Personality Psychology (PSYC 330) Summer 2015

Transcription

1 Class Time and Location: July 6-28, 2015 Monday to Friday 4:30pm to 6:20pm David Turpin Building A102 Sessional Instructor: Eric Huang, PhD Candidate Office: Cornett B310 Office Hours: By appointment Personality Psychology (PSYC 330) Summer 2015 Please feel free to contact me through my to book an appointment or if you have any urgent issues. About the Instructor: I am a PhD Candidate in Social Psychology. I study how certain individual aspects interact with social contexts to influence social motivation and behavior. For example, one of my research paths examines how self-esteem interacts with social risk to influence relationship-initiation motivation and behavior. Teaching Assistant: Meghann Pasternak Office Hours: By appointment Required Text: McAdams, D. P. (2009). The Person: A New Introduction to Personality Psychology (5th Edition). New Jersey: John Wiley. I chose this text because it is very comprehensive. The text covers the most pertinent theoretical concepts of personality psychology in a logical order. Also, this text was used in the most recent Fall and Spring semesters. Thus, you will have a similar experience and understanding of personality psychology as students who took the course in other semesters. The text is available at the bookstore, both used and new. I recommend that you read the chapter (excluding the gray sections) prior to the associated class to make the lecture easier to follow and to prepare any relevant questions. For a class of this length, it is very difficult to catch up if you are behind on readings. 1

2 Course Overview: This personality psychology course provides an overview of many of the fascinating topics in personality, including personality traits, motives and goals, development of personality, and life stories. By the end of the course, I expect that you will be able to: 1. Recall and paraphrase important theories and principles that underlie personality psychology. 2. Explain the many ways that personality psychologists think about and study human behavior. 3. Evaluate, critique, and compare personality psychology research effectively. 4. Apply personality psychology research and methods to understand situations encountered in everyday life. Course Prerequisites: Before taking this class, I expect students to have some background in psychology, specifically PSYC100A and 100B (Intro Psychology) and PSYC201 (Psychology Research Methods). If you have not taken these background classes, please set up a meeting with me. Lectures: The lectures will reflect content from the textbook, but I will give additional information to provide added value in the class. Otherwise, you would not have to show up at all. Also, I will not go over every single part of every chapter in class, but I still expect you to read the entire chapter (excluding the gray sections). Exams (30%, 30%, 25%): You will have three exams over the semester, each lasting one hour and a half. The exams will sample from both the textbook and the lectures. They will not be cumulative (unless the exam is a make-up exam), but some of the material will require familiarity with material in previous exams (e.g., traits). They will be a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The multiple-choice questions will involve recollecting facts and some analytical thinking. The short-answer questions will involve connecting various personality psychology concepts, applying your own input, and/or applying these concepts to real-world applications. I will provide further information as each exam approaches. Make note of the exam dates. These dates will not change, so plan accordingly. If you know ahead of time that you will be unable to attend an exam, it is your responsibility to let me know as soon as possible so that we can make alternate arrangements. For illness, you are expected to provide a doctor s note within two days of the exam. Note, however, that a vacation is not a valid excuse for missing an exam. Written Assignment (15%): There will be one written assignment in this class. This assignment will involve relating course concepts to a current events article or another form of written media. There is more information in the Written Assignment file on CourseSpaces. These assignments will be submitted through CourseSpaces in the DropBox. 2

3 Missing Classes and Exams: Because this class is so compressed, I would recommend that you not skip any classes or you will fall behind. In addition, some exam questions will be sampled from the lecture. Though the lecture slides will be provided on CourseSpaces, I will not provide you with additional lecture notes. In the case of missed exams with a valid doctor s note, your next exam will be an accumulation of the missed exam and the current exam. You will have an extra half hour, and this score will account for both the missed exam and the current exam. For those of you who miss the final exam with a valid doctor s note, there is a make-up exam period. This exam will be cumulative for the entire course. Course Grading Items: Exam 1 30% Exam 2 30% Exam 3 25% Assignment 15% Total 100% Grading Policy: The final grading cut-off points for UVic are available online here: Final grades that end in 0.5 or higher will be rounded up (e.g., 84.6 becomes 85), and final grades that end in 0.49 or lower will be rounded down (e.g., 74.3 becomes 74). Final grades are final, except in the case that there s an error in calculating the final grade. This is the only exception. 3

4 Schedule: July 6 (Monday Lecture 1) Chapter 1 Studying the Person - Overview of Syllabus and Course Expectations - What is Personality Psychology? An Overview o Perspectives o Scientific Method and Theory July 7 (Lecture 2) Chapter 2 Evolution and Human Nature - Principles of Evolution - How Evolution Influences Human Nature July 8 (Lecture 3) Chapter 3 Social Learning and Culture - Principles of Learning - Microcontexts and Macrocontexts July 9 (Lecture 4) Chapter 4 Part 1 Personality Traits - History - Perspectives on Traits - Measuring Traits July 10 (Lecture 5) Chapter 4 Part 2 Personality Traits - Interim instructor evaluation - Measuring Traits (continued) - Personality Disorders July 13 (Monday) Exam 1 Chapters 1-4, Lectures 1-5 July 14 (Lecture 6) Chapter 5 Five Basic Traits - Big Five Traits o In the Brain o In the Environment July 15 (Lecture 7) Chapter 6 Continuity and Change in Traits - Origins of Traits - Changes in Childhood and Adulthood July 16 (Lecture 8) Chapter 7 Motives and Goals - Psychoanalytic View - Humanistic View - Diversity View July 17 (Lecture 9) Chapter 8 Social-Cognitive Aspects - Interim instructor evaluation - Personal Constructs - Cognitive Styles 4

