Orientation to Personality Psychology
Fall 2000
Instructor Information:
Dr. Robert M. Sellers
3253 East Hall
(734) 647-3949
rsellers@umich.edu
Office Hours: TBA
Course Overview:
The course surveys the field of personality psychology with particular attention to the way in which personality psychology is studied at the University of Michigan. The course is primarily comprised of research presentations by U of M faculty regarding their perspectives on personality as well as their current research activities. These presentations will be used as an introduction to the field of personality research. Students should also use these presentations as examples of how to conceptualize and operationalize research questions relevant to their own interest. The course will be run as a proseminar with the students being primarily responsible for the direction and content of the class discussion. Each week students will be required to come up with discussion questions for the next weeks discussions. These questions should come from the students' examination of the presenters' research prior to the class period in which the work is to be presented.
Course Requirements:
1. Active participation in the class discussion as a result of having read the material prior to class.
2. Participation in a discussion group in which you are required to post discussion questions prior to class.
3. A written research proposal based on your own research interest (Due 12/6).
4. An oral presentation of your research ideas (Due 12/13).
Course Readings:
A copy of each week's readings will be available for you to copy on your own from Nichola Hutchison in 3242 East Hall.
Tentative Class Schedule
9/6 Class Introduction
9/13 Introduction to Personality
9/20 Grant Lecture
9/27 Don Brown
10/4 Veronica Benet-Martinez
10/11 Robert Sellers
10/18 Susan Nolen Hoeksema
10/25 Oliver Schultheiss **
11/1 Abby Stewart
11/8 Lilia Cortina
11/15 Chris Peterson
11/22 Thanksgiving - No class
11/29 Ram Mahalingham
12/6 George Rosenwald
12/13 Oral Presentations
** We will schedule a time during the week of Oct. 25 to meet with Oliver Schultheiss outside of our regularly scheduled class period.
Class Readings
9/6 No Readings
9/13 Intoduction to Personality Psychology Discussion
Pervin, L. (1996). Personality: A view of the future based on a look at the past. Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 309-318.
West, S. G. & Finch J. F. (1997). Personality measurement: Reliability and validity issues. . In R. Hogan, J. Johnson, & S. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
9/20 Grant
TBA
9/27 Don Brown
McAdams, D. P. (1997). A conceptual history of personality psychology. In R. Hogan, J. Johnson, & S. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Mackinnon, D. W. (1944). The structure of personality. In J. McV. Hunt (Ed.), Personality and behavior disorders. New York: the Ronald Press Company.
10/4 Veronica Benet-Martinez
Hong, Y., Morris, M., Chiu, C., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55, 209-220.
Benet-Martinez, V. & John, O.P. (1998). Los Cinco Grandes across cultures and ethnic groups: Multitrait method analyses of the Big Five in Spanish and English. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 729-750
10/11 Robert Sellers
Sellers, R. M., Smith, M. A., Shelton, J. N., Rowley, S. A. J. & Chavous, T. M. (1998). Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: A reconceptualization of African American racial identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2 (1), 18-39.
Shelton, J. N., & Sellers, R. M. (2000). Situational stability and variability in African American racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology, 26 (1), 27-50.
10/18 Susan Nolen Hoeksema
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Larson, J., & Grayson, C. (1999). Explaining the gender difference in depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1061-1072.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1998). The other end of the continuum: The costs of rumination. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 216-219.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1995). Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem-solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 176-190.
10/25 Oliver Schultheiss
Schultheiss, O. C., Campbell, K. L., & McClelland, D. C. (1999). Implicit power motivation moderates men's testosterone responses to imagined and real dominance success. Hormones and Behavior, 36(3), 234-41.
Schultheiss, O. C., & Brunstein, J. C. (1999). Goal imagery: Bridging the gap between implicit motives and explicit goals. Journal of Personality,67, 1-38.
11/1 Abby Stewart
Duncan, L. E., & Agronick, G. S. (1995). The intersection of life stage and social events: Personality and life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 558-568.
Stewart, A.J., Winter, D.G., Henderson-King, D. & Henderson-King, E. (2000). Gender, race and generation: Life scripts from the midwest US in the 1950s. Prepared for the International Congress of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Deaux, K. & Stewart, A.J. (in press). Framing gender identity. In R. K. Unger (Ed.), Handbook of the psychology of women and gender. NY: Wiley.
11/8 Lilia Cortina
TBA
11/15 Chris Peterson
Peterson, C. & Steen, T. A. (2000) Optimistic explanatory style. IN C.R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.) The hand book of positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
11/22 Thanksgiving No Class
11/29 Ram Mahalingham
TBA
12/6 George Rosenwald
TBA
12/13 Oral Presentations