What Are Cardinal Traits of Personality?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistory of Cardinal TraitsExamplesWhat Causes Cardinal Traits?Potential Pitfalls of Cardinal TraitsCurrent Views of Personality TraitsFinding Your Own Cardinal Traits

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

History of Cardinal Traits

Examples

What Causes Cardinal Traits?

Potential Pitfalls of Cardinal Traits

Current Views of Personality Traits

Finding Your Own Cardinal Traits

Close

Cardinal traits dominate an individual’spersonalityto the point that the individual becomes known for them. While cardinal traits are the most dominantpersonality traits, they are also the rarest. Such traits are so intrinsically tied to an individual’s personality that the person becomes almost synonymous with those qualities.

At a GlanceMother Teresa’s charitableness, Einstein’s intelligence, and Abraham Lincoln’s honesty are a few well-known examples of cardinal traits. These personality traits are so strong that a person’s very name becomes almost synonymous with these qualities.In reality, all people are a mixture of traits and characteristics. While people might be known for a certain quality, it’s important to remember that there are many facets that make up each person’s unique personality.

At a Glance

Mother Teresa’s charitableness, Einstein’s intelligence, and Abraham Lincoln’s honesty are a few well-known examples of cardinal traits. These personality traits are so strong that a person’s very name becomes almost synonymous with these qualities.In reality, all people are a mixture of traits and characteristics. While people might be known for a certain quality, it’s important to remember that there are many facets that make up each person’s unique personality.

Mother Teresa’s charitableness, Einstein’s intelligence, and Abraham Lincoln’s honesty are a few well-known examples of cardinal traits. These personality traits are so strong that a person’s very name becomes almost synonymous with these qualities.

In reality, all people are a mixture of traits and characteristics. While people might be known for a certain quality, it’s important to remember that there are many facets that make up each person’s unique personality.

PsychologistGordon Allport, one of the founders ofpersonality psychology, was interested in discovering justhow many personality traits exist. After combing through a dictionary for terms related to personality, he suggested that there were more than 4,000 different terms describing personality traits. Allport then developed three different categories of personality traits: cardinal, central, and secondary.

Central Personality Traits

Allport believed that central traits are much more common than cardinal traits 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, such as honest, friendly, generous, or anxious, those are probably your central traits.

Allport suggested that most people have about five to ten central traits. He also theorized that most people have many of these traits to a certain degree.

Secondary Traits

Secondary traits 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 under a lot of pressure. Or a normally calm person might become very anxious when faced with speaking in public.

Examples of Cardinal Traits

Most people do not have a cardinal trait, but a combination of several central traits. However, famous or infamous historical figures are often thought of in terms of their cardinal traits. Some examples include:

You can also find examples of cardinal traits in literature and myth. Ebenezer Scrooge portrayed the cardinal trait of greediness. Don Juan was so renowned for his sexual exploits that his name became a synonym for heartbreaker and libertine.

Narcissus, of Greek mythology, was so enamored with his own reflection that his name became the root of the termnarcissism, or excessive self-obsession. Other words have evolved from the names of people who personify traits, such asMachiavellian, Christ-like, and sadist (from the Marquis de Sade).

According to these studies, genetics account for about 30% to 60% of personality.

One study found that the interactions between more than 700 genes strongly influence certain personality traits. The study also suggests that this impact is more significant than environmental or cultural influences.

But it’s important to remember that personality is complex, and the environment and our life experiences also play a pivotal part in shaping who we are.Parenting styles, upbringing, social relationships, and other experiences interact with inherited tendencies to shape how personality develops and is expressed.

Cardinal traits are defining characteristics; one quality that is considered to represent a person. It is hard to look at someone like Albert Einstein and think of him as anything other than agenius. But of course, he was a human like everyone else, with a unique and multi-faceted personality.

It is difficult and usually unfair to reduce any person to a single trait or quality.

Thetrait theories of personalitysuggest that each person’s personality is composed of a number of different characteristics. It is rare for anyone to have a single cardinal trait that defines them.

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 approximatelyfive broad dimensions.They are:

According to this theory, everyone has aspects of these five core personality factors. But they exist on a spectrum. Where you land on the spectrum for each factor is what makes up your personality.

Allport believed that cardinal traits were rare and modern psychologists believe that personality is made up of broad traits that exist on a continuum. Understanding your own personality traits can be a great way to build personal insight and self-awareness.

So if you are curious about your own cardinal traits, consider whether there seems to be a quality that stands out more than others. If you asked someone to describe you in one word, what would it be? If one characteristic stands out more than any other, that might just be your cardinal trait.

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schultz DP, Schultz SE.Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning.Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E.Whole Trait Theory.J Res Pers. 2015;56:82–92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009Zwir I, Arnedo J, Del-Val C, et al.Uncovering the complex genetics of human character.Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(10):2295-2312. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0263-6McCrea WH.Prof. Albert Einstein, For.Mem.R.S.Nature. 1955;175(4465):925-926. doi:10.1038/175925a0Goldberg LR.An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure.J Pers Social Psychol.1990;59(6), 1216–1229. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1216

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schultz DP, Schultz SE.Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning.Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E.Whole Trait Theory.J Res Pers. 2015;56:82–92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009Zwir I, Arnedo J, Del-Val C, et al.Uncovering the complex genetics of human character.Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(10):2295-2312. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0263-6McCrea WH.Prof. Albert Einstein, For.Mem.R.S.Nature. 1955;175(4465):925-926. doi:10.1038/175925a0Goldberg LR.An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure.J Pers Social Psychol.1990;59(6), 1216–1229. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1216

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Schultz DP, Schultz SE.Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning.Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E.Whole Trait Theory.J Res Pers. 2015;56:82–92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009Zwir I, Arnedo J, Del-Val C, et al.Uncovering the complex genetics of human character.Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(10):2295-2312. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0263-6McCrea WH.Prof. Albert Einstein, For.Mem.R.S.Nature. 1955;175(4465):925-926. doi:10.1038/175925a0Goldberg LR.An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure.J Pers Social Psychol.1990;59(6), 1216–1229. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1216

Schultz DP, Schultz SE.Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning.

Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E.Whole Trait Theory.J Res Pers. 2015;56:82–92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009

Zwir I, Arnedo J, Del-Val C, et al.Uncovering the complex genetics of human character.Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(10):2295-2312. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0263-6

McCrea WH.Prof. Albert Einstein, For.Mem.R.S.Nature. 1955;175(4465):925-926. doi:10.1038/175925a0

Goldberg LR.An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure.J Pers Social Psychol.1990;59(6), 1216–1229. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1216

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?