1. Introduction to Personality
Personality Psychology
Introduction to Personality

2. Personality Defined Personality is the set of
psychological traits and mechanisms
within the individual
that is organized and relatively enduring and
that influences his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the environment.

3. Personality Defined Personality is a dynamic organization,
inside the person,
of psychophysical systems that create
the person's characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings

4. Personality Defined This definition makes several points: Personality
has organization
is active, it has processes of some sort
is a psychological concept, but is tied to the physical body
is a causal force…it helps determine how the person relates to the world
shows up in patterns…it has consistency
is displayed in many ways
(Carver, Scheier, Allport)

5. What is a Theory? Theory Defined
A theory is a model of reality that helps us to understand, explain, predict, and control that reality.
A theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses.

6. A Good Theory A useful theory must
Generate Research - both descriptive research and hypothesis testing,
Be Falsifiable; that is, research findings should be able to either support or refute the theory,
Organize Data into an intelligible framework and integrate new information into its structure;
Guide Action, or provide the practitioner with a road map for making day-to-day decisions;
Be Internally Consistent and have a set of operational definitions; and
Be Parsimonious, or as simple as possible.

7. 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.
Different theories may useful in different situations.

8. Major Questions a Personality Theory Attempts to Answer
Developmental-Historical Question
How did the person come to behave as he or she does now? What were the causes or the beginnings of the person?
Predictions-Consistency Question
Will this person behave similarly in similar situations at a later time?
Uniqueness-Generality Question
When are we unique and when are we the same?
Content/Process
"Personality is something that does something" Allport.

9. Pitfall of Theories Ethnocentrism Egocentrism Dogmatism
Misunderstandings
Evidence (Lack of)

10. Basic Assumptions Concerning Human Nature
Heredity … Environment (?)
Free Will … Determinism (?)
Optimistic (Changeability) … Pessimistic (Unchangeability) (?)
Uniqueness …Universality
Physiological … Purposive Motivation
(Homeostasis … Heterostasis)
Unconsciousness … Conscious
Proactivity (Personal) … Reactivity (Situation)
Stage (Discontinuous) … Non Stage Theory (Continuous)
Early … Late Experience
Holism … Elementalism (Reductionism)
Cultural Determinism … Cultural Transcendence

11. Summary Theories serve as a guide for researchers
Theories organize known findings
Theories allow us to make predictions
Theories are more than just beliefs
Theory and research are bound together