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The Psychology of Personality

Learn what psychologists believe influences an individual’s personality and how it can be measured.

  • Duration

    2 weeks

  • Weekly study

    10 hours
Overview
Requirements
Educators

On this course you will explore the different ways in which psychologists have approached the concept of personality. You will be introduced to different theoretical perspectives, such as the cognitive, biological, social and developmental approaches, to discover the various forces that can shape an individual’s personality.

The Big 5 personality traits will be defined and discussed in addition to ways in which psychologists have attempted to measure personality.

Connections will also be made between personality and organisational performance.

What topics will you cover?

• Definitions of personality

• The biological perspective of personality

• The cognitive perspective of personality

• The social perspective of personality

• The developmental perspective of personality

• Trait theory

• The Big 5 personality traits

• Personality measurement

• Applications of personality theory to organisational performance.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Define what psychologists mean by the term personality
  • Describe the origins of personality research within psychology
  • Compare and contrast different theoretical perspectives of personality
  • List the Big 5 personality traits
  • Assess how personality traits can influence organisational performance.
  • Differentiate between different types of personality tests
  • Appraise the contributions of key theorists to psychology’s understanding of personality.

Who is the course for?

This course is for individuals who would like to find out what psychologists believe influences an individual’s personality and the ways in which personality can be measured.

Please note that the staff described in the ‘Who will you learn with?’ section below may be subject to change.

Who will you learn with?

Dr Andre Soares

Andre Soares PhD, MSc, BSc, FHEA, CPsychol – assistant professor in business and occupational psychology at Coventry University

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992

  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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