Fall 2013

Introduction to Personality
(PSY2403-003)

Class Meets:

Sec 003 (MWF 9:30-10:20 a.m.) SEC Room 207 MW 11:30a.m. -12:30p.m. and by appointment.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Cox-Fuenzalida OFFICE HOURS: Office: Dale Hall Tower Room 711 Contact: Phone: 325-4511 Email: cox-fuenzalida@ou.edu

COURSE:

Introduction to Personality is designed to offer the student a general introduction to personality psychology. Topics covered will include: 1) An overview of traditional personality theories, 2) an introduction to personality assessment methods, 3) an overview of recent research in the personality area, and 4) a discussion of therapeutic techniques as outgrowths of various personality theories. An Introduction to Theories of Personality. Olson, M H & Hergenhahn, B. R. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
NOTE: These are tentative topics and presentation datestopics and dates may be revised as needed.

TEXT:

CALENDAR:

Aug 19 21 23 Introduction: Overview of Personality Theory (Ch 1) Aug 26 28 30 FREUD (Ch 2) Sept 2* 4 6 JUNG (Ch 3) * Labor Day Holiday Sept 2nd Sept 9 11 13 ADLER (Ch 4) Sept 16 18 20 HORNEY (Ch 5) Sept 23 25 27* ERIKSON (Ch 6) * MIDTERM 1 Sept 27th Sept/Oct 30 2 4 ALLPORT (Ch 7) Oct 7 9 11* CATTELL Ch 8) Texas Game Holiday Oct 11th Oct 14 16 18 EYSENCK Ch 8) ( Oct 21 23 25 PAVLOV (Lecture) Oct/Nov 28 30 1 SKINNER (Ch 9) Nov 4 6 8* BANDURA / MISCHEL (Ch 11) * MIDTERM 2 Nov 8th Nov 11 13 15 KRETSCHMER / SHELDON (Lecture) Nov 18* 20 22 KELLY (Ch13) * Deadline for Extra Credit Paper Topic Nov 18th Nov 25* 27* 29* ROGERS (Ch 14) * EXTRA CREDIT PAPERS DUE Nov 25th 5:00pm Dec 2 4 6* MASLOW (Ch 15) * Last regular day of class Dec 12* * MIDTERM 3 & OPTIONAL FINAL EXAM NOTE: Midterm 3 and Optional Final Exam PSYCHOLOGY 2403-004 Dec 11th 8:0010:00 a.m. SEC 207

ATTENDANCE AND CLASS POLICIES

Attendance is expected and required. To benefit fully from this course it is important for you to attend, stay current with the material, and participate in class. You will be responsible for and tested over both text and lecture material. If you miss a class for a preexcused or unexcused absence it is your responsibility to request/obtain material/information (e.g., notes, schedule modifications, announcements, etc.) from a classmate. Please be courteous and remember that mass e-mail to seek assistance is inappropriate for this purpose. The instructor does not provide lecture notes. In addition, overhead slides will not be posted on-line or e-mailed. Study guides with key terms will be posted on D2L. Remember that this is a large-sized class and tardiness is disruptive to others in the class. Therefore, you should appear on time for each class session. In addition, the use of cell phones for any reason is disruptive to others, so it is required that you silence and put away your cell phones prior to the beginning of class. Class sessions may not be audio- or video-recorded. Laptops or other electronic devices may not be used (with the exception for note-taking) during class. If you would like an exception to these policies, you should discuss your request with the instructor.

EXAMS: Midterm Exam 1Sept 27th Midterm Exam 2Nov 8th

Midterm Exam 3 & FINAL EXAM Dec 11th

There will be three Midterm Exams and an optional Final Exam (the Final Exam is comprehensive). These exams may include multiple-choice, true-false, and/or essay items. The three Midterm Exams are required for completion of the course. Make-up exams will be given approximately 5-7days following each Midterm Exam. If you miss a Midterm Exam, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor for time and place of the make-up exam. If you take all three Midterm Exams and if you feel you did not do as well on a Midterm Exam as you wanted, then you can take the optional comprehensive Final Exam as well. If you take the optional comprehensive Final Exam and score higher than the lowest of your three Midterm Exams, then your Final Exam score will replace your lowest Midterm Exam. All exams will cover material from the lectures and the text.

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Exam Item Challenges: During each exam, items on the exam may be challenged if you feel they are ambiguous or that they have more than one correct answer. Challenges are to be completed during the exam only. To challenge: 1) First, fill in the answer you feel is most correct on the answer sheet. 2) Second, on a separate sheet of paper provided by the instructor during the exam, write an explanation of why you think the item is ambiguous or has two or more answers. Only challenges written on paper provided by the instructor during the exam will be accepted.

