175 words each 

Post 1: 

According to the textbook, Theories of Personality, a useful theory organizes known facts, generates research, and helps predict and explain behaviors. Some requirements involve the ability to be practical, testable, and logically consistent. By creating a theory that includes making observations, identifying key patterns, and forming explanations that are redefined over time, and backed up by evidence. Some differences between a theory and an idea are that a theory is a structured and very much evidence-based system of concepts, whereas an idea is usually untested and less developed. 

The textbook continues to outline six “dimensions for a concept of humanity,” which reflect different assumptions theorists make about human nature. One of these is “determinism versus free will”, which explores whether behavior is formed by internal and external forces or by individual choice. For example, Freud’s psychological theory supports determinism, which suggests unconscious drives and childhood experiences form behavior. An individual avoiding intimacy due to past trauma due to past trauma is an example of this. Understanding these elements helps evaluate different personality theories and their outlook on human nature. 

Post 2:

According to the textbook, a useful theory is a set of related assumptions. It is formed by first forming several hypotheses. It is part of a cycle that involves research, generating data, and yielding new hypotheses, continuing this way until it is no longer useful. It is also only useful if it is organized in a meaningful way, is consistent and straightforward, and can either be confirmed or disconfirmed. The theory stops being useful when it is unable to generate additional research or explain its data. A theory is different from an idea in that it contains several ideas which will generate research.

One of the six "dimensions for a concept of humanity" is social vs. biological influences. This sounds like the concept often referred to as "nature vs. nurture." We often wonder if our personalities are mostly predetermined based on our genes, or if it is more shaped by the way we are raised. For example, if someone's biological parent had violent tendencies, but they were not raised by this parent, would they be more predisposed to violence than someone who is raised by loving parents? Or would this only be the case for someone raised around violence? Twins separated at birth can give some insight into these questions.