Personality

Psychology 553-Section 01

Fall 2015-CRN 10187

Mon., Wed., & Friday 12:10-1:00, McConnell 220

 

Instructor: Bonnie Barlow

Contact:  Office: McConnell, 460, Lab: McConnell, 410

email: bai2@unh.edu (Email is the best way to reach me.)

Office Hours: Mon. 1:10-2:10 and Wed. 9:10-10:10

Required Text: Mayer, J. (2007). Personality a Systems Approach. NY:Pearson  and

Mayer, J. (2007).Readings in Personality Psychology. NY:Pearson.

You may also purchase the 1.5 edition of the text Personality a Systems Approach at (http://www.amazon.com/Personality-Approach-John-D-Mayer/dp/0990667804/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408650964&sr=8-2&keywords=personality%3A+A+Systems+approach).  This version is less expensive, but you may have to order it on line and you will have to wait for the book to be shipped.

Objectives: The American Psychological Association (APA, 2007) has identified ten objectives for undergraduate psychology education.  I have chosen four of those to focus on in this course. The first of those goals is knowledge.  At the end of the semester you should have a broad working knowledge of concepts commonly studied in personality psychology. The second objective is the ability to apply classical principles of personality psychology to yourself and others, to understand and improve relationships with yourself and others.  To achieve this objective, I will focus on information that is useful in your everyday life. The third objective is to develop independent learning skills. Fourth, you should be able to effectively express your knowledge and ideas in the area of psychology. Class participation counts towards 10% of your grade.

Grading Scheme:

1. Twelve online Blackboard quizzes  (1% each) – 12%. These assignments must be completed before the class associated with the material.  There are 12 quizzes.  You can take the quiz as many times as you wish before the deadline, but you need a 100% on the quiz to receive credit for the quiz. The activity is a means to help you to be prepared for class discussion. – 12%

2. Three in-class multiple-choice exams (10% each) – 30%

3. Two response papers (10% each + 3% (for posting the subject of your project- see below) – 23 %

4. One cumulative final exam – 20%

5. Research homework – (I) 5%, (II) 5%

6. Class Participation – 5%

7. Extra credit – (up to 3%):

a. Meet with me to discuss your proposed extra credit project.  The meeting should be planned before the mid-point of the semester.  No extra-credit will be available past the mid-point of the semester.

b. Write a summary of your participation in class each week.  Next, submit it to the journal section of Blackboard. (1%)

Exams: All three exams and the final exam are multiple choice, Scantron graded exams, which require that you bring and use a #2 pencil.  The exam questions will cover all assigned information from the book, class periods and online quizzes.

Final exam: The final exam will be cumulative.

Exam reviews: The class period after the first exam will be devoted to exam review.  During the exam review, I will split the class into 6-10 groups.  Each group will pick an exam question that they had difficulty answering.  Groups will discuss why they think they had difficulty in answering the question and what they learned that they could use on future exams.  After discussion, the group will write their explanations for their difficulties. Explanations might include lack of effort, misunderstanding and strategies for future success.  I will read your explanations.  If I think that you have thought through your difficulty and come up with solutions, I will give everyone in that group two points of extra credit on the exam. After the first exam, I will decide based on the class average whether or not a full exam review is necessary. The purpose of exam reviews is to help you to understand and remember the material as preparation for the final exam and to help you practice practical problem solving.

Missed Exams: There are no make-up exams or make-up for in-class activities.  If you miss an exam, it will count as a zero.  If you have a contagious illness (flu etc.) or an emergency, you must provide documentation from the appropriate professional in order for me to make arrangements for missed exams. If you miss more than three weeks of work for illness etc., I recommend that you speak with the dean’s office to make arrangements for missed work.

Written Assignment: The goal of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to apply knowledge that you have learned in class to understanding a person. There are three parts to this assignment.

Assignment 1: For this assignment, you will choose a biography/autobiography (a book) about one of the people from a list that I will provide. Choose a person from the list of people I provide and a specific biography/autobiography that you will choose to read. There will be about 10 choices of people to read about, and a group of people will be working on the same individual. Post your choice of person that you will study and biography/autobiography that you will read to the discussion board on Blackboard.  (3%)

            Assignment 2:  Write between 250 and 275 words about a particular aspect of the person’s life that interests you.  For example, you could write about a particular developmental period of the person’s life, such as childhood or some phase of his/her career or relationship. Include information such as (a) quotes from the individual, (b) comments by others about the individual, (c) life events that may influence the person, (d) actions carried out by the person that reveal aspects of personality. Post your response to the discussion board for this person on Blackboard, and to the appropriate assignments area on Blackboard. Finally, hand in a hard copy on the due date. (10%)

