In this article we review studies of situations and situation taxonomies fr
om the perspective of trait psychology. Objections to trait psychology are
discussed and several refutations are recapitulated The relation between tr
aits and situations is analysed, as well as the affinity that both concepts
demonstrate. Some taxonomic properties ave discussed, exemplified by one o
f the most common and detailed trait taxonomies to date, the Abridged Big F
ive Circumplex, and by seven situation taxonomies. Personality psychologist
s, besides trait psychologists, have stressed the need to no longer debate
the existence of traits, but to specify their nature with increasing precis
ion in different situations. What is needed is a taxonomy of personality ch
aracteristics that systematically incorporates situational information, so
that traits can be questioned in their context, that is, in a context that
allows for individual differences in the expression of trait-relevant behav
iour. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.