Instructor: Michael T. Hynan
Office: Garland 202C
Office Hours: M-10:00-11:00 a.m. and T-1:30-2:30 p.m.
Phone: 229- 5099 (office) or 229- 4746 (main office)
e- mail: hynan@csd.uwm.edu
web page: www.uwm.edu/~hynan Text: Personality Theories by Bem P. Allen (2003)
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 4th Edition.
You should be enrolled in a discussion: 601-605. No discussions the first week of class.
Personality Theory is more like a Philosophy course than most Psychology
courses you have encountered. In this semester we will cover 11 different,
yet inter- related, perspectives on the structure and function of human
personality. Most of these perspectives come from the thoughtful
speculations of individuals (often psychotherapists), who rely on their own
introspection, experience with patients, observations of the world around
them. They also use idiosyncratic methods to formulate and revise their
theories. Each theorist has also been influenced by other personality
theorists and the prevailing philosophical perspectives of his or her
culture. In this class we will examine the structure and dynamics of
personality in each theory. We will also attempt to understand each theory
in terms of the theorist's personal experience, cultural background, and
prior theorists. Each theory will be critically examined for impact and
validity from a number of different perspectives. We will also examine how
well each theory explains adult behavior (ex., adult personality types) in
terms of how the proposed core of personality (i.e., the ways in which
people are all the same) reacts to different developmental experiences.
If you are taking this course to find the best or true theory of
personality, you will be disappointed. Instead, this class can be better
described as an exploration into a world of fascinating (and not so
fascinating) ideas about how people relate to themselves intrapsychically
and to their social world. Course requirements, as described below, include
3 exams and an optional paper for extra credit.
Course Outline:
What is personality and what are theories of personality? How are personality theories evaluated?
Readings: Chapter 1 and pp. 419-420.
II. Conflict Theories. People against the world and people against
themselves. The unconscious, and the "discovery" that psychological
variables affect somatic processes
A. Freud and Psychoanalysis, Chapter 2.
B. Jungian Analysis, Chapter 3.
C. Murray and Personology. Chapt. 15.
Exam l - - - one third of the final grade - - 40 pts. Feb. 22 + or - 10 days.
III. Ego Theories. Rationality and reality contact are given a stronger
role in managing conflicts.
A. Horney's Social- ego Theory, Chapter 5.
B. Erikson's Psychoanalytic Ego Psychology, Chapter 7.
IV. Fulfillment Theories. The possibility that people can live without
conflict. People actualizing themselves and striving for ideals.
A. Adler's Individual Psychology, Chapter 4.
Class notes on Existential Perspectives
C. Rogers' Person- centered Theory, Chapter 9.
Exam 2---one third of the final grade. April 10 + or - 10 days.
D. Maslow's Basic and Growth Needs, Chapter 10.
V. Behavioral Approaches. Do we need "Personality" as a concept to
explain behavior? Personality as a set of habits and/or cognitions.
A. Skinner and Radical Behaviorism, Chapter 14.
C. The Moderate and Cognitive Behaviorists, pp. 270-286. and Chapter 13
Final Exam: Wed. May 17, 2004, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Worth one third of the
final grade. - - 54 pts.
Optional Paper: Students may write an optional paper between 7 and 15 pages
(double- spaced)
on any area of personality. Papers will be graded between 0 and 20 pts.
Papers are due on May 1, 2006.
Grading:
All exams will be multiple choice exams. Dates for the first two exams
will be announced 7- 10 days before the exam day. Final grades will be based
on the sum total of your performance on the three exams and optional paper.
Grading in the class will be based on a curve. The sum total correct
answers on the three exams will be calculated for each student at the end
of the semester. A distribution of sum scores will be constructed, and
preliminary grades will be based on this distribution. Students who write
papers will then receive between 0 and 20 additional points. These
additional points may increase your grade.
Policy on make- up exams:
If you expect to miss a scheduled exam please notify the instructor of the
reasons for your absence prior to exam time. This may be done by you in
person, by phone, by e-mail, or by message to my mailbox in the main office of the
Psychology Department (229- 4746). If acceptable prior notification is
received, you will receive a make- up exam of multiple choice format;
otherwise you will receive either an essay exam or an oral exam covering
the same material.
If anyone has need for note- taking or test- taking accommodations, please
feel free to come and discuss this with me early in the semester. Also,
anyone needing test- taking accommodations for religious observances is
invited to discuss this with me early in the semester.
Information on Psychology Dept. policies on participation by students with
disabilities, accommodation for religious observances, academic conduct,
complaint procedures, grade appeal procedures, and other standing policies
(e.g., sexual harassment, incompletes) is available in the main office of
Psychology, Garland 224.
D4:407.SYL
</pre>