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Personality Theories-I Resource Person Dr.Saman.Chaudhry Assistant Professor Comsat University. Islamabad. Lahore Campus
Chapter 1: Course Outline • Psychology of Personality • Introduction to the Discipline • Meaning of personality • Meaning of theory • Components of Personality Theory
Introduction to the Discipline Personality psychology is the scientific discipline that studies the personality system. The discipline seeks to understand a person's major psychological patterns and how those patterns are expressed in an individual's life. Personality psychologists conduct scientific research on personality, teach about personality (usually at the college and university level) and participate in the broader discipline of psychology.
Personality psychologists study of how an individual's major psychological subsystems -- motives, emotions, the self, and others function together to create a person's life patterns. They are interested in the unique characteristics of individuals, as well as similarities among groups of people.
Despite the many definitions of the term, investigators generally agree that personality is the dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. The primary focus of interest in the discipline is on the creation of theories that offer explanations for each individual’s unique ways of responding to his or her physical, social, and cultural environments.
Definition The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities. Personality refers to important and relatively stable aspects of behavior. Personality deals with a wide range of human behavior. Personality includes virtually everything about a person—mental, emotional, social, and physical.
Some aspects of personality are unobservable, such as thoughts, memories, and dreams, whereas others are observable, such as overt actions. “Psychologically, personality is the integrated and dynamic organization of the physical, mental, moral, and social qualities of the individual as that manifests itself to others in social life.”
Mayer defines personality as"An individual's pattern of psychological processes arising from motives, feelings, thoughts, and other major areas of psychological function. Personality is expressed through its influences on the body, in conscious mental life, and through the individual's social behavior.“
Characteristics/Nature of Personality In order to understand the psychology of personality, it is important to learn characteristics of how personality works. Consistency • Personality is organized and consistent. We tend to express certain aspects of our personality in different situations and our responses are generally stable.
Affects behaviors and actions: Personality not only influences how we move and respond in our environment, but it also causes us to act in certain ways. You react to the people and objects in your environment based on your personality. From your personal preferences to your choice of a career, every aspect of your life is affected by your personality.
Both psychological and physiological: Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs. Multiple expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.it can be influenced by the environment. For example, while your personality might lead you to be shy in social situations, an emergency might lead you to take on a more outspoken and take-charge approach.
Description of Personality Some of these words in which we describe traits of personality include risk-taker, observant, energetic, creative, organized. Courageous, honest, result-oriented, adventurous, Passionate, Reliable, Responsible and Thoughtful.
Definition The term "theory" is used with surprising frequency in everyday language. It is often used to mean a guess and a fact-based idea that describes a phenomenon of human behavior.. A theory presents a concept or idea that is testable. we use theories to help organize lots of different observable events, make sense of them, make predictions about them, and connect them to some more comprehensive principles.
Definition The term theory is derived from a Greek word “theoria” meaning “wakefulness of mind”.It is defined as an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain facts or events. The Oxford Dictionary defines a theory as a set of principles in which the practice of an activity is based.According to Kerlinger (1973) a theory is a set of interrelated constructs (concepts),definitions and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena.
Beauchamp (1982) defines a theory as “a set of related statements that are arranged so as to give functional meaning to a series of events”. The set of related statements may take the form of descriptive or functional definitions, operational constructs, assumptions, postulates, hypotheses, generalizations or laws.
Component of Theory Theory consists of a set of terms and principles constructed or applied by the theorist, which are referred to as constructs. Like the author or inventor, the theorist is a creator (of constructs); and like creators in other disciplines, the theorist borrows from and builds upon the work of his or her predecessors. Finally, constructs must be interrelated so that a theory is logically consistent.
Characteristics A theory should also generate predictions, so that it may be evaluated and improved (or discarded). Scientific theories are testable. New evidence should be compatible with a theory. If it isn't, the theory is refined or rejected. The longer the central elements of a theory hold—the more observations it predicts, the more tests it passes, the more facts it explains—the stronger the theory.
Function of Theory In general, theories that are more useful and effective tend eventually to replace those that are less useful and effective. Here are a few more reasons why psychological theories are important to consider: • A theory suggests a number of problems and hypotheses which need to be investigated. • A theory guides research, facilitates the selection of key variables and relevant cases and delimits the scope of inquiry by pinpointing significant facts.
Theories can help with identifying information useful in creating new strategies. They can assist with understanding what practices promote specific behaviors or habits. They can explain specific behaviors and what motivates a person to be successful in His environment. Psychological theories are systems of ideas that can explain certain aspects of human thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Psychology researchers create these theories to make predictions for future human behaviors or events that may take place if certain behaviors exist.
Ideally, there are four criteria that a theory of personality should satisfy: description, explanation, prediction, and control. A theory provides convenient descriptions, establishes a framework for organizing substantial amounts of data, and focuses attention on matters that are of greater importance. In addition, a good personality theory explains the phenomena under study. It offers answers to such signii cant questions as the causes of individual differences in personality, why some people are more pathological than others, and so forth.
