Human Personality CO 739 Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte Spring 2015 _____________________________________________ Professor: Dr. Jeffery S. Forrey Email: forreyjs@yahoo.com Required Texts: Ewen, Robert B. An Introduction to Theories of Personality, 7th ed. New York: Psychology Press, 2010. You are responsible for chapters 1-2, 4, 8-10, 12, 14, 16-17. Grudem, Wayne. Making Sense of Man and Sin. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. You are responsible for chapters 2-6.1 Grudem, Wayne. Making Sense of Salvation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. You are responsible for chapters 5-9, 11-14.2 Course Overview & Purpose: Theories of personality try to capture what is stable and unique about people’s psychological make-up. Occasionally, people experience pervasive and long-lasting problems in understanding themselves and their relationships, which the mental health community labels “personality disorders.” In this course we will survey some historically prominent secular personality theories and a couple of personality “disorders.” We will critique these theories and concepts from the perspective of a biblical anthropology (the doctrine of humanity as created, fallen, and redeemed). We also will consider how biblical counselors might address some significant issues and questions raised by the secular theories and currently popular therapeutic strategies. Course Structure & Requirements: (1) Pre-classroom work: Prior to the week of classes you should have read the assigned portions of the textbooks. For the chapters in Ewen’s text, you should take notes on the terms and concepts that you think capture the distinctive elements of the theories being described. Your notes should focus on the information under the chapters’ subheadings “The Basic Nature of Human Beings,” “The Structure of Personality,” and “The The content of this book is taken from Grudem’s larger Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994). If you have this book, you can read chapters 21-25. 2 The content of this book is taken from Grudem’s larger Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994). If you have this book, you can read chapters 34-38 & 40-43. 1 1 Development of Personality.” These sections will be used for the quizzes; the rest of the chapters will be reflected in our class discussions. (2) Classroom work: During the week of classes, we will spend our time analyzing and critiquing prominent secular personality theories and current thinking on “personality disorders.” We will use lectures, small group activities, case studies, and counseling simulations to accomplish this. We may also use video footage to illustrate concepts discussed in class. Active participation is expected in all small-group and large-group discussions. Participation throughout the week will be worth 50 points. You will take a brief open-note quiz on several of the major personality theories featured in Ewen’s text. The notes that you will be allowed to use for each quiz will be one-page summaries of each theory that you bring to class with you. (Therefore, if a quiz covers two theorists, you can have a one-page summary for each one.) These one-page summaries should be typed in a commonly used 12-point font. You will turn in the onepage summary (or summaries) with your quiz. The quizzes will be designed to test your grasp of the theories’ understanding of human nature, personality structure and personality development. Collectively, the quizzes + your one-page summaries will be worth 100 points. Here is a tentative schedule of the topics and activities for the week of classes. They are numbered consecutively because some may be carried over to the following day of the week. (There will be lunch breaks and other breaks throughout each day!) DAY Monday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Tuesday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Wednesday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm ACTIVITIES (1) Introductory ice-breaker (2) Introductory lecture: What is “personality”? Why are we studying and evaluating secular personality theories? (3) Small group discussion & debriefing: Biblical terms & concepts for understanding human nature (5) Small-group case study discussion: Using Freud’s theory (4) Quiz: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory (6) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Biblical/theological evaluation of Freud’s theory (7) Small-group case study discussion: Using Adler’s or Erikson’s theory (8) Quiz: Adler’s theory & Erikson’s theory (9) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Biblical/theological evaluation of Adler’s theory & Erikson’s theory (10) Counseling simulations (Take 1) (11) Debriefing on the simulations (12) Small-group case study discussion: Trait theories (13) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Biblical/theological evaluation of trait theories (14) Small-group case study discussion: Using Rogers’ or Maslow’s theory 2 Thursday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Friday, 8:00 am – 1:00 pm (15) Quiz: Rogers’ theory & Maslow’s theory (16) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Biblical/theological evaluation of the Humanistic Perspective (17) Small-group case study discussion: Using Skinner’s or Bandura’s theory (18) Quiz: Skinner’s theory & Bandura’s theory (19) Counseling simulations (Take 2) (20) Debriefing on the simulations (21) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Biblical/theological evaluation of Skinner’s theory & Bandura’s theory (22) Small-group case study discussion: Personality “disorders” (23) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Conceptualizing personality disorders (24) Counseling simulations (Take 3) (25) Debriefing on the simulations (26) Lecture/Large-group discussion: Counseling strategies for personality “disorders” *Today will also be used to “catch-up” on left-over topics. (3) Post-class paper: Within four weeks following the week of classes, you will email me a final written project (forreyjs@yahoo.com). It will be an 8-10 page (2000-2500 word) assessment of a couple of case studies in which you compare and contrast multiple personality theories. The case study options will be provided at the end of the week of classes. This paper will be worth 100 points, evaluated according the rubric and writing guidelines attached to this syllabus. 