CHAPTER 1 Intro: Key Terms and Concepts

Question 1

The term “personality” comes from the Latin ____ which means?

Answer 1

persona, or the mask that
people present to the outside world, but psychologists see personality as
much more than outward appearances

Question 2

Personality includes all those ___________________

that render some consistency to a person’s behavior.

Answer 2

relatively permanent traits or characteristics

Question 3

What is a theory?

Answer 3

a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to formulate
testable hypotheses

Question 4

What are the four concepts related to theory?

Answer 4

philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, & taxonomy

Question 5

Six criteria that determine the usefulness of a scientific theory

Answer 5

1. Does the
theory generate research
2. Is it falsifiable?
3. Does it organize and
explain knowledge?
4. Does it suggest practical solutions to everyday
problems? 
5. Is it internally consistent?
6. Is it simple or
parsimonious?

Question 6

Each personality theorist has had either an implicit or explicit ___________________

Answer 6

concept of

humanity

Question 7

Concepts of human nature from six perspectives

Answer 7

1. determinism versus free choice
2. pessimism versus optimism
3. causality versus teleology
4. conscious versus unconscious
   determinants
5. biological versus social factors
6. uniqueness
   versus similarities