Advanced Psychology Lab: Research Methods in Personality Psychology
R. Chris Fraley
http://www.yourpersonality.net/psych350/fall2013/
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 the themes that have characterized intellectual inquiry
over the years are studied by psychologists
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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
the 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 is the scientific method potentially useful for studying
human experience?
• 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 way in which people differ from one another (individual
differences)
– The development of such differences (developmental)
– 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/psych350/fall2013/
– Future updates and changes will be reflected in the online version
of the syllabus.
• Grading
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20% Attendance and participation in lab activities
20% Quizzes
20% Major Project 1
20% Major Project 2
20% Major Project 3
• 3% extra credit via Subject Pool studies (see syllabus for details)
Important Notes
• The lab sections will be meeting in rooms 289 and 453D of the
Psychology Department.
• Labs will begin this week! Please be sure to attend Friday’s lab.
(We will NOT have the Wed lab this week.)
Computers in the Lab Rooms
• You will need to know your Active Directory account
information to log in to the computers in the lab rooms.
– 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