A personality can be described by its position on a number of continuous dimensions or scales, each of which represents a trait an individual can on a scale of intelligence, emotional stability, aggressiveness, creativeness, or any of a number of other dimensions.
A trait, refers to any characteristic in which one individual differs from another in a relatively permanent and consistent way. When we informally describe ourselves and others by such adjectives as friendly, cautions, and excitable, intelligent, or anxious, trait terms is used.