Test Bank For Introduction to Theories of Personality, An 29th Edition All Chapters - 9780137502295.pdf

Chapter 1 b



Introduction to Personality Theory b b b




Learning Objectives b



After reading Chapter 1, you should be able to:
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1. Express your own definition of personality.
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2. Differentiate theory from (a) philosophy, (b) speculation, b b b b b b b (c) b



hypothesis, and (d) taxonomy. b b b



3. Defend the need for more than one theory.
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4. Show how an understanding of the various theorists' life story is
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related to their theory. b b b bb



5. b Explain the relationship between theory and observations.
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6. List and explain the criteria of a useful theory.
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7. Explain why falsifiability is a positive characteristic of a theory.
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8. Discuss various components for a concept of humanity.
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9. Define reliability and validity and explain why both
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concepts are important in personality research.
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Summary Outline b




I. Overview of Personality Theory b b b



From the investigations of Freud during the last decade of the 19th centu
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ry until the present time, several personality theorists have (1) made cont
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rolled observations of human behavior and (2) speculated on the meanin
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g of those observations. Differences in the theories of these men and wo
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, men are due to more than differences in terminology. They stem from di
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fferences on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity.
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II. What Is Personality? b b b



The term personality comes from the Latin word persona, meaning the
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mask people wear or the role they play in life. However, most psycholog
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ists use the term to refer to much more than the face or facade people sho
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w to others. Personality can be defined as a pattern of relatively perman
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ent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and indivi
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duality to human behavior b b b




III. What is a Theory? b b b



The term theory is often used quite loosely and incorrectly to imply som
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ething other than a useful scientific concept. Theories are used by scienti
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sts to generate research and organize observations.
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A. Theory Defined b



A theory is a set of related assumptions that allow scientists to use logica
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l deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses
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B. Theory and Its Relatives b b b



People often confuse theory with philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, o
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r taxonomy. Although theory is related to each of these concepts, it is no
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t synonymous with any of them. Philosophy—the love of wisdom—
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is a broader term than theory, but one branch of philosophy—
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epistemology—
relates to the nature of knowledge, and theories are used by scientists in
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pursuit of knowledge. Theories rely on speculation, but speculation mu
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,st be based on the controlled observations of scientists. Science is the br
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anch of study concerned with observation and classification of data and
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with the verification of general laws. Theories are practical tools used b
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y scientists to guide research. A theory is more general than a hypothesi
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s and may generate a multitude of hypotheses, that is, educated guesses.
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A taxonomy is a classification system, and classification is necessary to
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science. Taxonomies, however, do not generate hypotheses—
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a necessary criterion of a useful theory.
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C. Why Different Theories?
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Psychologists and other scientists have developed a variety of personalit
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y theories because they have differed in their personal background, their
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philosophical orientation, and the data they chose to observe. In additio
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n, theories permit individual interpretation of the same observations, and
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each theorist has had his or her own way of looking at things.
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D. Theorists' Personalities and Their Theories of Personality
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Because personality theories evolve from a theorist's personality, psych
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ologists interested in the psychology of science have begun to study the
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personal traits of leading personality theorists and their possible impact
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on their scientific theories and research.
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E. What Makes a Theory Useful? b b b b



A useful theory (1) generates research, both descriptive and hypothesis
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testing; (2) is falsifiable; that is, it must generate research that can either
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confirm or disconfirm its major tenets; (3) organizes and explains dat
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a into some intelligible framework; (4) guides action; that is, it provides
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the practitioner with a road map for making day-to-
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day decisions; (5) is internally consistent and relies on operational def
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, initions that define concepts in terms of specific operations; and (6) is p
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arsimonious, or simple. b b




IV. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity b b b b b



Personality theorists have had different conceptions of human nature, an
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d the authors of Theories of Personality use six dimensions for comparin
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g these conceptions. The dimensions include determinism versus free
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choice, pessimism versus optimism, causality versus teleology, consc
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ious versus unconscious determinants of behavior, biological versus
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b social influences on personality, and uniqueness versus similarities a
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mong people. b




V. Research in Personality Theory b b b



Personality theories, like other theories, are based on systematic researc
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h that allows for the prediction of events. In researching human behavior
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, personality theorists often use various measuring procedures, which m
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ust be both reliable and valid. Reliability refers to a measuring instrume
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nt's consistency and includes test-
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retest reliability and internal consistency. Validity refers to the accurac
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y or truthfulness of test and includes predictive validity and construct val
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idity.




Test Items
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