Chapter 1 f
Introduction to Personality Theory f f f
Learning Objectives
f
After reading Chapter 1, you should be able to:
f f f f f f f f
1. Express your own definition of personality.
f f f f f
2. Differentiate theory from (a) philosophy, (b) speculation, f f f f f f f (c) f
hypothesis, and (d) taxonomy. f f f
3. Defend the need for more than one theory.
f f f f f f f
4. Show how an understanding of the various theorists' life story is
f f f f f f f f f f f
related to their theory. f f f ff
5. f Explain the relationship between theory and observations.
f f f f f f
6. List and explain the criteria of a useful theory.
f f f f f f f f
7. Explain why falsifiability is a positive characteristic of a theory.
f f f f f f f f f
8. Discuss various components for a concept of humanity.
f f f f f f f
9. Define reliability and validity and explain why both
f f f f f f f f
concepts are important in personality research. f f f f f
Summary Outline f
I. Overview of Personality Theory f f f
From the investigations of Freud during the last decade of the 19th century
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
until the present time, several personality theorists have (1) made controll
f f f f f f f f f f
ed observations of human behavior and (2) speculated on the meaning of t
f f f f f f f f f f f f
hose observations. Differences in the theories of these men and women ar
f ff f f f f f f f f f
, e due to more than differences in terminology. They stem from difference
f f f f f f f ff f f f
s on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity.
f f f f f f f f
II. What Is Personality? f f f
The term personality comes from the Latin word persona, meaning the ma
f f f f f f f f f f f
sk people wear or the role they play in life. However, most psychologists u
f f f f f f f f f ff f f f
se the term to refer to much more than the face or facade people show to oth
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
ers. Personality can be defined as a pattern of relatively permanent traits a
f f f f f f f f f f f f
nd unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to h
f f f f f f f f f f
uman behavior f
III. What is a Theory? f f f
The term theory is often used quite loosely and incorrectly to imply somet
f f f f f f f f f f f f
hing other than a useful scientific concept. Theories are used by scientists
f f f f f f ff f f f f f
to generate research and organize observations.
f f f f f
A. Theory Defined f
A theory is a set of related assumptions that allow scientists to use logical
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses f f f f f f
B. Theory and Its Relatives f f f
People often confuse theory with philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, or t
f f f f f f f f f
axonomy. Although theory is related to each of these concepts, it is not syn
ff f f f f f f f f f f f f
onymous with any of them. Philosophy—the love of wisdom— f f f f ff f f f
is a broader term than theory, but one branch of philosophy—
f f f f f f f f f f
epistemology—
relates to the nature of knowledge, and theories are used by scientists in pu
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
rsuit of knowledge. Theories rely on speculation, but speculation must be
f f ff f f f f f f f
,based on the controlled observations of scientists. Science is the branch o
f f f f f f f ff f f f f
f study concerned with observation and classification of data and with the
f f f f f f f f f f f f
verification of general laws. Theories are practical tools used by scientists
f f f ff f f f f f f f
to guide research. A theory is more general than a hypothesis and may gen
f f ff f f f f f f f f f f
erate a multitude of hypotheses, that is, educated guesses. A taxonomy is
f f f f f f f f ff f f f
a classification system, and classification is necessary to science. Taxono
f f f f f f f f ff
mies, however, do not generate hypotheses—
f f f f f
a necessary criterion of a useful theory.
f f f f f f
C. Why Different Theories?
f f f
Psychologists and other scientists have developed a variety of personality f f f f f f f f f f
theories because they have differed in their personal background, their phi
f f f f f f f f f f
losophical orientation, and the data they chose to observe. In addition, the
f f f f f f f f ff f f
ories permit individual interpretation of the same observations, and each t
f f f f f f f f f f
heorist has had his or her own way of looking at things.
f f f f f f f f f f f
D. Theorists' Personalities and Their Theories of Personality f f f f f f
Because personality theories evolve from a theorist's personality, psychol
f f f f f f f f
ogists interested in the psychology of science have begun to study the pers
f f f f f f f f f f f f
onal traits of leading personality theorists and their possible impact on thei
f f f f f f f f f f f
r scientific theories and research.
