The Inner-workings of You and Your brain

Institution: Carleton University (Southam Hall 415)
Category: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Language: English

Course Description

Did you ever want to know more about yourself and those around you? If so, this course is for you!

In this course, we will review theories and research from Social and Personality Psychology to learn more about yourself and others. We will aim to address questions such as “who am I?”, “why?” and “what does this mean?”. Specifically, we will be examining the self-concept and its impact on how you perceive and interact with the world around you. We will see how your personality develops through your life experiences and interactions. As well as how personality can change over time, intentionally or not. Furthermore, we will look at how you may adopt different personalities or social identities in different social environments (e.g., student, teammate, Canadian).

Your personality and self-concept are important because they can influence many parts of your life such as academic success, careers, relationships, happiness, health, and more. Through activities and group discussions, we will explore the innerworkings of the mind, human experiences, and behaviours. Some topics include, but aren’t limited to: Personality and Social Psychology 101, the Scientific Method, Psychology Research Methods, Personality Development, Personality Outcomes, State versus Trait Personality, Social Identity, and many more.

Special topics include, but aren’t limited to:
-Personality in love and relationships
-The dark triad (narcissim, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism)
-Contemporary personality profiles (e.g., Harry Potter Houses, Spotify Listener personality)
-Personality disorders
-A career in Psychology

Proposed Activites
-Learn more about yourself through a variety of personality tests
-“Daily diary homework experiment”
-Act “out of character” experiment
-Find and discuss an online “personality test” (e.g., “What kind of pizza are you?”)
-Examine the personality of a fictional character
-Mindfulness activities

To note, this course deals with a broad sample of human experiences and behaviours. There is a possibility that some sensitive topics (e.g., mental health concerns, criminal behaviour) may be broached and covered.

By the end of this course, students will have an enhanced understanding of the basics of Social and Personality Psychology. As well as it’s application across several domains of life such as school, work, love and relationships.
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