Psychology of Personality
Course Objectives:
The course is an introduction to the main psychological perspectives on personality that have been put forward in the 20th century and into the 21st. A survey of the major theorists and theories will acquaint the student with the basic outlines, assumptions, and key concepts of each. Different methods, measures, and assessment techniques will be examined. The rare appearance of psychoanalysis in a psychology class and its importance for personality theorizing (~50% of the textbook!) means that a significant portion of the class is taken up with it. Emphasis is placed on the theme and difficulties of “evaluation” (Engler concludes her introduction on this theme) as a key problem for psychology that becomes particularly evident in formulating theories about persons. The area of personality study in psychology has a particular privilege relative to the discipline of psychology as a whole, in that it is much like a version of the whole field of psychology in miniature. In this regard the course is a “history of psychology” course.
Required Text:
Engler, Barbara. (2014). Personality theories. (9th Edition). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin.
