personality trait
a relatively stable, consistent, and enduring internal characteristic that is inferred from a pattern of behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and habits in the individual. The study of personality traits can be useful in summarizing, predicting, and explaining an individual’s conduct, and a variety of personality trait theories exist, among them Allport’s personality trait theory and Cattell’s personality trait theory. However, because such theories do not explain the proximal causes of behavior or provide a developmental account, they must be supplemented by dynamic and processing concepts, such as those involving motives, schemas, plans, and life stories.