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Personality 1
Fall 2018 Psyc 2283 Sections 02 & 03
THEORIES OF PERSONALITY 1. Calendar Description
This course emphasizes a scientific approach to the study of personality. It examines theories and research related to the structure and dynamics of personality. Four main theoretical views are covered: psychodynamic, learning, humanistic, and dispositional. Representative theories are presented for each perspective along the following lines: main concepts and hypotheses, empirical work (e.g., measurement of individual differences), and/or psychotherapeutic applications. 3 credits, 3 hours lecture.
Prerequisites: Psychology 1105 (formerly 2205) or Psychology 1101 / 1102.
2. Course Information Instructor: Alain Morin, Ph.D
Office: EA3067
Phone: 440-7069
Email: [email protected]
Web: www2.mtroyal.ab.ca/~amorin
Office hours: on appointment (or right before / after class) Time and location of lectures: - Section 02: Tuesday & Thursday 4.00—5.20 EA1004 - Section 03: Tuesday & Thursday 2.30—3.50 EA1014 3. Textbook
Feist, Feist & Roberts, Personality (Custom Edition). Iowa: Brown & Benchmark. Please purchase a hard copy at MRU bookstore. 4. Course Objectives
Main. The main goal of this course is to present the most important theories and concepts in the field of personality. Researchers in this field seek to understand individual differences. More precisely, objectives includes: (1) to understand the origin of individual differences; (2) to measure these individual differences in order to (3) identify and describe them; (4) to explain their development; (5) to analyze the impact of personality characteristics (or traits) on behavior in general; (6) to understand maladaptive behavior (i.e., psychopathology) and its relation to personality characteristics; and (7) to propose psychotherapeutic interventions for the treatment of maladaptive behavior.
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Secondary.
• To establish links of divergence and convergence between the different theories of personality.
• To propose a global vision and understanding of human behavior and cognition.
• To develop students' critical thinking abilities—their logical, scientific reasoning abilities. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify the three top, average, and weak theories presented in class.
• To increase students' awareness of their own personality characteristics. 5. Evaluation
The evaluation for this course will consist in three exams (80% [20, 30, 30]; see below for schedule). Each exam will be made up of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and some short essays questions; the final exam will be partially comprehensive. Also, on five occasions (to be determined) students will be asked to write short assignments (one page, typed; 20% [3, 3, 4, 5, 5]) pertaining to some aspect of a theory or illustrating how it applies to their own personal history.
Please Note: Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need. In addition, students will not be given the opportunity to improve their grades by completing additional assignments. As such, it is important to monitor your performance in the course. Remember: Students are responsible for their grades in this course. Final Grades—Percentage Equivalents: At the end of the course students will be assigned a letter grade based on the table below: Grade Percent Grade Percent Grade Percent
A+ 95-100% B 73-76% C- 60-62% A 85-94% B- 70-72% D+ 55-59% A- 80-84% C+ 67-69% D 50-54% B+ 77-79% C 63-66% F 0-49% 6. Test & Lecture Schedule
The following schedule is tentative and subject to change as deemed necessary by the instructor. DATES TOPICS READINGS (chapters)
Sept 6 First class --
Sept 11 & 13 General Introduction; Freud 1; 2
Sept 18 & 20 Freud; Erikson 2; 3
Sept 25 & 27 Adler 4
Oct 2 & 4 Horney; EXAM 1 (20%) 5
Oct 9 & 11 Reading Break --
Oct 16 & 18 Horney; Dollard & Miller 5; PDF doc
Oct 23 & 25 Skinner; Bandura 6; 7
Oct 30 & Nov 1 Bandura; Rotter & Mischel 7; 8
Nov 6 & 8 EXAM 2 (30%); Maslow 9
Nov 13 & 15 Maslow; Rogers 9; 10
Nov 20 & 22 Allport; Cattell 11; PDF doc
Nov 27 & 29 Cattell; Eysenck; Big 5 PDF doc; 12; 13
Dec 4 & 6 Big 5; Conclusion 13; 14
Dec 13-23 Final exam period (30%) --
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7. Content (1) General introduction to personality
Personality within psychology. Definition of “Personality”. What makes a theory useful? Why different theories? Concept of humanity. Four theoretical approaches. (2) Freud: Psychoanalytic theory
