Psy 5207: Personality & Social Behavior
Department
of Psychology
University of Minnesota
| Fall 2005 |
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Psy 5207: Personality & Social Behavior Department
of Psychology |
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PDF file of the syllabus
Course Website : http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/fall05/fuglestadp/psy5207/default.htm Objectives The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the field of personality and social behavior. The scientific study of personality and social behavior has emerged as a hybrid discipline, merging theoretical perspectives and methodological strategies from both personality and social psychology. The course begins with a consideration of theoretical conceptualizations of the person (derived largely from personality psychology) and the situation (derived largely from social psychology), and then proceeds to unify them in conceptual frameworks and investigative strategies for understanding the interactions between persons and situations, as well as the mutual interplay of individuals and their social worlds. In this course, specific attention is devoted to both theoretical and applied goals, concentrating on how the scientific study of personality and social behavior can and does contribute to the psychological understanding of human nature and to the solving of practical problems confronted by individuals and society. Instructor Paul Fuglestad N334 Elliot Hall, fugl0025@umn.edu Office Hours : Tuesdays, 11:00 to noon, or by appointment Teaching Assistant Corrie Hunt N352 Elliot Hall, hunt0400@umn.edu Office Hours : Tuesdays, 3:00 to 4:00 in N120 Texts and Readings Funder, D. C. (2004). The Personality Puzzle (3 nd Edition) . New York : W. W. Norton & Company. Ross, L. & Nisbett, R. E. (1991). The Person and the Situation. New York : McGraw-Hill. Chapters are on electronic reserve. Occasionally, additional supplemental readings may be distributed in class. Course PrerequisitesThis course is designed for undergraduate psychology majors, honors students, and graduate students in psychology and allied disciplines. Although enrollment is not restricted to students in psychology, some background in psychology (e.g., Psychology 3201 – Introduction to Social Psychology; Psychology 3101 – Introduction to Personality) is assumed. Please see an instructor following the first class if you are uncertain that you meet the prerequisites for this course. Course Structure and Requirements(1) Lectures & Discussions This will be a lecture course meeting twice a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes. There may be occasional film and video presentations, in-class demonstrations, discussion groups, in-class presentations by students, and visits by guest speakers to supplement the lectures. Students will be expected to have done the assigned readings for the week prior to attending lecture. Furthermore, students are expected to actively participate in all class discussions and activities. (2) Readings Readings will be assigned from two textbooks. A schedule of assigned readings appears on page 6 of this syllabus. Occasionally, outside readings may be assigned to supplement the text. If so, these will be made available on reserve at Wilson library. The textbook readings are meant to supplement the materials presented in lecture. The two texts represent two distinct approaches to the study of social behavior that we attempt to bridge in this class. In general, efforts are made to minimize the overlap between the materials presented in the lectures and those in the readings. Nevertheless, I do try to coordinate the order of the readings and the sequence of the lecture topics. (3) Writing Assignment The writing assignment for this course is a brief term paper on research relevant to a topic in personality and social behavior of your choosing. Your paper may address any topic of interest to you, as long as the topic relates to subject matter relevant to personality and social behavior. You may do library research and write a theoretical paper or a survey of the literature in an area of personality and social behavior. Alternatively, you may write a research proposal to test a hypothesis about personality and social behavior. Or, you may write about the application of relevant theory and research in personality and social behavior to a problem of concern to society. Additional information regarding this assignment will be presented later in the semester, although it is never too early to begin thinking about your topic. Whatever your choice of topic, your paper should be no longer than 8-10 double-spaced pages in length, including references, and should be prepared in American Psychological Association publication style (the 4 th edition of the APA Publication Manual is on reserve at Wilson Library). • Annotated Bibliography & Brief Outline You will be required to turn in an assignment in which you provide an analytical summary of 3 articles relevant to your topic. Specific instructions will be provided later in the semester. This assignment will be due in class on Oct. 27, 2005 . Although you will not receive a separate grade for this assignment, your references must be approved by the instructor or you will not receive a grade for the final paper. • Final Paper The final paper is due no later than noon on Dec. 16, 2005 , although early submissions are more than welcome and will