Psy250 Syllabus

| |Syllabus |
| |College of Social Sciences |
| |PSY/250 Version 7 |
| |Psychology of Personality |

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the study of personality. The course examines theoretical explanations for understanding personality development and explores each theory. The course also investigates how personality is assessed. The focus is on approaches that psychology has developed for understanding personality and on applications for organizational processes.

Policies

Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents:

• University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum.

University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality.

Course Materials

|Week One: Introduction to Psychology of Personality |
| |Details |Due |Points |
|Objectives |Define personality. | | |
| |Describe the reliability and validity of personality measurements. | | |
| |Explain personality constructs as a basis of personality theories. | | |
|Readings |Read Ch. 1 & 2 of Personality. | | |
| |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | |
|Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 |
|Quiz |Complete in class quiz on readings. | |2 |
|Individual Personality |Resource: Personality Reflection Worksheet located on the student website | |8 |
|Reflection Worksheet |Complete the University of Phoenix Material Personality Reflection Worksheet located on the | | |
| |Week One student website. | | |

|Week Two: Psychoanalytic and Trait Theories |
| |Details |Due |Points |
|Objectives | | | |
| |Analyze components of the psychoanalytic approach to personality. | | |
| |Compare and contrast psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler. | | |
| |Define personality using the Big Five personality factors. | | |
| |Explain the underlying methodological basis of trait theories. | | |
|Readings |Read Ch. 3, 4, & 8 of Personality. | | |
| |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | |
|Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 |
|Learning Team Instructions |Resource: Learning Team Toolkit. | |2 |
| |Complete the Learning Team Charter. | | |
|Quiz |Complete in class quiz on readings. | |2 |
|Individual |Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper analyzing the components of the psychoanalytic approach to| |10 |
|Psychoanalytic Personality |personality. Your paper should cover the following areas: | | |
|Assessment | | | |
| |Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler. What are two | | |
| |characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with | | |
| |which you disagree? | | |
| |Describe the stages of Freud’s theory and explain characteristics of personality using these | | |
| |components. | | |
| |Describe uses of at least three Freudian defense mechanisms with real-life examples. | | |
| | | | |
| |Include an introduction and conclusion in your paper. | | |
| |Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. | | |

|Week Three: Biological and Humanistic Theories |
| |Details |Due |Points |
|Objectives | | | |
| |Describe biological factors that influence personality formation. | | |
| |Identify the effect of growth needs on personality formation. | | |
| |Explain basic aspects of humanistic personality theory. | | |
|Readings |Read Ch. 5 & 9 of Personality. | | |
| |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | |
|Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 |
|Quiz |Complete in class quiz on readings. | |2 |
|Individual Biological and |Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper analyzing the biological and humanistic approaches to | |13 |
|Humanistic Approaches to |personality. Your paper should cover the following areas: | | |
|Personality | | | |
| |Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to discuss the extent to which growth needs influence | | |
| |personality formation. | | |
| |Describe biological factors that influence the formation of personality. | | |
| |Examine the relationship of biological factors to Maslow’s theory of personality. | | |
| |Explain the basic aspects of humanistic theory that are incompatible with biological | | |
| |explanations of personality. | | |
| | | | |
| |Include an introduction and conclusion in your paper. | | |
| |Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. | | |
|Learning Team |Locate and take a free online assessment that uses the Big Five personality factors. You may | |15 |
|Team Personality Traits |also use the one located in Chapter 8 of the text. Ensure each team member takes an | | |
| |assessment to gain a better understanding of their personality traits. | | |
| |Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper describing each team members’ personality traits based on | | |
| |individual findings from the Big Five assessment tool. Include the following | | |
| | | | |
| |Summarize each team members’ results. | | |
| |Propose solutions for working together using the information from the Big Five assessments | | |
| |and the underlying principles of trait theories. | | |
| |Include a synopsis of the reliability and validity of personality measurements and whether | | |
| |each team member felt his or her assessment depicted an accurate result. | | |
| | | | |
| |Include an introduction and conclusion, and cite at least two sources other than your | | |
| |textbook. | | |
| |Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. | | |

