Theories of Personality
Seventh Edition
By Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist
© McGraw-Hill
© 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Introduction to
Personality Theory
Chapter 1
© McGraw-Hill
© 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Outline
• What Is Personality?
• What Is Theory?
– Theory Defined
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Why Different Theories?
What Makes a Theory Useful?
Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity
Research in Personality Theory
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What Is Personality?
• Word stems from “persona”
– Latin for “mask”
• Personality Defined:
– A pattern of relatively permanent traits and
unique characteristics that give both
consistency and individuality to a person’s
behavior
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What Is Personality?
• Traits
– Consistency over time
– Individual differences in behavior
– Stability across situations
• Characteristics
– Unique qualities (e.g., temperament, physique,
and intelligence)
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What Is a Theory?
• Theory Defined
– A set of related assumptions that allows
scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to
formulate testable hypotheses
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Theory and Its Relatives
• Philosophy
– Broader than theory
• Speculation
– Must be tied to empirical data and science
• Hypothesis
– Specific guess that can be tested using scientific
method
• Taxonomy
– Classification according to natural relationships
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Why Different Theories?
• Different Personal Backgrounds
– Childhood experiences
– Interpersonal relationships
• Different Philosophical Orientations
• Unique Ways of Looking at the World
• Data Chosen to Observe is Different
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Theorists’ Personalities & Their
Theories of Personality
• Psychology of Science
– The empirical study of scientific thought and
behavior (including theory construction) of the
scientist
• The personalities and psychology of
different theorists influence the kinds of
theories that they develop
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What Makes a Theory Useful:
Criteria for Evaluating a Theory
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Generates Research
Is Falsifiable (Verifiable)
Organizes Known Data
Guides Action (Practical)
Is Internally Consistent
Is Parsimonious
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Dimensions for a
Concept of Humanity
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Determinism v. Free Choice
Pessimism v. Optimism
Causality v. Teleology
Conscious v. Unconscious Determinants of
Behavior
• Biological v. Social Influences on
Personality
• Uniqueness v. Similarities
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Research in Personality Theory
• Must Generate Research
– Theory gives meaning to data
– Data comes from experimental research
designed to test hypothesis generated by the
theory
• Systematic observations
– Predictions are consistent and accurate
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Research in Personality Theory
• Two Empirical Criteria for Instruments
– Reliability
• Consistency of Measurement
– Validity:
• Construct Validity
– Convergent
– Divergent
– Discriminant
• Predictive Validity
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