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Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: PY535 - Theories of Personality

Course Title:	PY535 - Theories of Personality
Department:	Social and Behavioral Sciences
Instructor:	David King, PhD, E-Mail -- Vita

Course Description

This course provides an intensive overview of theories of personality, providing an explanation and interpretation of the development of personality through the perspectives of the major authors of psychology.

Required Texts  Online Bookstore

Ryckman, R. M. (2008). Theories of personality (9th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. ISBN-13: 9780495099086.

Course Outcomes

In addition to the objectives below, the successful student will formulate and pursue specific learning objectives for this course. What are you most interested in? What personality theories can you develop a better understanding and mastery of the discipline of psychology? What accomplishments in this class will fuel your future vocation or avocation in the field of psychology?

Students who have successfully mastered this course will be able to:

• Discuss thoroughly the meaning of the construct of personality.
• Discuss the prominent historical theories of personality.
• Internalize the course material and integrate the course material into the discipline of psychology.
• Write an original paper, founded on scholarly literature reviews, which demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter.

Method

Learning in this course will be prompted by reading the text, completing online quizzes, and writing a scholarly paper. Please note that the final paper is scheduled for Unit 8 and represents a substantial task. It is recommended that you do not wait to start on the paper, but begin formulating ideas for it early in the course. Contact the professor immediately if you have any questions regarding the final paper.

Unit 1:

Required Reading: Preface and Part I (Chapter 1, Personality and the Scientific Outlook).

Narrative: The text provides an excellent overview of major personality theories. An understanding of Chapter 1 will be very helpful to understanding the theories examined in this class. Pay careful attention to the text’s discussion of the construct of personality and the characteristics of a personality theory.

Assignment: complete the online quiz.

Unit 2:

Required Reading: Part II (Chapter 2, Freud's Psychoanalytic Perspectives; Chapter 3, Jung's Analytical Psychology; and Chapter 4, Adler's Individual Psychology.).

Narrative: Part II of the text reviews psychoanalytic and neoanalytic perspectives.

Assignment: complete the online quizzes.

Unit 3:

Required Reading: The rest of Part II (Chapter 5, Horney's Social and Cultural Psychoanalysis; Chapter 6, Erikson's Psychoanalytic Ego Psychology; and Chapter 7, Kohut's Self Psychology.).

Assignment: complete the online quizzes.

Unit 4:

Required Reading: Part III (Chapter 8, Allport's Trait Theory; Chapter 9, Cattell's Structure-Based Systems Theory; and Chapter 10, Eysenck's Biological Typology.).

Narrative: Part III of the text reviews trait perspectives.

Assignment: complete the online quizzes.

Unit 5:

Required Reading: Part IV (Chapter 11, Kelly's Theory of Personal Constructs) and Part V (Chapter 12, Maslow's Self-Actualization Position; Chapter 13, Roger's Person-Centered Theory; and Chapter 14, May's Existential-Analytic Position).

Narrative: Part IV reviews a cognitive perspective and Part V reviews humanistic-existential perspectives.

Assignment: complete the online quizzes.

Unit 6:

Required Reading: Part VI (Chapter 15, Skinner's Operant Analysis; Chapter 16, Rotter's Expectancy Reinforcement Value Model; and Chapter 17, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory.).

Narrative: Part VI reviews behavioral perspectives.

Assignment: complete the online quizzes.

Unit 7:

Required Reading: Part VII (Chapter 18, Theory and Research in Contemporary Personality Psychology.).

Assignment: complete the online quiz.

Unit 8, Final Examination:

Required Reading: None.

Written Assignment: Write a final paper of at least six full pages. Select one personality theory and provide a thorough analysis and synthesis of the theory. Critique and evaluate the theory in light of your perspective of the discipline of psychology. This paper is your forum to demonstrate your mastery of the material.

NB: The text and this course consider the major theories of personality. There are others. If you would like to write your final paper on a theory not reviewed in the text, you may do so with advance permission of the professor.

Grading:

The letter grade of D represents understanding of the subject matter no better than the average, fairly-well educated person who has not taken this course.

The letter grade of C represents minimal understanding of some of the subject matter, perhaps stronger than the average “man-on-the-street,” but not adequate to suggest comprehension of the subject.

The letter grade of B represents solid mastery of the course material, typical of Master’s level students.

The letter grade of A represents complete mastery of the course material, exceeding the level of many Master’s level students.

Grading Scale:

1800 - 2000	= A
1600 - 1799	= B
1400 - 1599	= C
1200 - 1399	= D
1199 and below	= F

Student Success:

The student’s success is a jointly-held responsibility. The instructor is responsible for providing clear subject-matter instruction, prompt responses to inquiries, and fair grading. Students are responsible for pursuing the subject matter, applying themselves to the acquisition of knowledge, doing solid scholarly work, and engaging the professor whenever needed.

General Course Policies:

• This is a 500 level course, which means it is designed for Master’s-level students. As such, students are expected to approach the course from a scholarly perspective with the goal of mastering the information.
• Academic honesty is essential. Cite sources for ideas not your own.
• The final paper is to be completed in accordance with the APA style manual. Although the APA manual goes far beyond how to cite a source and build a reference list, doing these things correctly is essential. The APA manual is a good investment. There are also several good online guides to APA style which you can easily find through a search engine. If you have questions about APA style, ask before you submit your paper.
• Only count that actual text of your papers and essays to meet the required page lengths. In other words, a six-page paper has six full pages of your prose. The cover page (not required but you may use one), reference list, tables or charts, and appendices do not count as pages. Margins, fonts, and font sizes are to be in accordance with APA guidelines. The number of references required in your paper is the number necessary to give proper credit for ideas not originally yours.
• The minimum length given for the final paper is just that: a minimum. You are encouraged to develop your thoughts fully so as to increase your learning and mastery of the course material.
• Please submit papers directly to the course room. You may attach your papers if you use Microsoft Word and you use an up-to-date anti-virus program on your computer.
• The Internet is a wonderful source of information. The Internet is also populated with a lot of misinformation. Choose your sites carefully to ensure that information you gather online is valid. For example, Wikipedia is not a reliable, scholarly source of information. Your scholarly efforts are not limited to Internet websites. You may also utilize online libraries and brick-and-mortar libraries.
• The professor is available to you by e-mail. Responses to inquiries will be prompt. Try to plan ahead and avoid last-minute crises.