Intro Terms

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

• a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior
• derived from the Latin word persona, or the mask that people present to the outside world

Question 2

Theory

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Five distinct perspectives of personality theory

Answer 3

psychodynamic
humanistic-positive
dispositional
biological-evolutionary learning/social-cognitive.

Question 4

Six criteria determine the usefulness of a scientific theory

Answer 4

(1) Does it 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 5

Concepts of human nature can be discussed from what six perspectives?

Answer 5

(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 in people.

Question 6

Traits

Answer 6

the broad, enduring inherent qualities or tendencies that influence an individual’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions.

Question 7

Characteristics

Answer 7

are unique qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament, physique, and intelligence.

Question 8

Assumptions

Answer 8

components of a theory are not proven facts in the sense that their validity has been absolutely established. They are, however, accepted as if they were true

Question 9

epistemology

Answer 9

the nature of knowledge
- branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, scope, and limits of human knowledge.

Question 10

Science

Answer 10

a branch of study concerned with the observation and classification of data and with the verification of general laws through the testing of hypotheses.

Question 11

A hypothesis

Answer 11

educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of the scientific method. More specific than theories.

Question 12

Reliability of a measuring instrument

Answer 12

is the extent to which it yields consistent results

Question 13

Validity

Answer 13

the degree to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure