The University of Texas at Austin

Domain 4: Social-Personality

General Description

This domain is focused on both theoretical and empirical aspects of social and personality psychology.

Courses

For those who elect to fulfill the domain requirement by taking two courses, the following courses are currently approved. Students may take at least one of these three primary courses.

Detailed statements of the contents, objectives, and assigned reading for each course can be examined in the departmental office (SZB 504) or on the course descriptions webpage. Additional information can also be obtained from the instructor who teaches the course.

P/S EDP # Topic Usual Instructor
Primary 381M.2 Seminar: Social Psychology Falbo
Primary 386N.1 Seminar: Personality Psychology Richardson
Primary 381M.1 Individual in Society Manaster, Valencia

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Topics

There are two broad classifications of topics: Social and Personality:

Social

  1. Social cognition
    Social inference
    Attributional processes
    Attitude development and change
    Self processes
    Stereotypes
  2. Interpersonal processes and relationships
    Interpersonal attraction
    Relationship formation and dissolution
    Power, authority, and obedience
  3. Organization and groups
    Conflict
    Group dynamics
    Intergroup relations
    Work behavior
  4. Social and cultural factors
    Social norms
    Social organizations
    Class and cultural differences
    Multicultural issues

Personality

  1. Personality theories
    Freudian theory
    Neo-Freudian perspectives: Adler, Jung, Fromm, Sullivan, ego psychology, Erikson
    Contemporary psychoanalytic views: Self psychology, object relations, relational psychoanalysis
    Humanistic/Phenomenological approaches: Rogers, Kelly, Maslow
    Behavioral and social learning approaches: Skinner, behavior therapy, Bandura
    Cognitive and information processing theories: Ellis, Beck, schema theory
    New perspectives: Existentialism, critical psychology, social constructions, hermeneutics
  2. Research areas and topics: classical and contemporary
    Trait theory and research
    Competence motivation
    Attribution theory and research
    The study of aggression
    Study of the self: self-esteem, self-monitoring, and the self-schema
    Personality continuity and change over the life-course
    Research and theory on person-environment interaction
    The interpersonal self or multiple selves
    The nature of emotion and its role in adaptation
    Sex, gender, and individual differences
  3. Cultural and cross-cultural perspectives
    Bruner's cultural psychology Ethnopsychological study of cross-cultural differences in conceptions of self-mind, body, motivation, and emotion
    Individualism vs. collectivism
    Self-other dependence across cultures

Brief descriptions of the courses in Domain 4 courses are given below.

Seminar: Social Psychology. The objective of the course is to familiarize graduate students with basic theories and methods of social psychology. The course will cover the following topics: self schemata, attributions, cognitive dissonance, gender roles, conformity, social loafing, cooperative learning, and the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Seminar: Personality Psychology. This seminar reviews theory and research associated with a number of classical and contemporary perspectives on human personality or actions, including Freud, Kohut, cognitive therapy theory, existentialism, critical social science, social constructionism, and hermeneutics.

Individual in Society. This course is designed as a proseminar investigating issues and influences of various identities, identifiers, group memberships and affiliations, etc. on individuals, individual differences, group differences their interactions and relationships. Many of the identifications covered in the course can be considered, have been utilized as, demographic variables. Demography- (Webster’s) the statistical study of human populations especially with reference to size and density, distribution, and vital statistics. The course will begin with an attempt to establish a general framework for understanding the variables and relationships of interest, through the use of Allport’s The Nature of Prejudice and Isaacs’ Idols of the Tribe. The remainder of the course will focus on particular variables such as ethnicity, age, sex, SES and social class, religion, place, etc. We will also discuss variables of interest to the class and variables that may not be as frequently studied. The nature of the course and its requirements demand that topics be added. Therefore, a number of later sessions are open and will be filled in as topics are determined.

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Domain Exam

For those who elect this avenue for fulfilling the domain requirement, the three-hour domain examination consists of four essay questions from which the student chooses and answers two. Of the four questions, two will cover the social psychology topics and two will cover the personality topics described above. The students must select and answer one social and one personality question. At least two faculty members who are familiar with the content of the questions will evaluate the responses and grade the exam on a Pass/Fail basis. If the Pass/Fail recommendations of the two readers differ, a third reader will evaluate the student’s responses and resolve the discrepancy. Students must pass both questions to be considered as having passed the domain exam. Students may not retake the exam if they do not pass: a student who fails the examination must satisfy the domain requirement by coursework.

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Readings

Students opting to take the qualifying examination for Domain 4 should consult the faculty who teach the primary courses for complete readings (e-mail to set up an appointment).

DR. FRANK RICHARDSON: fcr@mail.utexas.edu, (512) 471-0845

DR. TONI FALBO: toni@prc.utexas.edu, (512) 471-0603

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