ABSTRACT
The trait approach starts from the premise that adults exhibit broad predispositions which are revealed though consistencies in behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Trait theorists agree that the components of human personality are organized into a hierarchy. The meaning of the factors can be illustrated using trait adjectives. The trait approach is concerned with specifying those underlying attributes with regard to which people differ from one another. Evidence for the importance of genetic contributions to the determination of personality is consistent with trait models of personality. The trait approach is not explanatory, and there is always a danger of circularity whereby a trait is used to explain the behavior from which it was originally inferred. The assumption that consistencies in behavior indicate stable underlying personality traits ignores the importance of situational factors, and there is an absence of theory to integrate traits into the broader picture of human functioning and to account for personality development and change.