be greatly appreciated. Please drop off your paper at Elliott Hall, N334. This writing assignment is worth 50 points and will contribute 25% toward the final grade in this course. (4) Examinations There will be three in-class examinations to be held on the following dates: EXAM 1 : October 6, 9:45 – 11:00; N391 Elliott Hall EXAM 2 : November 8, 9:45 – 11:00; N391 Elliott Hall EXAM 3 : December 13, 9:45 – 11:00; N391 Elliott Hall These examinations will include a mix of multiple choice and essay questions based on the material presented in the instructors' lectures and in the assigned readings. The first exam will cover only material from the first section of the course (Sept. 6 – Oct. 4). The second exam will cover only material from the second section of the course (Oct. 11 – Nov. 3). The third exam will cover only material from the third section of the course (Nov. 10 – Dec. 8). Exams 1 – 3 will each contribute 25% toward your final grade in this course. Unless you meet with the instructor AND get special approval, no make-up exams (or incomplete grades) will be given. The only exceptions to this involve documented emergencies and serious illness ( see also class policies on pages 5 and 6 of this syllabus ). Reasonable accommodations will be provided for students with language, physical, learning, or psychiatric disabilities/needs. Please talk with the instructor or a teaching assistant to make arrangements if needed in the first week of the course. (5) Evaluation Final grades in this course will be assigned on the basis of performance on the three examinations and on the writing assignments, with the examinations and the papers contributing to the final grade as follows:
In assigning grades for this course, there is no “curve” which would require that a fixed percentage of students receive As, Bs, etc. Instead, the grading policy of this course is a flexible one, which does not pit students against each other. Accordingly, the distribution of grades will reflect the actual performance of students, with as many (or as few) students receiving grades of A as their actual performance merits. Points & Letter Grades
A note on grades As with all university courses, regular attendance is assumed, as is having completed the assigned readings in a timely manner. Expect a good grade only if you do all of the work carefully, thoughtfully, and thoroughly. Top grades are reserved for demonstrated academic excellence. The University of Minnesota defines course grades in the following manner ( http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/policies/gradingpolicy.html):
(6) University Resources for enhancing your class performance The Learning and Academic Skills Center 109 Eddy Hall, East Bank, 612-624-3323 Offers classes, workshops, and individual assistance for students who want to maximize their academic performance. See their webpage, call, or visit the center for specific information about their offerings. The Student Writing Center 306B Lind Hall, East Bank, 612-625-1893 swc.umn.edu/default.html Staffed by TA's and ESL specialists, this center provides assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills (e.g., organization, clarity of expression, grammar). I highly encourage the use of this center and its resources in preparing your final paper. See their webpage, call, or visit the center for specific information about their offerings and/or to schedule an appointment. Psy 5207, Fall 2005: Course Calendar and Reading Assignments
PP: Readings from Funder (2004), The Personality PuzzlePS: Readings from Ross & Nisbett (1991), The Person and the Situation Course Policies Make-up Exams Make-up examinations are not normally given in this course. The only circumstances in which a make-up exam will be given are: 1) an official, University sponsored event requires you to be off campus during the regularly scheduled exam time; 2) a medical emergency prevents you from attending a class; 3) a legitimate family emergency prevents you from attending class (e.g., family reunion does not constitute an emergency); 4) jury duty, military service, a religious observance, or a similar obligation prevents you from attending class. If you must miss an examination for one of the reasons outlined above, you must contact the instructors prior to the scheduled exam time and, in addition, must provide written documentation of the event or emergency in order to schedule a make-up exam. Accommodations for Disabilities/Needs It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students with language, physical, learning, or psychiatric disabilities/needs that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. Please talk with either instructor or the teaching assistant to make arrangements, if needed, in the first week of the course . Incompletes A grade of “incomplete” will be entered for any student who - due to extenuating circumstances or personal emergencies explained in advance and acceptable to the instructors - does not complete all of the requirements for the course by the date of the final paper (Dec. 16, 2005). Such extenuating circumstances may include major emotional traumas (i.e., death or major illness in the family), or personal injury or illness. Such extenuating circumstances DO NOT include missing examinations because of vacations, travel, out-of-town events, employment, or heavy course loads. The instructors will require documentation of personal emergencies that interfere with