Undergraduate Course: Human Personality (PSYL10105)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The course will give an overview of the major topics in current personality research. Historical personality theories will not be covered. The main but not exclusive focus will be on the trait approach to personality.
The course will start by introducing the major theoretical concepts and positions in current personality psychology. It will then move on to the assessment of personality traits, their evolutionary, biological and genetic underpinnings and development, their cross-cultural patterns and role in predicting major life-outcomes. The final lecture will be about non-trait personality conceptualizations as well as some other phenomena related to personality.
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Psychology 2 (PSYL08002)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 4 (Sem 2) |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
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Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
86 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
At the end of each of the first four classes, students will be presented with a question related to the lecture material and related reading. They will be offered practice opportunity to turn in a 250-word response to the question in class the next week.
At the beginning of each class after the first one, the instructor will shuffle the papers received and students will mark the papers of other students and offer feedback comments on them. To help them do this, the instructor will spend 15-20 minutes explaining what to look for in a good answer.
The actual course mark will be based on a 1000-word essay, marked by the instructor, in response to a question posed at the end of the last class period.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
Students will know the main concepts of current personality psychology and major theoretical position along with primary theoreticians associated with these positions.
Students will know the major findings in personality genetics and biology and be able to interpret them (critically) in relation to current personality theories.
Students will know the major methods for studying personality trait development and the major findings along with their limitations.
Students will know the major approaches and findings of cross-cultural personality trait research and will be able to understand strengths and limitations of these methods and findings.
Students will know the major findings regarding the predictive validity of personality traits (i.e., their correlations with external variables) and will be able to (critically) interpret the findings as well as their interpetability in causal terms.
Students will understand the major strengths and limitations of the trait approach to personality, and know the main alternative approaches and their strengths and limitations.
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Reading List
Matthews, G., Deary, I. J. & Whiteman, M. C. (2009). Personality traits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. J. (2008). The five-factor theory of personality. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd ed.). (pp. 159¿181). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
Funder, D. C. (1991). Global Traits: A Neo-Allportian Approach to Personality. Psychological Science, 2(1), 31¿39.
Cervone, D. (2005). Personality architecture: within-person structures and processes. Annual review of psychology, 56, 423¿452.
Cramer, A. O. J., van der Sluis, S., Noordhof, A., Wichers, M., Geschwind, N., Aggen, S. H., ¿ Borsboom, D. (2012). Dimensions of Normal Personality as Networks in Search of Equilibrium: You Can¿t Like Parties if You Don¿t Like People. European Journal of Personality, 26(4), 414¿431.
Johnson, W., Penke, L., & Spinath, F. M. (2011). Heritability in the Era of Molecular Genetics: Some Thoughts for Understanding Genetic Influences on Behavioural Traits. European Journal of Personality, 25(4), 254¿266.
Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(4), 313¿345.
DeYoung, C. G. (2010). Personality Neuroscience and the Biology of Traits. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(12), 1165¿1180.
Mõttus, R., Allik, J., Realo, A., Pullmann, H., Rossier, J., Zecca, G., ¿ Ng Tseung, C. (2012). Comparability of Self¿Reported Conscientiousness Across 21 Countries. European Journal of Personality, 26(3), 303¿317.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Rene Mottus
Tel: (0131 6)50 3410
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Stephanie Fong
Tel: (0131 6)50 3628
Email: |
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