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- [Girish] Hi, this is Girish Kishnani

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and you are watching "5 Minute Learnings."

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Welcome to the eighth video
in the series on personality.

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Today, we will explore the
trait theories of personality.

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The trait theory of personality
suggests that people have

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certain basic traits or dispositions,

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and it is the strength and
intensity of those traits

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that account for personality differences.

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The trait approach to personality

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is one of the major theoretical areas

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in the study of personality.

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A trait is a consistent,
stable characteristic

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that causes individuals
to behave in certain ways.

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It varies from person to person.

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The outlook towards personality
and how traits are defined

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has evolved over time.

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Unlike many other theories of personality,

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such as psychoanalytic
or humanistic theories,

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the trait approach to personality

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is focused on differences
between individuals.

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The combination and
interaction of various traits

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is unique to each person.

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Trait theory is focused on identifying

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and measuring these individual
personality characteristics.

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If someone asked you to describe

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a close friend's personality,

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what kind of things would you say?

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A few things that might come to mind

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are descriptive terms
such as outgoing, kind,

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and even-tempered.

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All of these represent personality traits.

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The first trait theory

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was proposed by psychologist
Gordon Allport in 1936.

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Allport found that one
English language dictionary

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contained more than 4,000 words

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describing different personality traits.

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He categorized these
traits into three levels:

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cardinal, central, and secondary.

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Cardinal traits.

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Allport suggested that cardinal traits

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are rare and dominating,

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usually developing later in life.

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They tend to define a
person to such an extent

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that their names become
synonymous with their personality.

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Examples include descriptive terms

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such as narcissistic and Christ-like.

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Central traits.

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These general characteristics

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form basic personality foundations.

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While central traits are not as dominating

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as cardinal traits,

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they describe the major characteristics

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you might use to describe another person,

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such as intelligent, honest, shy,

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and anxious refer to central traits.

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Secondary traits.

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Secondary traits are sometimes related

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to attitudes or preferences.

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They often appear only
in certain situations

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or under specific circumstances.

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Some examples include
public speaking anxiety

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or impatience while waiting in line.

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Cattell's 16-factor personality model.

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Trait theorist Raymond Cattell

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reduced the number of
main personality traits

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from Allport's initial list
of over 4,000 down to 171.

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He did so primarily by
eliminating uncommon traits

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and combining common characteristics.

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Next, Cattell rated a
large sample of individuals

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for these 171 different traits.

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Using a statistical technique
known as factor analysis,

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he identified closely related terms

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and eventually reduced his list

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to 16 key personality traits.

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Among them are dominance, perfectionism,

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reasoning, and self-reliance.

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According to Cattell, these 16 traits

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are the source of all human personalities.

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He also developed

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one of the most widely used
personality assessments,

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the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire.

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Eysenck's three dimensions of personality.

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British psychologist Hans Eysenck

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believed that personality
has a biological basis,

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developing a model of personality

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based on just three universal traits.

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Introversion/extroversion.

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Introversion involves directing attention

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to inner experiences,

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while extroversion relates
to focusing attention outward

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onto other people and the environment.

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A person high in introversion
might be quiet and reserved,

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while an individual high in extroversion

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might be sociable and outgoing.

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Neuroticism/emotional stability.

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This dimension of Eysenck's trait theory

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is related to moodiness
versus being even-tempered.

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The trait of neuroticism refers
to an individual's tendency

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to become upset or emotional,

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while stability refers to the tendency

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to remain emotionally constant.

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Psychoticism.

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Later, after studying
individuals with mental illness,

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Eysenck added a personality
dimension he called psychoticism

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to his trait theory.

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Individuals who are high in this trait

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tend to have difficulty
dealing with reality

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and may be antisocial, hostile,

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non-empathetic, and manipulative.

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Five factor model of personality.

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Both Cattell's and Eysenck's theories

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have been the subject of
considerable research.

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This has led some theorists to believe

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that Cattell focused on too many traits

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while Eysenck focused on too few.

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As a result, a new trait theory,

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often referred to as the
Big Five theory, emerged.

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This five-factor model of personality

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represents five core traits that interact

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to form human personality.

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While researchers often disagree

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about the exact labels for each dimension,

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they are commonly
described as agreeableness:

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level of cooperation
and caring for others,

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conscientiousness:

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level of thoughtfulness and structure,

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extroversion:

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level of socialness and
emotional expressiveness,

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neuroticism: level of mood stability

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and emotional resilience,

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openness: level of
adventure and creativity.

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Some of the most common
criticisms of trait theory

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center on the fact that traits

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are often poor predictors of behavior.

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While an individual may score high

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on assessments of a specific trait,

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they may not always behave
that way in every situation.

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Another problem is that trait theories

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do not address how or why

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individual differences in
personality develop or emerge.

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We all have certain traits
that dominate our personality

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along with various
permutations and combinations

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that can arise in different situations.

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Also, our traits can change over time

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and be shaped by our experiences.

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That's all for today.

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In the next video, we
shall continue to explore

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more related topics on trait theories.

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Hope you found this video helpful.

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