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Hardly anything in psychology is as irking as the trait concept. Psychologists and laypersons alike use primarily adjective trait-names to characterize and even concep­ tualize the individuals they encounter. There are more than a hundred well-defined personality traits and a great many questionnaires for their assessment, some of which are designed to assess the same or very similar traits. Little is known about their ontogenetic development and even less about their underlying dynamics. Psy­ choanalytic theory was invoked for explaining the psychodynamics underlying a few personality traits without, however, presenting sufficient empirical evidence for the validity of these interpretations. In a reductionistic vein, behaviorally inclined psy­ chologists have propounded the thesis that all traits are acquired behaviors. Yet, this view neither reduces the number of personality tests nor explains the resistance of traits to modification by means of reward and punishment. Dissatisfied with these and some other less well-known approaches to person­ ality traits, we decided to explore whether applying our psychosemantic theory of cognition to the trait concept would do better. The way we had to follow was anything but easy.

Hardly anything in psychology is as irking as the trait concept. Psychologists and laypersons alike use primarily adjective trait-names to characterize and even concep­ tualize the individuals they encounter. There are more than a hundred well-defined personality traits and a great many questionnaires for their assessment, some of which are designed to assess the same or very similar traits. Little is known about their ontogenetic development and even less about their underlying dynamics. Psy­ choanalytic theory was invoked for explaining the psychodynamics underlying a few personality traits without, however, presenting sufficient empirical evidence for the validity of these interpretations. In a reductionistic vein, behaviorally inclined psy­ chologists have propounded the thesis that all traits are acquired behaviors. Yet, this view neither reduces the number of personality tests nor explains the resistance of traits to modification by means of reward and punishment. Dissatisfied with these and some other less well-known approaches to person­ ality traits, we decided to explore whether applying our psychosemantic theory of cognition to the trait concept would do better. The way we had to follow was anything but easy.

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CONTENTS
I. THE TRAIT CONCEPT = 1
 1. Traits: The Embattled Concept = 3
  Doing Something about Traits = 3
  Traits in Personality = 4
  Traits in the Quagmire = 5
  The Eight Questions = 13
 2. Toward a Solution = 15
  The Underlying Level = 15
  The Meaning System = 17
   Basic Assumptions = 17
   Derivation of the Meaning System = 18
  The Meaning Variables = 19
   Meaning Dimensions = 19
   Types of Relation = 26
   Forms of Relation = 29
   Shifts in Referents = 29
  A Brief Interim Summary = 31
  The Meaning Profile = 32
  Zigzagging toward a Hypothesis = 34
   Active and Passive Mastery of Meaning Variables = 34
   Preferred Meaning Variables = 35
   On the Track of Function = 36
   Some Assumptions and the Hypotheses = 38
 3. The Trait and Its Constituents = 41
  The Major Finding = 41
  Meaning-Assignment Tendencies = 42
  Manifestations of Meaning-Assignment Tendencies = 43
  Meaning Preferences and Beliefs = 46
  Behavioral Manifestations of Meaning Preferences = 49
 4. Trait Dynamics = 61
  Meaning Assignment = 61
  Interaction within the Trait Pattern = 62
  Substitution = 65
  Structural Impacts = 66
  The Preservation of Reality Testing = 67
  A Glimpse of the Interaction between Traits = 69
  Traits and Behavior = 69
  Trait Dynamics and Interactions: A Brief Summary = 71
 5. Characteristics of the Trait Pattern = 73
  The Uses of Trait Characteristics = 73
  The Seven Trait Characteristics = 73
   1. Specificity = 74
   2. Two Levels of Generality = 74
   3. Structure = 76
   4. Meaning Variables of Different Kinds and Their Proportions in the Pattern = 79
   5. Positive and Negative Components = 81
   6. Number of Meaning Variables in the Pattern = 86
   7. Coherence = 87
  Concluding Remarks and an Extended Trait Definition = 88
 6. A Methodological Interlude = 91
  Purpose = 91
  Testing for Biases = 91
  Question 1: Is There a Bias Pro or Contra Any Particular Meaning Variable? = 92