GRADING:

Every attempt has been made to make grading in this course as fair and objective as possible. Grades for each exam will be curved separately. For that reason, percentage grades are not relevant. Following each exam, the distribution of exam scores will be divided and letter grades will be assigned. (Typically, if the distribution of scores has a relatively normal distribution, then the mean score of the distribution will generally represent the midpoint of the C grade range (which many times is defined by approximately one standard deviation bracketing the mean). Depending on the distribution of scores, one-half to one additional standard deviation above and below the C range often defines the B and D grade ranges, respectively. And, an additional standard deviation on each end of the distribution is often used to define the A and F grade ranges, respectively. Adjustments to cut points are often made to address anomalies in the distribution.) The letter grades have the following values: A A= 10 = 9 B+ = 8 B =7 B- = 6 C+ = 5 C = 4 C- = 3 D+ = 2 D =1 F =0

After the third Midterm exam (and Optional Final Exam, if you take it), the three numbers associated with your three highest exam grades will be summed and divided by 3. The resulting number will be your final average exam point total, which will be converted to the corresponding letter grade on the same scale above. Because your total will be divided by 3 (i.e., the number of required exams), your final resulting number may have a fraction (e.g., .33 or .66). Numbers with a .33 fraction will be rounded down and numbers with a .66 fraction will be rounded up. Example: A student has the following grades on exams: Midterm1 = B+; Midterm2 = C; Midterm3 = B+ Final Exam = B Because the student took the Optional Final Exam, the lowest Midterm Exam score (C) will be replaced with the Final Exam grade (B) resulting in the following three letter grades: B+, B, B+. These letter grades are converted to the numerical values using the table above, which results in: B+=8, B=7, B+=8. The sum of these numerical values is: 8+7+8 = 23. This total would then be divided by the number of tests (3) to provide the average exam score: 23/3 = 7.66, which would round to an 8. An 8 on the table above corresponds to a B+. The student would therefore receive a B+ (or B) for the course. However, if the student also wrote an extra credit paper (see below for extra credit paper option) and the extra credit paper was graded in the plus category, then the B+ would be raised to an A- (or A) for the final course grade.

OPTIONAL EXTRA CREDIT PAPER:

NOTE: Deadline for Extra Credit Paper Topic Approval: November 18th
EXTRA CREDIT PAPERS DUE: November 25 by 5:00pm
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The purpose of the Extra Credit paper is not only to provide an extra credit option, but also to expand your experience and knowledge in the area of personality psychology. There are some important guidelines to consider if you decide to write an optional extra credit paper. The extra credit option for this course is not designed to make up for major grade inadequacies or to advance major grade categories. It is designed to clarify borderline grading situations only (i.e., B+, C+, D+), as opposed to raising entire grade levels. That is, an acceptable extra credit paper will raise a students average exam grade from a + category (as noted previously) to the next highest grade, but acceptable extra credit papers will not raise the students average exam grade if their average for their best three exams is simply a B, C, D or F. To insure your extra credit paper topic is acceptable, your topic for the extra credit paper for the course should be discussed in advance of the due date and be approved by the instructor. The deadline for approving extra credit paper topics is November 18th. Only topics related to the area of personality psychology will be approved. 1) Select a topic that is within the domain of personality. That could include a topic that is part of a theory covered in class (for example, the unconscious [Freud], creative self [Adler], personal constructs [Kelly], reinforcement [Skinner], etc.). Your topic could also be a theory we didn't cover in class or in your textbook. What you should not select is a topic that is more germane to another course (for example, "schizophrenia" or some other mental illness [Abnormal Psychology], "child development" [Child Psychology], "memory" [Cognitive Psychology], or any other topic that would more rightfully be the domain of another course in or outside of psychology--like a paper from a Sociology, Philosophy, Exercise and Sports Science, etc. course.) Note that re -purposing (also referred to as re-cycling or self-plagiarizing) a paper you may have written for another course is a form of academic misconduct. If you do not understand this concept or what academic misconduct or other terms such as plagiarism mean, then you need to immediately consult the OU Student Guide to Academic Integrity. http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html

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2) Cover your topic at a level beyond that of your textbook or the lectures . If the topic of your optional extra credit paper is a topic covered in your textbook or in lecture, it is expected that you will explore beyond the topic in much more depth than your text or the lectures provides. That is, simply providing a paper based on the content of your textbook or the lectures is inadequate. If you select a topic (or perhaps a theory) we didn't cover in class, then you would be expected minimally to provide a review at the level of detail found in your textbook or in the lectures. The important point is that you investigate beyond your textbook and that you demonstrate that you explored the archival/scientific literature by citing the scientific references you used to write your paper. Non-refereed websites and online sources, like Wikipedia, are not acceptable as "scholarly" references. Bottom line: Make sure you are investigating a topic in personality and you aren't depending on you r textbook or the lectures as your main scholarly source of information.

