Psychology 420
Introduction to Personality Theory
Fall 2002
MWF 11:00 a.m.
Call Number 12970

Office Hours: TR 1:30-2:30 p.m., or by appointment

Course Web Address: http://users.ipfw.edu/hillc/personality.htm

Textbooks:     Funder, D. C. (2001). The Personality Puzzle (2^nd Ed.). New York: Norton. (required)

                      Funder, D. C., & Ozer, D. J. (2001). Pieces of The Personality Puzzle (2^nd Ed.). New York: Norton.

(required)

The purpose of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the prominent theories of personality that have been advanced to explain human personality. The four theoretical approaches are (1) psychoanalysis, (2) behaviorism, (3) a focus on dispositions or traits (including biological approaches), and (4) phenomenology. Each theory will be presented in detail as conceived by its advocates, along with modifications made by later proponents, the theory's applications, and research that has been generated by each approach. Finally, each theory will be evaluated in terms of its strengths and weaknesses. Although the primary focus of the course will be theory, rather than research findings, research evidence will be considered as it relates to providing support or disconfirmation for each theory.

The course will consist of not only lectures, but also class discussions whenever possible. Questions, discussion, and observations are always welcome and strongly encouraged, since active participation on the part of students greatly facilitates learning and retaining the information. Also, tying information to one's own life and personal experiences dramatically enhances one's interest in the information, as well as increasing its value.

Information will be presented through Power Point. Outlines of lectures are available on the class web page to assist you in taking notes during class. The address to directly access the web page for this course is:

Lectures will closely follow the material presented in the textbook, although new information and different ways of thinking about issues will also be presented. Nevertheless, you will be accountable for the material presented in the textbook that is not covered in class. Class sessions are intended to highlight and elaborate upon the textbook, not replace it, and it will not be possible to cover all of the material in class that is presented in the textbook. The number of questions on exams about a given topic will be proportional to the amount of time spent on the topic in class. Tests will cover the material assigned from the textbook, even if it is not discussed in class!!! In fact, it is very likely that particular topics will not be discussed in class at all. Nevertheless, these topics will be on exams!!

If you miss a class, you are requested to borrow notes from another student in order to obtain the missed information.

A total of four exams will be given during the session: the first three will be given during regular class periods and the last one will be given at the time scheduled for the class during finals period. The last exam will cover material related not only to the section on phenomenology, but will also involve comparisons among the four theoretical approaches.

Each test will consist of 50 multiple choice questions.

Missing exams: You may take only one make-up exam during the semester. If you need to take a make-up exam, you may do so at the time of the last exam during exam week. You must sign up to take the make-up during the last week of classes.

Active participation in specific class discussions is required. A total of 50 points are possible for these assignments. The number and exact format is presented in a separate handout.

Two short papers will be required that will involve comparisons among the various theoretical approaches by their application to either (1) some aspect of one's own life, (2) that of someone you know personally, or (3) that of a hypothetical character who will be introduced during the course.

The papers should be approximately ten typed, double-spaced pages in APA format. More specific guidelines are provided in the handout dealing with the papers. The first paper will be due on October 12 and the second paper will be due on November 30. Your paper should be STAPLED when it is handed in. Do NOT place it in a folder of ANY kind and do NOT use paper clips!

The papers will each be worth 50 points.

You are required to visit the Writing Center for both of your papers. The director of the Writing Center has said the following about the services offered at the Center:

Improve your writing for any class through free individual conferences with experienced writing consultants in KT 234, the IPFW Writing Center-an excellent resource for all writers. Bring your assignment, due dates, questions, ideas, and draft (if you have one). Writing Center consultants will help you brainstorm, develop and logically organize your ideas, work on style, and improve your documentation and editing skills. Drop-ins are welcome, but to ensure an appointment when you need help, sign up on the bulletin board outside Kettler 234. Come early and come often to review your work at the Writing Center! Open M 10-5; TWR 10-7; F 10-1; Sunday 1-5 Closed Saturdays. For online help, visit our website at www.ipfw.edu/engl/wchome.htm

Grades:

Grades will be based on the sum of the points obtained on the four exams, the two short papers, and class discussions.

The following scale will be used to assign grades:

To get an idea of how you performed on any of the four exams, use the following guide (although grades are not actually assigned to each exam):
 

Grade	Percent of Possible Points	Number of Total Points Obtained on Each Exam
A	90-100%	45-50
B	80- 89	40-44
C	70- 79	35-39
D	60- 69	30-34
F	0- 59	0-29