College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
PSY 227
Introduction to Personality
3 credit hours
Fall 2008
Dr. Virginia
Blankenship
Department of Psychology
| Class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 - 5:15 p.m. in 107 SBS |
| Office Hours in 345 SBS: 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, 928-523-5500 |
| Preferred method of contact: email Virginia.Blankenship@nau.edu |
Course Prerequisite: PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent).
Course Description: Theories and topics in personality including its development, measurement, research, and behavior change techniques. The theories include disposition, biological, psychoanalytic, neoanalytic, learning, cognitive, and phenomenological perspectives of personality.
Course Objectives: The objectives of this course are to provide the student with a solid basis for understanding personality and its development and with the ability to apply that understanding to themselves and others. At the end of the course the student should have an appreciation of the multiple approaches to conceptualizing personality, the various methods of research that have been applied to this field, the diverse ways personality is assessed, and how the different approaches to personality guide therapy for people with personality disorders. This material provides insight into your own behavior, as well as the behavior of others.
Student Learning Outcomes: At the end of the course you, the student, should have a broad knowledge of personality theories and the perspectives that organize them. You should be familiar with personality research, focusing on methods used to explore individual differences. You should have experience with measures of personality characteristics and with approaches to therapy to treat personality disorders.
Course Structure/ Approach: The course will combine lecture with class discussion. Whenever possible experience with research instruments will be provided.
Textbook: Perspectives on Personality, 6th Edition. By
Charles S. Carver and Michael F. Scheier. Published by Allyn and Bacon,
2008.
ISBN-10: 0-205-52262-9
ISBN-13:
978-0-205-52262-0
Articles are
available on the homepage of the Vista shell for this course.
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes. There will be 4 examinations and a cumulative final examination with multiple choice and short essay questions. Each examination will be graded on an A-F scale:
90-100%
A
80-89%
B
65-79%
C
50-64%
D
0-49%
F
Your final grade will be based on the highest three of your four regular examinations (25% each) and the final examination (25%). Make-up examinations will be given only if you present written documentation from your physician that you were ill on the day of the exam or you have a signed official institutional excuse form. If you miss a regular examination, that grade will be the one dropped. All students must take the final examination.
Assignments: To be completed before class
Aug. 26 |
Chapter 1 – What is Personality Psychology? |
|
Aug. 28 - Sept. 2 |
Chapter 2 – Methods in the Study of Psychology Read: McNiel, J. M., & Fleeson, W. (2006). The causal effects of extraversion on positive affect and neuroticism on negative affect: Manipulating state extraversion and state neuroticism in an experimental approach. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 529-550. |
|
Sept. 4 - 9 |
Chapter 3 – Issues in Personality Assessment |
|
Sept 11 |
First Exam |
|
Sept. 16 |
Chapter 4 – Types, Traits, and Interactionism |
|
Sept. 18 - 23 |
Chapter 5 – Needs and Motives |
|
Sept. 25 |
Chapter 6 – Inheritance, Evolution, and Personality Skim: Eid, et al. (2003). Sociability and positive emotionality: Genetic and environmental contributions to the covariation between different facets of extraversion. Journal of Personality, 71(3), 319-346. |
|
Sept. 30 |
Chapter 7 – Biological Processes and Personality |
|
Oct. 2 |
Second Exam |
|
Oct. 7 |
Chapter 8 – Psychoanalytic Structure and Process Read: Bushman, B. J. (2002). Does venting anger feed or extinguish the flame? Catharsis, rumination, distraction, anger, and aggressive responding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 724-731. |
|
Oct. 9 |
Chapter 9 – Anxiety, Defense, and Self-Protection |
|
Oct. 14 |
Chapter 10 – Ego Psychology |
|
Oct. 16-21 |
Chapter 11 – Psychosocial Theories |
|
Oct. 23 |
Third Exam |
|
Oct. 28 |
Chapter 12 – Conditioning Theories |
|
Oct. 30 |
Chapter 13 – Social-Cognitive Learning Theories |
|
Nov. 4-6 |
Chapter 14 – Humanistic Psychology: Self-Actualization and Self-Determination |
| Nov. 11 | Veterans Day Holiday - No Class |
|
Nov. 13 |
Chapter 15 – Personal Constructs Skim: Koch, E. (2006). Personal constructs and psychodynamic psychotherapy: A case study. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 23 (3), 554-578. |
|
Nov. 18 |
Fouth Exam |
|
Nov. 20 |
Chapter 16 – Contemporary Cognitive Views |
|
Nov. 25 - Dec. 2 |
Chapter 17 – Self-Regulation |
|
Dec. 4 |
Chapter 18 – Overlap and Integration |
|
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 3-5 p.m. |
Final Examination (Cumulative) |
Course Policies: High ethical standards are imperative in a socially responsible educational environment. Cheating will not be tolerated in this course. Anyone discovered cheating on an exam will receive a zero as a minimum punishment. Please refer to the Student Handbook for University policy on cheating and plagiarism. Attendance will be taken and your presence at each class is strongly encouraged.