What is a Personality Theory?

• An explanation of essential psychological traits and of their structures and interrelationships.

• There is a wide range of psychological theories about the way personality works. Most specific theories can be grouped into one of the following classes of theories.

Trait Theories

• According to the dignostic and statisical manual of the American Psychiatric Association, personality traits are "Prominant aspects of personality that are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts...". In other words: persons have certain characteristics which partly determine their behavior. For example, a friendly person is likely to generally listen well and show interest in others.

• Raymond Cattell's research propagated a two-tired personality structure with fifteen "primary factors" adn five "secondary factors". Building on the work of Cattell and others, Lewis Goldberg proposed a five dimension personality model, nicknamed the "Big Five".

Extroversion

• Agreeableness

• Conscientiousness

• Emotional Stability

• Intellect