Assignment 3: Choose a part of personality that intrigues you about this person. Research this part of personality in both a textbook and a professional journal.  Use your resource to write about how you think this part of personality influenced this person’s life. This assignment should be about 250-275 words. Post your response to the appropriate assignments area on Blackboard and hand in a hard copy on the due date. (10%)

You will be graded on the clarity of your writing and the depth of thought that went into your writing. Please see rubric below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment 2 Rubric

Characteristic	Number of Points awarded
The writing is clear and understandable.	0   .5    1   1.5    2
Information was detailed and related to personality.	0   .5    1   1.5    2
Grammar, punctuation, spelling and formatting are in the correct form.	0   .5    1   1.5     2
Information from both the text is correctly cited in APA format.	0 .5      1    1.5    2
The paper is well organized.	0    .5   1    1.5    2
Total	/10

 

Characteristic	Number of Points awarded
The writing is clear and understandable and the paper is well organized.	0   .5    1   1.5    2
Information about the chosen part of personality was cited from a professional psychology journal and textbook.	0   .5    1   1.5    2
Grammar, punctuation, spelling and formatting are in APA style.	0   .5    1   1.5     2
Information from the textbook and journal was detailed. applied to	0 .5      1    1.5    2
Information from the textbook and journal was applied to explain the part of personality and the way that this part of personality influenced the person’s life.	0    .5   1    1.5    2
Total	/10

 

Class Participation: If you show up to class most of the time and complete the class activities, you will receive a C for your grade.  If you do those things and you occasionally participate in class discussion or volunteer, you will receive a B.  If you attend class most of the time, complete the class activities and participate in class discussion or volunteer almost every class, you will receive an A. This course is part of your professional training; you may need a recommendation from a faculty member for a job or graduate school application. Remember that we will determine your level of professionalism based on your behavior. I have the expectation that you will treat each other and me in a professional manner. Certain behaviors will be considered unprofessional (sarcasm, ridicule, demeaning or other aggressive actions).  I reserve the right to lower your score for unprofessional behavior. This course requires participation in in-class discussion, writing and other activities. If participating in class discussion is difficult for you, please make an appointment with me within the first week or two of class to discuss your difficulties.

 

Grading: I will use the UNH grading scheme to assign grades.  Each assignment is assigned a percentage and that percentage has an associated grade.

Grade Scores	Will equal
94-100	A
90-93	A-
87-89	B+
84-86	B
80-83	B-
77-79	C+
74-76	C
70-73	C-
67-69	D+
64-66	D
60-63	D-
Below 63	F

 

Missed Class Work: I do not take attendance.  I trust that as adults, you are mature enough to determine what is in your best interest.  However, I will not provide class notes or give you a repeat of the lecture.  Please write down the names of two classmates who would be willing to explain what happened in class, and will allow you to copy their notes.

Information	Person 1	Person 2
Name:
Phone:
Email:

 

Late Assignments: All assignments should be turned in on the due date in class.  If you forget to bring your assignment to class, you may slip your assignment under my door before 5PM of the due date.  Each day the assignment 2 or 3 is late, I will deduct 10 percentage points until the maximum grade for the assignment is a 50%.  All written work should be submitted to Blackboard by class time on the due date.  Any written work not submitted both as a hard copy and to Blackboard will be given a maximum grade of 50%. Homework assignments such as assignment 1, online quizzes and the research homework that are late receive a 0.

Cheating and Plagiarism: The penalties for plagiarism and cheating are grave.  They can include failing the assignment, failing the course or being expelled from the university.  Do not take the chance of experiencing such grave consequences.  Do not even appear to engage in these activities. If you are not clear about plagiarism, please see the COLA tutorial, http://www.unh.edu/liberalarts/plagiarism/plagiarismHome.cfm.

Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability and you need accommodations, please contact Disability Services: http://www.unh.edu/disabilityservices/

If you have already contacted Disability Services and have accommodation letters, please make an appointment as soon as possible so that I can speak with you in private.  I strive to maintain the privacy of all my students.  After class is not a situation that is private.

Syllabus Modification: The syllabus is meant as a travel guide.  I will endeavor to follow the course it sets out, but I reserve the right to change any part or parts of the syllabus.

      References

American Psychological Association (2007).  APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. Washington D.C.: Author. Retrieved from www.apa.org/ed/resources.ht