Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Introduction to Personality Psychology01:29

Introduction to Personality Psychology

23.9K
Personality encompasses a set of enduring traits and behavioral patterns that define how individuals think, feel, and interact, ultimately shaping their unique identities. The concept of personality has deep historical roots, deriving from the Latin term "persona," which means "mask." This term initially referred to the roles played by actors in ancient theater, signifying the different facets individuals display in various contexts.
Early Theories of Personality
The study of...
23.9K
Implicit Personality Theories01:23

Implicit Personality Theories

533
Implicit personality theory explains how individuals make assumptions about the relationships between personality traits, behaviors, and character types. When people learn that someone possesses a particular trait, they tend to infer the presence of other related characteristics, forming a cohesive impression. This cognitive shortcut plays a crucial role in social interactions and interpersonal judgments.Central Traits and Their InfluenceSolomon Asch's seminal 1946 study highlighted the power...
533
Personality Theory by Eysenck and Eysenck01:29

Personality Theory by Eysenck and Eysenck

1.5K
Hans and Sybil Eysenck developed a widely recognized theory of personality, which emphasizes the role of temperament and genetically based differences in shaping individual traits. Their theory posits that biological factors primarily determine personality and can be understood through two main dimensions: extroversion/introversion and neuroticism/stability.
In the extroversion/introversion dimension, highly extroverted people are sociable, outgoing, and easily connect with others. In contrast,...
1.5K
Trait Theory by Gordon Allport01:20

Trait Theory by Gordon Allport

2.8K
Gordon Allport, often regarded as the father of American personality psychology, developed a theory that emphasized the importance of understanding people in their present lives rather than focusing on their past, as psychoanalysis did. Allport believed that personality should be studied in healthy, well-adjusted individuals rather than those with psychological problems. He was particularly interested in defining traits, which he saw as fundamental mental structures that guide behavior across...
2.8K
Cattell's 16 Personality Factors01:24

Cattell's 16 Personality Factors

2.8K
Raymond Cattell's trait theory offers a structured framework for understanding personality by distinguishing between two critical traits: surface and source traits. Surface traits are observable patterns of behavior, such as indecisiveness, anxiety, and irrational fears. These traits are less stable, varying across situations and over time. This means that they are less helpful in understanding the deeper aspects of an individual's personality.
In contrast, source traits are the...
2.8K
Five-Factor Theory of Personality01:29

Five-Factor Theory of Personality

2.1K
The five-factor model, often called the Big Five personality traits, is widely accepted in psychology as a comprehensive framework for understanding personality. These five traits — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism — are often remembered using the acronym OCEAN.
Openness reflects creativity, curiosity, and openness to new experiences. Individuals scoring high in openness are imaginative, have a wide range of interests, and are independent...
2.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Personality dynamics: Regulatory mechanisms and processes.

Journal of personality·2023
Same author

Status of the Trait Concept in Contemporary Personality Psychology: Are the Old Questions Still the Burning Questions?

Journal of personality·2018
Same journal

Narrating the Dark Night of the Soul: The Psychosocial Study of Low Point Stories.

Journal of personality·2026
Same journal

Identifying Robust Longitudinal Transactions Between Loneliness and the Big Five Personality Traits.

Journal of personality·2026
Same journal

The (Simp)le Truth About Excessive and Obsessive Romantic Behaviors in Men.

Journal of personality·2026
Same journal

The Robust Quadratic Association Between Resting Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Agreeableness: The Evidence From Two Samples in China.

Journal of personality·2026
Same journal

Ego, Elevation, and Exclusion: Bidirectional Prospective Associations Between Narcissism and Status and Inclusion.

Journal of personality·2026
Same journal

Life Narratives and the Ten Aspects of the Big Five Across Open-Ended and Targeted Prompts.

Journal of personality·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
07:30

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

8.0K

Personality Traits: Hierarchically Organized Systems.

Małgorzata Fajkowska1

  • 1Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences.

Journal of Personality
|March 16, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The traits as hierarchical systems (THS) model proposes personality traits are hierarchical, organized into mechanisms, structures, and behavioral markers. This framework offers a new perspective on understanding individual characteristics and their underlying processes.

Keywords:
Traits as hierarchical systemsfunctions of traitsstability/variability of traitstrait measurementtraits vs. related constructs

More Related Videos

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
08:12

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

3.0K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
07:30

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

8.0K
A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
08:12

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

3.0K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.0K

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Personality Science

Background:

  • Personality science requires novel theoretical frameworks for traits.
  • Existing models may not fully capture the complexity of personality structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and elaborate on the traits as hierarchical systems (THS) model.
  • To position personality traits as hierarchical systems with distinct organizational levels.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis and theoretical integration.
  • Discussion of trait stability, determinacy, measurement, and relations to behavior.

Main Results:

  • Personality traits are conceptualized as three-level hierarchical systems: mechanisms/processes, structures, and behavioral markers.
  • Traits function as underlying mechanisms for stimulation processing (reactive, regulative, self-regulative).

Conclusions:

  • The THS model provides a novel perspective on personality trait organization and function.
  • This approach addresses key questions regarding trait stability, measurement, and differentiation from other constructs.