PSYC 410:  Theories of Personality

Gary S. Gregg

OU403-E     people.kzoo.edu/ggregg/

Fall, 2017

 

 

 

 

            This seminar will study theories of personality development and structure, focusing on three levels of personality organization, and the genetic, social, and cultural factors that shape them, and on stage models of life-span development.  In addition to studying theories and personality assessment methods, students will (1) create and evaluate a measure of a personality trait, need, or motive, (2) synthesize their own theory of personality, and (3) conduct an individual “case study” of personality development.

 

 

 

Core Reading

 

McAdams, The Person (text)

 

Hall, Lindsey, & Campbell, Theories of Personality (text)

 

 

 

 


Syllabus

 

Section I

Topic:  Personality Theory

 

Topic

Reading

Wk 1 Tues.

Introduction

Levels of Personality Organization

 

McAdams, “What Do We Know…”

 

Wk 1 Thur.

Levels of Personality Organization:

   “genotypic” & “phenotypic”

Attachment & Aggression

McAdams, Ch. 1 pp. 21-28 24 – 31

LeVine, Culture, Behavior & Personality  excerpt

McAdams, pp.50-66  52 - 69

Section I

Personality Traits

 

 Wk 2 Tues.

Traits:  theory and measurement

Traits:  H. Eysenck

McAdams, Ch. 4 pp. 106-154 112–152

Hall & Lindsey, Ch. 9 pp. 360 - 390

Wk 2 Thur.

Traits:  The “Big Five”

Traits as “types”

McAdams, Ch. 5 pp. 155-203 153 – 199

Kagan, “The Idea of Temperamental Types”

Wk 3 Tues.

Traits:  Continuity & Heritability

Traits as adaptations

McAdams, Ch. 6 pp. 205-251 201 – 245

Sulloway, “Birth Order and Personality and Family Niches”

Wk 3 Tues.

 

Paper due:  psychobiography topic & preliminary bibliography

Wk 3 Thur.

Needs & Motives:  Henry Murray & others

McAdams, Ch. 7 pp. 279-300 275 – 297

Hall & Lindsey, Ch. 6 pp. 221 - 267

 

Section II

Psychodynamic Theories & Life-Span Development

 

Topic

Reading

Wk 4 Mon.

 

Paper due:  trait study

Wk 4 Tues.

Freud

Breuer & Freud:  “Anna O”

  "Psychical Mechanism of Hysteria"

McAdams, Ch. 7 pp. 255-271 249 - 265

Wk 4 Thur.

Freud

Hall & Lindsey, Ch. 2 pp. 30 - 73

McAdams, Ch. 11 pp. 429-451  427-452 

Wk 5 Tues.

Jung

 

Adler

Hall & Lindsey, Ch. 3 pp. 78 - 121

McAdams, Ch. 11 pp. 451-457 452 - 459

Hall & Lindsey, Ch 4 pp. 122 – 139

McAdams, Ch. 11 pp. 458-462 459 - 464

Wk 5 Thur.

Erikson

Hall & Lindsey, Ch. 5 pp. 173 – 218

McAdams, Ch. 9 pp. 350 - 371

Erikson, Eight Ages of Man [sic]

Wk 6 Tues.

Gender development

State theories

Chodorow:  “On the Reproduction of Mothering…”

Helson et al, "Is There Development Distinctive to Women?"

Wk 6 Thur. State Theories

Horowitz, “States and State Cycles”

Gregg, “States and Selves”


 

Section III

The Study of Lives

 

Topic

Reading

Wk 7 Mon.

 

Paper Due:  theory

Wk 7  Tues.

Life-Span Development

Psychological Biography

McAdams, Ch. 12 pp. 480-510 485 – 518

Elms, "The Psychologist as Biographer"

Schultz, "Introducing Psychobiography"

Wk 7  Thur.

Psychological Biography

Schultz, "How to Strike Psychologcial Pay Dirt"

Runyan, "Van Gogh's Ear"

Wk 8 Tues.

Psychological Biography

Ogilvie, "Margaret's Smile"

McAdams, "Bush the Leader"

Wk 8 Thur.

Culture and Personality

Doi, Anatomy of Dependence excerpts

Matsumoto, Unmasking Japan excerpts

Wk 9 Tues.

Culture and Personality

Chua, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”

Fung, “Socialization of Shame in Young Chinese Children”

Chao:  “Understanding Chinese Parenting”

Wk 9 Thur.

Dialogical Self

McAdams, Ch. 11 pp. 462-466  464 – 468

Raggatt, Multiplicity and Conflict in the Dialogical Self

Wk 10 Tues.

Psych Biography Presentations

 

Wk 10 Thur.

Psych Biography Presentations

 

Final time

 

 

 


The Seminar

            The course will run as a graduate-style seminar with student-led discussion aimed at:  (1) understanding the theories and research we read, (2) constructively criticizing them, and (3) evaluating their applications, moral & political implications, and aesthetic qualities.

            For each reading, I’ll ask one student to prepare a brief commentary to lead off our discussion.  To help us have high-quality discussions, I’ll ask all students to write and bring to class “talking-point notes” for each reading, that can be used to add points to those covered by the lead-off discussant, and raise additional questions.  (I occasionally will collect the “talking-point” notes, to help track how students are understanding and reacting to the readings.)

            I also will provide background information on many readings, concepts, and studies, and we sometimes will break into small-group discussions or research working-groups.

 

Assignments

            The course has three assignments.  Please regard each as a major project, in which you demonstrate your understanding and mastery of the material we study and ability to critically synthesize and apply it.

1.  Trait research project:  define a potentially-important personality trait, develop a measure of the trait, and collect data to assess its reliability and validity.  The group or individual paper will be an APA-style research report with introduction / literature review, methods, results, and discussion sections.

2.  Personality Theory:  outline and argue for a theory of personality based on selection from and/or synthesis of the theories we study, and on additional reading about at least one theory.

3.  Psychological Biography:  study an individual life – an historical figure, writer, artist, celebrity, etc. -- using available sources, and analyze his/her personality development and organization using theories we have studied.