PSYB30H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Interpersonal Perception, Trait Theory, Conscientiousness
Document Summary
Words that describe traits, attributes of a person that are characteristic of a person and perhaps enduring over time. 3 fundamental questions guide those who study traits. Every field needs to define its key terms explicitly. Individuals differ in many ways that are both characteristic and enduring. Once the important traits have been identified, the next step is to formulate an organized scheme a taxonomy within which to assemble the individual traits. Traits are presumed to be internal in that individuals carry their desires, needs, and wants from one situation to next. Desires and needs are presumed to be causal in that they explain behaviour of individuals who possess them. Traits can lie dormant in the sense that the capacities remain present even when particular behaviours are not actually expressed. Traits in the sense of internal needs, drives, desires, and so on are presumed to exist, even in the absence of observable behavioural expressions.
