SPC Common Course Syllabus for PSYC 2316 Psychology of Personality Department: Behavioral Sciences Discipline: Psychology Course Number: PSYC 2301 Course Title: Psychology of Personality Credit: 3 Lecture, 0 Lab Satisfies a core curriculum requirement? Yes, Behavioral or Social Science Prerequisites: TSI compliance in Reading Available Formats: Conventional, INET, ITV Campus: Levelland, Reese, ATC, Plainview Textbook: Personality: Classic Theories & Modern Research (5th ed) by Friedman and Schustack Course Specific Instructions: Each instructor will attach his/her course specific instructions. Course Description: An introduction to the fundamental concepts in psychology with emphasis on heredity and environment, individual differences, personality dynamics, and group processes. Course Purpose: To acquaint students with the diverse field of psychology, methods of research used and how it contributes to the body of knowledge in psychology, promotion of critical thinking, generation of new ideas, and consideration of alternate explanations when evaluating information. Course Requirements: To maximize the potential to complete this course, a student should attend all class meetings, complete all homework assignments and examinations in a timely manner, and complete all other projects or papers as assigned on the course specific instructions. Course Evaluation: See the instructor s course information sheet for specific items used in evaluating student performance. Attendance Policy: Whenever absences become excessive and in the specific instructor s opinion, minimum course objectives cannot be met due to absences, the student will be withdrawn from the course. Each instructor will have additional information about attendance on his/her course information sheet. Student Learning Outcomes: Students who have completed this course will be expected to: COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to: 1. Identify and understand the major theories of personality. 2. Be able to describe the various issues of personality and how personality is studied and assessed. 3. Define personality and discuss applications of the various personality theories.
4. Demonstrate interpersonal awareness and sensitivity to differences and similarities in the way people are treated due to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, class, and sexual orientation. 5. Demonstrate and appreciate the value of a scientific psychological understanding of personality to society. Through course assignments, papers, activities, and assessments, students will: o demonstrate the ability to read and write clearly and concisely, o value diversity and differences in people, o explore relationships of ideas and see their similarities and differences, o gain a basic understanding of the career fields related in the major, o assimilate and synthesize information, o integrate ideas across the curricula, and o Interrelate the past to the present. Instructor: Jeremy Berry, MA, LPC E-mail: jberry@southplainscollege.edu Office: R402A (Reese Center, Building 4) PSYC-2316 Psychology of Personality Section 151 INET Fall Semester 2012 Office Hours: Mondays: 4:00 5:00 pm PLV 101M Tuesdays: 2:15 4:00 pm Reese Building 4, 402A Wednesdays: 4:00 5:00 pm PLV 101M Thursdays: 2:15 4:00 pm Reese Building 4, 402A Fridays: 11:00am 1:00pm PLV 101M Office Phone: 806-894-9611 ext. 4732 PSYC 2316 Personality Psychology An introduction to the fundamental concepts in psychology with emphasis on heredity and environment, individual differences, personality dynamics, and group processes. Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will : 1. Identify and understand the major theories of personality.
2. Be able to describe the various issues of personality and how personality is studied and assessed. 3. Define personality and discuss applications of the various personality theories. 4. Demonstrate interpersonal awareness and sensitivity to differences and similarities in the way people are treated due to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, class, and sexual orientation. 5. Demonstrate and appreciate the value of a scientific psychological understanding of personality to society. Textbook for the Course: Personality by Friedman and Schustack, 2010. ISBN: 978-0205050178 Academic Integrity - See SPC General Catalog, p. 23 and p.11 of the Student Guide. You are expected to do your own work. You may not work with another person to complete your quizzes, exams, or any other assignment given as homework. You may not copy another student s work and present it as your own. You may not allow another student to copy your work. This is your reminder that any form of cheating will not be tolerated. Complete honesty is required of the student in the presentation of any and all phases of course work. This applies to quizzes, class exams, final examinations, and daily reports and term papers. - SPC General Catalog, p. 23. If the instructor determines that cheating is occurring or an assignment has been plagiarized the resulting grade will be zero for that assignment. A second offense will result in failure of the course. Guidelines for Classroom Behavior I would like to welcome all students into an environment that creates a sense of community, pride, courtesy and respect; we are all here to work cooperatively and to learn together. In order to create a smooth and harmonious learning community, please make every attempt to have an online presence, to respond to posts, and to stay up to date with assignments and materials. If you are absent from the virtual classroom for an extended period of time, you are responsible for all material covered, for announcements made in your absence, and for acquiring any materials that may have been distributed. This is why it is very important to check your emails and blackboard regularly. In addition, please use common courtesy when responding to your fellow classmates discussion boards. Failure to adhere to these guidelines could result in dire consequences. For additional information on student misconduct refer to pages 11-15 of the Student Guide. Failure to abide by policies may result in expulsion from the class and an F for the semester. As you can see, simple norms of courtesy should be sufficient to have our class run in the best interests of all of us. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Attendance Obviously, this is an online course, and attendance is a bit different in the virtual world. It should be noted that I can see how much time you are spending online, what aspects of the course you are accessing, and for how long. I can also see what you are reading, whom you are responding too, etc. These are the aspects related to attendance for this course. You should be regularly logging into blackboard, responding to discussions, commenting on others, and viewing web links, or other materials. Those who consistently attend the course will receive full credit in the attendance/participation grade. Grading Policy: 1) Exams (300 points) There will be 3 class exams, each worth 100 points. Exams will consist of multiple-choice items. The test questions will cover the chapters assigned, lecture notes, and class discussions over material that may or may not be in your text. Students should make every effort to take each exam during the scheduled week. Exams will only be available for one week. Students who miss the scheduled exam must contact the instructor as soon as possible to schedule a time for a make-up exam during the instructor s office hours. 2) Major Personality Paper (100) The assignment for your major personality paper is to choose a musician and to explain that musician s personality using the musician s life, music and lyrics as your material. The gist of the assignment is to do a psychobiography of someone s life. In other words learn about a musician s life and personality and then explain how it came to be that way using the theories that we ve covered in the course. In most cases, you ll want to use 2 theoretical perspectives. (If you r e using a fairly complex theory, like Freud s, it might be ok to use just one theoretical perspective-check with me first if you think you might want to use just one theory) You can use your musician s lyrics to support your argument, but you should also rely on the musician s life story in applying your theories. Check the Assignment Link on Blackboard. Your paper should be 3 to 5 pages long. It is very strongly recommended that you discuss your topic with me prior to beginning your paper. The papers are due by Sunday, November 25 th at 11:59pm, CST. All papers are to be submitted electronically to the Assignments tab on the left hand side of your screen. You may type the paper directly into the assignments tab or upload an attached word document (or as a document in RICH TEXT FORMAT). Papers not turned in on the 25th will be penalized 10 points per day late.
