Theories of Personality (Certificate of Completion)

This course examines the physiological theories and methods in the understanding of normal and deviant aspects of personality. This is a college level informational content course (non-verbal slide visual content) intended to educate students about the core concepts of personality psychology. This course is ideal for psychology students to take prior to the start of the semester. It will provide assistance to students in passing their Theories of Personality psychology exam.

Theories Covered:

Freud: Classical Psychoanalysis

Jung: Analytical Psychology

Adler: Individual Psychology

Erikson: Psychosocial Development

Horney and Relational Theory: Interpersonal Psychoanalytic Theory

Allport: Personological Trait Theory

Two Factor Analytic Trait Theories: Cattell’s 16 Factors and the Big Five

Biological Theories: Evolution, Genetics, and Biological Factor Theories

Behaviorism: Dollard and Miller, Skinner, and Staats

Kelly: Personal Construct Theory

Mischel: Traits in Cognitive Social Learning Theory

Bandura: Performance in Cognitive Social Learning Theory

Rogers: Person-Centered Theory

Maslow and His Legacy: Need Hierarchy Theory and Positive Psychology

COURSE OBJECTIVIES & LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Identify the multifaceted aspects of personality – those underlying causes within the person of individual behavior and experience.

2. Explain popular theories and perspectives of personality and recognize the differences between them.

3. Recognize content meant to encourage students to apply the ideas within the lectures as a means of enhancing understanding.

4. Utilize the course to gain insight into his or her own personality from fundamental psychological concepts and principles related to theories of personality.