PSYC 2283 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Discriminant, Teleology, Pessimism

• School: Mount Royal University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2283
• Professor: Monica Baehr

Document Summary

Psyc 2283 lecture 3 introduction to personality theory. Personality is defined as the following: a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person"s behaviour. Traits: consistency over time, individual differences in behaviour, stability across situations. Characteristics: unique qualities (ex. temperament, physique, and intelligence) Theory is defined as the following: a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses. Speculation: must be tied to empirical data and science. Hypothesis: specific guess that can be tested using scientific method. Taxonomy: hierarchies, classifications according to natural relationships, they are models, and can change. Different personal backgrounds: childhood experiences, interpersonal relationships. Unique ways of looking at the world. Psychology of science: the empirical study of scientific thought and behaviour (including theory construction) of the scientist. The personalities and psychology of different theorists influence the kinds of theories that they develop.