When Parsimony Fails. ..

The framework for an academic field outlines the content of that field. The field's textbooks and reviews organize the field according to the framework's outline. Today, the field of personality psychology lacks a single, integrative framework. As a consequence, the field appears disorganized and weak. The systems framework developed in this article provides a unified presentation of the field. The framework employs 4 topics to organize the field: personality's (a) identification (or definition), (b) components, (c) organization, and (d) development. Each of the four topics is associated, in turn, with its own subsidiary framework that outlines its more specific coverage. The systems framework communicates personality psychology more effectively than previous presentations of the field. Its fieldwide overview provides a unified perspective for studying, explaining, and evaluating the personality system.