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This chapter provides a summary of the trait/state conundrum by first outlining the most important considerations from psychology. It summarizes the trait/state perspective in applied linguistics by outlining the research efforts in relation to four individual difference (ID) variables: anxiety, motivation, aptitude, and creativity. Anxiety is an ID variable where the trait and state distinction was apparent from relatively early on within the field of psychology. Research into language learning motivation is concerned with the investigation of the amount of energy and effort students are willing to invest into learning an additional language. Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field with several different traditions and varied research approaches and methods, within which a wide range of individual difference variables are studied. Language learning aptitude has been traditionally considered and conceptualized as one of the …