INTRODUCTION TO

PERSONALITY
THEORY
What is PERSONALITY?
PERSONA - theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek dramas

Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that

give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior; underlying causes
within the person of individual behavior and experience.

Personality psychologists do not all agree about what these underlying causes. That
is why they want to discuss personality through these questions:

1. How can be personality be DESCRIBED?

2. How can we understand personality DYNAMICS?
3. What can we say about personality DEVELOPMENT?
DESCRIPTION of Personality
Personality researchers have considerable efforts to identifying the ways that individuals
differ from one another – that is describing INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

TYPES TRAITS FACTORS

Proposes that personality
comes in a limited number
of distinct categories
(qualitative groupings).
Such types are categories of
people with similar
characteristics
Characteristics that varies Broader than traits but, like
from one person to another traits they are also
and that causes a person’s quantitative in nature
more or less consistent
behavior
Permits a more precise
description than types
DESCRIPTION of Personality
NOMOTHETIC
APPROACH
Groups of individuals are
studied, often by comparing
their trait or factor scores on
personality tests and relating
these scores to different
behaviors or background
experiences
IDIOGRAPHIC
APPROACH
Studies an individual one at a
time, without making
systematic comparisons with
other people
Strictly difficult because any
description of person implies
comparison from others
Personality DYNAMICS
This refers to the mechanisms by which personality is expressed, often focusing on the
motivations that direct behavior. Motivation provides energy and direction to behavior.

ADAPTATION & COGNITIVE

PROCESSES
CULTURE
ADJUSTMENT

Personality encompasses an The way we “think” and Much remains to be done to

individual’s way of coping
with the world, and
adjusting demands and
opportunities of the
environment
“label” experience and the
ideas that we have about
ourselves have substantial
effects on our personality
dynamics
adequately understand the
role of social influences, but
we can be sure that some
motivations are shaped by
culture
Personality DEVELOPMENT
BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
Focuses on
TEMPERAMENT which
refers to consistent styles of
behavior and emotional
reactions that are present from
infancy onwards
CHILDHOOD & ADULTHOOD
EXPERIENCES
Focuses on the notion that
personality develops over time.
Experience, especially in
childhood, influences the way
each person develops toward
his or her unique personality
 “the dynamic organization
within the individual of those “which defines what a person
psychophysical systems that will do when faced with a
determine his unique defined situation.” (Cattell,
adjustments to the 1979)
environment.” (Allport, 1937)

“an individual’s unique variation on the

general evolutionary design for human nature,
expressed as a developing pattern of
dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations,
and integrative life stories complexly and
differentially situated in culture.” (McAdams
& Pals, 2006)
 What is a THEORY?
A theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to
formulate testable hypotheses

SET: Single
ASSUMPTIONS: TESTABLE: Unless
assumption can never
Not proven facts but a hypothesis can be
fill all the
accepted as if they tested in some way, it
requirements of an
were true is worthless
adequate theory

RELATED: Isolated LOGICAL

assumptions can DEDUCTIVE
neither generate REASONING: To
meaningful hypotheses deduce to a clearly
nor possess internal
stated hypothesis
consistency
 PHILOSOPHY
It deals with what ought to be
or what should be; theory
does not; Theory is related but
much narrower term
THEORY and its Relatives
HYPOTHESIS
Good theory can generate many
hypotheses; Relationship can be
explained through deductive &
inductive reasoning
SPECULATION
Theories rely on speculation,
but they are much more than
mere armchair speculation
TAXONOMY
Essential to the development of a
science because without classification
of data science could not grow; Mere
classification, however, does not
constitute a theory
 Why different theories?
Theories are not immutable laws; they are built, not on proven facts, but on assumptions that
are subject to individual interpretation

All theories reflect their authors’ personal backgrounds, childhood experiences, philosophy of
life, interpersonal relationships, and unique manner of looking at the world.

What Makes a Theory Useful?

A theory generates several hypotheses that can be investigated through research, thus yielding
research data

A useful theory organizes research data into a meaningful structure and provides an explanation
for the results of scientific research
 GENERATES RESEARCH
A useful theory will generate two
different kinds of research:
descriptive research and hypothesis
testing
CRITERIA of a GOODTHEORY
GUIDES ACTION
A useful theory is its ability to guide
the practitioner over the rough
course of day-to-day problems.
FALSIFIABLE
A theory must be precise enough to
suggest research that may either
support or fail to support its major
tenets
INTERNALLY CONSISTENT
An internally consistent theory is one
whose components are logically
compatible use concepts and terms
that have been clearly and
operationally defined.
ORGANIZES DATA
A useful theory should also be able
to organize those research data that
are not incompatible with each other
PARSIMONIOUS
When two theories are equal in all
other criteria, the simpler one is
preferred.
 Grand Theories in Psychology
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
States that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality.
Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and cause problems as adults.

Sigmund Freud Carl Jung Alfred Adler Karen Horney Erik Erikson
 Grand Theories in Psychology
HUMANISTIC/EXISTENTIAL THEORIES
Perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole person, and the uniqueness of everyone. It begins with the
existential assumptions that people have free will and are motivated to achieve their potential and self-actualize.

Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers

Rollo May
 Grand Theories in Psychology
BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
Behaviorism emphasizes the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior, to the near exclusion of innate
or inherited factors. This amounts essentially to a focus on learning.

B.F. Skinner John Watson

Ivan Pavlov
 Grand Theories in Psychology
COGNITIVE THEORIES
This contends that human behavior begins with a person’s thoughts. Theorists study areas of perception, memory,
language, thinking, etc.

Lawrence Kohlberg
Jean Piaget Lev Vygotski
 Grand Theories in Psychology
TRAIT THEORIES
They rest on the idea that people differ from one another based on the strength and intensity of basic trait
dimensions. There are three criteria that characterize personality traits: (1) consistency, (2) stability, and (3)
individual differences.

Gordon Allport Robert McCrae Paul Costa

Raymond Cattell
 Grand Theories in Psychology
BIOLOGICAL/EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES
Evolutionary psychology is the study of the ways in which the mind was shaped by pressures to survive and
reproduce. Findings in this field often shed light on "ultimate" as opposed to "proximal" causes of behavior.

Margo Wilson Leda Cosmides & John Tooby

David Buss
 DIMENSIONS FOR A
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY
Personality theories differ on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity.
Each personality theory reflects its author’s assumptions about humanity. These
assumptions rest on several broad dimensions that separate the various
personality theorists. We use six of these dimensions as a framework for
viewing each theorist’s concept of humanity.
 DIMENSIONS FOR A
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY
DETERMINISM vs FREE CHOICE
Are people’s behaviors determined by forces over which they have no control, or can people choose
to be what they wish to be?

PESSIMISM vs OPTIMISM
Are people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled lives, or can they change and grow
into psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning human beings?
 DIMENSIONS FOR A
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY
CAUSALITY vs TELEOLOGY
Do people act as they do because of what has happened to them in the past, or do they act as they do
because they have certain expectations of what will happen in the future?

CONSCIOUS vs UNCONSCIOUS Determinants of Behavior

Are people ordinarily aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it, or do unconscious
forces impinge on them and drive them to act without awareness of these underlying forces?
 DIMENSIONS FOR A
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY
BIOLOGICAL vs SOCIAL
Are people mostly creatures of biology, or are their personalities shaped largely by their social
relationships?

UNIQUENESS vs SIMILARITY
Is the salient feature of people their individuality, or is it their common characteristics?