Most instructors use a conscious outline for the course they teach. Often, these outlines reflect fieldwide frameworks.
A fieldwide framework is the outline that members of a field employ to communicate their discipline. It can be discerned in the table of contents of textbooks for the field, as well as in research reviews.
Personality psychology is taught in several different ways, according to several different frameworks. Sometimes, this is reflected by different names for the course (e.g., "Theories of Personality" is supposed to emphasize a theoretical approach).
If you are teaching personality psychology, you are likely using one of these field-wide frameworks -- an outline of the discipline -- to do it with. The textbook you use, for example is based on one of the frameworks described on this site.
What Frameworks Are There?
Several major frameworks -- outlines of the field -- exist for teaching the personality course. Three major groups of frameworks are described below, along with a fourth group of additional noteworthy frameworks.
For a bit of background about these frameworks, and their advantages and disadvantages, you may also want to read about frameworks in the remainder of these web pages: many of them were discussed in general in this site's Main Selections, and discussed in specific on multiple pages in this site's Further Detail section.
The Theory by Theory Framework
This framework proceeds through the discipline by covering a sequence of theories. A sample list of chapters would look something like this:
- Freud
- Jung
- Adler
- Rogers
- Maslow
- Allport
- etc...
The Perspective by Perspective Framework
This framework proceeds through the discipline by covering a sequence of theoretical perspectives. A theoretical perspective is much like a theory, but broader. A sample list of chapters would look something like this:
- Psychodynamic
- Trait
- Humanistic
- Behavioral
- Social-Cognitive
- Psychobiological
The Systems Framework for Personality
This framework considers personality a system that can be located, analyzed, and studied. There are a loose group of systems approaches. The specific outline employed here is from the "Systems Framework for Personality." Generally, these books are divided into sections, such as the four sections below, and then the individual chapters further divide the subject matter.
- Overview of Personality Psychology
- Personality's Parts (e.g., Motivation, Emotion, Cognition
- Personality's Organization (e.g., Structure, Dynamics)
- Personality Development
Other Noteworthy Frameworks
There exist other noteworthy frameworks that are carefully worked out and serve as alternatives to the above.
McAdams' "Levels" framework describes levels of knowing another person. It starts with abstract patterns of personality such as traits -- which he calls the "psychology of the stranger," and moves on to information about the person that creates a better sense of knowing, such as the individual's autobiographical knowing.
The Research Topic-by-Topic framework organizes the discipline according to the most important and active research areas in the discipline at a given time.
The Framework in the Classroom
A discussion about how to use different frameworks in the classroom appeared in an issue of Dialogue, the newsletter of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. To read the debate (each entry was about a page), click here.
Articles Evaluating Frameworks
Here are a few key articles in support of specific fieldwide frameworks. The first article is on-line, but the latter two are not. If they are posted, this site will link to them.
The Contemporary Rationale for the Systems Framework:
Mayer, J. D. (1998). A systems framework for the field of personality. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 118-144.
McAdams' "Level's" framework:
McAdams, D. P (1996). Personality, Modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary framework for studying persons. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 295-321.
A Contemporary Rationale for the Perspectives Approach:
Funder, D. C. (1998). Why does personality psychology exist? Psychological Inquiry, 9, 150-152.