  Question 2: Did the Characteristics of the Meaning System Bias the Distribution of the Meaning Variables in the Trait Patterns? = 92
  Question 3: Was There Any Bias in the Chances of Any Grouping of Meaning Variables to Be Included in the Trait Patterns? = 93
  Some General Conclusions = 96
 7. The Answers: A Summary of Contributions = 99
  Answering the Questions = 99
  Question 1. What Is a Trait and What Is the Epistemological and Existential Status of the Trait Concept? = 99
  Question 2. What Are the Typical Manifestations of Traits? = 101
  Question 3. What Are the Similarities or Differences between Traits as Well as between Traits and Related Concepts? = 103
  Question 4. What Are the Attributes of Traits? = 105
  Question 5. Are There Different Kinds of Traits? = 105
  Question 6. What Is the Structure of Traits? = 107
  Question 7. How Do Traits Function? = 108
  Question 8. What Is the Relation of Traits and Behavior? = 110
 8. Traits and Human Behavior = 111
  A Systems Approach = 111
  T he Cognitive Orientation Theory = 112
  Traits and Behavior Evocation = 118
  The Issue of Behavioral Consistency = 120
  Beyond the Trait-Behavior Relation: The Importance of a Trait Concept = 122
II. STUDIES ON TRAITS = 125
 9. Studies on Traits = 127
  Goals of the Studies = 127
  Order of Presentation = 129
  General Guiding Principles = 129
  The Studied Traits = 130
  Some Features of Method Common to the Studies = 131
  On the Track of Manifestations of Meaning Variables = 132
  Notes on Interactions = 135
  Study 1. Extroversion in Questionnaire and Meaning = 136
  Study 2. The Meaning Patterns of the California Psychological Inventory = 144
  Study 3. Meaning and Machiavellianism = 169
  Study 4. Need for Power and Some More Machiavellianism = 173
  Study 5. The Functionality of Machiavellians = 178
  Study 6. Cattell's Personality Factors as Patterns of Meaning Variables = 180
  Study 7. Different Kinds of Meaning Variables in Jungian Types = 202
  Study 8. Meaning and the Constellation of Approval Motive, Ego Strength, and Anality = 207
  Study 9. Cleanliness and Order = 213
   Part A: The Patterns of Meaning Variables = 213
   Part B: Preferences for Specific Meaning Values = 216
  Study 10. Hypochondriasis, Avarice, and Impulsivity = 218
  Study 11. The General Meaning Pattern of External-Internal Control = 223
  Study 12. The Meaning Patterns of Specific Subtypes of External and Internal Control = 227
   Part A: Defining Four Clusters of Externality and Internality = 227
   Part B: Testing the Four Clusters of Externality and Internality = 230
  Study 13. You Don't Have to Be Dogmatic to Be Authoritarian = 231
  Study 14. Meanings of Cognitive and Motor Activities = 237
  Study 15. The Different Meaning Patterns of Sensation Seeking = 246
  Study 16. Meaningful Choices of Subtypes of Sensation Seekers = 253
  Study 17. The Meaning Patterns of Sex-Role Conceptions (Bem Scale) = 256
  Study 18. The Three Meaningful Faces of Intolerance of Ambiguity = 260
  Study 19. The Three Clusters of Intolerance of Ambiguity = 264
  Study 20. The Meaning Profiles of Leadership Styles = 268
  Study 21. Meaning and the Eye of the Beholder = 272
  Study 22. Traits in Interaction = 283
III. HOW TO WORK WITH THE NEW TRAIT CONCEPT = 289
 10. Assessment of Personality Traits = 291
  Assessing All Traits by Means of the Meaning Questionnaire = 291
  The Procedure of Assessing Personality Traits by Means of the Meaning Questionnaire = 291
  Antitraits = 297
  Validation = 298
  Advantages of the Meaning-Based Trait Scores = 300
 11. Identifying Personality Traits = 303
  Importance of Identifying Traits = 303
  The Procedure for Identifying Traits = 303
  The Case of the MMPI: An Example of Applying the Procedure = 305
  The Case of the PRF = 310
  Other Applications of the Method for Identifying Traits = 310
 12. Characterizing Trait Scales and Factors = 317
  Identifying the General Class of Traits = 317
  Comparing Traits = 321
  Characterizing Factors = 323
 13. Meaning-Based Validation of Personality Traits = 325
  Traits and Manifestations = 325
  Validating by Meaning = 325
  The Procedure of Meaning-Based Validation = 327
  Meaning-Based Validation and Other Validation Methods = 328
  Validation as a Continuing Process = 328
  Postscript = 331
 Appendixes = 333
  Appendix A. The Meaning Variables: List and Code = 335
  Appendix B. Summary of Manifestations of Meaning Variables = 339
  Appendix C. General Instructions for Coding the Meaning Questionnaire = 371
References = 375
Index = 395