f f f f
E. What Makes a Theory Useful? f f f f
A useful theory (1) generates research, both descriptive and hypothesis t
f f f f f f f f f f
esting; (2) is falsifiable; that is, it must generate research that can either co
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
nfirm or disconfirm its major tenets; (3) organizes and explains data into
f f f f f ff f f f f f
some intelligible framework; (4) guides action; that is, it provides the pra
f f f f f f f f f f f f
ctitioner with a road map for making day-to- f f f f f f f
day decisions; (5) is internally consistent and relies on operational defin
f f f f f f f f f f
, itions that define concepts in terms of specific operations; and (6) is parsi
f f f f f f f f f f f f
monious, or simple. f f
IV. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity f f f f f
Personality theorists have had different conceptions of human nature, and
f f f f f f f f f f
the authors of Theories of Personality use six dimensions for comparing th
f f f f f f f f f f f
ese conceptions. The dimensions include determinism versus free choic
f f f f f f f f
e, pessimism versus optimism, causality versus teleology, conscious v
f f f f f f f f
ersus unconscious determinants of behavior, biological versus social i
f f f f f f f f
nfluences on personality, and uniqueness versus similarities among peo
f f f f f f f f
ple.
V. Research in Personality Theory f f f
Personality theories, like other theories, are based on systematic research t
f f f f f f f f f f
hat allows for the prediction of events. In researching human behavior, per
f f f f f f f f f f f
sonality theorists often use various measuring procedures, which must be
f f f f f f f f f f
both reliable and valid. Reliability refers to a measuring instrument's con
f f f ff f f f f f f
sistency and includes test- f f f
retest reliability and internal consistency. Validity refers to the accuracy
f f f f ff f f f f f
or truthfulness of test and includes predictive validity and construct validit
f f f f f f f f f f
y.
Test Items
f
Fill-in-the-Blanks
Introduction to Personality Theory f f f
Learning Objectives
f
After reading Chapter 1, you should be able to:
f f f f f f f f
1. Express your own definition of personality.
f f f f f
2. Differentiate theory from (a) philosophy, (b) speculation, f f f f f f f (c) f
hypothesis, and (d) taxonomy. f f f
3. Defend the need for more than one theory.
f f f f f f f
4. Show how an understanding of the various theorists' life story is
f f f f f f f f f f f
related to their theory. f f f ff
5. f Explain the relationship between theory and observations.
f f f f f f
6. List and explain the criteria of a useful theory.
f f f f f f f f
7. Explain why falsifiability is a positive characteristic of a theory.
f f f f f f f f f
8. Discuss various components for a concept of humanity.
f f f f f f f
9. Define reliability and validity and explain why both
f f f f f f f f
concepts are important in personality research. f f f f f
Summary Outline f
I. Overview of Personality Theory f f f
From the investigations of Freud during the last decade of the 19th century
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
until the present time, several personality theorists have (1) made controll
f f f f f f f f f f
ed observations of human behavior and (2) speculated on the meaning of t
f f f f f f f f f f f f
hose observations. Differences in the theories of these men and women ar
f ff f f f f f f f f f
, e due to more than differences in terminology. They stem from difference
f f f f f f f ff f f f
s on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity.
f f f f f f f f
II. What Is Personality? f f f
The term personality comes from the Latin word persona, meaning the ma
f f f f f f f f f f f
sk people wear or the role they play in life. However, most psychologists u
f f f f f f f f f ff f f f
se the term to refer to much more than the face or facade people show to oth
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
ers. Personality can be defined as a pattern of relatively permanent traits a
f f f f f f f f f f f f
nd unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to h
f f f f f f f f f f
uman behavior f
III. What is a Theory? f f f
The term theory is often used quite loosely and incorrectly to imply somet
f f f f f f f f f f f f
hing other than a useful scientific concept. Theories are used by scientists
f f f f f f ff f f f f f
to generate research and organize observations.
