Personality psychology
The differential psychology and personality psychology are central to the field of psychology with three tasks: to describe individual differences in individual psychological characteristics and the relatively enduring personality characteristics and to explain to integrate the empirical results to a theory of personality and the appropriate strategies and to develop practical methods of psychological diagnostics and justified theoretically. While some authors distinguish between the two terms, other authors use it interchangeably.
These objectives identify the difference to general psychology, which explores those psychological laws that apply to all individuals equally. The Differential psychology and personality psychology are the key foundations of applied psychology, because the psychological practice of work and school psychology, counseling, psychotherapy, etc. will usually start from the observed differences between individuals or groups. In this context, personality psychology is also considered part of the leadership psychology.
Important research topics include the intelligence diagnostics ( see Intelligence Quotient ), the creativity, but also the general question of what these differences between individuals are based, for example, the extent to which they come by assessment materialize or be acquired and trained by experience ( cf. heritability ).
Scientific research concepts ( paradigms ) of personality psychology differ from folk-psychological concepts of personality. Psychologists seek a theoretically justified model of personality, while used, for example everyday attribution processes in the naive (subjective) everyday theories (Example: "He behaves this way because he has a strong personality "). Examples of scientific paradigms are the psychoanalytic, the interactionist, the behaviorist, the evolutionary psychology and the information processing paradigm.
History
In the double name, which is now included as a subject in academic examination regulations of psychology, the two main traditions can be seen: the branch of differential psychology is concerned with the differences ( differences) between individuals in terms of psychological dimensions, properties and states. There are differences between individuals (ie, inter - individual), but also studied within a person himself (intra - individual). Examples include the change in performance of the daily routine and the change of personality traits in the life span of an individual.
The sub-area personality psychology ( personality research ) has in the character customer ( characterology ) and biographical psychology a long history. Since ancient times there have been attempts, the character, the temperament and the ability of a person to capture a whole, explain and understand. These traditional teachings and intent of the knowledge of human nature can also be seen in the widespread in the 18th and 19th century empirical psychology.
In the theories of personality, the findings about the diverse individual differences are linked to a theory. About the description of individual characteristics and personality traits also asked for the pattern and the inner connection, according to the structure and dynamics and the development principles of the entire personality. The personality psychology sometimes requires a different methodological setting, ie not only descriptive, experimental and statistical methods, but also psychological interpretation and biographical methodology to understand the life and development context of a personality.
Both directions are still available as pronounced and often irritating methods and theoretical pluralism of the area and can serve as a contrast or difficult to be understood as a necessary complement. So already developed William Stern, who is regarded as the founder of systematic differential psychology, a personology ( personality theory, personalism ), and Hans Thomae saw in psychological biography of nomothetic and ideographic synthesis of the research.
Some textbooks use only one of the terms for the entire area, and the issues of the other area to be treated only subordinate. The fact that both directions are essential, evident in practice when it comes to the description, assessment, diagnosis and prediction of certain personality traits. This approach requires a personality theory as a scientific reference system in order to justify the selection, arrangement and interpretation of individual personality traits and the preferred research methodology can. The descriptive Differential Psychology provides the empirical basis for the more or less broad personality theories and the corresponding theory-based diagnostics and application.
Selection of known theories of personality
- Big Five ( Psychology )
- Kelly's construct theory
- Ego development by Jane Loevinger
- Biopsychological personality theory of Hans Jürgen Eysenck
- Carl Rogers' self-actualization
- Erik H. Erikson's theory of identity development
- Gordon Allport and James McKeen Cattell's trait theories