A Paradigm is -
- a grand or overarching theory that explains human behaviour.
- a framework that helps us to understand persons and conduct research.
5 major paradigms (in historical order) -
- psychoanalysis
- behaviourism
- humanism
- cognitive psych
- systems theory
3 schools of psychology
- Psychoanalysis (led by Freud) - The unconscious and determinism
- Behaviourism, a reaction to Psychoanalysis.
Only what you can measure, shaping behaviour. - Humanism, a reaction to both.
Belief in human potential to determine and live meaningful lives.
PSYCHOANALYSIS
The theory of psychoanalysis -
Helps us understand people and treat their internal conflicts.
Qualities of psychoanalysis -
-Intra-psychic •Conflictual •Deterministic •Importance of early childhood •Unconscious •Anxiety •Importance of instincts or drives as motivators.
Personality -
- a psychological construct
- an abstract term we use to describe something we cannot touch
Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of the various human domains that determine a person’s typical behaviours, emotions, and thoughts.
Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behaviour.
Traits contribute to individual differences in behaviour. They can be unique, common to some group, shared by the entire species but their pattern is different for each person.
Characteristics - unique qualities that include temperament, physique and intelligence.
3 focal points of personality -
- structure - contents that make our person, qualities, personality factors, traits ex: shy, dominant etc
- dynamics - how these contents fit together and relate to one another
- development - how these qualities grow, change or remain the same ex: childhood, adulthood.
Physical domain -
Our body and how we experience it.
Our body influences how we feel, how we behave, what we think - making it a part of our personality.
- height, weight, body shape, looks…
Emotional domain -
- what we feel, feelings in different situations.
Cognitive domain -
- how we think (logical, impulsive etc), our thought processes, how we explain our actions and thoughts.
behavioural domain -
- how we behave, relate, talk, walk, dress, mannerisms.
Spiritual domain -
- beliefs, meaning of life and experiences, purpose of life, values.
Why study personality ?
To -
- understand
- predict
- treat
Nature vs nurture debate -
Were we born with our personality or is shaped through experiences during our childhood?
Nature - more fixed, less prone to change, more biological.
Implications on - training (are leaders born or made?), psychotherapy, mental illness, criminals, intelligence.
personality psychologists do -
- psychotherapy
- assessment
- research
- theorising
Theory - a set of related assumptions.
A scientific theory that is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to form testable hypothesis. A single assumption can never serve to integrate several observations. Isolated assumptions can neither generate meaningful hypotheses nor possess internal consistency.
Components of theory - not proven facts, but accepted as if they were true.
Logical deductive reasoning - used by researchers to form a hypo. It is the logical process from one or more statements to reach a logical conclusion.
Inductive reasoning - makes broad generalisations from specific observations. There is data and then conclusions are drawn from that data.
Theory and its relatives -
Philosophy, speculation, hypothesis and taxonomy are concepts related to theories, however, they are not the same as THEORY.
Philosophy - related to theory, but a narrower term. Philo means love of wisdom. Philosophers pursue wisdom through thinking and reasoning.
- epistemology - nature of knowledge. Theory is related closely to epistemology, tool used by scientists to gain knowledge.
Philo deals with what ought to be or what should be, theory does not.
Speculation - theories relied on speculation. Speculation and observation are 2 essential cornerstones of theory building, but speculation must not advance controlled observation.
Hypothesis - closely related to theory. an educated guess or prediction validly tested through the use of the scientific method. Hypo are more specific than theories. Using inductive reasoning (going from the general to the specific) the investigator then alters the theory to reflect these results. when a theory grows or changes, other hypos can be drawn from it, reshaping the theory.
Taxonomy - classification of things according to their natural relationships. They are essential to the dev of science because without classification of data, science could not grow. Taxonomies can evolve into theories when they begin to generate testable hypotheses and explain research findings.
A useful theory -
- has an interaction with research data.
- organises research data into structures, providing an explanation for results.
The 6 criteria of a useful theory -
- Generates research
- Is falsifiable - must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support its major tenets.
- Organises data
- Guides action
- Internally consistent
- Parsimonious (theories almost equal to one another)
