Individual Differences

Personality: Theory & Perspectives

An undergraduate psychology course about Individual Differences

Last updated:
02 Apr 2007

1. What is personality?
2. Trait & dispositional perspectives
3. Biological & evolutionary perspectives
4. Psychoanalytic & neoanalytic perspectives
5. Phenomenological & humanistic perspectives
6. Cognitive perspectives
7. Review: Integration of perspectives & conclusions

Personality Links

What is personality?

• An introductory lecture to the definitions of personality, history of its development in psychology, and overview of major perspectives.

Trait & dispositional perspectives on personality

• Major themes & underlying assumptions of a dispositional approach to personality
• Personality types
• Personality traits
• Situation vs. personality debate
• Critique of dispositional perspective

Biological & evolutionary perspectives on personality

• Introduction to biological & evolutionary perspectives on personality
• Evolutionary psychology
• Evolution, inheritance & personality
• Biological processes in personality
• Critique of biological & evolutionary perspectives

Psychoanalytic & neoanalytic perspectives on personality

• Introduction to psychoanalytic and neoanalytic perspectives on personality
• Major themes & underlying assumptions of psychoanalytic theory
• Who was Sigmund Freud?
• Topography of the mind: Freud's iceberg theory (unconscious, pre-conscious, conscious)
• Structure of the the mind: Freud's Id, Ego, Superego
• Freud's psychosexual stages of development: Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
• Defence mechanisms in psychodynamic theory
• Leakage: Evidence of the unconscious e.g., dreams, parapraxes
• Psychoanalysis in practice: Psychoanalysis
• Critique of psychoanalytic theory's perspectives on personality
• Major neoanalytic theories & theorists

Behavioral & learning perspectives on personality

• Introduction to learning perspectives on personality
• Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning
• Instrumental (Operant) conditioning
• Social learning and social cognitive theories
• Critique of learning theory perspectives on personality

Phenomenological perspectives on personality

• Introduction to phenomenological perspectives on personality
• Existential perspectives
• Humanistic perspectives

• Critique of the phenomenological perspectives

Cognitive perspectives on personality

• Introduction cognitive perspectives on personality
• Role of schemas in personality
• Personality & priming
• Personality & attributions
• Cognitive therapy & personality
• Conclusions & summary

Integration & review of 6 main theoretical perspectives on personality

Personality exam

• To be held during exam period
• The exam will consist of 80 multiple choice questions. 
• ~35% of the questions will focus on the material presented in the lecture
• ~35% of the questions will focus on the material presented on the website
• ~30% of the questions will focus on corresponding content in the textbook.

General References

Burger, J. M. (1993). Personality (3rd ed.) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2000). Perspectives on Personality (4th ed.) Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.

Funder, D. C. (2001). The Personality Puzzle (2nd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.

Ornstein, R. (1993). The Roots of the Self: Unraveling the mystery of who we are. New York: Harper Collins.

Phares, J. E. (1991). Introduction to Personality (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Collins.