Psychology 451

Advanced Topics in Personality

January, 2002

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Course Text:
Funder, D. C. & Ozer, D. J. (2001).  Pieces of the personality puzzle.  New York: Norton.

Reason for the Course:
Lawrence Pervin (1998) said it well in the preface to The Science of Personality, “To my knowledge, personality is the only area in psychology in which the leading texts do not present the field as it currently exists” (page v).  This comment applies with equal force to the standard undergraduate course, like “Theories of Personality,” wherein the large-scale, “grand” theories of personality are studied.  These have historical, heuristic, and pedagogical value and introduce students to the field of psychology and the study of personality.  Grand theories, however, are no longer the direct inspiration for much research in the field of personality.  There has been a re-awakening of research interest in personality, but it not devoted to investigating the grand theories of the past nor the pathological outcomes of personality development (as in abnormal or clinical psychology).  Modern personality research is focused on intriguing questions related to the functioning of “normal” persons, like the role of heredity and the application of personality tests to specific questions, and to more circumscribed theories centered around key concepts (eg., anxiety, self-concept, authoritarianism, etc.).
            The course has two main areas of concentration.  The first is to examine personality measurement and the second is to examine personality research. The two issues are closely related as the quality of research depends greatly on the quality of measurement.  The study of personality measurement will include lectures on reliability and validity, test construction theory, and the evaluation of items.  Students will construct and evaluate a brief measure of a personality trait.  The rest of the course will be devoted to the study of a variety of topics in personality, as chosen by the students.  The course text will serve as the basis for weekly discussions of themes in the study of personality.  Readings from the text will be chosen and discussed in weekly meetings.  Students will choose a reading from the text and will take the lead in discussing it during class time.

Meeting Format(s)
                        This course is a seminar course, meaning that the onus is on the students to prompt and sustain the discussion. The classroom meetings are intended for discussion of issues raised in the process of conducting your research, centred on the issues that the students wish to discuss. Students will take turns leading the discussion and contributing to the ongoing dialog.  Students who are leading a discussion are expected to choose a reading from the text or provide a reading (preferably a journal article) for the other students.  The rest of the group is expected to prepare by reading assigned papers, critiquing them, and contemplating the relationship between methodology and theory in the article.  Reading the assigned paper in advance is required.  Students will be marked on their assistance and participation in discussion by critically evaluating the material.

Marking Scheme

Attendance (10%)

Attendance will be taken on 11 days chosen at random.  Students receive 1 point for attending on each of these days.

Participation (10%)

Students must read the articles in advance and be prepared to discuss the issues.  Participation marks will be given based on the quality and quantity of contributions to the discussion.

Project (15%):

Students will develop and evaluate a personality “test.”  Each student will define a concept, generate a pool of items that measure the concept, evaluate the item pool, construct a scale, evaluate its psychometric properties, and assess validity.  The items will be administered to a sample of undergraduates.  Students will evaluate their scale and report on its properties to the class.  A 7-10 page formal written report will be due on February 28.

Term Paper (15%)

Each student will select a personality scale and summarize research done using that scale (minimum 5 separate research articles). As part of the paper the psychometric properties of the scale will be evaluated and the link between the quality of the measurement and the quality of the research should be explicitly evaluated.

Some examples: Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, Authoritarianism scale, Locus of control, Willingness to Communicate scale

Test on Psychometrics (20%)

The first portion of the course involves lectures and readings from the text and other sources.  A test on this material will be held on February

Seminar Presentations (30%)

From Feb 12 onward we will examine readings from the Funder and Ozer book.  Each week students will select one reading to present to the class.  If a reading is chosen that is not in the book, it must be approved by the instructor in advance.  Please provide copies for everyone in the class.  Students will make their selection of a reading a week in advance and everyone is expected to read the assigned article. Marks will be given based on the quality of the presentation, the depth of analysis of the reading, the ability to link the reading to other material from the class and from elsewhere (e.g., from Psychology 250, 303, etc.).

Schedule:

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