Personality Psychology Introduction to Personality Personality Defined Personality

Personality Psychology Introduction to Personality

Personality Defined Personality is the set of l psychological traits and mechanisms l within the individual l that is organized and relatively enduring and l that influences his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the environment.

Personality Defined Personality is a l dynamic organization, l inside the person, l of psychophysical systems that create l the person's characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings

Personality Defined This definition makes several points: Personality l has organization l is active, it has processes of some sort l is a psychological concept, but is tied to the physical body l is a causal force…it helps determine how the person relates to the world l shows up in patterns…it has consistency l is displayed in many ways (Carver, Scheier, Allport)

What is a Theory? Theory Defined l l A theory is a model of reality that helps us to understand, explain, predict, and control that reality. A theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses.

A Good Theory A useful theory must l Generate Research - both descriptive research and hypothesis testing, l Be Falsifiable; that is, research findings should be able to either support or refute theory, l Organize Data into an intelligible framework and integrate new information into its structure; l Guide Action, or provide the practitioner with a road map for making day-to-day decisions; l Be Internally Consistent and have a set of operational definitions; and l Be Parsimonious, or as simple as possible.

Why Different Theories? l l Psychologists and other scientists generate a variety of theories because they have different life experiences and different ways of looking at the same data. Different theories may useful in different situations.

Major Questions a Personality Theory Attempts to Answer l l Developmental-Historical Question l How did the person come to behave as he or she does now? What were the causes or the beginnings of the person? Predictions-Consistency Question l Will this person behave similarly in similar situations at a later time? Uniqueness-Generality Question l When are we unique and when are we the same? Content/Process l "Personality is something that does something" Allport.

Pitfall of Theories l l l Ethnocentrism Egocentrism Dogmatism Misunderstandings Evidence (Lack of)

Basic Assumptions Concerning Human Nature l l l Heredity … Environment (? ) Free Will … Determinism (? ) Optimistic (Changeability) … Pessimistic (Unchangeability) (? ) Uniqueness …Universality Physiological … Purposive Motivation l (Homeostasis … Heterostasis) Unconsciousness … Conscious Proactivity (Personal) … Reactivity (Situation) Stage (Discontinuous) … Non Stage Theory (Continuous) Early … Late Experience Holism … Elementalism (Reductionism) Cultural Determinism … Cultural Transcendence

Summary § Theories serve as a guide for researchers § Theories organize known findings § Theories allow us to make predictions § Theories are more than just beliefs § Theory and research are bound together