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Syllabus Personality Development Across the Lifespan: Continuity Change Nature and Nurture - 51305
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Last update 13-02-2017
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: psychology

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof. Ariel Knafo

Coordinator Email: msarielk@mscc.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: By appointment

Teaching Staff:
Prof Ariel Knafo

Course/Module description:
What makes us different from each other? Do we have a “personality”? And if the answer is “yes”, what determines our personality, and what function does it serve?
In this course we will discuss the many interpersonal differences among humans, focusing on personality traits – the behaviors, attitudes, and emotions, which vary across individuals and constitute our character.

Course/Module aims:
The purpose of the course is to gain a deep understanding of human personality development processes while considering both childhood and lifespan development.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Understand the complexity of the human personality, with a thorough understanding of the complex answers to the questions of heredity versus environment, and stability versus change.

Attendance requirements(%):
90

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Frontal

Course/Module Content:
Why do we have personalities? Functional and evolutionary discussion
Situation and person, state and trait
Stability and change from infancy to adulthood: From temperament to personality?
Lifespan stability and change in personality
Environmental influences on personality
Genetic influences on personality
Gene-environment interaction
Gene-environment correlation
Biological embedding of environmental events

Required Reading:
Ashton, M. C. (2007). Individual Differences and Personality (pp. 53-66)
Nettle, D. (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans and other animals. American Psychologist, 61(6), 622.ž
Funder, D. C. (2006). Towards a resolution of the personality triad: Persons, situations, and behaviors. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(1), 21-34
Caspi, A., & Shiner, R. L. (2006). Personality development. Handbook of child psychology.ž
301-325"
Caspi, A., & Roberts, B. W. (2001). Personality Development across the Life Course: The Argument for Change and Continuity, Psychological Inquiry, 12(2), 49-66
Grusec, J. E. (2011). Socialization processes in the family: Social and emotional development. Annual review of psychology, 62, 243-269.ž
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., McClearn, G. E., & McGuffin, P. (2008). Behavioral genetics (Vol. 5). New York: Worth.ž - chapter 5
Avinun, R., & Knafo, A. (in press). Socialization, Genetics and their Interplay in Development. In J.E. Grusec and P. Hastings (Eds.) Handbook of Socialization. Guilford.
Boyce, W. T., Sokolowski, M. B., & Robinson, G. E. (2012). Toward a new biology of social adversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,109(Supplement 2), 17143-17148.ž

Additional Reading Material:
Charles, S. T., & Carstensen, L. L. (2009). Social and emotional aging. The Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 383-409.
Dweck, C. S. (2008). Can Personality Be Changed? The Role of Beliefs in Personality and Change, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 391- 394.
Fleeson, W. (2004). Moving personality beyond the person–situation debate: The challenge and opportunity of within-person variability. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 83–87.
Gosling, S. D., & John, O. P. (1999). Personality dimensions in nonhuman animals a cross-species review. Current Directions in Psychological Science,8(3), 69-75.ž
Kim-Cohen, J., & Gold, A. L. (2009). Measured Gene-Environment Interactions and Mechanisms Promoting Resilient Development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 138-142.
Matthews. G., Deary, I. J., & Whiteman, M. C. (2009). Personality Traits (3rd edition). Cambridge University Press (19-24)
Ozer, D.J., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 401–421.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 80 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 20 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
NONE
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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