Psychology 210: Theories of Personality Spring, 2014 CRN Credit Hours

Transcription

1 Psychology 210: Theories of Personality Spring, 2014 CRN Credit Hours Course Meeting 8:00 9:15 AM Tue, Thurs Lecture Center D1 Instructor Nicole Mayer, MA, BSB 2008, <nmayer5@uic.edu> Office hours: Tue., 1:00-2:00; Wed., 11:00-12:00, and by appointment Textbook: Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2013). Personality: Theory and Research (12 th ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Course goals and objectives Welcome to Theories of Personality! In this class we will examine a broad set of theories of personality. Throughout history, ancient philosophers up to modern-day researchers have asked the questions: What makes us different from each other, what makes us the same, and what makes us unique? In this class, we will review a number of the most influential theories in the field, and theorists who have tried to answer those exact questions. These theories all have their strengths and limitations, and especially given the latter, we will also critically evaluate them. The purpose of this exercise is not merely to critique theories of personality theories, but to exercise and develop the critical thinking skills needed to analyze human behavior. In this class, we will also examine empirical findings within the contemporary research literature on personality. This exercise will help you to learn how specific findings are used to evaluate different theories of personality. Armed with this knowledge, by the end of the course you should be able to: Think critically and form your own evaluation of each theory Be aware of the different theorists and their main ideas Readings Understand how these theories apply to your own life experiences Write a paper that specifically compares and/or contrasts personality theories and applies them to available scientific evidence. The textbook is the primary learning tool of this class; it contains much more information than could ever be presented in lectures. Many exam questions will directly relate to material in the book, even if that material was not discussed in class. You need the textbook to do well in the course.

2 There are various ways to get the textbook. If you purchase it new, there should be a market to sell the book after the semester is over; it is a relatively new publication and is used widely. The book is available in electronic format. Finally, used copies may be available, or you may rent it. In addition to the textbook reading, you will need to do supplemental reading to complete the paper requirement and the optional assignment. Requirements and Grades You will earn credit for four types of assignments in the course: (1) Exams, (2) the Paper; (3) Theory Application; and (4) Discussion Board participation. Exams There will be three exams. Each will consist of machine-scored multiple-choice questions, so please bring a #2 pencil to the exams. Each exam will have 50 questions. The exams will cover material discussed in the lectures and textbook readings. Note that the lectures and readings will not be redundant. Thus, you cannot expect to do well on the exams unless you know the material from both the lectures and the text. The third exam, to be held during UIC s Final Exam Week, will not be a comprehensive exam; it will focus on material covered during the last third of the course. Exam 1 - February 18 Exam 2 - March 20 Exam 3 - xxxxxxxxxxxx. Make-up policy. If you miss Exam 1 or Exam 2, you can take a make-up on the day of the next exam. In other words, if you miss Exam 1 on February 18, you can take it on March 20. If you miss Exam 2, you can take it on the day of the final exam. The make-up exams will be slightly more difficult than the exams administered at the regularly scheduled exam time, to avoid inadvertently disadvantaging people who take the exam at the appropriate time. There will be no alternative exam days. There will be no make-up day for the final exam. Final Paper The paper will be 5-7 pages, due Tuesday, April 22, which I will return to you by the time of the last class meeting, Thursday, May 1. The paper is worth 100 points. For this assignment, you will compare the manner in which two personality theories address a particular topic, and you will draw upon a specific piece of research that enables you to evaluate and compare the theories. Details on paper topics, additional paper information, and a sample paper are posted on the class s Blackboard website. You should read this material carefully before beginning your paper, as it contains detailed guidelines and suggestions for the paper assignment. In addition, we will discuss the paper assignment in class. Late Papers. I will accept late papers for credit; however, you will receive a point reduction on your paper grade. These penalties will be assigned no matter what your reason for failing to submit the paper on time (barring sudden and documented medical emergencies). Late penalties are as follows. If you turn in your paper later than class time on the 22 nd, but prior to 11:59 p.m. on the 23 rd, there is a 3-point penalty. Papers submitted after April 23 rd

