Final answer:
Aptitudes are natural abilities that have been reinforced into proficiencies and are innate potentialities, which distinguishes them from skills, attitudes and traits. traits are the long-standing characteristics that define our personalities many of which have a genetic basis and contribute to behaviors like extroversion or agreeableness.
Step-by-step explanation:
Distinguishing personal characteristics, which are natural abilities that have been reinforced and honed into proficiency, can be described as aptitudes. Aptitudes differ from skills in that they are innate potentialities, whereas skills are abilities developed with practice. Traits, on the other hand, refer to the long-standing characteristics and patterns that cause individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways. They are often influenced by genetics and help form our personalities. For instance, the trait of extroversion describes how outgoing and social a person is.
The study of personality in the field of psychology has moved towards a more quantitative approach, focusing on identifying and measuring traits like the "Big Five": conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion. Factors such as these are relatively consistent and may have a genetic component. An example of the genetic influence on personality traits can be seen in children inheriting certain characteristics from their parents, such as a particular temperament or level of agreeableness.