Psych. 251: Personality Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering introductory concepts from Psych. 251: Personality lecture, including definitions of personality, theory, functions of theory, and criteria for theory evaluation.

Prof. Fredric Agatstein

The professor for the Psych. 251: Personality course.

Personality

An idea, or a way of thinking about certain aspects of human behavior and experience.

Aspects of Personality

Consistency (over time, over situations, and over behaviors), coherence, and individual differences.

Theory

A set of interrelated concepts, used or created by a theorist, to explain some phenomenon of interest.

Criterion for Theory Evaluation

Truth is not an appropriate criterion; instead, the key criterion is 'Does it work?'

Functions of Theory

The four functions that a theory should fulfill: descriptive, explanatory, simplifying, and heuristic.

Formal Criteria for Evaluating Theory

1) Research relevant/testability, 2) Comprehensiveness, 3) Parsimony, plus 'Do we like it?'