Standards for Evaluating Personality Theories • Comprehensiveness. • Heuristic value. • Testability. • Parsimony
Comprehensiveness. The theory that explains all of the facts and observations within its domain and explain more empirical data within their domains are generally superior to those that explain fewer findings.
Heuristic Value A good personality theory will guide personality researchers to make discoveries that were previously unknown. Theories that steer scientists to making discoveries are generally superior to theories that fail to provide this guidance. Similarly, a good personality theory will guide personality researchers to make discoveries that were previously unknown.
Testability The testability of a theory based on the precision of its predictions. Precise theoretical predictions aid progress in the science because they allow inadequate theories to be discarded (those whose predictions are falsified) while good theories can be retained (those whose predictions are empirically confirmed). If a theory does no lend itself to being tested empirically , it is generally judged to be a poor theory .
Parsimony The theory that can explain the research findings with fewer premises and assumptions (parsimony) is considered a strong one while theory that require many premises and assumptions to explain a given set of findings are judged to be poorer.
Clinical psychologists try to understand the symptoms of their patients or clients by attempting to assess their personalities, by differentiating between normal and abnormal behaviors and feelings. Only by evaluating personality in this way can clinicians diagnose disorders and determine the best course of therapy. School psychologists evaluate the personalities of the students referred to them for treatment in an attempt to uncover the causes of adjustment or learning problems. Industrial/organizational psychologists assess personality to select the best candidate for a particular job.
Reliability The consistency of response to a psychological assessment device. Reliability can be determined by the test retest, equivalent-forms, and split-halves methods. Validity The extent to which an assessment device measures what it is intended to measure. Types of validity include predictive, content, and construct.
Personality tests provide measures of such characteristics as feelings and emotional states, preoccupations, motivations, attitudes, and approaches to interpersonal relations. Self-report or objective inventories Projective techniques Clinical interviews Behavioral assessment procedures
Self report Inventories These tests include items dealing with symptoms, attitudes, interests, fears, and values. Test-takers indicate how closely each statement describes their characteristics or how much they agree with each item. Two widely used self-report inventories are: • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) • California Psychological Inventory (CPI).
Projective Tests Projective tests attempt to probe that invisible portion (unconscious) of our personality. Nevertheless, such tests are widely used for assessment and diagnostic purposes. Two popular projective tests are • Rorschach Inkblot Technique • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
Clinical Interviews Interviews have both verbal and nonverbal (e.g., gestural) components. The clinical interview, is focused on assessing the status of a particular individual (e.g., a psychiatric patient); such an interview is action-oriented (i.e., it may indicate appropriate treatment). It may be conducted to obtain an individual’s life history and biographical information (e.g., identifying facts, family relationships. Structured Interviews(close ended, problem focused) Unstructured(open ended, free flow of Patient conversation)
Behavioral Assessments In the behavioral assessment approach, an observer evaluates a person’s behavior in a given situation. counselors routinely observe their clients’ behavior—considering, for example, facial expressions, nervous gestures and general appearance—and use that information in formulating their diagnoses. Behavioral tests measure behavioral competencies. Functional Analysis(causes and consequences of behavior. Situational Observations(direct or Indirect) Questionnaires(open ended)
Major Theories of Personality Psychology Personality psychology is the focus of some of the best-known psychology theories by a number of famous thinkers including Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Some of these theories attempt to tackle a specific area of personality while others attempt to explain personality much more broadly.
Biological approaches suggest that genetics are responsible for personality. In the classic nature versus nurture debate, the biological theories of personality side with nature. Research on heritability suggests that there is a link between genetics and personality traits.3 Twin studies are often used to investigate which traits might be linked to genetics versus those that might be linked to environmental variables. For example, researchers might look at differences and similarities in the personalities of twins reared together versus those who are raised apart. One of the best known biological theorists was Hans Eysenck, who linked aspects of personality to biological processes.
Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson. Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts, moods, and feelings play a part as these cannot be measured. According to behavioral theorists, conditioning (predictable behavioral responses) occurs through interactions with our environment which ultimately shapes our personalities.
Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud and emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on personality.6 Psychodynamic theories include Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stage theory and Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, ego, and superego. Erikson also believed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depends on successfully overcoming these conflicts.
Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in the development of personality. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Humanist theorists promote the concept of self-actualization, which is the innate need for personal growth and the ways that personal growth motivates behavior.
The trait theory approach is one of the most prominent areas in personality psychology. According to these theories, personality is made up of a number of broad traits. A trait is a relatively stable characteristic that causes an individual to behave in certain ways. It is essentially the psychological "blueprint" that informs behavioral patterns. Some of the best-known trait theories include Eysenck's three-dimension theory and the five-factor theory of personality.
Eysenck believed that these dimensions then combine in different ways to form an individual's unique personality. Later, Eysenck added the third dimension known as psychoticism, which related to things such as aggression, empathy, and sociability. Later researchers suggested that there are five broad dimensions that make up a person's personalities, often referred to as the Big 5 theory of personality. The Big 5 theory suggests that all personalities can be characterized by five major personality dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, collectively referred to by the acronym OCEAN.
