The Psychology of Personality
Syllabus
General Course Information
Instructor:Dr. Wind Goodfriend
Office: SSA 204
Email:
Phone: 749-2108
Office hours: Mon, Tues, & Wed 2:00-2:50, or by appointment
Class sessions:Tuesdays 6:00-9:00 pm in SSA 219
Required Text:Burger, J. M. (2015). Personality (9th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Course Goals
Personality psychology is a diverse field consisting of a number of distinct, and sometimes conflicting, sub-fields, each of which has one common goal: To attempt to understand how dispositional causes (those existing within the individual) influence the thought, feeling, and behavior of human beings. The goal of this course is to introduce you to the field of personality psychology, by covering classical and contemporary theory and research of both a basic and applied nature. We will cover not only theories which help us understand how we think, feel and act, but also those which can be directly applied to improving the individual and social human condition. Because an understanding of personality psychology theory and principles is useful in understanding ourselves, others, and the world at large, this course should be interesting to both the psychology major and non-major. Topics will include the role of the unconscious in determining behavior, personality development and change, social and biological influences on personality, and the role personality traits play in determining health and happiness, to name a few.
Accommodations: Buena Vista University providesreasonable accommodations through an organized process.Students desiring accommodations must follow the University's process. Forms are available at:
General Rules of Class:
I expect the general rule of class to be one of mutual respect. Please respect me by coming to class on time, not sleeping or reading the newspaper in class, being respectful of other students, etc. YOU MAY NOT USE A LAPTOP, CELL PHONE, OR IPAD DURING THIS CLASS unless specifically instructed to do so by the professor. If you use one of these devices without permission, you may lose up to 5 points toward your grade for each incident.
In return for your respect, I will respect you by always trying to be fair, really listening to questions and concerns, and attempting to make lecture as interesting and fun as possible. Come to class only if you are willing to follow these guidelines. If you are disrespectful, I will ask you to leave. If you do not leave, I will call security.
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT:
Cheating or plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. The University functions to promote the cognitive and psychosocial development of all students. Therefore, all work submitted by a student must represent her/his own ideas, concepts, and current understanding. Academic dishonesty also includes submitting substantial portions of the same academic course work to more than one course for credit without prior permission of the instructor(s).
NO CHEATING OR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OF ANY TYPE WILL BE TOLERATED. The instructor reserves the right to fail you on a particular assignment or for the entire course.
Course Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the following components:
Exam 1100points possible
Exam 2100points possible
Exam 3100points possible
Article Paper 115 points possible
Article Paper 215 points possible
Article Paper 315 points possible
Case Study 140 points possible
Case Study 240 points possible
Final Paper75 points possible
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500 points total
If the course is taken “Pass/Fail,” a grade of 65% is required to earn a “Pass.” Final letter grades will be determined by the standard scale of 88-89% = B+, 83-87% = B, 80-82% = B-, 78-79% = C+, 73-77% = C, 70-72% = C-, 68-69% = D+, 63-67% = D, 60-62% = D-, and 0-59% =F. Any final grades of 90% or higher will earn a full “A” (I do not give the grade of A- in this class).
Grade Components
1)Exams
There will be 3 exams, covering each unit. Exam 3 WILL include some cumulative questions from earlier in the semester. Exams will consist of multiple choice and essay questions. Each exam is worth 20% of your total grade.
If you will be gone on an exam day, you must inform the instructorat least 2 days before the exam. You must provide documentation of why you will be absent and arrange an alternate time to take the exam. If you miss an exam because of an emergency or illness, you must contact the instructor that day by 5:00 pm. You will also have to provide written documentation (for example, a doctor’s note if you are ill). You will then have to arrange another time to take the exam as soon as possible. The format of the exam may change upon the instructor’s discretion (for example, essay questions).
You may contest an exam grade, but you must do so within one week of receiving your grade on that exam. No grades will be changed after this time period.
2) Article Papers
Three empirical journal articles will be read before class (provided for you in electronic form on the course website), and class time will be devoted to you answering questions about the article in small groups. Each paper will be slightly different, but each paper is worth 15 points toward your total grade. Everyone in the group gets the same grade.
3) Case Study Analyses
You will write two analyses of case studies. The purpose of thesepapers is to give you practice applying the theories and ideas learned in class to an actual person’s life (although a fictional person). Do you understand how the abstract ideas can come to life in everyday behaviors? An example of a good paper will be posted online, for you to use as a general template.
Specific instructions: Choose one of the case studies posted on the class website. Analyze the person/people described in the case studies, using material from class lectures and the textbook. You do not need to use any additional resources. For Case Study #1, you will use material covered in the first half of class; for Case Study #2, you’ll use the second half of class material.The MINIMUM paper length is four full pages. There is no maximum length.
Points will be awarded using the following structure:
Introduction & Conclusion paragraphs:6 points
Interpretation according to class material:
Detail-oriented10 points
Thoughtful10 points
Creative, but accurate10 points
Spelling, grammar, transitions, etc.4 points
4) Final Paper
Every student is required to write a paper in which you apply the theories and concepts from class to one of the following:
- A celebrity, dead or alive (such as political figure, actor, singer, etc.)
- A character from a play, book, TV show, or movie
The papers should be a minimum of six full typed pages; there is no maximum length.
Here is how the paper will be graded:
Introduction and conclusion paragraphs 10 points
Spelling, grammar, general quality 10 points
Application of theories from class 55 points
Some final notes about your grade in the course:
All papers should be typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Late papers will be penalized 10% for each day late (including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and 10 minutes into the class in which they are due). Papers will be uploaded to the course website. When I say that a paper should be a certain # of pages, that means FULL pages. On the first page, don’t waste a bunch of space with unnecessary headers (like the date, name of the class, instructor’s name, etc.).
Course Schedule
In general, this class will follow the order of chapters in your textbook, with 1-2 chapters covered each week. Reading assignments and other forms of homework will be announced in class. It’s impossible to know more specifically how long each chapter will take, because it depends on class discussion, your questions, etc.
Exam One will occur after we have covered Chapters 1-6.
Exam Two will occur after we have covered Chapters 7-12.
Exam Three will occur at the end of the semester (all chapters).
Your Final Exam is scheduled for the Tuesday nightof Finals Week, 7:15-9:15 PM. This is when you will take Exam Three.