PSY202H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Nomothetic
Document Summary
The study of personality includes two major approaches: nomothetic approach and. Nomothetic approach: the approach that looks at the big trends. Idiographic approach: the approach that looks at the bigger differences. The study of personality has two main components: Explaining personality: what makes us different, the questions that one can ask while explain personality include, why does an individual have a certain personality, what effe(cid:272)ts perso(cid:374)ality (cid:373)ight ha(cid:448)e o(cid:374) o(cid:374)e"s (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iour. How can we define or measure personality: we can define or measure personality through tests, or we can compare them with the other personality traits. Personality measurement tools: below are some tools that help us measure/define personality, personality inventories (personality test which is the simplest way to assess personality, projective techniques. In short, the descriptive traits are too general: they make us think that they are accurate, but they are actually vague. Weakness of personality inventories: most tests have weakness in validity and reliability.
