Classifying Personality

Psychologists still debate the precise nature of personality dimensions but it is widely accepted that there are a handful of major dimensions, and that these can be subdivided into traits. Some psychologists see the traits as more important than the broader dimensions. Works should be classified at the lowest level possible. This both clarifies and reduces the risk that a term will lose precise meaning over time in the psychological literature. Note that most psychological traits are identified in terms of continua: hence in what follows, a ‘vs.’ separates one end of a continuum from the other.