Differentiate between Peripheral and Propriate Motives as discussed by Gordon Allport:
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Central Traits and Peripheral Traits Definition
A central trait is an attribute in someone’s personality that is considered particularly meaningful, in that its presence or absence signals the presence or absence of other traits. For example, if a person has a warm personality, it usually means that he or she is also friendly, courteous, cheerful, and outgoing—among many other possible traits. A peripheral trait is one whose presence or absence does not imply many other characteristics. For example, if a person is sarcastic, it might imply that he or she is cynical about the world or has a dark sense of humor—but not much else.
Usage and Implications of Central Traits and Peripheral Traits
The notion of central versus peripheral traits appears emerges in three related, but separate, areas of psychology.
Descriptions of Personality
The first usage of these terms crops up in descriptions of an individual’s personality. Gordon Allport asserted that an individual’s personality often contained between five to ten central traits that organized and influenced much of that person’s behavior. What those five to ten traits were, however, differed from individual to individual, but if those traits could be identified, an observer could then predict how the person would respond in a wide variety of situations. At times, Allport conceded, a person’s behavior might be dependent on more peripheral traits (which he termed secondary traits), but the operation of these traits would be much narrower than that of a person’s central attributes.
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