SP442

PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
2024

Facilitator : Dr Alida Sandison Lecture venue: 050005

Office : 07LG24
Contact : 041 504 2330 Lecture time: 14:25-16:20 Provisional
E-mail : alida.sandison@mandela.ac.za
Credit Value : 10

TEXTBOOK
Meyer, W.F., Moore, C., & Viljoen, H.G. (2017). Personology: From individual to ecosystem. Heinneman:
Johannesburg.
* if there is a newer edition of the textbook, then that version is better

OBJECTIVE
The ultimate objective of the course is to build on knowledge of major psychology theories, and promote
the application of theory to the understanding of personality

SPECIFIC OUTCOMES
The specific outcomes of the course are:
 To understand and compare the key constructs and concepts of major personality theories.
 To explain human behaviour through the application of a variety of personality theories, constructs and
concepts.
 To understand relevant personality psychology issues as they impact on the South African situation.
 To apply the knowledge of personality to the understanding of another person.

HOW YOUR TIME SHOULD BE SPENT IN THIS MODULE

Apart from formal contact sessions (lectures and tests), it is assumed that you spend time outside of class
interacting (preparing and revising) with the module material. The following are guidelines on how much
time to spend on each chapter. You will notice that the overall time envisaged for you to spend on this
module is 100 notional hours;

Reading before lectures 1 hour per chapter 11 hours

Reading after lectures 1 hour per chapter 11 hours
Formal preparation for seminar 11 hours 11 hours
Formal preparation for assignment 15 hours 15 hours
Formal preparation for test 4 hours per chapter 24 hours
Lecture attendance 2 hours per lecture 28 hours
TOTAL 100 hours
Notional hours are the supposed hours that you need to spend on a module to be able to meet all the outcomes successfully. 1 credit = 10 notional hours.

DULY PERFORMED CERTIFICATE

Meeting the following three criteria will lead to your DP accreditation, and provide you with access to the
assessments for the module.
1. Attendance of a minimum of 80% of lectures for the module. If for any reason you cannot attend a
lecture, it remains your responsibility to provide documentation in support. This can be emailed to
me at alida.sandison@mandela.ac.za
2. Participation in the international experience, and engagement with a group submission of learnings
based on this experience.
3. Participation in a class presentation, on the topic assigned to you, within the lecture schedule.
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STRUCTURE
The course takes a lecture format. You are required to prepare for lectures by reading up on the
contributions of particular theorists or concepts. This preparation will allow you to participate meaningfully
in class discussions. The lectures will take place face to face.

After the lecture, you are expected to expand on the powerpoint notes with what you have learnt. You also
need to engage with any additional material on moodle, which includes Video clips/ audio clips/ articles as
well as the case study exercise.

LECTURE PLAN
DATE TOPIC GROUP
13.02.2024 Orientation and Introduction to course
Nature versus nurture

20.02.2024 Personality – “normality” versus “disorder”

27.02.2024 Personality, culture, and humour

5.03.2024 Alternative approaches: Trait

11.03.2024 Group assignment hand in

12.03.2024 Depth approaches: Freud Demi, Abbey, Jade, Esethu, Nosipho,
Lauren
19.03.2024 Depth approaches: Adler Asekho, Lily, Praise,

26.03.2024 Depth approaches: Erikson Yonela, Zikhona, Londiwe, Ziphozonke,

Makhona, Siviwe
RECESS 29 March to 7 April
8.04.2024 Essay hand in
9.04.2024 Behaviour and learning approaches: Social Daniela, Megan, Janique, Amanda, Lebo,
Cognitive Learning Theory Andisiwe

16.04.2024 Behaviour and learning approaches: Social

Constructionism

23.04.2024 Humanistic approach: Rogers Andrea, Gia, Kerry, Ashika, Vernique,

Farhaanah
30.04.2024 Humanistic approach: Frankl Paballo, Bakho, Mulaedza, Hlumelo,
Odwa, Iviwe
7.05.2024 Alternative approaches: African perspectives Anovuyo, Nolowabo, Nolovuyo, Unam,
Thandokazi, Amanda
14.05.2024 Revision

21.05.2024 Revision

28.05.2024 Test (provisional date)

 Please note that Tuesday 27th Feb there will be no class, but instead this will happen on Thursday 29 th Feb from 10:00-12:00.

GROUP WORK:
You will be divided into groups, the purpose of which is two-fold:

1. A virtual international cooperation with the University of Groningen, Netherlands is integrated into
this course. Students will work in small groups with peers from the Netherlands to deepen their
understanding of the culturally specific aspects of humor and gain insight into other cultures.
The task given to the group is for the group to bring two examples they found through social
media – be it a meme, picture, video clip, article –and talk through their selection and what it
means to them in the broader online group. Be guided by the questions:
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Why this media?
Do I see this as a reflection of South African/Netherlands culture? Or my specific culture in
which I was raised?
And in what way?
As a group, discuss what you notice within your discussions:
Are there similarities and differences in what emerges in the discussion, with regards to
Themes? Gender? Culture? Age groups?
Is there anything else that impresses you as interesting regarding humor and how to
understand it?
The group will submit an overview of their learnings that resulted from their intercultural
experience (between 2- 3 pages).