|Week Four: Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Theories |
| |Details |Due |Points |
|Objectives | | | |
| |Explain personality formation from a behavioral approach. | | |
| |Identify key principles of operant conditioning. | | |
| |Define cognitive processes associated with personality development. | | |
| |Describe components of the social/cognitive approach to personality formation. | | |
|Readings |Read Ch. 6 & 7 of Personality. | | |
| |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | |
|Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 |
|Quiz |Complete in class quiz on readings. | |2 |
|Individual Behavioral and |Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper analyzing the formation of habits using behavioral and | |10 |
|Social/Cognitive Approaches to|social/cognitive approaches. Your paper should cover the following areas: | | |
|Forming Habits | | | |
| |Analyze one of your habits. How did you develop this habit? Were there role models for this | | |
| |habit? Which people influenced the adoption of this habit? | | |
| |Why do you continue it? Has there been a time when you have attempted to break this habit? | | |
| |Use the behavioral personality theory to explain why you have this habit. | | |
| |Describe components of social/cognitive theory that explain why the habit formed. | | |
| |Develop a plan that applies operant conditioning to change this habit. | | |
| |Between the behavioral and social/cognitive theories, which one do you find best explains | | |
| |your personality? | | |
| | | | |
| |Include an introduction and conclusion in your paper. | | |
| |Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. | | |
|Learning Team |Create an outline for Week Five’s Person-Situation Interactions Presentation. Include the | |10 |
|Person-Situation Interactions |following: | | |
|Presentation Outline | | | |
| |Introduction | | |
| | | | |
| |Include all introductory points. | | |
| |Include a thesis statement. | | |
| | | | |
| |Body of presentation | | |
| | | | |
| |Address all main topics and subtopics in the body of the presentation. | | |
| |Cite original works within the body of the outline following APA guidelines. | | |
| | | | |
| |Conclusion: Include preliminary concluding statements. | | |
| |Reference list: List four references formatted using APA guidelines. | | |

|Week Five: Person-Situation Interactions |
| |Details |Due |Points |
|Objectives | | | |
| |Identify theorists who have contributed to the study of person-situation interactions. | | |
| |Describe the influence of situations on personality and behavior. | | |
| |Examine how person-situation interactions can alter personality. | | |
|Readings |Read Ch. 10 & 15 of Personality. | | |
| |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | |
|Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 |
|Quiz |Complete in class quiz on readings. | |2 |
|Learning Team |Prepare a 10-12 slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation using one of the following | |12 |
|Person-Situation Interactions |scenarios, or create your own with instructor approval, in which your team applies the | | |
|Presentation |perspective of personality, based on person-situation interactions: | | |
| | | | |
| |Sharon is talkative and friendly to guests she has invited over for a dinner party. She | | |
| |mingles freely in the various social circles that have developed throughout her home. Her | | |
| |guests enjoy her carefree attitude and enjoy the time spent with her. When one of her guests | | |
| |decides to return the favor, Sharon arrives to discover she only knows her host. She quickly | | |
| |gets a drink and spends most of the night sitting in a chair tucked away in a corner, set | | |
| |away from the social interactions. At dinner, she keeps to herself and answers questions with| | |
| |no more than three words at a time. When dinner is over, she thanks her host and quickly | | |
| |leaves, avoiding saying farewell to any of the other guests. | | |
| |Isabella is a sophomore in college who is spending her Spring Break at Rocky Point for the | | |
| |first time. She drinks heavily, engages in sexual activity with strangers, sleeps through the| | |
| |day to be ready to party at night, and spends most of the week in a bikini. She is very | | |
| |outgoing with everyone she meets. When the semester ends, Isabella goes home for the summer | | |
| |to be with her parents. Isabella dresses conservatively, and is usually home by midnight, | | |
| |unless she spends the night at a friend’s house. Her parents believe her sexual activity has | | |
| |been limited to a boyfriend she dated for two years. Isabella has not mentioned dating anyone| | |
| |since the break up. When she goes to the beach with her parents, Isabella wears a one piece | | |
| |bathing suit. She is generally outgoing, friendly, and considered a “good girl.” Her parents | | |
| |had once hoped she would marry the boy next door, until he got a tattoo. | | |
| |Rick is the CEO of a small company. He shows up every day to the office in an Armani suit and| | |
| |tie and is very professional with his staff. Meetings are also held in a professional | | |
| |atmosphere where the time is planned carefully and only professional matters are discussed. | | |
| |His employees respect him and he is considered a fair boss but little is known of his | | |
| |personal life. He is cordial but does not invite conversation outside of work matters. After | | |
| |finishing a major project, Rick decides to hold a company picnic. At the picnic, he is | | |
| |dressed in a polo shirt and khakis. He is friendly, relaxed, and takes an active role in | | |
| |serving the food to all the employees. At first, his employees are unsure how to respond but | | |
| |slowly start to relax. Later when he overhears a group of employees discussing the previous | | |
| |night’s basketball game, he joins the conversation with enthusiasm and debates over which | | |
| |were the best plays of the night. He asks Linda about her mother, who had recently been | | |
| |hospitalized. Linda was unaware that Rick knew about the incident. On Monday, Rick is dressed| | |
| |in his Armani suit and tie and nods cordially to his employees as he heads to his office. | | |
| | | | |
| |Include the following parts in your presentation: | | |
| | | | |
| |Provide a summary of the scenario. | | |
| |Decide on two theorists associated with studying person-situation interactions and apply | | |
| |their theories to the scenario. | | |
| |Describe the influence of the situations on personality and behavior. | | |
| |Within the scenario, examine how the individual’s personality changed given the situation. | | |
| | | | |
| |For Local Campus students, these are oral presentations accompanied by Microsoft® PowerPoint®| | |
| |presentations | | |