The study of personality has changed a lot since the 20th century, thanks to some important people. Here are a few who have made big contributions:
Gordon Allport
Allport was one of the first to study personality traits. He focused on how unique each person is. He came up with three types of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary. His work helped others understand that personality traits are mostly stable and last a long time.
Raymond Cattell
Cattell built on Allport’s ideas. He created a tool called the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, or 16PF for short. This tool helps to measure and identify stable personality traits. Cattell made a key difference between surface traits (what we see) and source traits (what's underneath). This helped psychologists understand what makes up a person's personality.
Hans Eysenck
Eysenck had a different way of looking at personality. He believed we could think of personality in three main areas: extraversion (how outgoing someone is), neuroticism (how emotional and anxious someone might be), and psychoticism (how aggressive or tough a person can be). His approach helped both researchers and people who assess personality.
Walter Mischel
Mischel challenged the idea that personality traits are always the same. He showed that the situation around us can change how we act. In his work "Personality and Assessment," he talked about how behavior can be consistent, but also depend on what's happening around us.
Recent Developments
Lately, the Five Factor Model, created by McCrae and Costa, has become really popular. It includes five broad areas: openness (how willing a person is to try new things), conscientiousness (how organized and responsible someone is), extraversion, agreeableness (how friendly and cooperative someone is), and neuroticism. People often remember it as OCEAN.
These people show how trait theories in personality psychology have developed over time. We’ve moved from just simple ideas about traits to more detailed models that take into account how traits can be stable, how situations can affect behavior, and how every person is different. This evolution continues as researchers study more about the complexities of human personality.
The study of personality has changed a lot since the 20th century, thanks to some important people. Here are a few who have made big contributions:
Gordon Allport
Allport was one of the first to study personality traits. He focused on how unique each person is. He came up with three types of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary. His work helped others understand that personality traits are mostly stable and last a long time.
Raymond Cattell
Cattell built on Allport’s ideas. He created a tool called the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, or 16PF for short. This tool helps to measure and identify stable personality traits. Cattell made a key difference between surface traits (what we see) and source traits (what's underneath). This helped psychologists understand what makes up a person's personality.
Hans Eysenck
Eysenck had a different way of looking at personality. He believed we could think of personality in three main areas: extraversion (how outgoing someone is), neuroticism (how emotional and anxious someone might be), and psychoticism (how aggressive or tough a person can be). His approach helped both researchers and people who assess personality.
Walter Mischel
Mischel challenged the idea that personality traits are always the same. He showed that the situation around us can change how we act. In his work "Personality and Assessment," he talked about how behavior can be consistent, but also depend on what's happening around us.
Recent Developments
Lately, the Five Factor Model, created by McCrae and Costa, has become really popular. It includes five broad areas: openness (how willing a person is to try new things), conscientiousness (how organized and responsible someone is), extraversion, agreeableness (how friendly and cooperative someone is), and neuroticism. People often remember it as OCEAN.
These people show how trait theories in personality psychology have developed over time. We’ve moved from just simple ideas about traits to more detailed models that take into account how traits can be stable, how situations can affect behavior, and how every person is different. This evolution continues as researchers study more about the complexities of human personality.