Chapter 1    Introduction to Personality Theory5
fei75766_ch01_001-018.indd 5  02/06/20 10:41 AMWhat Is a Theory?
Theword “theory” hasthedubious distinction ofbeing oneofthemost misused and
misunderstood words intheEnglish language. Some people contrast theory totruth 
orfact,butsuchanantithesis demonstrates afundamental lackofunderstanding of
allthree terms. Inscience, theories aretools usedtogenerate research andorganize 
observations, butneither “truth” nor“fact” hasaplace inscientific terminology.
Theory Defined
Ascientific theory isa set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use  logical 
deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses. Thisdefinition needs further 
explanation. First, atheory isa setofassumptions. Asingle assumption cannever 
fulfill alltherequirements ofanadequate theory. Asingle assumption, forexample, 
could notserve tointegrate several observations, something auseful theory should do.
Second, atheory isasetofrelated assumptions. Isolated assumptions cannei-
thergenerate meaningful hypotheses norpossess internal consistency—the twocrite-
riaofauseful theory.
Thethird keyword inthedefinition isassumptions. Thecomponents ofatheory 
arenotproven factsinthesense thattheirvalidity hasbeen absolutely established. 
They are,however, accepted as iftheyweretrue.Thisisapractical step,taken so
thatscientists canconduct useful research, theresults ofwhich continue tobuild and
reshape theoriginal theory.
Fourth, logical deductive reasoning isusedbytheresearcher toformulate 
hypotheses. Thetenets ofatheory must bestated withsufficient precision andlogi-
calconsistency topermit scientists todeduce clearly stated hypotheses. Thehypoth -
esesarenotcomponents ofthetheory, butflowfrom it.Itisthejobofanimaginative 
scientist tobegin withthegeneral theory and,through deductive reasoning, arrive 
ataparticular hypothesis thatcanbetested. Ifthegeneral theoretical propositions 
areillogical, theyremain sterile andincapable ofgenerating hypotheses. Moreover, 
ifaresearcher usesfaulty logic indeducing hypotheses, theresulting research will
bemeaningless andwillmake nocontribution totheongoing process oftheory 
construction.
Thefinalpartofthedefinition includes thequalifier testable. Unless ahypoth -
esiscanbetested insome way,itisworthless. Thehypothesis need notbetested 
immediately, butitmust suggest thepossibility thatscientists inthefuture might 
develop thenecessary means totestit.
Theory and Its Relatives
People sometimes confuse theory withphilosophy, orspeculation, orhypothesis, or
taxonomy. Although theory isrelated toeachofthese concepts, itisnotthesame as
anyofthem.
Philosophy
First, theory isrelated tophilosophy, butitisamuch narrower term. Philosophy 
means loveofwisdom, andphilosophers arepeople whopursue wisdom through Final PDF to printer