PSYB30H3 Final: PSYB30-Chapter 2 Notes .docx
Document Summary
These approaches have been called idiographic and nomothetic. Two approaches to the study of personality traits. In the idiographic approach the goal is to understand the personality of a single individual with all of his or her quirks or idiosyncrasies and characteristics that make them unique. General means a trait is universal or applicable to other people, whereas specific means a trait is more unique to single individuals. Studying individual personalities: the idiographic approach: using the idiographic approach to personality allport identified three different kinds of traits: central traits, secondary traits, and cardinal traits. Central traits: are traits that are of major importance in understanding the person. They are the 5 or 10 traits that people who know you might mention in your letter of recommendation or to someone who doesn"t know you when describing you. Secondary traits: are traits of lesser importance, less consistently displayed or seldom displayed or only revealed so that only very close friends might notice.
