Theories Of Personality 10th Edition, Lecture notes of Personality Psychology

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Theories of

Personality

th

Edition

Chapter 1 |NOTES

CHAPTER 1|Introduction to Personality Theory What is Personality? Personality – is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior.  Traits – contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior overtime, and stability of behavior across situations. Traits may be unique, common to some group, or shared by the entire species, but their pattern is different for each individual.  Characteristics - are unique qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament, physique, and intelligence. What is a Theory? In science, theories are tools used to generate research and organize observations, but neither “ truth ” nor “ fact ” has a place in scientific terminology. Theory – A scientific theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses.

1. A theory is a set of assumptions
2. A theory is a set of related assumptions
3. Assumptions – are not proven facts, however, accepted as if they were true.
4. Logical deductive reasoning is used
5. Testable Theory and its Relatives a. Philosophy – means love of wisdom, and philosophers are people who pursue wisdom through thinking and reasoning.  Epistemology , or the nature of knowledge

First 5 years of life most shape personality Unconscious Early recollections Freud Adler Unconscious forces are most important Collective unconscious Archetypes Jung Klein Neurosis results from unhealthy moving toward, against, or away from others Object relations Identity crises Relatedness Journey Erikson Fromm 2.Humanistic-Existential Theories The primary assumption of the humanistic (currently known as “ positive psychology ”) approach is that people strive toward meaning, growth, well-being, happiness, and psychological health. States of positive emotion and happiness foster psychological health and prosocial behavior. Primary Assumptions Key Focus/Terms Key Figures People strive to live meaningful, happy lives Meaningful life Maslow People are motivated by growth and psychological health Psychological well-being and growth Rogers Personality is shaped by freedom of choice, response to anxiety, and awareness of death May 3.Dispositional Theories Dispositional theorists argue that the unique and long-term tendencies to behave in particular ways are the essence of our personality. These unique dispositions, such

as extraversion or anxiety, are called traits. Traits serve the function of making certain behaviors more likely in some people. Primary Assumptions Key Focus/Terms Key Figures People are predisposed to behave in unique and consistent ways; they have unique traits Traits Motives Allport There are five trait dimensions in human personality McCrae & Costa

4. Biological – Evolutionary Theories Behavior, thoughts, feelings, and personality are influenced by differences in basic genetic, epigenetic, and neurological systems among individuals. Because they are based on evolved brain systems, human thought, behavior, and personality have been shaped by forces of evolution (natural and sexual selection) over millions of years. The body, brain, and environment coexist and coevolve, and so more than any other psychological perspective, this one emphasizes that what we think, feel, and do is always an interaction between nature (biological) and nurture (environment). Primary Assumptions Key Focus / Terms Key Figures The foundation for thought and behavior is biological and genetic forces Brain structures, neurochemicals, and genes Eysenk Human thoughts and behaviors have been shaped by evolutionary forces (natural and sexual selection) Adaptive mechanisms Buss 5.Perspective Learning – (Social) Cognitive Theories All behaviors are learned through association and/or its consequences (whether it is reinforced or punished). To shape desired behaviors, we have to understand and then establish the conditions that bring about those particular behaviors. In short, what personality we have is shaped by how we think and perceive the world Primary Assumptions Key Focus / Terms Key Figures Only explanation for behavior is the conditions that create Conditioned responses Shaping Reinforcement Skinner

2.Falsifiable – A theory must also be evaluated on its ability to be confirmed or disconfirmed; that is, it must be falsifiable. To be falsifiable, a theory must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support its major tenets. 3.Organizes Data – A useful theory should also be able to organize those research data that are not incompatible with each other. It must be able to shape as many bits of information as possible into a meaningful arrangement. If a personality theory does not offer a reasonable explanation of at least some kinds of behaviors, it ceases to be useful. 4.Guides Action – its ability to guide the practitioner over the rough course of day- to-day problems 5.Is Internally Consistent – A useful theory need not be consistent with other theories, but it must be consistent with itself. An internally consistent theory is one whose components are logically compatible. Its limitations of scope are carefully defined and it does not offer explanations that lie beyond that scope. Also, an internally consistent theory uses language in a consistent manner; that is, it does not use the same term to mean two different things, nor does it use two separate terms to refer to the same concept. (1.) Operational definition - is one that defines units in terms of observable events or behaviors that can be measured. 6.Parsimonious – When two theories are equal in their ability to generate research, be falsified, give meaning to data, guide the practitioner, and be self-consistent, the simpler one is preferred. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity 1.Determinism versus Free choice – Are people’s behaviors determined by forces over which they have no control, or can people choose to be what they wish to be? Can behavior be partially free and partially determined at the same time? 2.Pessimism versus Optimism - Are people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled lives, or can they change and grow into psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning human beings? 3.Casuality versus Teleology – Do people act as they do because of what has happened to them in the past, or do they act as they do because they have certain expectations of what will happen in the future? (1.) causality holds that behavior is a function of past experiences (2.) teleology is an explanation of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes. 4.Conscious versus Unconscious determinants of behavior - Are people ordinarily aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it, or do unconscious

forces impinge on them and drive them to act without aware-ness of these underlying forces? 5.Biological versus Social influences on personality - Are people mostly creatures of biology, or are their personalities shaped largely by their social relationships? A more specific element of this issue is heredity versus environment; that is, are personal characteristics more the result of heredity, or are they environmentally determined?

6. Uniqueness versus Similarities - Is the salient feature of people their individuality, or is it their common characteristics? Should the study of personality concentrate on those traits that make people alike, or should it look at those traits that make people different? Research in Personality Theory Assessment Techniques

1. Reliability of a measuring instrument is the extent to which it yields consistent results. 2. Validity is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to mea-sure. (1.)Construct validity is the extent to which an instrument measures some hypothetical construct. Constructs such as extraversion, aggressiveness, intelligence, and emotional stability have no physical existence; they are hypothetical constructs that should relate to observable behavior. Three important types of construct validity are convergent validity, divergent validity, and discriminant validity. (2.)Predictive validity , or the extent to which a test can predict future behavior. For example, a test of extraversion has predictive validity if it correlates with future behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes, performing well on scholastic achievement tests, taking risks, or any other independent criterion. REFERENCE Feist, G.,Roberts, T.A., Feist, J. (2001). Theories of Personality (10th^ ed.) McGraw-Hill Education