When grading your paper, I will be looking at the following factors: Did you do sufficient research in learning about your subject? (This means finding some biographical material from a credible source. Using biographies, autobiographies, interviews, or multiple journal articles would be considered strong research; relying on a movie and a Wikipedia article would be considered weak research) Have you demonstrated a thorough and accurate understanding of the theories you chose to apply? How well (thoughtfully, accurately, thoroughly, creatively) did you apply your theories? How well-written is your paper? (See below) Proofread your paper at least twice before turning it in. Spell-check is wonderful, but almost always misses some mistakes. Papers without mistakes will get better grades than papers with mistakes. Papers with a lot of mistakes will not get a good grade and will elicit anger and frustration from the grader. Try not to make me angry your grade hangs in the balance. Is your paper well-written? (Part 1) In order to be considered well-written your paper must be mostly free from typographical errors, spelling errors, grammatical errors, incorrect word usage, etc. In other words, please proof-read your paper before turning it in. Spell-checking programs are recommended, but please be aware that they very frequently will miss some errors. Is your paper well-written? (Part 2) In order to be considered well-written your paper must also be well-organized, with well-constructed paragraphs and conclusions that logically flow from introductory and supporting statements. This assignment is worth 100 points on your final grade. 3) Discussion Boards (100 points) Discussion Boards: Assigned readings are to be completed prior to the class session for which they are assigned. Students should read the section at a time prior to any online discussion boards so that they can participate in class discussions as well as ask and answer questions. Postings are due no later than Midnight the Sunday of each module week. This gives others time to respond to your discussion board postings before Monday. Each week you will need to be involved in the online discussion threads. Spread out your responses so that not all responses are on the same day. These responses will be tallied at the end of the semester and also count for your attendance in your total grade. Make sure that you respond appropriately please. *I will read every exchange in the discussion forum and keep track of your participation, effort and depth of thought, though there are no wrong answers. While I certainly expect you to respond to every discussion topic with your own input, I do not expect you to comment on every post from every other student, but rather, to choose at least one other student s post per discussion on which to comment. I will occasionally comment on some of your posts, but this forum is primarily for students to interact with each other and replaces what would be a class discussion in a face to face class.
On any of the following assignments: From time to time, the Internet, in all its majesty, can let us down. I understand this, and will work with you to ensure assignments are completed in a timely fashion. 4) Attendance/Participation (100 points) Students enrolled in INET courses should make every effort to participate fully in the class. In order to make up incomplete work, the student must explain the reason for the deficiency to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made up. When a student shows a lack of participation considered by the instructor to be excessive, the instructor will so advise the student. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the class assignments will receive a grade of F in the course. The discussion board is a part of the course requirements and will be part of the class attendance. Additional participation policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of the University s attendance policy. Grading Scale 537 pts. to 600pts. = A 477pts. to 536 pts. = B 417pts. to 476pts. = C 358pts. to 416 pts. = D 0 pts. to 357 pts. = F Any student concerned with their grade is welcome to meet with the instructor throughout the semester to discuss ways of improving study habits, test-taking skills, etc. Disabilities Statement: Levelland Campus Students with disabilities, including but not limited to physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities, who wish to request accommodations in this class should notify the Special Services Office early in the semester so that the appropriate arrangements may be made. In accordance with federal law, a student requesting accommodations must provide acceptable documentation of his/her disability to the Special Services Coordinator. For more information, call or visit the Special Services Office in the Student Services building, 894-9611 ext. 2529. Course Outline (Tentative Schedule) *Note the date is the Monday of Each Week Semester Schedule for Chapter Coverage in Psychology of Personality
Aug. 27 Ch. 1 Sept. 4 Ch. 2 Sept. 10 Ch. 3 Sept. 17 Ch. 4 Sept. 24 Exam #1 (ch. 1-4) Oct. 1 Ch. 5 Oct. 8 Ch. 6 Oct. 15 Ch. 7 Oct. 22 Ch 8 Oct. 29 Ch 9 Nov. 5 Exam #2 (Ch. 5-9) Nov. 12 Ch. 10 /Ch. 11 Nov. 19 Ch. 12 (Shortened Week for Thanksgiving) Nov. 26 Ch. 13/Ch. 14 Dec. 3 Ch. 15 Dec. 10 Final Exam (Ch. 10-15) *will make the final available early. It must be completed by midnight Dec. 13 th.