According to the "toolkit" metaphor, on what basis should we evaluate theories of personality?
A) According to whether they're correct most of the time; for instance, of 100 empirical studies that use the theory to explain a phenomenon, more than half should "work."
B) According to what they can accomplish with them, to what advantages they have over other theories, and to what "tools" could be added or subtracted to make them better.
C) According to how long they've been around, to how many times they've been used to explain phenomena, and to how many textbooks in which they appear.
D) According to whether they have "intuitive appeal" - that is, some theories make so much sense when one hears about them, that even in the absence of data, one can sense their value.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the "toolkit" metaphor, theories of personality should be evaluated based on what they can accomplish, how they compare to other theories, and what improvements can be made to them. This is because theories are seen as tools that are meant to be used and improved upon over time, rather than fixed or static explanations for human behavior. Therefore, option B is the best answer. Options A, C, and D are not accurate descriptions of how theories should be evaluated under the "toolkit" metaphor.

According to the "Toolkit" Metaphor, on What Basis Should We