3 GRADING RUBRIC FOR ASSIGNMENTS CRITERIA Comprehension of Course Material Reasoning & Development of Arguments Writing Standards Total Points EXCELLENT WORK (90-100%) The submission demonstrated a firm grasp of the relevant theories, concepts & strategies under consideration: No significant misrepresentation of the ideas or their use by the authors being reviewed. All assignment instructions were followed The submission demonstrated: no significant flaws in use of logic (weakening the value of the paper), clearly articulated conclusion(s), & well developed substantiation of the conclusion(s). The submission demonstrated good use of standard English grammar & spelling & included a consistent use of a citation system with no more than 5 violations of the “Common Mistakes.” AVERAGE WORK (70-89%) The submission demonstrated an elementary grasp of the relevant theories and concepts under consideration: e.g., some misunderstanding of the ideas or their use that could lead to a misleading presentation. Or some assignment instructions were not followed. The submission demonstrated some logical error(s) that lowered confidence in the argumentation or did not substantiate key points supposed to lead to the conclusion(s). BELOW AVERAGE WORK (< 70%) The submission demonstrated such misunderstanding of the relevant theories & concepts under consideration that no accurate presentation could be given. POSSIBLE POINTS The submission demonstrated extensive logical fallacies or lack of good substantiation so that the conclusion(s) were not credible. 40 The submission demonstrated violations of English grammar or spelling (up to 10 violations of the “Common Mistakes”) which made the submission challenging to understand and/or inconsistent use of a citation system. The submission demonstrated such repeated violations of English grammar or spelling and/or incomplete citations that a reader could not grasp the intent of the paper or its sources. 20 40 100 4 COMMON MISTAKES IN ASSIGNMENTS Below are correctives to common grammar and style mistakes I find in students’ writing. Problems with Commas and Semicolons 1. Use a comma with the next-to-the-last item in a series of three or more items. 2. Place commas and periods within quotation marks, but place other punctuation marks outside of quotation marks. 3. Use the semicolon for (a) separating independent clauses3 within a compound sentence that does not have a coordinating conjunction or (b) separating lengthy items in a series where commas are used already within the items themselves. 4. In a compound sentence with two independent clauses, join the independent clauses by either a semicolon or a comma + “and.” In a compound sentence with more than two independent clauses, separate all the clauses by a semicolon except for the last one, which should be separated by a comma + “and.” For example: INCORRECT: My mother went to Washington and a tour guide took her through the Smithsonian Institute. [Here there are two independent clauses; that is, each part of the sentence could stand alone as a separate sentence.] CORRECT: My mother went to Washington, and a tour guide took her through the Smithsonian Institute. INCORRECT: My mother went to Washington, she visited the Smithsonian Institute and she saw the President. CORRECT: My mother went to Washington; she visited the Smithsonian Institute, and she saw the President. 5. Use a colon (:) to introduce clarifying clauses, phrases, or lists. INCORRECT: James decided to spend his day doing these chores; washing his car, paying his bills, and washing his clothes. CORRECT: James decided to spend his day doing these chores: washing his car, paying his bills, and washing his clothes. An “independent clause” is a clause with a subject & predicate that could stand on its own as a separate sentence. 3 5 Problems with Pronouns 6. Make sure pronouns and their antecedents match in number, gender, and person. For example: INCORRECT: Anxiety will not be overcome if a counselee refuses to apply Matthew 6:25-34 to their life. [Here the pronoun “their” does not match its antecedent “counselee” in number.] CORRECT: Anxiety will not be overcome if counselees refuse to apply Matthew 6:25-34 to their lives. 7. To avoid unnecessary “gender-biased language,” wherever appropriate, use collective nouns (“humanity,” or “people”) and plural pronouns (“they,” “them,” “their,” etc.). Avoid use of “he/she” or “s/he.” Also avoid exclusive use of either “he” or “she.” 8. Use personal pronouns consistently within a sentence or paragraph. For example: INCORRECT: Biblical counselors must be careful to use passages of Scripture appropriately. You must “rightly divide” the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15). [Here the first sentence is written in the third person, and the second sentence is written in the second person.] CORRECT: Biblical counselors must be careful to use passages of Scripture appropriately. They must “rightly divide” the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Problems with Quotations 9. Use block quotations for quotes that will be over 5 lines of text. 10. Do not use quotation marks to open or close block quotations; instead, indent them as many spaces as you indent your paragraphs. Single-space block quotations. 11. Use single quotation marks only within double quotation marks (signifying a quote within a quote). Problems with Formatting 12. Reserve the use of Latin phrases (“e.g.,” “etc.,” “i.e.,” and so on) for parenthetical comments or footnotes (or endnotes). 6 13. Use a double space between lines within the body of the paper and between separate bibliographic entries. Use a single space between lines within footnotes and within bibliographic entries. 14. In bibliographies, indent the second and subsequent lines 5 spaces (a “hanging indentation”). 15. Format headings and subheadings consistently throughout the paper. 16. Do not allow subheadings to “hang” at the bottom of a page without at least two lines of supporting text underneath them. 17. Format citations consistently throughout the paper; do not mix citation systems. 18. Use parallel construction of items in lists or series. For example:4 INCORRECT: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and that they should ask about anything they did not understand. [Here the first two items in the series are infinitive phrases and the last one is a dependent clause introduced by a relative pronoun.] CORRECT: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and to ask about anything they did not understand. 19. Capitalize “Scripture” and “Bible.” Do not capitalize “biblical,” “scriptural,” “pastor” (unless it’s used with a particular name, e.g., “Pastor Mark” or “Pastor Smith”), “biblical counseling,” or “biblical counselor.” 20. When you delete a portion of quoted material (a word, phrase, or sentence), you show that with an ellipsis. An ellipsis does not replace the period of the sentence before it. 4 This particular example comes from Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed (Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association, 2001), 60. 7