1. Theories of PersonalitySeventh Edition By Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist ©McGraw-Hill © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

2. Introduction to Personality Theory Chapter 1 ©McGraw-Hill © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

3. Outline • What Is Personality? • What Is Theory? • Theory Defined • Why Different Theories? • What Makes a Theory Useful? • Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity • Research in Personality Theory ©McGraw-Hill

4. 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 ©McGraw-Hill

5. What Is Personality? • Traits • Consistency over time • Individual differences in behavior • Stability across situations • Characteristics • Unique qualities (e.g., temperament, physique, and intelligence) ©McGraw-Hill

6. What Is a Theory? • Theory Defined • A set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses ©McGraw-Hill

7. 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 ©McGraw-Hill

8. 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 ©McGraw-Hill

9. 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 ©McGraw-Hill

10. What Makes a Theory Useful: Criteria for Evaluating a Theory • Generates Research • Is Falsifiable (Verifiable) • Organizes Known Data • Guides Action (Practical) • Is Internally Consistent • Is Parsimonious ©McGraw-Hill

11. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity • 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 ©McGraw-Hill

12. 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 ©McGraw-Hill

13. Research in Personality Theory • Two Empirical Criteria for Instruments • Reliability • Consistency of Measurement • Validity: • Construct Validity • Convergent • Divergent • Discriminant • Predictive Validity ©McGraw-Hill