PSYCH 2B03 Lecture 1: Lecture 1
12 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
More global and general: tries to explain an enormous range of things. Personality is the foundation for all of our behaviour. Long history of interest: people have been talking about it for 3000 years. Many large scale theories: there are dozens of theories which are different from one and other. In personality field it is less guided by research. Practitioners first, they worked with people then from the basis of what was working in a clinical situation they developed a theory. Therapeutic approach is developed, if therapy works = theory is validated. Theorists clinicians and practitioners, not scientists or researchers: Influenced by theorist"s personality: we see the influence of theorists lives on their theories. Little empirical support: there is not lots of data to prove it. Non-scientific evaluation: less scientific approach to validating theories. Theories difficult to test: postdictive not predictive. Once something has happened all personality theories can explain how something might have happened (postdictive)
