The biosocial nature of the personality trait

Personality traits must be studied subjectively. A rigidly objective approach is barren. But since every observer's reactions to and notions of a given individual's traits, i.e., his "schema," differ in terms of his own personality and his limited knowledge and prejudices, traits must be considered biosocial, rather than biophysical. This is especially true of personality traits. They depend on the context; they are ill-defined; they represent relative differences between the person and the particular social group. It is impossible rigidly to isolate or separate them from a person's total integrated reactivity. They overlap. Apparent inconsistencies in personality are due to the over-simplifications introduced by applying stereotyped trait names.