3 will receive a 6-point late penalty. No matter what your scores on the exams are, you must submit a paper to get credit for the course (see gen ed policy: How to Submit Papers. You will submit your paper both as hard copies on paper and as electronic files in.doc or.rtf wordprocessing format via SafeAssign on Blackboard. I will discuss details on this process in class. Theory application. The purpose of the Theory Application assignment is to give you an opportunity to think and write actively about 3 personality theories. A second purpose is to give you an opportunity to relate the ideas in the personality theories to concrete cases, specifically to people you know, including yourself. The Theory Application should be words in length and each will be graded on a 10-point basis. You will write three of these during the semester one by February 6, one by March 13, and one by April 10. You can submit them electronically as late as the end of the day on those days, 11:59 pm. I will not accept late papers.. In terms of substance, the assignment is as follows. For each application you should: (1) Think of someone you know well (either personally, a well-known public figure, or yourself) (2) Identify either something the person did, or some personality characteristic that the individual tends to display (3) Pick one of the personality theories that we discuss in this course. Choose a different theory for each one. (4) Write the Theory Application. In the application, you should (a) briefly describe the person and describe the behavior or personality characteristic you are writing about; (b) explain how one of the theories in the class would explain that behavior or personality characteristic; (c) briefly evaluate the explanation; you can express your opinion about the degree to which the theory-based explanation provided insight into the individual you re discussing. The Theory Applications are to be submitted electronically only; you do not need to submit hard copies. You will submit the assignment in Safe Assign via the Blackboard website. You do not have to write in the structure of a formal paper, with a title page and a page of references, however, you need to avoid plagiarism, and you should write in formal scientific style. Discussion Board. Throughout the semester, we will have on-line discussions of material covered in class, which will be conducted through the Discussion Board facility at the Blackboard website. I will post discussion questions, and you may respond either to the original questions or to comments by other class members. Each contribution needs to be substantive, and must be at least 50 words. You may contribute to the Discussion Board as frequently as you would like. It s your opportunity to make comments and raise questions about course material (in addition to the opportunity to do that in class). You ll earn 5 points credit (max 15 points during the semester) the first time you contribute to discussions, however you will not earn extra points for

4 additional comments. You will be rewarded 1 point extra credit if you contribute within the first week of the topic being posted. I will present more details about the Discussion Boards in class. Grading. Your grade will be based on your sum total of points on the three exams, the paper, the theory applications and the Discussion Boards. I will not assign letter grades to each assignment. If you earn 90% of the total points, you will receive an A, 80% a B, 70% a C, and 60% (90 points) a D. I may curve these percentages if that proves warranted based on the distribution of exam and paper scores. No matter what the curve, you must earn half of the total number of available points to pass the course; failing to earn more than half the credit on the exams and paper is equivalent to failing the course. Points Breakdown Exams (3) 150 Theory Application (3) 30 Discussions (3) 15 Final paper 100 Total points 295 Other course policies: Plagiarism: In any writing assignment, if you do any of the following things, you have plagiarized: 1. Include material that is copied from another source, and you fail to put that material in quotation marks and to properly cite the original source 2. Include material that appears in another student s paper Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It is a violation of University guidelines regarding academic integrity. (These guidelines, for your information, are stated in the Undergraduate Course Catalogue.) If you plagiarize, you will receive no credit for your paper and your paper will be submitted to the UIC Office of Student Judicial Affairs. It is your responsibility to avoid writing a paper in which you include, without quotation marks and references as described above, material that originally appeared in another source. SafeAssign automatically scans papers for plagiarism. If the University s automatic system for detecting plagiarism tells us that your paper contains a substantial amount of plagiarized material, then we cannot accept it for class credit. Dropping the Course: Students may drop courses without penalty during the first ten days of the semester (through Friday of week 2) using UIC Express. You may also withdraw from the course by Friday, March 21, and receive a grade of W on your transcript. Missing Class: If you miss class it is your responsibility to get the notes, handouts, homework assignments, and/or other announcements from one of your fellow classmates. Observance of Religious Holidays: Campus Policy states, The faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago shall make every effort to avoid scheduling examinations or requiring that

