Objectives
Define personality and
Learning Define theory and explain
discuss the origin of why different
the term. theories of
personality exist.
Distinguish theory from
(a) philosophy, (b) Discuss the relationship
speculation, (c) among theory, hypotheses,
hypothesis, and (d) and observations.
taxonomy
Learning Objectives
personality theory.
Explain how the psychology
of science relates to
Explain why a useful theory
Discuss the various components
should be falsifiable.
for a concept of humanity.
List and discuss six criteria of
a useful theory.
Learning Objectives
Define reliability and validity, give
examples of each, and discuss why
each is important in personality
research.
WHO AM I?
1. List down
your top 5
positive
characterictics.
2. Share these characteristics to
your partner.
3. Can you identify
similiarities/differences? Share in
class
Personality theorists (1) make controlled observations of
human behavior and (2) speculate on the meaning of
those observations. Differences in theories are due
to more than differences in terminology; they stem from
differences among theorists on basic issues concerning
the nature of humanity.
The term personality (derived from the
word Persona which is Latin for Mask) has
several definitions. In everyday language, the
word personality refers to one’s social skills,
charisma, and popularity
However, scientists use the term to mean
more than a person's persona, or public
image. To them, personality is a pattern of
relatively permanent traits or
characteristics that give some consistency to
a person's behavior.
What Is a Theory?
A theory is a set of related
assumptions that allow scientists to
use logical deductive
reasoning to formulate testable
hypotheses.
Theory and Its
Relatives
Philosophy (Philo/Philein which means love, Sophia which means wisdom) It is the
love of wisdom - is a broader term than theory, but one of its
branches-epistemology-relates to the nature of knowledge, and theories are
used by scientists in the pursuit of knowledge.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an assumption, an idea that is proposed for the sake of argument
so that it can be tested to see if it might be true.
Theory and Its
Relatives
Taxonomy
Taxonomy means a classification system, and theories often rely on some sort of
classification of data. However, taxonomies do not generate hypotheses.
Why Different
Theories?
Psychologists and other
scientists generate a
variety of theories
because they have different
life experiences and
different ways of looking
at the same data.
Because personality theories flow from an individual
theorist's personality, some psychologists have
proposed the
psychology of science, a discipline that
studies the personal characteristics of
theorists.
A useful theory must
1.Generate research-both descriptive research and hypothesis testing, 2.
Be falsifiable; that is, research findings should be able to either support or
refute the theory,
3.
Organize data into an intelligible framework and integrate new
information into its structure;
4.
Guide action, or provide the practitioner with a road map for making
day-to-day decisions;
5.
Be internally consistent and have a set of operational definitions; and
6.Be parsimonious, or as simple as possible.
Personality theorists have had different
conceptions of human nature, and the authors
list six dimensions for comparing these
conceptions.
These dimensions include determinism versus
free choice, pessimism versus optimism,
causality versus teleology, conscious versus
unconscious determinants of behavior,
biological versus social influences on
personality, and uniqueness versus similarities
among people.
In researching human behavior, personality theorists
often use various measuring procedures, and these
procedures must be both reliable and valid.
Reliability refers to a measuring instrument's
consistency whereas validity refers to its accuracy or
truthfulness.
How do you feel about your personality in relation to others?
THANK YOU
So much!
Feist, J., Feist, G.J. & Roberts, T. (2013). Theories of Personality. Eighth edition. USA: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H. (2010). An Introduction to Theories of Personality. Eighth edition. USA: Prentice
Hall/Pearson.
Day, L. & Macaskill A. (2007). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. USA: Pearson Education Ltd.
