Taxonomies of situations from a trait psychological perspective. A review

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.