and
interested in variety. About rigidity of beliefs & range of interests.
Openness
High Openness Less Openness

2. Conscientiousness: The tendency to be organized, careful, and disciplined.

C Refers to the no: of goals one can focus.
Conscientiousness
High Conscientiousness Low Conscientiousness

E 3. Extraversion: The tendency to be sociable, fun-loving, and affectionate.

Reflects ones comfort level with relationships. Energy from others n self.
Extraversion
Extraversion Introversion
A 4. Agreeableness: The tendency to be soft-hearted, trusting, and helpful. Refers to
ones ability to get along with others.
Agreeableness
High Agreeableness Low Agreeableness
N 5. Neuroticism/Emotional stability: The tendency to be calm, secure, and self-
satisfied. Relates to one’s emotional stability and degree of negative emotions.
Neuroticism
High Neuroticism Low Neuroticism
Ditex George, Faculty of Management, Markaz Law College, Kozhikode

Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic Theory
1. The Id: The id, the most primitive of the three, is concerned with
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory is based on the notion that man is motivated
more by unseen forces than he is controlled by conscious and rational thought. instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges. It operates
unconsciously (outside of conscious thought) and referred as storing
place of all instincts.

Eg: if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would

most likely take the ice cream for itself. It doesn't know, or care,
that it is rude to take something belonging to someone else; it
would care only that you wanted the ice cream.

Id is childish & irrational.

On maturity, he/she learns to control id.
Psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the
interactions/conflicts among three component parts of the mind:
(1) Id (2) Ego (3) Superego.
These conflicts are mostly unconscious

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1.
2. Superego: The superego is concerned with social rules and morals.
Similar to what people call "conscience" or "moral compass." It
develops as a child learns what the culture considers right and
wrong. It represents social and personal norms.
Eg: If your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not
take their ice cream because it would know that that would be rude.
However, if both your id and your superego were involved, and your id
was strong enough to override your superego's concern, you would still
take the ice cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt and shame
over your actions.
Ditex George, Faculty of Management, Markaz Law College, Kozhikode
3/10/2018
1.
2.
3. Ego: The ego is the rational, pragmatic and logical part of our
personality. It is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It
constantly works to keep a healthy psychological balance between
id’s impulsive demands and superego’s restrictive guidance.
Eg: If you walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego would
mediate the conflict between your id ("I want that ice cream right now") and superego
("It's wrong to take someone else's ice cream") and decide to go buy your own ice
cream. In between, you may have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate
your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying
your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and
potential feelings of shame.