Theories Personality Psychology The Amount of Personality Traits That Exist By Kendra Cherry Kendra Cherry Facebook Twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is the author of the "Everything Psychology Book (2nd Edition)" and has written thousands of articles on diverse psychology topics. Kendra holds a Master of Science degree in education from Boise State University with a primary research interest in educational psychology and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Idaho State University with additional coursework in substance use and case management. Learn about our editorial process Updated on December 14, 2020 Fact checked Verywell Mind content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. Content is fact checked after it has been edited and before publication. Learn more. by Sean Blackburn Fact checked by Sean Blackburn LinkedIn Sean is a fact-checker and researcher with experience in sociology, field research, and data analytics. Learn about our editorial process Print Dimitri Otis / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Table of Contents How Many Personality Traits Exist? Allport: 1,000s of Traits Cattell: 16 Traits Eysenck: 3 Traits Modern View: 5 Dimensions How many personality traits do you think exist? How many personality traits can you list just off the top of your head? Outgoing, friendly, kind, cranky, lazy, mean. You can probably rattle off a lot of different descriptions that apply to personality, but do each of these really represent a specific personality trait? Psychologists have tried to determine just how many personality traits there might be, and the numbers vary dramatically from one expert to the next. For example, Gordon Allport suggested that there were more than 4,000 different personality traits while Hans Eysenck proposed that there were just three. Today, the most popular theory suggests that there are five broad dimensions of personality. Many of the terms that we might use to describe a person's personality would fall under one of these five core dimensions. So instead of thinking of personality as made up of thousands of different individual traits, many experts would suggest that it is made up of several broad groups that encompass all of these trait descriptors. How Many Personality Traits Exist? The trait theory of personality suggests that personality is composed of a number of broad traits. Outgoing, kind, aggressive, and energetic are just a few of the terms that might be used to describe some of these traits. But just how many different personality traits are there? There have been a number of different theories proposed over the years with regards to exactly how many traits there might be. The following are some of the estimates and theories put forth by different experts. Allport: 1,000s of Traits Psychologist Gordon Allport was one of the first to categorize these characteristics: He created a list of more than 4,000 personality traits. Allport grouped these traits into three different categories: cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits. Cardinal traits are those that are so dominant that they are expressed across situations and various parts of a person's life. This type of trait is considered rare.Central traits are the core traits that tend to remain relatively stable throughout life. Many trait theories of personality focus on these traits. These traits serve as the "building blocks" of personality.Secondary characteristics are those that emerge in certain situations. These can be inconsistent and may not remain stable over time. What Are Cardinal Traits? Cattell: 16 Traits Later, psychologist Raymond Cattell narrowed this expansive list down to 16. Using a statistical technique known as factor analysis, Cattell whittled down Allport's original list of approximately 4,000 traits to what Cattell called the 16 "source traits." He believed that these underlying traits were what influenced the behaviors that are referred to as personality. His list of 16 factors included apprehension, emotional stability, openness to change, self-reliance, and sensitivity. Each factor represents a dimension and he suggested that people could be high or low (or in the middle) with regards to a particular trait. Analyzing Personality Factors Eysenck: 3 Traits Psychologist Hans Eysenck narrowed the list of traits down even further, suggesting that there were just three. He believed that Cattell's system included too many similar traits and originally proposed that human personality could be explained using just two factors: extraversion/introversion and emotional stability/emotional instability. He later added a third factor known a psychoticism, which related to a person's tendency to be psychotic or sociopathic. Modern View: 5 Dimensions Today, one of the most popular theories is Costa and McRae's five-factor theory. Often referred to as "the big five," this theory suggests that there are five broad personality dimensions. Each dimension exists as a continuum and an individual's personality can lie at any point on that continuum for that particular trait. The five dimensions are: AgreeablenessConscientiousnessExtroversionNeuroticismOpenness As an example, if you listed traits such as cheerful, happy, kind, and helpful, those might fall under the broad categories of agreeableness and conscientiousness. Learn More About the Big 5 Personality Traits It is important to remember that each of these dimensions represents a continuum. People may be high in a dimension such as extroversion while they are low in a dimension such as neuroticism. It is where people fall on the continuum for each dimension that helps make up their unique personality. What Is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter? 1 Source Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Han S, Pistole MC. Big Five Personality Factors and Facets as Predictors of Openness to Diversity. J Psychol. 2017;151(8):752-766. doi:10.1080/00223980.2017.1393377 By Kendra Cherry Kendra Cherry, MS, is the author of the "Everything Psychology Book (2nd Edition)" and has written thousands of articles on diverse psychology topics. Kendra holds a Master of Science degree in education from Boise State University with a primary research interest in educational psychology and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Idaho State University with additional coursework in substance use and case management. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit