2130, B, A Personality Psychology
“Know Thyself”
Professor Ian McGregor
Course Philosophy
Less is more—textbook prize
 Integration of mere information—make meaning
 Experiential participation (research studies)
 Understand self, family, society
 Inspire curiosity about the human condition
 Inspire consideration of research careers

Course and Quiz Organization
1. Greeks and Psychoanalytic Theory
2. Add scientific Methods
3. Add Goal Regulation foundation
4. Mix with Neoanalytic Theory
5. Understand self, parenting, culture,
politics, maybe even religion
How to do Well
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Attend lectures (beware of laptops)
Do readings, think, and elaborate
Review notes, think, and elaborate
Make meaning, query TA if needed
Do SONA research participation
early:
http://www.yorku.ca/health/psyc/urpp/urppfaq.
htm
6.
Read syllabus: http://www.yorku.ca/ianmc/
Renaissance
14th-17th century
after crusades
Copernicus’
1473-1543
“First Threat”
Historical Context
Luther, 1517
Protestant
Reformation
Galileo: 1564-1642
18th Century, Voltaire and Rousseau: Casanova,1725-1798
Enlightenment and Romanticism
“Sleepy” Sex
Newton,1643-1727
Gravitation
Mesmer 1770s in Vienna, Animal Magnetism
19th Century
Darwin’s 1859,
Origin of the Species
Second Insult to Dignity
“Nightmare,” Fuseli, 1782
From Mesmer to Hypnosis
Victorian England
Charcot, 1825-1893,
Neurology and Hysteria
Helmholtz, 1821-1894 1850s industrial revolution
Conservation of Energy with steam (and anomie)
Converging Historical Factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Empirical science as authority
Lost authority of church—crisis of
meaning—societal conflict and
anxiety neurosis
Human nature not transcendent, but
temporal, subject to natural laws
Interest in unconscious factors
Animal, sexual motives
First Major Scientific Advance Since Greeks:
Personality Processes and Individual Differences
http://yorku.sona-systems.com/default.asp