(NOTE: Freud’s theory will be presented in an interactive fashion as it is well-known to students.) Unconscious, preconscious & conscious. Id, ego & superego. Instincts & anxiety. Defense mechanisms. Development stages: oral, anal & phallic stages; Oedipus & Electra complexes. Dream analysis. Freudian slips. Free association, transference & resistance. (3) Erikson: Post-Freudian theory
Emphasis on ego rather than id functions. Society's influence. The epigenetic principle. Stages of psychosocial development & notions of syntonic & dystonic elements, basic strength & identity crisis; emphasis on adulthood & old age. Erikson's methods of investigation. (4) Adler: Individual psychology
A more humanistic & teleological psychodynamic view. Notions of organ dialect, social interest, style of life, creative power & fictionalism. Feelings of inferiority & striving for perfection or superiority. Abnormal development. Early Recollections. Importance of birth order. (5) Horney: Psychoanalytic social theory
Criticism of Freudian theory. Impact of culture & importance of childhood experiences. Basic anxiety. Neurotic needs. Intrapsychic conflicts: idealized self-image & self-hatred. Feminine psychology & psychotherapy. (6) Dollard & Miller: Extension of psychoanalytic theory
Drive, cue, response & reinforcement. Role of higher mental processes. Conflicts: approach-avoidance, avoidance-avoidance & double approach-avoidance. Repression. Abnormal development. (7) Skinner: Behavioral analysis
Radical behaviorism. Operant conditioning & personality formation. Personality change. Social & self-control. Unhealthy personality: counteracting strategies & inappropriate behaviors. (8) Bandura: Social-cognitive theory
Reciprocal determinism. Importance of chance encounters & fortuitous events. Self-regulation: self-observation, self-evaluation & self-reaction. Self-efficacy. Observational learning. Dysfunctional behavior. (9) Rotter & Mischel: Cognitive-social learning theories
Expectancy, reinforcement value & psychological situation. Needs. Locus of Control. Maladaptive behavior & psychotherapy. The consistency paradox. Person variables: competencies, encoding strategies & self-regulatory system. (10) Allport: Psychology of the individual
Personal dispositions, cardinal, central & secondary traits, proprium, motivation; functional autonomy. Healthy personality. Research methods. (11) Maslow: Holistic-dynamic theory
(NOTE: Maslow's theory will be presented in an interactive fashion as it is well-known to students.) Hierarchy of needs. B-values. Self-actualization: measure & characteristics. Research methods. (12) Rogers: Person-centered theory
Self-concept: real & ideal selves. Conditional & unconditional love. Incongruence. Genuine & phony personality. Psychotherapy.
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(13) Cattell & Eysenck: Trait & factor theories
Factor analysis. P technique & media of observation. Source, second-order & dynamic traits; attitudes, ergs & sems; dynamic lattice. Genetic basis of traits. Extraversion, neuroticism & psychoticism. Biological basis of personality. Personality & health. The Big 5: description. Evidence. Evolution and personality formation. (14) General conclusion
Overall evaluation of theories. Future trends in personality research. 8. Pedagogical Method
The course will consist in lectures, with, from time to time, surveys (e.g., questionnaires) and class exercises. The content of most lectures will be based on Feist, Feist & Roberts' textbook (see above), but the professor will synthesize and illustrate the information in his own way. 9. General Policies
Withdrawal Date November 16, 2018 is the last date to withdraw from this course with a “W’ grade. No withdrawal
will be allowed after the above date. Note also that it is the responsibility of the student to withdraw. If you do not meet the requirements of the course and you are not officially withdrawn you will receive an “F”.
Missed exams and assignments Mid-term exams – If a mid-term exam is missed the student will be required to submit
appropriate documentation to their instructor before make-up arrangements will be considered. The student should consult with their instructor (via email or phone) as soon as possible, preferably prior to the scheduled exam date, for all missed mid-term exams. Unless exceptional circumstances exist, the student will be required to submit appropriate documentation within one week of the missed mid-term exam. If the instructor is satisfied with the documentation provided, the instructor, in consultation with the student, will arrange for the scheduling of a make-up exam.
