Theories Personality Psychology The Cardinal Traits of Personality By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial process Kendra Cherry Fact checked by Fact checked by Shereen Lehman, MS on May 15, 2020 Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig). Learn about our editorial process Shereen Lehman, MS Updated on December 10, 2020 Print Tetra Images / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Cardinal Traits Central Traits Secondary Traits Cardinal traits are those that dominate an individual’s personality to the point that the individual becomes known for them. Don Juan, for example, was so renowned for his sexual exploits that his name became a synonym for heartbreaker and libertine. The young Narcissus of Greek mythology was so enamored with his own reflection that his name became the root of the term narcissism or excessive self-obsession. Psychologist Gordon Allport was interested in discovering just how many personality traits exist. After combing through an English-language dictionary for terms related to personality, he suggested that there were more than 4,000 different terms describing personality traits. After analyzing these terms, he developed three different categories that each term could fall into. Cardinal Traits Cardinal traits were the most dominant, but also the rarest. Such traits are so intrinsically tied to an individual's personality that the person becomes almost synonymous with those qualities. Cardinal traits often develop later in life and serve to shape almost all aspects of an individual's purpose, behavior, and attitudes. Historical figures are often thought of in terms of their cardinal traits. Some examples include: Mother Teresa is strongly associated with goodness and charity. Today, her name is virtually synonymous with those traits.Adolph Hitler is associated with evil, and his name evokes the embodiment of ruthlessness and depravity.Einstein is known for his genius, and today his name is often used as a synonym for brilliance.Machiavelli (ruthlessness)Christ-like (good, faithful, holy)Ebenezer Scrooge (greedy)Martin Luther King, Jr. (justice and equality)Abraham Lincoln (honesty)Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytical) Central Traits Allport believed that central traits are much more common and serve as the basic building blocks of most people’s personality. If you think of the major terms you might use to describe your overall character; then those are probably your central traits. You might describe yourself as smart, kind, and outgoing. Those are your central traits. Allport believed that most people have about five to ten central traits and that most people contain many of these traits to a certain degree. A few examples of central traits include honesty, friendliness, generosity, anxiety, and diligence. Secondary Traits The secondary traits were the third category of traits that Allport described. Such personality traits that tend to present themselves in certain situations. For example, you might normally be a pretty easy-going person, but you might become short-tempered when you find yourself under a lot of pressure. Such traits often reveal themselves only in certain situations. A normally cool, collected person, for example, might become very anxious when faced with speaking in public. A Word From Verywell While the cardinal traits are considered among the most dominant of characteristics, they are also quite rare. Few people are so ruled by a singular theme that shapes the course of their entire life. The trait theories of personality suggest that each person’s personality is composed of a number of different characteristics. While early conceptualizations of the trait approach suggested hundreds or even thousands of traits existed (such as Allport’s approach), modern ideas propose that personality is composed of approximately five broad dimensions. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources 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. Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E. Whole Trait Theory. 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