AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Poor predictor of the future. Does not address development of the traits. This trait theory is stuck explaining about present events rather than looking towards the past or future.

Detailed explanation-2: -The main flaw of Allport’s trait theory of personality is that it is not directly based on empirical research; he published very little evidence to support his theory. In his first publication, he collaborated with his brother Floyd Allport to study the central characteristics of 55 male college students.

Detailed explanation-3: -The identification of a trait can vary from one researcher to the next. This makes traits difficult to measure when applying this theory. Trait theory also doesn’t explain what causes individuals with a certain trait to behave one way in some situations while behaving a different way in another.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are two main limitations to Trait Theory of Personality: Correlations do not equal Causation-the categorization is based on correlational data, so specific traits cannot strictly predict behavior because they do not cause the behavior.

Detailed explanation-5: -1) The approach has not fixed a definitive list of leadership traits and the list that has emerged seems endless. 2) The approach has failed to take situations into account. 3) There has much subjective interpretation of the meaning of the data and data is not always based on reliable research.