5 student projects be turned in or completed on religious holidays. Students who wish to observe their religious holidays shall notify the faculty member by the tenth day of the semester of the date when they will be absent unless the religious holiday is observed on or before the tenth day of the semester. In such cases, the student shall notify the faculty member at least five days in advance of the date when he/she will be absent. The faculty member shall make every reasonable effort to honor the request, not penalize the student for missing the class, and if an examination or project is due during the absence, give the student an exam or assignment equivalent to the one completed by those students in attendance. If the student feels aggrieved, he/she may request remedy through the campus grievance procedure. Policy: Note that you can ask questions via , however, please understand that I receive many s in a given day. Provided you ask a reasonable question and articulate yourself clearly in your message, I will respond. Your message should also be well thought out, well-written, and include information about who you are. The Academic Center for Excellence: The Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) is a multifaceted academic support program designed to help UIC students accomplish their academic goals. ACE is open to all UIC students, from freshman through graduate level. ACE can be reached at or Suite 2900 in Student Services Building Accommodations for students with disabilities: Accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities and who are registered with the Disability Resource Center (DRC), 1190 SSB. Contact DRC at (voice) or (TTY). DRC will provide you with a letter stating the accommodations you require to participate fully in this class. Please see the instructor and provide a copy of this letter as soon as possible. The Writing Center: The Writing Center is for all students who want to talk to other students about their writing. They welcome all writers, whether they hate writing or if they're at the top of your class. Students may use the Writing Center if English is their first, second, or fifteenth language. Get more out of your writing. Located at 105 Grant Hall, Counseling Center: It is not unusual for topics covered in psychology to elicit unexpected issues for students. If you feel you, or someone you know, needs counseling, please contact the Counseling Center at All services are completely confidential and free. In addition, UIC has an In-Touch Crisis Hotline available every evening from 6:00pm to 10:30pm, at

6 Schedule We will cover the topics in this order; the scheduling and associated readings will be announced in class. Week Topic Assigned Reading Assignments Due 1: 1/14 1/16 Class overview, Introduction Theories and methods, Study of people Chapters 1 & 2 2: 1/21 1/23 Psychoanalytic theory and activity Psychoanalytic theory Chapter 3 Chapter 3 3: 1/28 1/30 Psychoanalytic theory continued Trait theories and theorists: Factor analysis Chapter 3 & 4 Chapter 7 4: 2/4 2/6 Allport, Eysenck, and Cattell Trait theories: The Five Factors Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Personality Application 1 5: 2/11 Trait theory continued Chapter 8 2/13 No class Discussion Board 6: 2/18 Trait theory, exam review Chapter 8 2/20 EXAM 1 (Ch 1,2,3,4,7,8) 7: 2/25 2/27 Biological foundations of personality Biological foundations of personality Chapter 9 Chapter 9 8: 3/4 Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning Chapter 10 3/6 9: 3/11 3/13 10: 3/18 3/20 3/25 3/27 11: 4/1 4/3 12: 4/8 4/10 13: 4/15 4/17 14: 4/22 4/24 15: 4/29 5/1 Behaviorism: Operant conditioning George Kelly s personal construct theory Personal construct theory continued Personal construct theory, exam review Exam 2 (Ch 9, 10, 11,) No Class: Spring Break Carl Rogers and Phenomenological theory Phenomenological theory Personality disorders Personality disorders Personality in Context Review for the final Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Personality Application 2 Discussion Board Personality Application 3 Final Paper Discussion Board