(Allport & Allport, 1922).
Gordon Allport's point-of-view is supported by David Charles Funder in his book, Personality Judgment, (1999). Funder says of Allport: "his work on the conceptualization and measurement of personality is today regarded as definitive of mainstream personality psychology" (Funder, 1999, p. 13).
Funder believes, as did Allport, that personality traits are real attributes of individuals. The focus of Funder's research carries on with Allport's emphasis on the importance of identifying personality traits (trait theory). He has created what he calls the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM) which says that accurate personality judgment is the result of a four-stage, social-cognitive process. His resultant point is that accurate personality judgment is very difficult.
Like Allport, Funder's research is working towards both a theory and practical application of an explanation regarding why people are accurate sometimes and inaccurate at other times in judging...
Much of this personality trait identification can be put to practical application in the modern day, such as a Human Resources manager predicting how well a potential employee might accomplish a certain position within the company.
Trait theory identifies real, interesting, and sometimes hidden, information about people.
Bibliography
Allport, G.W., & Allport, F.H. (1922). Personality Traits: Their Classification and Measurement (article). Journal of Abnormal Psychology edited by Morton Prince (peer-reviewed), 6-40.
Funder, D.C. (1999). Personality judgment: a realistic approach to person perception. St. Louis, MO: Academic Press (peer-reviewed).
