Course Syllabus

 

Fall 2016

 

Instructor Contact

Instructor	Dr. Victoria (Vicky) Pace
Office	UP 4017 on Sanford/Lake Mary Regional Campus
Office Hours	By appointment on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus (UP 4017)
Phone	407-708-2834 (Email preferred because I do not check this daily)
E-mail	Please use Webcourses messages, but in a pinch: Victoria.Pace@ucf.edu

 

Course Information

Course Name	Personality Theory and Research
Course ID & Section	PPE 3003, Section 0W59
Credit Hours	3
Semester/Year	Fall/2016
Location	Online

 

Welcome!

I look forward to working with you as you learn about ideas proposed by famous psychologists regarding individual personality. By the end of the semester, you should understand more about qualities and motivational factors that differ across people and how we can use these concepts to understand ourselves and others better.

Course Description

This course will familiarize students with a variety of personality theories, their history, and applications. We will consider theories that address personality development and implications for normal and abnormal development. We will also explore research questions such as stability of personality over time and situations, cultural differences in personality, and personality measurement.

University Course Catalog Description

Personality Theory and Research: A survey of theory and research on the development of personality characteristics.

Course Prerequisites

PSY 2012; An interest in theories of personality over time and how theories have developed, been tested, and changed.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to

• Discuss and write in an informed way about influential personality theories and constructs.
• Identify meaning and appropriate application of course concepts.
• Explain personality-related processes that underlie individual differences in behavior.
• Examine seminal and current research studies and describe important findings using an understanding of scientific methodologies common to this field.
• Provide examples of the interaction of situational and individual characteristics on the development of personality.
• Apply course concepts to simulated life situations through the analysis of a fictional character.

Required Text

Theories of Personality (8th Edition or later; 2012)

Author: Feist, Feist, & Roberts

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

ISBN:  0073532193 / 9780073532196

Thorough reading of all assigned sections of the text is necessary for achieving the desired level of learning.

Course Requirements

Exams

Five exams will be administered online through Webcourses. Exams will contain 30 multiple choice test items that cover required readings as well as other presented material. These test items will be randomly selected from large item pools, so you will not receive exactly the same items as other students. Although you are allowed to have notes and books available during the exams, you should study well and know the material so that you do not rely on these materials because you have only one attempt for each exam and time is limited to 40 minutes from the time you access the exam. No makeup exams will be given without documented medical emergency. Exams 1-3 are available from Saturday at 11:59pm to Monday at 11:59pm to cover the dates noted in the syllabus. In other words, you have all of Sunday and Monday to access exams, but once you access it you cannot stop or come back later. See Course Schedule in Syllabus for days and dates of Exams 4 and 5. You will be allowed to drop one exam (the best 4 grades out of 5 are kept). If you are sick or otherwise miss an exam, that exam is the one that will be dropped.

Exam 5 is cumulative. If you are satisfied with the grades you received on the previous four exams, you can decide not to take this. However, if you take it, your lowest score of the five exams will be dropped. Therefore, there is nothing to lose from taking the cumulative exam (if it is your lowest exam score of five, it will be dropped).

Students will be able to see their results after the availability period has ended. Feedback will include the student’s answers and the correct answers.

Written Article Summary (on Self-Actualization)

You will be asked to read and summarize an assigned article on self-actualization. Using the PsycINFO database through the library website, you will then find a related peer-reviewed journal article of your choice on the same basic topic to cite and relate in some way to the assigned article. More instructions will be provided in the assignment on Webcourses.

Discussions

Participation in five online class discussions with a discussion group of about 10-15 students (to be randomly assigned) is required. Two of these will be graded all or nothing for participation (0 or 15/20 points), whereas the remaining three will be graded for quality (based on relevance, insightfulness, and originality). You will not know in advance whether the discussion will be graded for participation or for quality, so aim for quality responses each week. The required discussion topic will be available sometime on Monday and you will be given until Sunday at 11:59pm to post and comment on another student’s post. Please read and think about the topic before posting so that you will have meaningful ideas and experiences to contribute. A high quality discussion response displays relevance to the topic, insightfulness, and originality of the idea(s) you share. There is no recommended word count for postings because I will look for quality instead. You should also comment on at least one other student's post when that is included in the instructions. No late discussions will be accepted.