completion of course work. All students are expected to anticipate conflicts and plan for them accordingly (e.g., please do not make air travel reservations that interfere with your ability to complete the three examinations at their scheduled time). All outstanding work must be completed by the end of the semester immediately following the quarter in which the “I” was assigned. An incomplete that is not completed by that time will revert to a grade of “F”. Finally, an incomplete will be assigned if and only if students have earned passing scores (i.e., a grade of “D” or higher) on the work they have already completed during the quarter . Academic Misconduct The following is the University of Minnesota Policy on Scholastic Misconduct: The College of Liberal Arts has defined academic misconduct broadly as “any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of your own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not necessarily limited to) cheating on assignments and examinations; plagiarizing, which means misrepresenting as your own work any part of work done by another; submitting the same paper, or substantially similar papers, to meet the requirements of more than one course without the consent of all professors concerned; depriving another student of necessary course materials; or interfering with another student's work.” If you are found to be cheating on examinations or to be engaging in scholarly dishonesty in your work, you will receive NO CREDIT for the exam or paper in question. Note that this will most likely result in your failing the entire course. In addition, the academic misconduct will be reported to the CLA Scholastic Conduct Committee. Some (Annotated) Notes from CLA The College of Liberal Arts (CLA) has asked us to include the following notes on several academic regulations as a reminder to students enrolled in CLA classes: • The two grading systems used are the A-F and the S-N. Departmental majors must take major courses on the A-F system; non-majors may use either system. In all courses, the bottom line for the S grade is the equivalent of the C grade; in other words, what is normally considered as D-level work will be assigned a grade of N in the S-N system. All students, no matter which system used, will be expected to do all work assigned in the course, as determined by the instructors. Any changes you wish to make in the grading base must be done by the date posted in the Class Schedule. The instructors will specify the conditions, if any, under which an “incomplete” will be assigned instead of a grade. The instructors may set dates and conditions for make-up work, if it is to be allowed. (See an instructor if you are unable to complete the course requirements. Also, please see page 6 of the syllabus for conditions under which an “incomplete” will be assigned for Psychology 5207.). • Inquiries regarding any change of grade should be directed to the instructors of the course; you may wish to contact the Student Ombuds Service for assistance. • Students are responsible for all information disseminated in class and all course requirements, including deadlines and examinations. Therefore, regular class attendance is highly recommended. ( Please mark your calendars now for the following exam dates: Oct. 6; Nov. 8; Dec. 13 .) • The College of Liberal Arts does not permit a student to submit extra work in an attempt to raise his or her grade, unless the professor has specified at the outset of the class such opportunities afforded to all students. (No extra credit opportunities will be extended for this course). • The College of Liberal Arts has defined academic misconduct broadly as “any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of your own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not necessarily limited to) cheating on assignments and examinations; plagiarizing, which means misrepresenting as your own work any part of work done by another; submitting the same paper, or substantially similar papers, to meet the requirements of more than one course without the consent of all professors concerned; depriving another student of necessary course materials; or interfering with another student's work.” Professors may define additional standards beyond these. (Students found to cheat on in-class examinations will earn no credit on those exams, and in all likelihood, will fail the course; this misconduct will be reported to the CLA Scholastic Conduct Committee. Additionally, students whose disruptive actions interfere with others' ability to learn will be asked to leave the classroom and will not return until a meeting is held with the instructors and their academic advisors.) • Students with disabilities that affect their ability to participate fully in class or meet all course requirements are encouraged to bring this to the attention of instructors so that appropriate accommodations can be made. (Please see the instructors or the teaching assistant after class on the first day.) • University policy prohibits sexual harassment as defined in the 5/17/84 policy statement. Copies of the 5/17/84 policy statement on sexual harassment are available at 419 Morrill Hall. Complaints about sexual harassment should be reported to the University Office of Equal Opportunity at 419 Morrill Hall. |
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Website
feedback: Paul Fuglestad (fugl0025@umn.edu)
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