Personality and Social Development  is an advanced undergraduate course.  We will examine theory and research in three broad areas: Moral development, longitudinal studies of personality, and nature and nurture.  In addition, students will work with me on an ongoing research project in personality development.

The course is intended for advanced undergraduate students who have had at least two of the three relevant survey courses in psychology (Personality PPE 3003, Social SOP 3004, and  Developmental DEP 3705).  

Instructor: Dr. Kevin Lanning (lanning@fau.edu). Office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-4 PM and by appointment.

Readings: Readings will be drawn from four texts and additional articles, many of which are hot-linked to the electronic version of this syllabus.  Other papers (denoted by * in the class schedule) can be borrowed from me and copied. 

The Hy & Loevinger text is a coding manual and introduction to the SCT.  Two copies of this will be available on reserve in the library. The Heatherton, Moen, & Plomin texts are all edited volumes. All four texts are recommended:

Hy, L. X.,& Loevinger, J. (1996) Measuring Ego Development, 2nd Ed.  Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Heatherton, T. F.& Weinberger, J. L. (Eds.). (1994) Can Personality Change? Washington: APA.

Moen, Phyllis, Elder, G. E., & Luscher, K. (Eds.). (1995) Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development. Washington: APA

Plomin, R. & McClearn G. E. (Eds.). (1993) Nature, Nurture & Psychology. Washington: APA   

Grading. Grades will be based on a 100 point scale, with points earned as follows:

From four reaction papers, 40 points.  Each of these papers will be 4-6 pages in length.  The four papers will draw from each of the four sections of the course (see below).  Students will work with me in leading discussion on those dates when they submit reaction papers.

From classroom participation, 20 points.  These points will be earned by attending class and demonstrating that you have done the assigned readings, even on those days where you will not be presenting a reaction paper. Because the class is small, and at an advanced level, it is important that students both attend class and are prepared.

From coding of SCT protocols, 20 points.  Over the course of the term, you will be expected to learn how to score the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (SCT) and will actually score SCT protocols.  These points will be earned by scoring the SCT and/or working with me on statistical analyses of the SCT.  SCT assignments are given on the syllabus in red.

From a final exam, 20 points.  A final exam will be administered consisting of essay questions covering the readings and class discussion.  As in my other classes, exam questions will be drawn from a "superset" of essay questions which will be made available to students prior to the exam. 

A current version of this syllabus can be found online at http://wise.fau.edu/~lanning/psy4930persdev. As this is a new course, and small enough to accommodate your interests, I expect that dates and content are likely to change, so please consult these pages frequently. The class schedule appears in four sections:

Section I: Moral and ego development

Section II: Longitudinal studies - Basic issues

Section III: Longitudinal studies - Applications

Section IV: Nature & nurture

Up to Dr. Kevin Lanning, Honors College, Florida Atlantic University.

   Revised 01/08/02