Undergraduate Course: Personality Topics (PSYL10146)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will give an overview of major topics in current personality research. |
| Course description |
The course will give an overview of major topics in current personality research. Historical personality theories will not be covered. A primary focus will be on trait theories of personality differences, but variability within individuals over time and across situations, assessment, development, genetic and environmental interplay, involvement in life outcomes, and cross-cultural patterns will also be addressed. The first three weeks will be lectures introducing major theories, topics to be debated by the students, and the debating project. After that, sessions will alternate between student debates on specified topics to build critical thinking, verbal expression, and argumentation skills and lecture, beginning with a debate. Students will be randomly allocated to eight groups that will be randomly paired in assigned debating class periods. During the last third of each of these four sessions, each student will write a 150-word summary defending one of the positions taken by the week's debaters to consolidate the learned material. Each summary will be independently peer-marked by two other students at the end of the session, to consolidate the material further. The peer marks will not be recorded for the course but will be returned to students as feedback.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students who are Psychology majors and in their third or final year at their home university are welcome to take this course. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Awareness of the main concepts of personality psychology and major theories
- Awareness of major findings in personality behaviour genetics and ability to interpret them (critically) in relation to current personality theories
- Awareness of major methods for studying personality trait development and major findings, along with their limitations
- Awareness of relations between personality traits and other constructs and outcomes and ability to interpret causal inferences critically
- Understanding of major strengths and limitations of trait theories of personality, and awareness of alternative approaches and their strengths and limitations.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | psychology; personality |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Wendy Johnson
Tel: (0131 6)51 1304
Email: wendy.johnson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Alex MacAndrew
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: alexandra.macandrew@ed.ac.uk |
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