Raymond Cattell Trait Theory

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Raymond Cattell Trait Theory of Personality Definition of Personality The attempt has been made by many theorists to put forth the definition of personality. McClelland (1951) defined personality as “the most adequate conceptualization of a person’s behaviour in all its detail.” The Cohen and Swerdlik defined personality as “an individual’s unique constellation of psychological traits and states”. The definition given by Cohen and Swerdlik are flexible enough to involve a wide variety of variables on which individual may differ, such as, values, interests, attitudes, world view, acculturation, personal identity, send of humour, and cognitive and behavioural styles. What is Trait Theory? The trait theory makes attempt to describe the characteristic that makes up human personality. It is also called as dispositional theory. According to trait theorist, a trait is a consistent, enduring way of thinking feeling or behaving. Thus, it is useful in describing human personality. The attempt had been made by psychologists to list the number of traits that are important, but these lists differ from psychologist to psychologist. But each theorist defines personality trait along several broad type of spectrum. The theorist Gordon Allport, Raymond Cattell and Han Eysenck has made attempt to describe the trait that makes up personality. Brief History of Cattell Raymond Bernard Cattell was born in 1905 in Staffordshire, England. He obtained a B. Sc degree in chemistry from the University of London in 1924. Disregarding the advice of friends and family member Cattell then turned to Psychology and obtained a PhD degree at the same university in 1929. He served as research assistant to Charles Spearman during his years of graduate study. Cattell did a number of studies in personality and acquired clinical experience while directing a child guidance clinic. He held position at
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