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12 - On Personality Dimensions and Disorders

Is a Trait-Based Approach Really the Answer?

from Part III - Novel Conceptual Approaches to Personality Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2025

By
Simon Boag
Edited by
Konrad Banicki and
Peter Zachar
Konrad Banicki
Affiliation:
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Peter Zachar
Affiliation:
Auburn University, Montgomery
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Summary

There is general agreement that the categorical approach to personality disorders is flawed, and many propose that the Five Factor Model (FFM) provides a sound alternative dimensional model of normal personality that can be applied to helping understand personality pathology. There are, however, logical concerns as to whether trait-based approaches can provide a coherent theoretical framework for comprehending personality pathology. This chapter evaluates the theoretical soundness of the FFM trait approach as a basis for comprehending personality pathology. The chapter first examines the conceptual standing of traits in relation to the generally under-appreciated conceptual distinction between nonrelational properties and relations. The theoretical problems of reification and circular explanation are then used to demonstrate that although traits might help discern individual differences within the population, they are logically precluded from explaining personality pathology. An alternative theoretical approach for understanding personality is proposed based on integrating motivational, cognitive, and affective processes and recognizing the importance of philosophical enquiry for identifying logical commitments that any theory of personality must satisfy. This chapter further highlights the necessity for rigorous theoretical research in scientific psychology to effectively address personality pathology.

Keywords

metapsychologypersonality pathologypersonality traitsrelationsreification

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Conceptualizing Personality Disorder
Perspectives from Philosophy, Psychological Science, and Psychiatry
 , pp. 215 - 233
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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