Group Case Studies

You will join an online work group of approximately five students. These are NOT the same groups in which you discuss weekly required questions/topics.  During the semester, each group will work on a case study of an historical individual (can be chosen from sports, politics, the arts, etc., but cannot be currently living). You will analyze this person using concepts from three separate chapters/theorists. Your group will submit a PowerPoint or other approved-format case study presentation at the conclusion of the project (see Course Schedule), and I will post them to Webcourses. Finished case study presentations will be reviewed and rated by the members of several other groups (up to 90 points for educational value, entertainment value, and presentation quality). I will provide ratings for the remaining 210 points, including up to 90 points for these aspects plus up to 120 points for individual participation (I will ask all group members confidentially to rate the participation of their individual group members, and this feedback will strongly influence participation grading, accounting for approximately 40% of this grade typically). These case studies are meant to be fun and informative. More information will be posted.

*Note: Signing up for a case study group in Webcourses-- Please open the People tab at left, then click the button for View User Groups at the top right of the page. You should see all case study groups when I announce these are available; choose your favorite and sign up before it fills :)

Missed Assignments/Make-Ups/Extra Credit

No makeup quizzes or assignments will be given without documented medical emergency.

Extra Credit

Up to 18 extra credit points can be earned for research participation. Students and professors conducting research often use the Sona System to ask for volunteers for their research studies. Some opportunities are online, some may be on campus. You will earn 1.5 points of extra credit for each .25 Sona point (or 6 course points for a full Sona point, up to a maximum of 3 Sona points) gained by participating in these studies. The online opportunities may be hard to find, so start looking early and do not rely much on extra credit. Sona administrators will let me know how many points (out of 3 Sona points) you have earned for my course at the end of the semester. See https://ucf.sona-systems.com for research participation opportunities.

Evaluation and Grading

Extra credit points will be added to your total number of points at the end of the semester, then that total can be divided by 1000 to determine your percentage. Percentages will NOT be rounded up (e.g., 82.9% is a B-).

Letter Grade	Total Points
A	900 – 1000+
B+	870 – 899
B	830 – 869
B-	800 – 829
C+	770 – 799
C	730 – 769
C-	700 – 729
D+	670 – 699
D	630 – 669
D-	600 – 629
F	Below 600

  

Online Check-In Policy

Aim to access Webcourses for this class several times a week to ensure that assignment deadlines, messages, and announcements are not missed. Research shows that spacing learning and study over time (smaller portions, more frequent interaction with the material) is a more effective learning method than massing (cramming) when it comes to long-term retention. Maintaining regular involvement in discussions and your case study group will also help you to earn your best grade— without this, your participation in discussions and especially the group project will likely suffer (along with your group members’ ratings of your effort). Grades in both of these categories will reflect any deficits in participation.  Be a good class and group citizen and show others the courtesy of your full participation.

Professionalism

As you will find in your career, online and print communications require exceptional attention to clarity of communication, awareness of the overall tone (friendly and respectful, rather than harsh), and an understanding that what you say in print can never be fully retracted. Because of these factors, special care is required to show respect for each other’s ideas, feelings and experience. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others is just as important and expected online as it is in the classroom.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and cheating of any kind on an examination, project, or assignment will result at least in an "F" for that assignment (and, depending on the severity of the case, may lead to an "F" for the entire course). Such behavior may also be subject to appropriate referral to the Office of Student Conduct for further action. See the UCF Golden Rule for additional information. I will assume for this course that you will adhere to the academic creed of this University and will maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. In other words, don't cheat by giving answers to others or taking them from anyone else. I will also adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity, so please do not ask me to change your grade illegitimately or to bend or break rules for one person that will not apply to everyone.

Disability Statement

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students with disabilities who need accommodations in this course must contact the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss needed accommodations. No accommodations will be provided until the student has met with the professor to request accommodations. Students who need accommodations must be registered with Student Disability Services, Ferrell Commons, 7F, Room 185, phone (407) 823-2371, TTY/TDD only phone (407) 823-2116, before requesting accommodations from the professor.