f f f f f
A. Theory Defined f
A theory is a set of related assumptions that allow scientists to use logical
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses f f f f f f
B. Theory and Its Relatives f f f
People often confuse theory with philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, or t
f f f f f f f f f
axonomy. Although theory is related to each of these concepts, it is not syn
ff f f f f f f f f f f f f
onymous with any of them. Philosophy—the love of wisdom— f f f f ff f f f
is a broader term than theory, but one branch of philosophy—
f f f f f f f f f f
epistemology—
relates to the nature of knowledge, and theories are used by scientists in pu
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
rsuit of knowledge. Theories rely on speculation, but speculation must be
f f ff f f f f f f f
,based on the controlled observations of scientists. Science is the branch o
f f f f f f f ff f f f f
f study concerned with observation and classification of data and with the
f f f f f f f f f f f f
verification of general laws. Theories are practical tools used by scientists
f f f ff f f f f f f f
to guide research. A theory is more general than a hypothesis and may gen
f f ff f f f f f f f f f f
erate a multitude of hypotheses, that is, educated guesses. A taxonomy is
f f f f f f f f ff f f f
a classification system, and classification is necessary to science. Taxono
f f f f f f f f ff
mies, however, do not generate hypotheses—
f f f f f
a necessary criterion of a useful theory.
f f f f f f
C. Why Different Theories?
f f f
Psychologists and other scientists have developed a variety of personality f f f f f f f f f f
theories because they have differed in their personal background, their phi
f f f f f f f f f f
losophical orientation, and the data they chose to observe. In addition, the
f f f f f f f f ff f f
ories permit individual interpretation of the same observations, and each t
f f f f f f f f f f
heorist has had his or her own way of looking at things.
f f f f f f f f f f f
D. Theorists' Personalities and Their Theories of Personality f f f f f f
Because personality theories evolve from a theorist's personality, psychol
f f f f f f f f
ogists interested in the psychology of science have begun to study the pers
f f f f f f f f f f f f
onal traits of leading personality theorists and their possible impact on thei
f f f f f f f f f f f
r scientific theories and research.
f f f f
E. What Makes a Theory Useful? f f f f
A useful theory (1) generates research, both descriptive and hypothesis t
f f f f f f f f f f
esting; (2) is falsifiable; that is, it must generate research that can either co
f f f f f f f f f f f f f
nfirm or disconfirm its major tenets; (3) organizes and explains data into
f f f f f ff f f f f f
some intelligible framework; (4) guides action; that is, it provides the pra
f f f f f f f f f f f f
ctitioner with a road map for making day-to- f f f f f f f
day decisions; (5) is internally consistent and relies on operational defin
f f f f f f f f f f
, itions that define concepts in terms of specific operations; and (6) is parsi
f f f f f f f f f f f f
monious, or simple. f f
IV. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity f f f f f
Personality theorists have had different conceptions of human nature, and
f f f f f f f f f f
the authors of Theories of Personality use six dimensions for comparing th
f f f f f f f f f f f
ese conceptions. The dimensions include determinism versus free choic
f f f f f f f f
e, pessimism versus optimism, causality versus teleology, conscious v
f f f f f f f f
ersus unconscious determinants of behavior, biological versus social i
f f f f f f f f
nfluences on personality, and uniqueness versus similarities among peo
f f f f f f f f
ple.
V. Research in Personality Theory f f f
Personality theories, like other theories, are based on systematic research t
f f f f f f f f f f
hat allows for the prediction of events. In researching human behavior, per
f f f f f f f f f f f
sonality theorists often use various measuring procedures, which must be
f f f f f f f f f f
both reliable and valid. Reliability refers to a measuring instrument's con
f f f ff f f f f f f
sistency and includes test- f f f
retest reliability and internal consistency. Validity refers to the accuracy
f f f f ff f f f f f
or truthfulness of test and includes predictive validity and construct validit
f f f f f f f f f f
y.
Test Items
f
Fill-in-the-Blanks