2. A theory will be assigned to each group within the first lecture. You are required to investigate the
theory assigned to you, and put together a 10-minute presentation on how the theory understands
or conceptualises humour (maximum 3-4 slides). To prepare for this you need to come together as
a group to grapple with the following questions:

What did ChatGPT say about the theory as it relates to humour?

What did your own reading say about the theory as it relates to humour?
What did your group think/conclude about the theory as it relates to humour, particularly as it
pertains to
Content found within the theory or
The lack of content found within the theory
Your own deductions around how the theory could be used
Are there elements of your international experience that may be reflected on, and brought into the
conclusions that you have drawn?

You are encouraged to make an appointment to see me before your presentation, to chat through your
findings and ideas.

ENRICHMENT CHALLENGE:
On moodle you will find the enrichment challenge for those who are interested in taking part. Moodle has
learning outcomes and notes on Ecosystemic theory. You will see that the content of Ecosystemic theory
does not formally form part of this module. However, this challenge is for students who would like to take
part. You are required to read up on Ecosystemic theory. You then need to incorporate some of your
understanding of this theory in your essay, in your analysis of your chosen person. There is a small prize
available to the student who demonstrates the greatest depth of Ecosystemic understanding within the
context of their essay.
Please note, Ecosystemic theory will not contribute to your mark for the essay, which will only be based on
the use of Trait theory, Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, and Adler’s Individual psychology theory. Should you
take up the challenge, you may extend the page length of the essay with an additional page (i.e. 7 pages
rather than 6). This challenge is not compulsory, but is for those who feel so led.

ASSESSMENT FORMAT AND WEIGHTINGS

Gain DP, and be allowed to participate in the test – see DP section
The module entails two marked assessments:
Essay 50%
Test 50%

1. Essay
The aim of this task is to provide you with an opportunity to write a creative essay in which you
demonstrate your ability to apply the theory to the life story of prominent individual. You need to choose an
individual to study – the list of individuals that you can choose from is as follows:
 Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe
 Kanye West
 Pablo Escabar
 Ellon Musk
 Marilyn Monroe
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 Donald Trump

You need to explore and critically interpret or analyse the individual. Focus on reading about the individual’s
defining experiences and events, and socio-historical influences, and try to use this information to gain an
understanding of the personality. Then, when you start to analyse/conceptualisie the individual you need to
include the following:

 Identify 3 or 4 aspects of their being that your analysis/conceptualisation will focus on

 Use of Trait theory, Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, and Adler’s Individual Psychology theory to do
this analysis/conceptualisation.

Your essay should be a typed, carefully edited, and written in APA format. It should be a maximum of 7
pages long. (The introduction is on page 1, and conclusion on page 7. You need to include a cover page,
contents page, and reference list, but these are not included in the page count).

The use of ChatGPT or such AI tools for this essay is prohibited.

Assessment criteria:

Please see attached assignment evaluation form for the assessment criteria.
50% of your final mark is taken from this task.
Assignments will only be accepted via Moodle, with a turn-it-in certificate attached to it.

DUE DATE: 8 April 2024

You will be penalised for the late submission of essays at the rate of 5% per day.

2. Test

In preparation for the test, the following is suggested:

Familiarise yourself with basic similarities and differences among the theories. Know the classification of
theories, view of the person, structure and dynamics of personality, development of personality including
optimal and pathological development, application of the theory, evaluation of the theory, and know the key
concepts. Finally you must be able to apply this knowledge of personality theory to case studies.

Chapters to be learnt for the test will be finalised in class.

50% of your final mark is taken from this task.

TEST DATE: 28 May 2024 (provisional date)

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ASSIGNMENT MARKING GRID

CONTENT (80%) RATING

1 Insight 1 1 1 3

2 Identification and expansion on essential descriptive 3 3 3 3 3 15

parameters (3-4 qualities of the person)
3 Correct use of psychological concepts 2 2 2 2 2 10

4 Logical, coherent arguments/thoughts (demonstrates a 3 3 3 3 3 15

coherent train of organised thought)
5 Relevant application of theory 5 5 5 5 5 25
6 Objective and scientific approach 2 2 2 2 2 10

STRUCTURE (20%)

1 Format - table of contents, introduction, section headings, 1 1 1 1 1 5

conclusion
2 Use of APA – font size, font type, indentation, spacing, 1 1 1 1 1 7
headings, referencing technique, running header
3 Language, style, spelling 1 1 1 1 1 5

4 Appropriate match of intext references to reference list 1 1 1 1 1 5

TOTAL MARK (%) =