Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

The Trait Perspective on Personality439Not surprisingly, then, the social cognitive perspective has had a major impact onthe study of personality.However, some psychologists feel that the social cognitive approach to personalityapplies best to laboratory research. In the typical laboratory study, the relationshipsamong a limited number of very specific variables are studied. In everyday life,situations are far more complex, with multiple factors converging to affect behaviorand personality. Thus, an argument can be made that clinical data, rather than laboratorydata, may be more reflective of human personality.The social cognitive perspective also ignores unconscious influences, emotions, orconflicts. Some psychologists argue that the social cognitive theory focuses on very limitedareas of personality—learning, the effects of situations, and the effects of beliefsabout the self. Thus, it seems to lack the richness of psychoanalytic and humanistic theories,which strive to explain the whole person, including the unconscious, irrational,and emotional aspects of personality (McAdams & Pals, 2006; Westen, 1990).Nevertheless, by emphasizing the reciprocal interaction of mental, behavioral,and situational factors, the social cognitive perspective recognizes the complexcombination of factors that influence our everyday behavior. By emphasizing theimportant role of learning, especially observational learning, the social cognitiveperspective offers a developmental explanation of human functioning that persiststhroughout one’s lifetime. Finally, by emphasizing the self-regulation of behavior,the social cognitive perspective places most of the responsibility for our behavior—and for the consequences we experience—squarely on our own shoulders.traitA relatively stable, enduring predispositionto consistently behave in a certain way.trait theoryA theory of personality that focuses onidentifying, describing, and measuringindividual differences in behavioralpredispositions.The Trait Perspective on PersonalityKey Theme• Trait theories of personality focus on identifying, describing, andmeasuring individual differences.Key Questions• What are traits, and how do surface and source traits differ?• What are three influential trait theories, and how might heredity affectpersonality?• What are key strengths and weaknesses of trait theories of personality?Suppose we asked you to describe the personality of a close friend. How would youbegin? Would you describe her personality in terms of her unconscious conflicts, thecongruence of her self-concept, or her level of self-efficacy? Probably not. Instead,you’d probably generate a list of her personal characteristics, such as “outgoing,”“cheerful,” and “generous.” This rather commonsense approach to personality isshared by the trait theories.The trait approach to personality is very different from the theories we haveencountered thus far. The psychoanalytic, humanistic, and social cognitive theoriesemphasize the similarities among people. They focus on discovering the universalprocesses of motivation and development that explain human personality (Revelle,1995, 2007). Although these theories do deal with individual differences, they doso only indirectly. In contrast, the trait approach to personality focuses primarily ondescribing individual differences (Funder, 2001).Trait theorists view the person as being a unique combination of personalitycharacteristics or attributes, called traits. A trait is formally defined as a relativelystable, enduring predisposition to behave in a certain way. A trait theory of personality,then, is one that focuses on identifying, describing, and measuring individualdifferences in behavioral predispositions. Think back to our description of the twins,Kenneth and Julian, in the chapter Prologue. You can probably readily identify some“Oh, God! Here comes little Miss Perky.’”©2005 Lee Lorenz from Cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved.