• Syllabus
• Course Schedule
• Shweder Reading Questions
• Reading Questions
• APA Style
• Research Proposal
• Life History Guidelines
• Discussion List/Extra Credit Guidelines

PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSONALITY

Fall, 2004

Course:                        PSYCH 344
Instructor:                     Aubyn Fulton
Phone:                          Office - 6536; Home - 2991 (Office hours as posted or by appointment)
EMAIL:                      afulton@puc.edu
HOME PAGE:           http://www.puc.edu/Faculty/Aubyn_Fulton/fulton/
Time:                            8:00 - 8:50, MTWF
Credit Hours:                4.0

REQUIRED TEXTS:
A.        The Freud Reader. Edited by Peter Gay. Norton, 1995.           
B.         Becker, Ernest. The Denial Of Death.  Free Press, 1973.
C.         Beck, A. et al., Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders (2^nd Ed.). Guilford Press, 2004.
D.        Frick, W. Personality: Selected Readings. Peacock, 1995.
E.         McCrae, R. & Costa, P. Personality in Adulthood: A 5-Factor Perspective (2^nd Ed). Guilford Press, 2003.

RECOMMENDED TEXT:
A.      Publication Manual of the APA. 5th ed. Washington D.C.: APA, 2001.

GENERAL CLASS OBJECTIVES
The goal of this course is to stimulate critical reflection on a variety of modern approaches to the idea of personality. Specifically, by the end of this course students will:

1.       Be thoroughly familiar with, and have critically reflected on, Freudian personality theory and other major "grand personality theories".

2.       Be familiar with and critically assessed recent "scientific" conceptualizations of personality.

3.       Be thoroughly familiar with and have critically reflected on a ”philosophical” (existentialist) conceptualization of personality.

4.      Be familiar with and critically reflected on a "clinical" conceptualization of personality, and be able to describe and recognize the personality disorders currently listed in the DSM-IV.

5.      Know how to write an APA style literature review.

6.      Have applied course material to understanding their own life story.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS
Exams: Two triterm exams will be given during the quarter, as noted in the course schedule. These will consist of objective, short answer and short essay questions. The instructor will provide study guides for selected assigned texts. These will only be available online on my Blackboard page. The final exam will be comprehensive covering all assigned material. Unless arrangements are made with the instructor at least 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE, exams which are missed and taken at a later time will carry a minimum 10% penalty per day taken late. NOTE: Changes to the Final Exam schedule can only be made by the Academic Dean or Registrar.

Students will be expected to take care of bathroom and other personal needs before sitting down for any exam. Students will not be allowed to leave the classroom once the exam has been passed out until they turn in their exam for grading. (Students with special needs should consult with the instructor at least 24 hours prior to the exam). Please make arrangements to remain in the classroom until the test is completed.

Research Proposal : Each student will turn in a research proposal in personality. Detailed instructions (which are to be followed closely) are attached to the end of this syllabus.

Life History: Students will evaluate their own life in light of their own theory of personality. This will be an attempt to write what Gordon Allport called a "psychological life history". Students will articulate their conceptualization of personality, supported by appeal to existing theory, research or their own creative argument, and use this as a context for self-interpretation. Detailed instructions for this paper are attached to this syllabus.

Film Review: On Wednesday evening (5:00 pm to 7:30 pm), October 13 we will watch a recent film version of Shakespeare's play HAMLET. Afterwards we will have a 30-minute discussion of the film, and how it relates to Freud's theories of personality. A brief, two-paged typed psychological review of the film, responding to questions provided by the instructor on Blackboard, will be due via turnitin.com.

Videos: In addition to the Hamlet film noted above, we will watch two other videos. The recent PBS documentary on the Young Freud is on reserve in the library. Viewing questions, which will provide the basis for exam questions, are available on Blackboard. This two-hour video must be viewed by each student, in the library, at their convenience BEFORE Tuesday, 10/19/04. On 10/19 we will discuss it in class. On Wednesday 11/17 we will view the film Fatal Attraction, from 5:00 to 7:30 PM. This is a “Hollywood” type, “R” rated film that illustrates the case of a Borderline Personality Disorder. The film does depict graphic sexuality, language and violence. Students who believe they would be uncomfortable viewing this film should consult with the instructor well in advance to consider alternatives. There is no required paper for the Fatal Attraction film, but there will be an essay question over it on the Final Exam.

Extra Credit: We will establish a "Personality Discussion List" on the course Blackboard page. Students can earn one extra-credit point (maximum of five points, no more than one point per week) for every "quality" contribution to the list. See attached explanation of how to participate and criteria for a "quality" contribution.

ATTENDANCE
Prompt attendance at all classes is required & expected. Illness and other unavoidable circumstances at times make attendance impossible. Students missing more than 4 classes can expect their final grade to be lowered.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
As is true in all college classes, academic dishonesty is not tolerated in this course. All students should carefully review the college policy in the Catalog (http://www.puc.edu/Academics/Catalog/appendix.htm). The minimum penalty for incidents of academic dishonesty will be an automatic score of zero for the relevant assignment, quiz or test, but could also include an automatic grade of “F” in the course. In accordance with school policy, a record of any verified instance of dishonesty is forwarded to the Academic Dean and is kept in the student's personal file. A pattern of serious or habitual dishonesty is dealt with by the Academic Dean and may result in dismissal from the College.

Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, writing notes on body parts, "peeking" at a neighbor's test, copying a friend's written assignment, making use of any material outside of the classroom during an quiz or examination, turning in another’s work as one’s own, and accepting access to current or previous exams and quizzes without the explicit consent of the instructor. Even the appearance of dishonesty can create anxiety and resentment in a classroom, so students are asked to scrupulously avoid "wandering eyes" or talking during an examination or quiz.

EVALUATION:
Grades will be based on the percentage of the top score. Final grades will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor, but students achieving the following percentages will be assured of receiving the corresponding grade:
                95% of the top score        =     A-
                85%     "                           =     B-
                70%     "                           =     C-
                60%     "                           =     D-

The points available in this class are distributed as follows:
                Research Proposal:                                      40 points
                Life History Paper:                                     25 points
                Hamlet Film Review:                                   10 points
                Tri-Term Exams (2 @ 50 points)                            100 points
                Final Exam:                                                                75 points             
                Total:                                                                      250 points

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS

^{*Indicates material on reserve in the Library}
 

Psychology of Personality
Research Proposal

Fall, 2004
^{Aubyn Fulton} 

A research proposal can be thought of as one-half of an APA Research article. It contains everything a full article does that can be completed before the actual data is collected. It identifies and describes a research question or problem, explains why it is important or interesting, and describes specifically how the research will be carried out. You will write this paper in APA style. All psychology majors are strongly encouraged to purchase their own copy of the APA Style Manual, which will be of great use throughout your course of study. A brief guide to APA style and other “cheat sheets” are available through the course Blackboard page. A particularly helpful set of resources can be found at  http://www.alleydog.com/psychology-writing.asp.

Your proposal will contain the Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method and References sections of an APA-style paper. There will be a special evening Proposal Review Session on Wednesday, 9/22 at 5:00 PM. Students are expected to know how to use PsychINFO to search the psychology literature – those who do not must consult with the PUC Librarians (call ahead to schedule an appointment).

Your basic tasks for this assignment are to:
1.  Select a specific question in the area of personality psychology. This question will explore the relationship of one or more independent variables to one or more dependent variables.

2. Identify relevant articles summarizing research related to your question published in professional psychology journals (not popular magazines like Time or Psychology Today). The number of articles you will need to identify will vary depending on your topic, but you must use at least four different sources.

It is not enough to read the abstract (summary) of these articles in PsychINFO, you must read the entire article, carefully. Some of these can be found at the PUC Library, others will be available online through the PUC Library’s electronic access. If you identify your articles early enough you may be able to get them though the Library’s interlibrary loan service (http://library.puc.edu/interlibraryloan/index.shtml), though note you should only use this after you have verified that the article is not available any other way. Each student will be limited to 5 interlibrary loan requests for this project, so make sure they are the most important articles that can not be accessed any other way. If all else fails, you should be able to make copies of most articles you will need at the Psychology library at UC Berkely (Tolman Hall – see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EDP/. Use the link to “pathfinder” for the UCB catalog, which will allow you to confirm that they have the journal you are looking for - in the year and dates you need – on their shelves. You can also get hours, directions, and other information about them on this site).

3. Construct a hypothesis that bears upon your question. A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about the relationship of two or more variables. State this hypothesis clearly at the end of your Introduction section.

4. Design an experiment to test your hypothesis. An experiment is marked by systematic control, especially the ability to randomly assign subjects to the different levels of the independent variable. In personality research it is often difficult or impossible to do this (e.g. if the IV is gender) - still, creative ways can usually be found to get as close as possible to experimental conditions. Use behavioral measures of your dependent variables in addition to paper-and pencil surveys.

The most important step in this process is selecting your hypothesis – as long as you select a topic that is suitably narrow and well defined, the project should not be too difficult (NOTE: Do Not Be Profound!). The hypothesis: “internal locus of control is an important determiner of life success” is too broad. Better would be “White men over the age of 65 with higher internal locus of control have lower serum cholesterol levels than white men over the age of 65 with lower internal locus of control.”

I have placed several Personality textbooks on reserve in the PUC Library; one way to get ideas for your proposal is to read through some of the chapters. You may also want to read through recent issues of psychology journals related to personality (e.g. “Personality and Social Psychology Review”; “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology”; “Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin”). You can also look at some of the links to Personality resources on the web that I have on Blackboard (e.g. AmoebaWeb at: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/amoebaweb/index.cfm?doc_id=869;  The Personality Project  at: http://pmc.psych.nwu.edu/personality and Great Ideas in Personality  at http://www.personalityresearch.org/). Of course you may also get ideas from class discussions and assigned course readings. I have also placed two sample proposals, from actual pervious students in this class, so you have an idea of what I am looking for. Both of these proposals were eventually turned into actual experiments, and the papers that describe them were presented at WPA. One of them won the PSI CHI Award for research excellence.

It is crucial that your Proposal follow APA style; read over the Manual carefully for guidelines on the Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method and References. Your Title page should only have the elements outlined by the APA Manual – do not add anything else (like your teacher’s name, the name of the course, or the date). Write your abstract as if the experiment had already been done, and the results supported your hypothesis. Write your Method section in the past tense.

In addition to conformity to APA Style (which will be about 1/3 of your grade) I will be grading your proposals in terms of how well you were able to give an empirical and theoretical rationale for your hypotheses (what do we already know, or think we know, that supports the prediction that you have made), and the quality of the experiment you designed to test your hypothesis. You will not be actually carrying out this experiment for the purposes of this course, but I want your Method section to describe an experiment that you plausibly could carry out, given a reasonable investment of time and money by a college student. Include a description of and relevant references to all of your materials in your Method; if you need to develop any materials yourself, include these in an appendix (see the APA Manual for how to create an Appendix).

NOTE: Do not wait until the last minute to start on this project! Select a topic no later than the end of the second week of the quarter (Friday, October 1). Feel free to make an appointment with the instructor to discuss your proposal, or send me a question by email (afulton@puc.edu). You are strongly encouraged to turn in a first draft (if you want to do this, it must be turned in no later than the beginning of class on Friday, October 29. The final draft of your proposal is due at turnitin.com by 8:00 am on Monday, November 8.

The research proposal must be typed, double-spaced and between 8 - 10 pages long (including Title Page, Abstract Page, Introduction, Method and References), with margins of 1 inch on all four sides, conforming to APA Manual guidelines in every way. Papers are worth a maximum of 40 points and will be penalized 4 points if turned in by 8:00 am 11/9; 9 points if turned in by 8:00 am11/10; 15 points if turned in by 8:00 am 11/11; 22 points if turned in by 8:00 am on 11/12 and 30 points if turned in by 8:00 am on 11/15.  Except in unusual circumstances, which must be discussed with the Instructor by 11/12, No paper will be accepted for credit after 8:00 am on 11/15).

Proposals will be graded in terms of how well they:
1. Review the relevant empirical literature
2. Articulate a clear and testable hypothesis
3. Identify the independent and dependent variables
4. Describe an appropriate experimental methodology to test the hypothesis
5. Follow APA-style requirements (this is crucial – refer to APA Manual)
6. Follow PUC Behavioral Science writing guidelines (clear and economical, with proper spelling, punctuation and grammar; see style guidelines on course Blackboard page).

Plagiarism
The requirement for electronic submission is made partly to facilitate evaluating all student papers for plagiarism. All submitted Proposals will be run through turnitin.com, which is designed to identify plagiarism between two or more students, or between students and published or internet sources. The minimum penalty for plagiarism on Proposals will be dismissal from the course with a grade of “F” (see the PUC College Catalog). The temptation to give into plagiarism is often a sign that a student is feeling overwhelmed by academic or personal demands – any student who feels close to giving into this temptation is encouraged to consult with the instructor immediately.

