· Personality traits are descriptors of average tendencies – personality as a whole is comprised of traits and mechanisms that are organized and relatively enduring

· Basic topics studied: how many fundamental traits are there, how are they organized, how did they originate, their correlations and consequences

· Three levels of personality analysis – as human nature, (individual and) group differences, and individual uniqueness; as human nature and groups differences use the nomothetic (academic) approach while individual uniqueness uses the idiographic (clinical) approach

· Purposes of a good theory: guide for researchers, organize known findings, and make predictions about our behavior

· Sources of Personality Data: Self-report (interviews, periodic self reports, questionnaires), Observer-report, Test-data (standardized testing, physiological data, projective tests), Life-Outcome Data (criminal and medical records)

· Reliability Types: has to do with consistency! test-retest, parallel forms, internal consistency (split-half, Cronbach’s alpha, average item total reliability, average inter-item reliability)