Personality pt 1 definition

Question 1

What are implicit theories of personality?

Answer 1

‘Intuitively based theories of human behaviour
that we all construct to help us to understand
both others and ourselves’ (Maltby et al., 2013, p3)

Question 2

How does Allport, 1961, define personality?

Answer 2

a dynamic organisation, inside the person, of psychophysical systems
that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts and
feelings.’ (Allport, 1961, p.11)

Question 3

What is the idiographic approach to studying personality?

Answer 3

Focus on the individual, Describe personality variables
within that individual, Each individual has a unique
personality structure (infinite)
Emphasises the uniqueness of the individual to develop in-depth understanding of the individual

Question 4

What is the nomothetic approach to studying personality?

Answer 4

– Focus on finite number of personality variables
– Occurring consistently across groups of variables
– Individual is located within this set of variables
Focuses on similarities between groups to identify a basic structure and minimum number of traits to describe universal personality

Question 5

What research methods are used in idiographic approaches and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 5

Qualitative - use of case studies, diaries, interviews etc.
Adv - depth of understanding
Dis - difficulty in generalisation

Question 6

What research methods are used in nomothetic approaches and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 6

Quantitative - self-report personality questionnaires, examine relationships between variables, produce measures etc.
Adv - general principles, predictive value
Dis - superficial understanding of individuals, detailed training needed