Study level: Undergraduate study programme in psychology
Lecturers: Denis Bratko, Ph.D., Tena Vukasović Hlupić, Ph.D.
ECTS: 7
Language: Croatian
Semester: 4th (summer)
Status: mandatory
Form of instruction with class hours: 45 hours of lectures, 30 hours seminars
Prerequisites: Biological psychology I, Learning, thinking and intelligence
Student evaluation: written exam
Course description
Introduction to personality psychology: Personality defined Levels of personality analysis, Grand theories of personality and contemporary research in personality. History of contemporary personality psychology. Personality assessment, measurement, and research design. Personality traits and types, Theoretical and measurement issues in trait psychology. Taxonomies of personality: Eysenck's, Cattell's and Five-factor model, Circumplex taxonomies of personality. Stability and change of personality dispositions. Personality and prediction. Situationism, interactionism and trait personality psychology. Social-cognitive perspective in personality psychology. Evolutionary perspective in personality psychology. Behavior genetics and personality psychology. Physiological approaches to personality. Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory. Cloninger's psychobiological theory. Sensation seeking theory. Temperament. Intrapsychic domain in personality psychology. Unconscious personality processes. Dynamics of personality. Defense mechanisms. Self. Personality and cognitive processes: Personality and information processing. Personality, cognitive styles and intelligence. Learned helplessness. Personality and emotional processes. Sex, gender and personality. Culture and personality. Personality and adjustment. Self-actualization and self-determinism. Personality and psychological well-being. Personality and health.
Course objectives
Objective of this course is to enable students to gather knowledge about personality psychology. Focus of the course will be on contemporary models and issues currently dominant in personality psychology. By the end of the course students will familiarize themselves with methodology and different contemporary issues in personality psychology. This will enable them to follow the literature and understand the research logic in the field. Also, the course will be of assistance in their later
specialization in different domains of applied psychology.
Required readings
Larsen, R.J. i Buss, D.M.(2005). Psihologija ličnosti. Jastrebarsko: Naklada Slap.
Recommended readings
Carver, C.S. and Scheier, M.F.(2004). Perspectives on Personality. Pearson Education.
Pervin, L.A. and John, J.P.(1999). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. The Guilford Press.