Some acceptable reasons for missing a scheduled mid-term exam include:
• Personal illness, injury, or bereavement
• Religious observances
• Severe domestic affliction
• Unavoidable and unanticipated demands in caring for dependents
Final Exams – As per Mount Royal University policy (see the academic calendar), the authority to grant or deny a deferred final examination rests with the Chair of the department. Under no circumstances is the deferred examination to be granted after a student has written the original examination. If a valid reason exists, the student may apply to the department Chair for a deferred exam (the student should also contact their instructor via email or phone). Appropriate documentation will need to be provided. See above for some acceptable reasons for missing a scheduled final exam.
Note: if the intended absence is due to religious conviction, the Registrar and the instructor must be informed in writing of the conflict at least 2 weeks prior to the date of the scheduled final exam.
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Students must be available for examinations up to the last day of the examination period as specified in the Academic Schedule of the MRU calendar (see page 32).
Academic Regulations These can be found in the MRU Academic Calendar. Procedure for appeals and grievances can
also be found in MRU Academic Calendar. Code of Student Conduct Academic misconduct will NOT be tolerated. See the Mount Royal Code of Student Conduct for a
discussion of violations and possible consequences. The code of student conduct concerns academic and non-academic misconduct and it is the responsibility of the student to be familiar with the code. The complete code of student conduct is available through the Office of Student Conduct (C 109), the Student’s Association of Mount Royal University or at: www.mtroyal.ca/codeofstudentconduct
The following definition of academic dishonesty is given in the MRU Academic Calendar: “Academic dishonesty is defined as the giving, taking or presenting of information or material that unethically or dishonestly aids oneself or another on any work which is to be considered in the determination of a grade, the compilation of academic requirements or the enhancement of a student’s record or academic career.”
In line with this definition, it is important to avoid all forms of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, in your academic writing. In writing scholarly papers, you must keep firmly in mind the need to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged borrowing of another writer's words or ideas. The following rules pertain to the acknowledgements necessary in academic papers: in using another writer's words, you must both place the words in quotation marks and acknowledge that the words are those of another writer; in adopting another writer's ideas, you must acknowledge that they are his/hers. If you are in doubt about whether what you are doing is inappropriate, consult your instructor. A claim that "you didn't know it was wrong" will not be accepted as an excuse.
A guide to avoiding plagiarism can be found at the Office of Student Conduct website: http://www.mtroyal.ca/cs/groups/public/documents/pdf/guide_to_avoidng_plagiarism.pdf
Videotaping of Lectures It is a Department of Psychology procedure and MRU Policy (505) that you must have written
consent of the Instructor of your course to video or audio tape lectures. 10. University Services
There are a number of services at MRU intended to help students in need. Three of these services are highlighted below. Information about other services is available on the Mount Royal website:http://www.mtroyal.ca The Learning Skills Centre offers a wide range of services for students, ranging from one-on-one tutoring, to help with group work, to specific workshops, etc. To find out more about what the learning specialists at the Learning Skills Centre offer you can look at the following website: http://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/ResourcesServices/StudentLearningServices/index.htm or drop in at T123 or telephone 440-6452. Accessibility Services offers accommodations for students with physical or learning disabilities. To find out more about these services you can look at the following website: http://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/ResourcesServices/StudentLearningServices/AccessibilityServices/index.htm or you can drop-in to make an appointment at Y201 or telephone 403-440-6868.
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Should you experience difficulties with coping, encounter a stressful situation, or experience any other problem during the term with which you need help, you can access counseling through Student Counselling Services. You can receive up to eight sessions of counseling free of charge each year that you are a student at the MRU. To find out more about these services you can look at the following website: http://www.mtroyal.ca/CampusServices/WellnessServices/StudentCounselling/index.htm or you can drop in to make an appointment at U216 or by telephoning 440-6362.
11. Two notes (1) Reference letters. Students often ask me to write reference letters on their behalf, either for graduate school admission or for employment purposes. Please note that I only write letters for students I know very well, that is, students who took 2 or more courses with me AND got extensive research experience with me (e.g., testing, coding, conference presentations). Any reference letter written by an instructor who poorly knows the candidate will have very little weight and influence. (2) Research assistants (RA). Students often ask me if they could gain research experience by working with me on my Inner Speech research. While I greatly appreciate this, I do not need RA right now (Fall 2018) as I already have enough dedicated undergraduate and graduate students working for me.