5 July 20 (Monday) Exam 2 Chapter 5-8, Lectures 6-9 July 21 (Lecture 10) Chapter 9 Developmental Stages and Tasks - Perspectives on Development of Personality July 22 (Lecture 11) Chapter 10 Life Scripts, Life Stories - Importance of Life Stories July 23 (Lecture 12) Chapter 11 The Interpretation of Stories - Perspectives on Interpretation July 24 (Lecture 13) Chapter 12 Writing Life Stories - Interim instructor evaluation - How to Study Life Stories July 27 (Monday Lecture14) Review Class - Official instructor evaluation Do the CES online July 28 (Tuesday) Exam 3 Chapters 9-12, Lectures Final Assignment Due by the beginning of class on CourseSpaces 5

6 UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA Department of Psychology Important Course Policy Information Summer 2015 Prerequisites Students who remain in courses for which they do not have the prerequisites do so at their own risk. Students who complete courses without prerequisites ARE NOT exempt from having to complete the prerequisite course(s) if such courses are required for the degree program. Program Requirements For more information see pages of the UVic Calendar Registration Status Students are responsible for verifying their registration status. Registration status may be verified using My Page, View Schedule. Course adds and drops will not be processed after the deadlines set out in the current UVic Calendar. Commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing and protecting a positive and supportive and safe learning and working environment for all its members. In the Event of Illness, Accident or Family Affliction (See UVic Calendar, , p. 35) What to do if you miss the final exam scheduled on the last day of classes Apply at Records Services for a Request for Academic Concession, normally within 10 working days of the date of the exam. Records Services will forward the form to the instructor. If the concession is granted, the instructor will determine how to deal with the situation (for example, a deferred exam). Where a concession is not applied for or where such application is denied, an N grade will be entered on the student s academic record. OR, you can download the Request for Academic Concession form here: What to do if you miss an exam other than one scheduled on the last day of classes Do not apply at Records Services for a Request for Academic Concession. Instead submit documentation of the illness, accident or family affliction directly to your course instructor (or designated teaching assistant). What to do if you require additional time to complete course requirements Apply at Records Services for a Request for Academic Concession, normally within 10 working days of the end of the formal examination period. Records Services will forward the form to the instructor. If the concession is granted the instructor will determine how to deal with the situation. Where a concession is not applied for or where such application is denied, an N grade will be entered on the student s academic record. OR, you can download the Request for Academic Concession form here: 6

7 Policy on Academic Integrity including Plagiarism and Cheating The Department of Psychology fully endorses and intends to enforce rigorously the Senate Policy on Academic integrity ( p , UVic Calendar ). It is of utmost importance that students who do their work honestly be protected from those who do not. Because this policy is in place to ensure that students carry out and benefit from the learning activities assigned in each course, it is expected that students will cooperate in its implementation. The offences defined by the policy can be summarized briefly as follows: 1. Plagiarism. You must make sure that the work you submit is your work and not someone else s. There are proper procedures for citing the works of others. The student is responsible for being aware of and using these procedures. 2. Multiple Submission. Only under exceptional circumstances may a work submitted to fulfill an academic requirement be used to satisfy another similar requirement. The student is responsible for clarifying this with the instructor(s) involved. 3. Falsifying Materials Subject to Academic Evaluation. This includes falsification of data, use of commercially prepared essays, using information from the Internet without proper citation, citing sources from which material is not actually obtained, etc. 4. Cheating on Assignments, Tests, and Examinations. You may not copy the work of others in or out of class; you may not give your work to others for the purpose of copying; you may not use unauthorized material or equipment during examinations or tests; and you may not impersonate or allow yourself to be impersonated by another at an examination. The Department of Psychology has a policy of not making old examinations available for study purposes. Therefore, use of old exams without the express written permission of the instructor constitutes cheating by the user, and abetting of cheating by the person who provided the exam. 5. Being an Accessory to Offences. This means that helping another student to cheat (for instance, by showing or communicating to them answers to an assignment, or by allowing them to view answers on an exam) is an academic offence. Instructors are expected to make every effort to prevent cheating and plagiarism. This may include the assignment of seating for examinations, asking students to move during examinations, requests to see student identification cards, and other measures as appropriate. Instructors also have available to them a variety of tools and procedures to check for Internet and electronic media-based cheating. In instances of suspected or actual plagiarism or cheating, instructors, following prescribed procedures, are authorized to take steps consistent with the degree of the offence. These measures will range from a zero on the test or assignment or a failing grade for the course, probation within a program to temporary or even permanent suspension from the University. Rights of Appeal are described in the Policy on Academic Integrity in the University calendar (on p in ). The definitive source for information on Academic Integrity is the University Calendar (p in ) ( Other useful resources on Plagiarism and Cheating include: 1. The Learning Skills program: 2. The Ombudsperson s office: 3. The English Department: 7