Scientific Study of Personality
Scientific Study of Personality
Scientific Study of Personality
In the search for understanding behavior, the quest takes one to the subject of “personality”. There have always been questions as to why people do what they do, whether or not people have the ability to shape their own personality, and why people are so different. There are individuals that are predictable and others that are completely unpredictable, and what exactly controls or is a factor in one’s personality. Personality is a complex topic and different psychologists define this topic in several different ways. The complexity of personality has prompted researchers to use different types of methods which consist of three commonly used approaches. This paper will discuss how psychologists define personality and provide an overview of the definition of personality. This paper will also discuss the three different methods used to study personality: case studies, correlation designs and experimental designs. All three approaches have different information that is provided as well as differences that will be explained. Having a generalized idea of the advantages and disadvantages will help clarify and explore personality characteristics.
Defining Personality
Personality is a very complex and intriguing topic and because of the changes that occur so frequently it has been difficult for theorists to pinpoint one sound definition. Since this has been an issue all personality psychologists have come up with a term that generally defines personality. Personality is described as psychological qualities that contribute to an individual’s enduring and distinctive pattern of feeling, thinking and behavior (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Enduring is described as the qualities that are consistent across time and across different situations while distinctive in the definition is described as psychological features that differentiate people from one another (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Contribute to
Scientific Study of Personality
In the search for understanding behavior, the quest takes one to the subject of “personality”. There have always been questions as to why people do what they do, whether or not people have the ability to shape their own personality, and why people are so different. There are individuals that are predictable and others that are completely unpredictable, and what exactly controls or is a factor in one’s personality. Personality is a complex topic and different psychologists define this topic in several different ways. The complexity of personality has prompted researchers to use different types of methods which consist of three commonly used approaches. This paper will discuss how psychologists define personality and provide an overview of the definition of personality. This paper will also discuss the three different methods used to study personality: case studies, correlation designs and experimental designs. All three approaches have different information that is provided as well as differences that will be explained. Having a generalized idea of the advantages and disadvantages will help clarify and explore personality characteristics.
Defining Personality
Personality is a very complex and intriguing topic and because of the changes that occur so frequently it has been difficult for theorists to pinpoint one sound definition. Since this has been an issue all personality psychologists have come up with a term that generally defines personality. Personality is described as psychological qualities that contribute to an individual’s enduring and distinctive pattern of feeling, thinking and behavior (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Enduring is described as the qualities that are consistent across time and across different situations while distinctive in the definition is described as psychological features that differentiate people from one another (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Contribute to
References: American Psychological Association. (2012). Glossary of Psychological Terms. In American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/action/glossary.asp#e California State University, Fresno. (2008, July 24). Research Methods by Dummies. Retrieved from http://psych.csufresno.edu/psy144/content/Design/Types/correlational.html Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2010). Personality: Theory and Research (11th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Trapnell, P. (2012). Chapter 2: Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design. Retrieved from http://www.paultrapnell.com/2300/chap02.ppt