Methods of Personality Theory Research

Research is a powerful tool in supporting any theory that must be proven in all sciences. Just as in any other subject, the science of personality must use research in order to support theories.   The   relationship between theory and research in the study of personality is especially challenging because subjects and their reasons for particular behaviors can vary in as many ways as there are people.   There is also the challenge of determining the roots of a personality, sometimes characteristics must be   determined to be of environmental cause or biological predisposition. Research of on the topic of personality can take many forms such as, natural observation, which can be effective because the subject is observed in the most natural state and may not know that he is being observed and therefore may not have a need to alter the behavior.   One disadvantage of this type of research is that it may be time consuming as the desired situation or behavior may not be able to be observed in a timely manner.

The next research method is case study.   In a case study, the subject may also be observed in a natural environment but may also be interview or tested by the researcher.   The disadvantage of this type of research is that since usually only one subject is studied at a time the behavior may not be typical and cannot be generalized.   Survey research is fairly common and can be used to gather large amounts of information in a fairly short amount of time.   Survey limitations include the possibility of less accurate results due to the researcher having less direct interaction with the participants.   Misunderstanding on the questionaires are common and there is also the possibility of outright lying.   Other methods include correlation studies which help to measure how one variable effects another and psychological studies, which compare subject's behaviors with precalculated norms.   As we observed, each of these methods have a valid place in psychological studies but they... [continues]

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