11.7 Trait Theorists — From 4,500 Words to the OCEAN Model | Psychology 2e

• Understand the core idea that personality is made of foundational, characteristic ways of behaving.
• Learn about Gordon Allport's cardinal, central, and secondary traits for personality.
• Discover how Raymond Cattell used statistics to identify 16 core personality factors on a continuum.
• Explore Hans and Sybil Eysenck's theory that personality is genetic, based on two or three main spectrums.
• Learn about the widely accepted Five-Factor Model (OCEAN) and the HEXACO model.
• Understand that personality traits are stable but can change with age and life experiences.
• Up next in “Psychology 2e — Full Course (OpenStax) | Intro Psychology Lectures”11.8 Cultural Understandings of Personality — Does Location Shape Your Personality | Psychology 2e

How do psychologists turn something as invisible as personality into a measurable system? This lesson traces the evolution of trait theory — from Gordon Allport's dictionary scan of 4,500 personality words, through Cattell's 16-factor model and the Eysencks' biology-based dimensions, all the way to the widely accepted Big Five (OCEAN) framework. Along the way, you'll see why researchers kept refining their tools until they found a "Goldilocks zone" that's both practical and accurate. In this video: • Gordon Allport's three-category trait hierarchy: cardinal, central, and secondary traits — illustrated with the Ebenezer Scrooge example • Raymond Cattell's statistical narrowing from 4,500 words to 16 personality factors and the continuum-based 16PF assessment • Hans and Sybil Eysenck's biologically grounded model: extroversion/introversion and neuroticism/stability mapped onto the four ancient Greek temperaments • The Eysencks' later addition of a third dimension — psychoticism versus superego control — and critiques of being 'too narrow' • The Big Five (OCEAN) model as the modern middle ground: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism on a spectrum • The HEXACO model's addition of Honesty-Humility (H) to the five OCEAN traits • How Big Five traits shift across the lifespan — including the surprising finding that low agreeableness in men correlates with higher earnings #OpenStax #Psychology #PersonalityPsychology #BigFive #TraitTheory OpenStax Content adapted from "OpenStax Psychology 2e", by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Content based on Web Version: Apr 23, 2026. Read the textbook online https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e Music first girl talking to me. by ikkun (ex. Barradeen) | https://soundcloud.com/ikkunwastaken Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US