AbstractTwo studies were conducted to investigate differences in the types of traits used to describe familiar people. In the first study, adults were asked to make judgments about a variety of traits. This resulted in the identification of two types of traits, psychological (based on internal beliefs and abilities) and behavioral (based on behavioral characteristics). In Study 2, subjects (74 children aged 8 to 11) were asked to describe one liked and one disliked individual by circling 6 descriptors from a list of 30, including 10 psychological traits and 10 behavioral traits. Fourth and fifth graders, but not third graders, preferred psychological traits over behavioral traits. The use of behavioral traits decreased with age, while the use of psychological traits remained constant. Children preferred psychological traits when describing a liked other.