Optional Extra Credit Paper Requirements: th Make sure your topic is approved. Deadline for Extra Credit Paper Topic Approval: November 18 . The report must have a title page and a minimum of 5 narrative pages with standard 1 inch margins. The paper must be word processed, double-spaced, with appropriate information on the title page that clearly identifies the student (i.e., your legal nameplease, no nick names) the course, and the course section. Understand that a page requirement refers to the length of the narrative section of your paper. Using techniques such as taking half a page to provide your name, title, and course section and/or increasing your margins and/or triple spacing your paper and/or using unnecessarily large or expanded illustrations or pictures does not count as part of the required 5-page narrative. Papers submitted without names or after the due date will not be graded. Papers are graded + (Satisfactory) or - (Unsatisfactory). Unsatisfactory paper s are usually those that : 1) Fail to cover an appropriate topic (so please seek approval for paper topics prior to submission), 2) Are poorly written (messy, poor grammar, poor spelling, etc.), 3) Are inadequate in covering the topic, or 4) Fail to follow the guidelines found above. Papers graded + count for extra credit; papers graded - do not count for extra credit. Procedure for submitting Extra Credit papers: Instructions for submitting your paper to D2L through the dropbox function will be given later in the course. NOTE: EXTRA CREDIT PAPERS DUE: November 25 by 5:00pm
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OTHER ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE

Statement on Respectful Conduct: The classroom should provide a safe learning environment where students can express their views without fear of reprisal. That freedom of expression, however, must be balanced by demonstrated respect for others viewpoints and appropriate and reasonable sensitivity, especially within the context of sc holarly disagreement. Disrespectful or uncivil dialogue or behavior (including, but not limited to, personal attacks, insults, or harassment) is inappropriate for a learning or professional development environment and will not be tolerated. Accommodation Statement: The University of Oklahoma is committed to making its activities as accessible as possible. The University provides a range of special services for those with disabilities. Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact the instructor as soon as possible so accommodations can be discussed that are necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunities. You are also encouraged to contact Disability Resources Center, Goddard Health Center, Room 166, phone: 325-3852. Religious Holidays: It is the policy of the University to excuse absences that result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examination and additional required class work that may fall on religious holidays. If you have a conflict of this nature, please notify me in advance to receive a pre-excused absence. Academic Honesty: Honesty is a fundamental precept in all academic activities and [you] have a special obligation to observe the highest standards of honesty. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the University and is therefore unacceptable and is rigorously proscribed. Academic misconduct includes (but is not limited to) the following examples: a) Cheating (using unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise), plagiarism (including self-plagiarism, which is the submission of a paper written for other or previous purposes and presented to suggest that it was an original creation for the purposes of meeting the present requirements of another course), falsification of records, unauthorized possession of examinations, intimidation, and any and all other actions that may improperly affect the evaluation of a students academic performance or achievement; b) Assisting others in any such act; or c) Attempting to engage in such acts. How to know what constitutes "academic misconduct." You are responsible for reading and for understanding the OU Academic Honesty policy set forth by the Honor Council. Please see the following website: www.ou.edu/honorcouncil. All students should review the Students Guide to Academic Integrity found at http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity. All acts of academic misconduct will be reported and adjudicated as prescribed by the Student Code of the University of Oklahoma. Although the location of these websites may change, you are still responsible for reading the policies and understanding fully the nature of academic honesty/misconduct. Grade/Support Policy Notice: Attendance and participation in interaction, individual assignments, group exercises, simulations, role playing, etc. are valuable aspects of any course because much learning can come from such discussions and in-class activity with other students. It is expected that you attend all classes and be on time except for excused emergencies. Excused absences are given for professor mandated activities or legally required activities such as emergencies or military assignments. Unavoidable personal emergencies, including (but not limited to) serious illness; delays in getting to class because of personal injury or transportation accidents, etc.; deaths and funerals, and hazardous road conditions may be excused. Illnesses should be documented with a physician or other health professional written excuse. If you are obtaining financial assistance (TA, STAP, FA, VA, Scholarship, etc.) to pay all or part of your tuition cost, you must follow your funding agency/institutions policy regarding I (Incomplete) grades unless the timeline is longer than what the University policy allows in which case you must adhere to the University policy. Students who receive Financial Aid m ust resolve/complete any I (Incomplete) grades by the end of the term or he/she may be placed on financial aid probation. If the I grade is not resolved/completed by the end of the following term, the students Financial Aid may be suspended, which may make the student ineligible for further Financial Aid. NOTE: Students are responsible for knowing and meeting their unique guidelines for tuition assistance.
PSY2403-003 Syllabus 15 Aug 2013rev