The study of traits has been of particular interest to psychologists since the early days of the discipline. Psychologists have traditionally been interested in determining which traits are genetic and which have been developed and can thus be changed. One of the first theories to address this was trait theory, which was introduced by psychologist Carl Jung. He believed that certain traits were genetically determined before birth. He called these traits temperaments. Jung's theory led to the development of the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory personality test, which divides traits into wide categories, such as introverts vs. extroverts, or judging, feeling or perceiving personalities. Together, these personality traits present a psychological snapshot of a person's combination of traits.
Learning theory posits that there are no inborn, genetically determined traits; all of our traits have been learned at some point. There are, however, a number of different learning theories, all of which differ in opinion regarding how these traits are learned. These include behaviorist theories, cognitive theories, design-based theories, constructivist theories and humanistic theories. Each of these theories also branch off into various sub-theories and disciplines that approach the topic from different perspectives.
These different branches of learning theories are called paradigms. Behaviorism operates on the principle that traits are learned because of a response we make to a specific stimulus. Examples of this include the mice inside the so-called "Skinner box" and the classical conditioning model made famous by Pavlov's salivating dogs. Cognitivism proposes that behavior stems from the inner workings of our mind, and that only by understanding the brain will we truly be able to explain behavior. Constructivism theorizes that learning is an active process in which we construct our own knowledge rather than merely acquire it. Humanistic theories support that learning is a personal act of will in which the learner is trying to fulfill his potential.
The key difference between the various types of learning theories and trait theory is that the learning theories are based on the assumption that our behavior, traits and personality are learned. Trait theory, on the other hand, supports that some traits are indeed learned while others are genetically predetermined before birth. Furthermore, trait theory is concerned with categorizing and describing a person's personality based on his unique combination of personality traits.