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Why Do Cardinal Traits Dominate Someone’s Personality?
According to Psychologist Gordon Allport
One of the pioneers of personality psychology, Gordon Allport proposed three types of classifications of personality traits. For instance, cardinal, central, and secondary traits. Among these, the cardinal traits are considered to be the most dominant and unusual type of traits.
Cardinal Traits of Personality
The cardinal traits are those traits that dominate a person’s personality to the extent that the person is only recognized for those traits. These traits are inherently connected with the individual’s personality. These traits are usually developed later in life and are responsible for shaping all aspects of a person’s ambitions, goals, attitude, and behaviour.
Some of the Examples of Cardinal Traits
Most of the time, people develop a mixture of some central traits rather than developing the cardinal trait. Yet, some historical or well-renowned people are recognized for their cardinal traits. Some of those people are:
- Mother Teresa: Good, charitable
- Adolf Hitler: Evil, depraved
- Albert Einstein: Brilliant
- Niccolo Machiavelli: Ruthless