Copyright

This course may contain copyright protected materials such as audio or video clips, images, text materials, etc. These items are being used with regard to the Fair Use doctrine in order to enhance the learning environment. Please do not copy, duplicate, download or distribute these items. The use of these materials is strictly reserved for this online classroom environment and your use only. All copyright materials are credited to the copyright holder.

Third-Party Software and FERPA

During this course you might have the opportunity to use public online services and/or software applications sometimes called third-party software such as a blog or wiki. While some of these could be required assignments, you need not make any personally identifying information on a public site. Do not post or provide any private information about yourself or your classmates. Where appropriate you may use a pseudonym or nickname. Some written assignments posted publicly may require personal reflection/comments, but the assignments will not require you to disclose any personal identity-sensitive information. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your instructor.

Week/Dates	Topics	Readings	Assignments DUE
August 22-28	Introduction	Read Syllabus, Chapter 1	Submit potential Case Study characters to the Graduate TA (David) by messaging through Webcourses Take Syllabus Quiz by 5pm on Friday
August 29- September 4	Freud: Psychoanalysis	Chapter 2	Discussion 1 Meet Your Discussion Group Members
September 5-11	Adler: Individual Psychology	Chapter 3	Choose an historical figure for your Group Case Study & sign up
September 12-18	Personalities and Politics within the Wednesday Psychological Society/Vienna Psychoanalytic Society	Online and Library Readings (some suggested, others of your choice)	Discussion 2 Adler
September 18 & 19	Exam 1: Chapters 1-3
September 19-25	Jung: Analytical Psychology	Chapter 4	Take the online test of Jungian type
September 26- October 2	Klein: Object Relations Theory	Chapter 5	Discussion 3 Klein
October 3-9	Horney and Fromm: Further Developments in Psychoanalytic Theory	Chapter 6 (through Moving Away from People), Chapter 7 (through Character Orientations)
October 9 & 10	Exam 2: Chapters 4-7 (assigned material only)
October 10-16	Erikson: Personality and Development	Chapter 8 (through Stages of Psychosocial Development)	Report to TA (one report per group): Preliminary (flexible) choice of three theorists you will use for the case study, list of individual responsibilities/expected contributions for all group members
October 17-23	Maslow: Motivation May: Existentialism	Chapter 9 (through Self-Actualization) Chapter 11 (through Freedom and Destiny) Journal article on Self-Actualization (ask if I have not posted it)	Written article summary on Self-Actualization
October 24- 30	Rogers: The Person-Centered Approach   Tips for finishing the Case Study project	Chapter 10	Intensive Work on Case Studies Submit Draft of Case Study Presentation  for TA review and feedback
October 30 & 31	Exam 3: Chapters 8-11 (assigned material only)
October 31- November 6	Allport: Psychology of the Individual	Chapter 12
November 7-13	McCrae and Costa: Five Factor Trait Theory	Chapter 13	Discussion 4 McCrae and Costa
November 14-20	Eysenck and Buss: Biological and Evolutionary Explanations Applications of Trait Theory and Personality Measurement	Chapter 14 Chapter 15	Discussion 5 Eysenck and Buss Case Studies Due (one submission per group)
November 21-27	Bandura: Learning Theories Personality in Context, Cross-Cultural Issues	Chapter 17 (Overview, Human Agency, Self-Regulation, Dysfunctional Behavior) Chapter 18 (Overview, Introduction to Rotter's Social Learning Theory, Predicting Specific Behaviors, Needs, Table of items from Internal-External Control Scale, Background of the Cognitive-Affective Personality System, Encoding Strategies)	Extra Credit (check Sona deadline for participation for this term)
November 24	No Classes: Thanksgiving Holiday
November 27- December 3 (Note: longer window and unusual Saturday due date because of Thanksgiving holiday weekend)	Exam 4: Chapters 12-18, but excluding Ch. 16 (assigned material only)
November 28- December 4	View Group Case Study Presentations as soon as available and Submit Online Ratings (Take two surveys: 1) for ratings of presentations and 2) for confidential ratings of your group members.)
December 5	Study Day (No Classes)
December 6-12 (Final Exam Week)	Exam 5 (Cumulative): All Chapters and PowerPoints