Personality Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Personality and Its Scope

Clarifies what personality is, how it differs from mood and behavior, and why it matters professionally. Anchors all subsequent theory in a shared definition.

Lesson 2 • Core Theoretical Perspectives Overview

Surveys psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, and trait perspectives at a high level. Prepares students to evaluate each tradition in depth later.

Lesson 3 • Historical Roots of Personality Theory

Traces personality study from ancient typologies to modern empirical science. Provides context for understanding why competing theories exist.

Lesson 1 • Trait Stability and Change Over Time

Examines longitudinal evidence on trait consistency and malleability. Connects stability research to realistic expectations in coaching and development.

Lesson 2 • The Big Five Factor Model

Introduces the five-factor structure as the field's dominant taxonomy. Students learn each dimension's meaning, facets, and predictive value.

Lesson 3 • Cross-Cultural Validity of Trait Models

Evaluates how well Western-derived trait models replicate across cultures. Students learn to apply and adapt frameworks in diverse professional settings.

Lesson 4 • Facets, Nuances, and Narrow Traits

Moves below broad factors to examine specific facets and narrow traits that improve prediction. Demonstrates how granularity increases applied accuracy.

Lesson 1 • Hormones, Neurotransmitters, and Personality

Explores how cortisol, dopamine, serotonin, and testosterone relate to trait expression. Provides a biochemical layer for understanding individual differences.

Lesson 2 • Neurobiological Systems and Traits

Maps major brain systems—reward, threat, inhibition—onto personality dimensions. Students link neuroscience findings to observable trait differences.

Lesson 3 • Temperament as Biological Personality

Defines temperament as the early-appearing biological substrate of personality. Traces how infant temperament predicts adult trait profiles.

Lesson 1 • Defence Mechanisms and Coping Styles

Catalogues major defences from primitive to mature and links them to personality patterns. Students identify defences in case material and professional contexts.

Lesson 2 • Freudian Structural and Topographic Models

Covers id, ego, superego, and the conscious-unconscious continuum. Establishes the vocabulary for all subsequent psychodynamic discussion.

Lesson 3 • Object Relations and Attachment Theory

Introduces internalised representations of self and others as personality organisers. Connects early relational patterns to adult interpersonal functioning.

Lesson 4 • Neo-Freudian and Analytic Extensions

Examines Adler, Jung, Horney, and Erikson's departures from classical theory. Broadens the psychodynamic lens beyond drive theory.

Lesson 1 • Locus of Control and Attributional Style

Covers internal-external control beliefs and explanatory style as stable personality variables. Links these constructs to motivation, resilience, and performance.

Lesson 2 • Personal Constructs and Cognitive Schemas

Examines Kelly's construct theory and Beck's schema model as personality organisers. Shows how cognitive structures filter experience and drive behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Maslow, Rogers, and Self-Actualisation

Covers the hierarchy of needs, unconditional positive regard, and the fully functioning person. Grounds humanistic applications in coaching and development.

Lesson 4 • Integrating Humanistic and Cognitive Views

Synthesises person-centred values with cognitive precision for applied personality work. Prepares students to blend frameworks in coaching and assessment.

Lesson 1 • Psychometric Foundations of Assessment

Covers reliability, validity, standardisation, and norms as quality criteria. Provides the evaluative lens applied to every instrument in this chapter.

Lesson 2 • Ethical and Practical Assessment Standards

Addresses informed consent, confidentiality, feedback delivery, and appropriate tool use. Ensures students practise assessment within professional and ethical boundaries.

Lesson 3 • Projective and Performance-Based Methods

Introduces inkblot, apperception, and sentence-completion techniques and their evidence base. Balances clinical utility against psychometric limitations.

Lesson 4 • Self-Report Inventories and Questionnaires

Examines widely used trait inventories, their scales, and response formats. Students practise profile interpretation and identify response bias risks.

Lesson 1 • Cluster A: Odd and Eccentric Patterns

Covers paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal presentations and their trait underpinnings. Students learn recognition cues and functional impact in non-clinical settings.

Lesson 2 • Dimensional Alternatives and the Dark Triad

Introduces the alternative dimensional model and subclinical dark triad traits. Prepares students to assess personality risk in leadership and team contexts.

Lesson 3 • Cluster B: Dramatic and Erratic Patterns

Examines antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic presentations. Focuses on interpersonal impact and recognition in organisational contexts.

Lesson 4 • Cluster C: Anxious and Fearful Patterns

Covers avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive presentations and their anxiety roots. Links these patterns to performance and relationship difficulties.

Lesson 1 • Personality in Personnel Selection

Reviews validity evidence linking traits to job performance, leadership, and turnover. Students design legally defensible, trait-based selection components.

Lesson 2 • Personality and Clinical Case Formulation

Integrates trait and psychodynamic data into structured clinical case formulations. Bridges assessment findings to treatment planning and therapeutic goals.

Lesson 3 • Team Composition and Personality Dynamics

Examines how trait diversity and similarity affect team performance and conflict. Students apply personality data to team design and facilitation decisions.

Lesson 4 • Designing Personality-Informed Interventions

Guides students through creating structured programmes that leverage personality insights. Covers needs analysis, design principles, and outcome evaluation.