PSYCH 238Introduction to Personality Psychology

3 credits · Psychology · Penn State

Personality psychology involves examining theories of human nature and evaluating them in an empirical fashion. Personality psychology begins with the observation that each person is (to paraphrase Harvard psychologists Kluckhohn and Murray) in certain respects (a) like all other persons, (b) like some other persons, and (c) like no other person. In other words, personality psychology concerns itself with the study of (a) universal aspects of human nature, (b) psychological traits and types, and (c) individual uniqueness. Principal goals of the discipline include constructing descriptive taxonomies of personality, inquiring into the evolutionary and developmental origins of human universals and individual differences, and assessing theimpact of personality on the life course. This course aims to cultivate in students a breadth of understanding through an analysis of some of the major intellectual statements concerning human nature. Psychoanalysis, humanism, existentialism, symbolic interactionism, biological, and neuropsychological are primary perspectives that may be examined. Questions considered within the course include: How can we determine what might be a part of fundamental human nature? What are the relative contributions of conscious rationality andunconscious irrationality to human behavior? Can human behavior be explained by a finite set of motives? Do explanations in psychology differ in kind from explanations in the natural sciences? Can personality be quantified? Short-answer examinations and class participation are used to evaluate the degree to which students have successfully comprehended course material. Students should understand why it is difficult for a theorist to create a view of human nature that transcends the theorist's own personality and cultural/historical context, and how empirical research can help overcome these obstacles. Students are to learn how to identify and evaluate the assumptions (either implicit or explicit) about human nature and individual differences that underlie any social or behavioral science. By the end of the course, students should be able to describe the basic tenets of the major theories, to be able to compare and contrast the theories, and to be able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.A good understanding of the course material will prepare students for advanced study in personality theory and measurement, as well providing a useful context for courses in abnormal, clinical, developmental, health, historical/philosophical, industrial/organizational, and social psychology, as well as for courses in other social sciences, certain humanities, and some applied fields such as business which at least tacitly presuppose some view of personality.