Advanced Psychology Lab Research Methods in Personality Psychology

Advanced Psychology Lab: Research Methods in Personality Psychology R. Chris Fraley http: //www. yourpersonality. net/psych 350/fall 2012/

Why is Psychology One of the Most Popular Majors?

Why is Psychology One of the Most Popular Majors? • Of all the disciplines that exist, psychology is one of the few that is explicitly concerned with understanding the way people behave, feel, and think.

Why is Psychology One of the Most Popular Majors? • Many of themes that have characterized intellectual inquiry over the years are studied by psychologists – – – free will and determinism mind and matter nature and nurture love and loss personality growth and disorder

What Makes Psychology Different? • So, what is special about psychology, as opposed to the study of philosophy, literature, or history? • The critical difference is that modern psychology is based on the scientific method.

Psychology the methods of psychology themes of psychology Philosophy & Humanities Natural Science Psychology, like the humanities, is concerned with fundamental issues concerning human experience. However, psychologists use the methods of the natural sciences to learn about psychological phenomena.

Why Does this Matter? • Why do we need the scientific method in order to study the human mind? • The methods we tend to use are subject to severe limitations— some of which we will review in our next lecture.

Personality • Although the study of psychology focuses on big issues, such as development, mental functioning, and social behavior, the discipline of psychology is rather dissociated. • Students tend to receive training in specific areas of psychology. • Students focusing on some areas (e. g. , psychobiology) may receive little if any training in other areas (e. g. , social).

Personality • Personality psychology is the one subdiscipline within psychology that is motivated by issues that cut across the various subdisciplines. • The science of personality is concerned with – The development of people (developmental) – The way in which people differ from one another (individual differences) – The way the mind works (cognitive) – The way in which people influence, and are influenced, by their cultural and social contexts (social) – The biological bases of thought, feeling, and behavior (biological)

Class Objectives • The objectives of this course are – to illustrate some of the limitations of non-scientific approaches to understanding personality – to teach you how to use the scientific method as it applies to the psychology of personality – to foster your ability to think critically about psychological theories and research (as well as other information) – to help you better understand your personality through the use of existing research paradigms in personality psychology

Overview of Syllabus • Class web site – http: //www. yourpersonality. net/psych 350/fall 2012/ – Future updates and changes will be reflected in the online version of the syllabus. • Grading • • • 15% Attendance and participation in lab activities 15% Minor projects and tests 20% Major Project 1 25% Major Project 2 25% Major Project 3

Important Notes • The lab sections will be meeting in rooms 35 and 37 of the Psychology Department. • Labs will begin this week! Please be sure to attend Wed’s lab. (We will not have the Friday lab this week. )

Computers in Room 35/37 • You will need to know your Active Directory account information to log in to the computers in rooms 35/37. – Everyone (instructors, students, staff, etc. ) will need an Active Directory (AD) password to login to any psychology computer. – Students should already have AD passwords. Please go to the CITES website to create your AD password if you do not already have one: http: //www. cites. illinois. edu/accounts/index. html