Chapter 1 - Studying personality Flashcards
definition of personality (from our text):
Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behaviour
Trait
A relatively permanent disposition of an individual, which is inferred from behaviour
Eg. Being extraverted. Comes from a behavior
“ contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations”
Characteristics
unique qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament, physique, intelligence and other aptitudes
Characteristic Adaptations
the wide range of motivational, social-cognitive and developmental adaptations that are contextualized in time, place and/or social role
Life narratives
the integrative life stories, or personal narratives that individuals construct to make meaning
not just adapting things but constructing things aka making sense of things around us, or that we have . Eg im extroverted meaning I enjoy talking to people. There needs to be a story we can tell
Theory
: A set of related assumptions that permit people to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses
can be considered useful tools employed by scientists to give meaning and organization to their observations
further explanation of theory
“a theory is a set of assumptions.”
“ a theory is a set of related assumptions” - isolated assumption can not generate meaningful hypothese nor possess consistency
“third key word in the definition is assumptions.” - we accept them as if they are true
logical deductive reasoning is used to formulate hypotheses
the qualifier testable
Logical deductive reasoning
: Scientists begin with a general theory and through deductive reasoning arrive at particular hypotheses that can be tested.
difference between theory and hypothèse
“A hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of the scientific method. A theory is too general to lend itself to direct verification, but a single comprehensive theory is capable of generating thousands of hypotheses”
Deductive Reasoning in Personality Theory
Theorist begins with a general theory explaining behaviour or individual differences ..Hypotheses (testable predictions) flow from the theory
“ a scientific investigator can derive testable hypotheses from a useful theory and then test these hypotheses. ”
Inductive reasoning in personality theories
“ the investigator then alters the theory to reflect these results. As the theory grows and changes, other hypotheses can be drawn from it, and when tested they in turn reshape the theory.”
example of taxonomy that led to theory
formation of the Big five
was at first a mere classification of personalities but then it became a theory - suggested a hypothesis
What are the 5 major perspectives of personality
Psychodynamic
Humanistic - Existential
Dispositional
Biological - Evolutionary
Learning – (Social) Cognitive
Psychodynamic what are the key themes
- Early life shapes personality
-Unconscious forces are important
-Neurosis involves unhealthy relationships
Humanistic - Existential
aka positive psychology
-People are Motivated by meaning, growth and psychological health
-Personality is shaped by freedom of choice, anxiety and awareness of death
Maslow, Rogers, May
Dispositional perspective of personality
think traits
- Predisposed personality traits help us understand individual differences
-The big five trait dimensions of personality
Allport, McCrae & Costa
Biological - Evolutionary
personality and the way we think is linked to our environment
-Understanding biological, adaptive and genetic foundations for thought and behavior
-The role of evolutionary forces (natural and sexual selection) in personality
Eysenck, Buss
Learning – (Social) Cognitive
-Behaviour explained by the environmental conditions that create it
-Learning occurs through association and consequences
-Personality involves interactions between internal and external characteristics
Skinner, Bandura
psychology of science
study of both science and the behavior of scientists
aka the impact of an individual’s psychological processes and characteristics on the development of his or her scientific theories and research
Difference between scientific process and product
scientific process can be influenced by the personal characteristics of the scientist
scientific product must be evaluated independently of the process
what makes theory useful
its a dynamic interaction with research data
explain the dynamic interaction
Theories generate hypotheses
- Hypotheses guide research and data collection
- Data and evidence restructure or reshape theories
This cyclical relationship continues if the theory continues to prove useful
What are the 6 criteria - to evaluate theories
1) Does it generate research? - can theory guide further research… eg. we have a theory of motion generated the hypothesis that irregularity in the path of uranus must be caused by another planet which led us to discover neptune
2) Is it falsifiable? theory needs to be precise enough to either support or fail it. .. negative research results will refute the theory and soo you need to either discard or modify it
3) Does it organize a wide range of relevant data? (help us understand complexity in meaningful wAy, sets a framework for us )
4) Can it provide a guide for action or intervention? (can be applicable) - eg. a freudian or psychoanalysis giving us a step by step solution : if,,, then
5) Is it internally consistent? (are they coherent within each other)
6) Is it parsimonious? (is it simple as possible or simple enough) - if 2 theories happen to fit all the criterions, we choose the most simple one aka parsimonious
a useful theory generates what kinds of research
descriptive research: “is concerned with the measurement, labeling, and categorization of the units employed in theory building”
hypothesis testing : “indirect verification of the usefulness of the theory.” …“when tested, add to a database that may reshape and enlarge the theory.”
