PSYC1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Gordon Allport, Nomothetic
8 Jun 2018
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Department
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Lecture 1- Theories of Personality
Personality
• Person: means a mask, a character, a part or a role that is
adopted by a person
• Persona (Latin): distinction of how we appear superficially and
how we are beneath the mask/persona
• The nomothetic (Greek word for law): Investigating what
makes us similar
E.g. all human beings need to be loved
• Idiographic: what makes us different, uniqueness and
individuality
• Parental pray and criticism influences individual personality
and behaviour
• Gordon Allport
Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual
of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustments to his environment
Fundamental Approaches to Personality Theory
1. Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic
2. Cognitive behaviour - dominant
3. Humanistic/phenomenological/existential
4. Dispositional (traits) - dominant
What is a Theory?
• System or a network of theoretical statement: a descriptive
statement that says that something is the case and that state is
either true or false
• Cant be tested directly or looking
What is the function of a theory?
• To derive predications or research hypothesis which can be
tested directly by rigorous observations, collecting data
• Explain phenomenon: the nomothetic and idiographic issue
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Fundamental approaches to personality theory: psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, cognitive behaviour - dominant, humanistic/phenomenological/existential, dispositional (traits) - dominant. What is a theory: system or a network of theoretical statement: a descriptive statement that says that something is the case and that state is either true or false, cant be tested directly or looking. What is the function of a theory: to derive predications or research hypothesis which can be tested directly by rigorous observations, collecting data, explain phenomenon: the nomothetic and idiographic issue. Deriving a prediction from theory and going out to collect data analyse to find evidence for your prediction. If prediction is true, you infer back to the theory and say (cid:498)therefore the evidence suggest the prediction is true, therefore the evidence confirms the theory(cid:499) Conceptually- involves analysing concepts, arguments, definitions and assumptions for the theory. If a theory is incoherent= will not be true. Coherent= necessary true but not sufficient, need tot then test theory empirically.
