Personality: Chapter 1

I. Origins: term personality derived from Persona meaning masks

a) Derived from early Greek and roman theatredifferent masks mean different yet
consistent personalitiesconsistent attitudes and behaviors
b) Personality means recognizable individual differences
c) What influences these consistencies & differences? Heredity, environment, or some
combination of the two
d) Scientific study of personality attempts to predict, control & explain individual
differences
Freud is very much influenced by greek & roman theatre when he talked about the
oedepus complex.
Psychology is not divorced from philosophy and literary interests
Psychology represents consistency across time and place. Naturally we adapt at different
times and to different places, because certain times make certain requests of us. We are
consistent and adaptive. Our consistency is our identity, but the necessity to flex is
important. Too much fixity is not adaptive. An example of too much fixity is OCD. In the
clinical field a person with phobias might have too much fixity in terms of a low
threshold of tolerance for novelty. Within the clinical domain individuals have addiction
which also shows fixitytheir lives are narrowed. Their main focus is to procure and
administer their drug, and their lives are organized around that particular occupation. We
see fixity when we deal with extreme personalities. We see more adaptability when we
deal with the everyday personality.
Psychopathy has captured our attention because there are several tv shows where the
characters have psychopathic traits
II. Concept of Personalityno universally agreed upon definition, yet there are conceptions of
personality:
A) Kluckhorn & Murray (1953): Every person is in certain respect
i) Like all other people
ii) Like some other people
iii) Like no other person
B) Pervin (1989): personality represents those characteristic of the person that account for
consistent patterns of behavior
C) Allport (1961): personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine characteristic thought & behavior.
D) Analysis of Allports Definition:

Personality is dynamic not static

It is organized and structured not an accumulation of traits

It is a psychological concept within a physical entitythe body
It is a casual force that influences thought and action

III. Definition and Theoryserves four functions:

1)
2)
3)
4)

To organize and provide clarity to observations

To explain causes so that prediction may occur
To provide understanding
To generate new ideas and research

A) Theoretical Constructs: Linguistic-conceptual inventions that assist in explanation. E.g. ego,

anxiety, achievement motivation, internal-external locus of control, etc.
B) Function of constructs: to tie together and organize relationships among observations
IV. Evaluation of Theoryuses the following criteria:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Empirical Validity: is the theory supported by evidence from experimental observation?

Parsimony: Does the theory provide a simple, concise account of the phenomena?
Comprehensiveness: Is the theory broad in scope?
Coherence: Is the theory internally consistent and free of contradictions?
Testability: is the theory capable of generating testable hypotheses?
Usefulness: can the theory by applied to practical problems?
Acceptability: is the theory generally accepted by scientists?

V. Implicit Theory of Personality: Our own internal frame of reference to make sense of our and
others behavior. An example of personal and social cognition would be how we make sense of
self and others.
Gestalt means organized, meaningful, complete. When something is incomplete we
psychologically try to complete it (i.e. form a gestalt). The principle behind gestalt is that the
whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
PersonalityChapter 1: Scientific Outlook
The definition of personality is a psychological constructa complex abstraction encompassing
a persons genetic and experiential background and history that combined determine habitual and
unique ways of responding
A) Implicit Theories of Personality: our own nave notions of personality as a persons
temperament, social attractiveness or otherwise, or one has no personality. Implicit
theories are not grounded in careful observation, limit what qualifies as personality, and
imply that some people have and others do not have a personality.
B) Scientific Theories: are grounded in systematic observation with the intent of describing,
explaining, predicting, and controlling aspects of the phenomenon (personality) that is
being investigated.
i. Scientific study of individual differences

ii.

iii.
iv.

It attempts to create theories which predict.

The theories are subjected to empirical validation
-For example, test anxiety may lead to poor test performance. Create high test anxiety
and observe subsequent performance decrement.
When hypotheses are confirmed as in test anxiety and performance decrement, a
theory receives empirical support.
A theory is a conceptual device to organize, make sense of, and explain phenomena.