^{Psychology of Personality
Psychological Life-History}
Fall, 2004
^{Aubyn Fulton}

^{This will be an 8-10 page typed, double-spaced paper attempting to write your own "psychological life-history". Of course such an undertaking will at best be incomplete in such limited space. Identify and select what you see as the handful of most important, formative elements in your development and integrate them into a narrative that communicates both who you are (your action tendencies, ways of feeling, beliefs and cognitive style) and how you got that way. Your paper will consist of two sections:}

^{Section A: Personality Theory - 2 pages
This need not be comprehensive or fully integrated. I want you to summarize what have been the three or four most important theoretical insights, empirical findings, philosophical themes or clinical categories that we have covered in this class.  Included here must be a brief summary of  whatever you see as most relevant to identifying your own personality pattern. This section will provide the psychological context for your life-story.}

<sup>Section B: Life-Story - 6 to 8 pages
1. Basic demographic information (birth-place, geographical movements, number, age and sex of siblings, marital status and occupations of parents, etc).</sup>

^{2. Whatever experiences and circumstances you believe have contributed to making you uniquely "you". Most importantly, identify two to four "themes" that have dominated and shaped your life. Examples of life themes might include "loss", "intimacy vs commitment" "self-assertion", "care for others" "loyalty" "seduction" "competition", and the list goes on and on.}

^{3. One or two core "life-parables" - brief narratives of a specific event that either profoundly shaped your personality, or symbolically expresses one or more of the deep and recurrent themes in our life. The event may be of obvious significance (e.g. death of a relative, baptism, etc) or more subtle and personal significance (e.g. confrontation with a high school teacher; crossing the street for the first time as a child).}

^{4.  Identify yourself as one of the **NORMAL** variations of one of the personality disorders discussed in class.  Do not give into the common temptation to diagnose yourself with one of the personality disorders. However if you find any of the descriptions of the disorders similar to yourself, that is an indication that you may have one of the normal variations associated with that disorder. Try to link the behaviors, cognitions, and especially, defense mechanisms of this personality variant with some aspect of your own life story.}

<sup>Your selection of formative experiences will be guided by your theory (philosophy) of personality identified in Section A. The first two pages of your paper should briefly but clearly articulate the main components of your personality philosophy. You can organize section B however you like; you need not follow the linear model or order of A. B. C., given above, as long as you cover the indicated areas. Feel free to be as frank and honest as you are comfortable – no one but the instructor will see these papers.

Your paper will be evaluated in part in terms of how successful you are in
1) Articulating a vision of personality, and using it to identify and organize the relevant data of your experience
2) Demonstrating perceptive and sensitive understanding of your own life story. Does your paper show evidence of increased self-honesty and understanding?
3) Demonstrating clear writing style and employing appropriate writing mechanics.

No references or footnoting is required (unless of course you use direct quotation).</sup>

^{Paper Due: At 8:00 am Friday, 12/3  to turnitin.com. Papers turned in late, but before 8:00 on 12/6  will be penalized 3 points; papers turned in between 8:01 12/6 and 8:00 12/7 will be penalized 10 points. No papers will be accepted after 8:00 12/7, except in unusual circumstances discussed with the instructor by 12/6.}

^{Points Possible: 25 points}

^{Psychology of Personality
Extra Credit: Discussion List}
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

Discussion List
Students who wish to participate will simply send a message (a "post") to the “Discussion Board” on the “Communications Center” menu of the Blackboard page for this course. The message will be posted on the Board, for other students and the instructor to read. Other participants who desire can respond to the original post, or post a message about a new topic (also known as a "thread").

Quality Contribution
A "quality contribution" is one that, in the judgment of the instructor, is both relevant to the themes of the course and demonstrates original, reflective, thought. The length of a quality contribution will vary, but will most often be one or two paragraphs long (5 to 15 sentences). Posts will generally assert a point and try to defend (support) it, or state a position (from the course or other pertinent source) and either agree or disagree with it. Posts may also pose a question, try to answer it, and ask others to try an answer too.

The subject of a quality contribution will also vary. Anything directly related to course reading and discussion is appropriate (for example, a comment on one of the reading questions for current or recent assignment). Posts attempting to relate course themes to broader issues (religious, political, social, academic, personal, etc) are also appropriate. Particularly appropriate is engaging the writer of a previous post in dialog - expanding on a point made, or disagreeing with it and explaining why.

Etiquette
When disagreeing with others be courteous and polite. Try to adhere to traditional spelling and grammatical standards, but occasional lapses will not be penalized. Avoid writing posts in all capital letters, as this is the equivalent of screaming on the computer.

Credit
Students will receive one extra-credit point for every "quality contribution", up to a maximum of five points. A maximum of one point can be earned in any one week. To qualify for credit, each contribution must conform to above standards.