Trait and Type Theories: Hippocrates, Sheldon, Allport, Cattell, Eysenck & The Big Five

1. Conceptual Architecture & Taxonomy of Personality

Etymology and Definitions

The word personality originates from the Latin noun persona, referring to the theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in ancient Greek and Roman dramas to project a specific role.

Major Definitional Approaches in Scientific Psychology:

• Omnibus Definition: Simply lists separate habits or behaviors without integrating them (Morton Prince).
• Integrative Definition: Emphasizes organization and integration of distinct traits (Warren & Carmichael).
• Gordon W. Allport’s Canonical Definition (1937, 1961 Revision):

  "Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought." (1961 revision of the 1937 phrase 'unique adjustments to his environment').

  • Dynamic Organization: Constantly evolving and changing, yet integrated and patterned.
  • Psychophysical Systems: Neither purely mental nor purely biological; inextricably intertwined.
  • Determine: Personality traits are real neuropsychic structures that actively drive and direct behavior.

2. Classical Type Theories of Personality

A. Hippocrates and Galen: Humoral Typology

Hippocrates (400 BCE), later expanded by Roman physician Galen (150 CE), proposed that human temperament is determined by the predominant balance of four bodily fluid humors:

1. Sanguine (Blood): Warm-hearted, optimistic, cheerful, outgoing, enthusiastic.
2. Choleric (Yellow Bile): Irritable, hot-tempered, ambitious, aggressive, easily angered.
3. Melancholic (Black Bile): Depressive, sad, somber, anxious, pessimistic, contemplative.
4. Phlegmatic (Phlegm): Calm, sluggish, passive, unemotional, apathetic, reliable.

B. Ernst Kretschmer: Morphological Typology (1925)

Correlated human physical body builds (Körperbau) with psychiatric disorders:

1. Pyknic (Fat, round, soft): Associated with Cycloid temperament $\to$ prone to Manic-Depressive Psychosis (Bipolar Disorder).
2. Asthenic / Leptosomatic (Lean, thin, tall, narrow): Associated with Schizoid temperament $\to$ prone to Schizophrenia.
3. Athletic (Muscular, broad-shouldered, strong bones): Balanced, energetic $\to$ moderate psychiatric stability.
4. Dysplastic (Disproportionate / Mixed bodily deformities): High incidence of endocrine and severe neurodevelopmental disorders.

C. William H. Sheldon: Somatotype Theory (1942)

Rated physical body build and temperament along three 7-point scales (e.g., pure extreme = $7-1-1$):

D. Contemporary Medical Typologies: Types A, B, C, and D

• Type A (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974): Highly competitive, chronic time urgency, impatient, aggressive, and hostile. Exhibits high sympathetic reactivity $\to$ significant risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
• Type B: Relaxed, patient, non-competitive, easygoing, low cardiovascular stress vulnerability.
• Type C (Temoshok, 1987): Passively appeasing, conflict-avoidant, suppresses negative emotions (especially anger) $\to$ elevated vulnerability to cancer and immune dysfunction.
• Type D (Denollet, 1996): "Distressed" personality characterized by joint presence of Negative Affectivity (worry, gloom) and Social Inhibition (hiding emotions) $\to$ high post-myocardial infarction mortality.

3. Gordon W. Allport: The Trait / Dispositional Theory (1937, 1961)

Known as the father of modern trait psychology, Gordon Allport emphasized the uniqueness of the individual (Idiographic Approach) over generalized group averages (Nomothetic Approach).

A. Core Distinctions

• Common Traits: Culturally shared dimensional traits on which people can be compared nomothetically (e.g., extraversion, assertiveness).
• Personal Dispositions: Unique neuropsychic characteristics specific to that individual alone.

B. The Concept of the "Proprium" (The Self)

Allport rejected the term "ego," coining The Proprium to denote all aspects of personality that make for inward unity and selfhood. Develops across 7 developmental stages:

1. Bodily Self (Infancy: sensation of physical warmth and boundaries)
2. Self-Identity (Continuity of existence; language acquisition)
3. Self-Esteem (Pride in autonomous achievements)
4. Extension of Self (Possessions: "my toy, my family")
5. Self-Image (Awareness of expectations: good vs. bad self)
6. Self as Rational Coper (Problem-solving and intellectual strategies)
7. Propriate Striving (Adolescence: formulation of long-term goals and life purposes).

C. Functional Autonomy of Motives

One of Allport’s most revolutionary doctrines: Adult motives are independent of their historical origins in early childhood.

• Perseverative Functional Autonomy: Circular, repetitive physical habits and addictions maintained without external reinforcement (e.g., a smoker lighting up; an alcoholic drinking).
• Propriate Functional Autonomy: Self-sustaining, mature motives deeply integrated into the proprium (e.g., an individual who initially trained as a cabinetmaker solely to earn money, but now spends nights handcrafting furniture out of intrinsic love for artistic excellence).