Shared by most members of culture. Show how people from a particular nation or culture are similar, or which traits the culture emphasizes. In American culture, for example, competitiveness is a fairly common trait. Among the Hopi of Northern Arizona, it is a relatively rare trait. Individual traits are each person s unique qualities.
Cardinal trait is so basic that all of a person s activities can be traced to the trait s existence.
An overriding factor in the life of Albert Schweitzer was reverence for every living thing. Abraham Lincoln s personality was dominated by the cardinal trait of honesty. Few people have cardinal traits. Central traits are the basic building blocks of personality. A surprising small number of central traits are enough to capture the essence of a person.