Dispositional

Dispositional Personality Theories

Dispositional theories are a mixture of numerous opinions about human personality. The very basis of dispositional theory is the fact that individual genetics and heritage encompass relatively lasting effects on how an individual presents him or herself to humanity. Theorists like Allport, considered dispositional characteristics of individual surface traits and factors in their personality theories. Allport believes that freedom and people should be treated as individuals.

Allport emphasized how a person thinks and that this person’s behavior defined his or her personality as the dynamic organization within the individual. The factor theory has many personality traits. That has started from 35 traits to the magic five that determine a person’s personality type. The five are extraversion, amicability, meticulousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.

To describe dispositional theories and their effect on individual personalities, one must start with the definition of dispositional. Disposition is defined as, “the predominant tendency of one’s spirit; characteristic or attitude (Definitions.net, 2012)”.To understand disposition, theories were developed try to and understand human personalities. Each theorist had their own belief of what the structure of personality was. “To Allport, the most important structures are those that permit the description of the person in terms of individual characteristics, and he called these individual characteristics personal dispositions (Feist & Feist, 2009, Pg. 381)”.

Allport’s theory consisted of cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits. Cardinal dispositions are so prevailing that they cannot be concealed. The individual’s that have this trait are always remembered for this single feature. Second is the central disposition that states a person’s daily routine. An example of this would be if a mother answered the questions that were asked about her...