PSYC 231 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Gordon Allport, Nomothetic, The Four Temperaments (Ballet)

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 231
• Professor: Mike Condra/ Ada Mullett

Document Summary

Trait: typical manifestation of thought, emotion, and behaviour. These may vary across contexts, but are largely stable: continuum. Two views of traits: behavioural output of psychological factors such as thoughts and emotions, causal factors that give rise to behaviour. Approaches to studying traits, as described by gordon allport: idiographic & nomothetic. Idiographic approach: case studies: understanding the individual. Balance between idiographic and nomothetic is similar to that of medicine. Practice requires the idiographic approach, but understanding of the larger theoretical background calls upon the nomothetic approach. Hans eysenck reconciled the idiographic and nomothetic approaches by classifying the traits of individuals along a hierarchy of understood personality variables: from universal (top) to unique (bottom) Inferring personality from behaviours: responses are behaviours that have been observed at least once, habits are apparent when a behaviour is repeatedly demonstrated, traits are apparent habits are consistent across situations. Central traits: traits that are central to the personality and an individual"s self-identity.