Psychology 2550B-001 (Online for 2020-21)

Introduction to Personality Theory and Research

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

A survey of the history, methodology and content of the study of individual differences. Topics to be covered include: evaluation of typical personality assessment methods and a consideration of modern empirical research in personality theory and assessment.

Prerequisites: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level.

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

Antirequisite: Psychology 2050 if taken before 2016. 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

4 lecture hours; 0.5 course 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Anita Feher | Email: afeher2@uwo.ca 

 

Office Hours: After class on Wednesdays or by appointment.  

 

Please send an email if you have any questions or if you would like to set up a meeting.  

Please include the course code (PSYCH 2550B) in all subject lines. 

 

 

Teaching Assistant: Kristi MacDonald | Email: kmacd252@uwo.ca 

 

Office Hours: By appointment 

 

 

Time and Location of Classes: Mondays & Wednesdays: 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.  

The course format will consist of live online lectures (i.e., synchronous lectures) hosted Mondays and Wednesdays via Zoom. 

 

Before each class I will post a Zoom link on OWL, and you will click on that link to join the Zoom meeting and listen and participate in the lecture. There are no labs or tutorials. Lectures will be recorded and posted on OWL. 

 

All of the remote learning sessions for this course will be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings.  

Participants in this course are not permitted to record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the participant has the prior written permission of the instructor

                                                                                   

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

The following textbook will be used for this course: 

 

Title: Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature 

Authors: Randy J. Larsen, David M. Buss, David King, Carolyn Ensley 

Edition: 2nd Canadian Edition (this edition is required) 

 

Link to textbook on UWO Bookstore: 

https://bookstore.uwo.ca/textbook-search?campus=UWO&term=W2020B&courses%5B0%5D=001_UW/PSY2550B 

 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course covers the history, methodology, and content of the study of personality and individual differences. Topics that will be covered in the course include an introduction to personality theories, an examination of frequently studied personality and individual difference variables, and a consideration of current research and assessment methods. Throughout the course, students will develop knowledge, understanding, and the ability to critically evaluate personality-relevant material. 

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Learning Outcome  

Learning Activity  

Assessment 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

  • PERSONALITY THEORIES: By the end of this course students will be able to discuss, compare, and critically examine major personality theories and how they were developed, and also how they are relevant to modern society and social concerns.  
  • PERSONALITY TRAITS: By the end of this course students will understand and be able to compare and contrast commonly assessed personality traits and individual difference variables, and will also be able to discuss intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes associated with these variables. 

 

  • Lectures 

 

  • Assigned readings 

 

  • Tests/Exam 

Knowledge of Methodologies.  

  • PERSONALITY RESEARCH: By the end of the course students will have a comprehensive understanding of how personality research in psychology is conducted, and be able to compare various personality assessment methods and personality-relevant research designs. 

 

  • Lectures 

 

  • Assigned readings 

 

  • Tests/Exam 

Application of Knowledge.  

  • REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS: By the end of this course students will be able to understand how classroom material applies to real world outcomes and how classroom material connects to life experiences. 

 

  • Lectures 

 

 

 

  • Participation 

 

5.0     EVALUATION

Test 1 = 30% 

Test 2 = 30% 

 

This course contains 2 online tests. Test 1 will be available to complete asynchronously on February 8th, and Test 2 will be available to complete asynchronously on March 15th. Once started, both Test 1 and Test 2 will have a time limit and cannot be paused or stopped, and students will not be able to return to questions that have already been presented. All students are required to complete the tests independently. Tests will consist of multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Both tests will be completed online through OWL. 

 

Both Test 1 and Test 2 are designed to be non-cumulative and will cover lecture content and readings leading up to the test. For Test 1 this means material from January 11th – February 3rd, and for Test 2 this means material from February 10th – March 10th. However, due to the nature of the field of psychology, there may be overlap in concepts, ideas, and continuity of theory.  

 

Makeup tests: To avoid receiving a grade of zero, all tests must be written on the assigned day, unless there is a legitimate and documented excuse for someone’s absence. Please refer to Section 9.0 in the syllabus for the university policy regarding make-up tests. Students who have received approval from Academic Counselling/Dean’s Office regarding their absence or correctly used a Self-Reported Absence may reach out to the instructor to schedule a makeup test time. Please note that makeup tests may consist of different types of questions than the original test (e.g., may contain short answer questions).  

 

 

Final Exam = 30% 

 

The final exam will be completed during the final exam period (please check the Exam Schedule/Announcements for the date and time). The final exam will be completed online through OWL.  The final exam will have a time limit and cannot be paused or stopped, and students will not be able to return to questions that have already been presented. All students are required to complete the final exam independently. The final exam will consist of multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions.  

 

The final exam is designed to be non-cumulative and will cover lecture content and readings leading up to the exam (March 17th – April 12th). However, due to the nature of the field of psychology, there may be overlap in concepts, ideas, and continuity of theory. 

 

Makeup final exam: To avoid receiving a grade of zero, the final exam must be written on the assigned day and time, unless there is a legitimate and documented excuse for someone’s absence. Please refer to Section 9.0 in the syllabus for the university policy regarding make-up exams. Students who have received approval from Academic Counselling/Dean’s Office regarding their absence may reach out to the instructor to schedule a makeup exam time. Please note that the makeup exam may consist of different types of questions than the original final exam (e.g., may contain short answer questions).  

 

 

Participation = 10% 

 

Participation in the course will be assessed through participation in online discussion forums on OWL. Students are required to participate in 5 discussion forums throughout the course (worth 2% each). Participation in the discussion forum will consist of providing two responses for each week of participation: (1) a response to that week’s discussion question, (2) a response to a classmate. You can choose which weeks to participate, however only the first 5 participation attempts will be graded. Please ensure you have properly completed 5 participation attempts before the end of term, as there is no make-up participation. 

 

Discussion questions will be posted every week (from weeks 2 to 12) on OWL under Forums. Each week, the discussion forum will open Monday after class at 6:30 pm and close Wednesday evening at 11:55pm. Participation responses submitted after the forum has closed will not be graded.  

 

Students will be asked to respond by writing approximately 100 - 200 words in response to the discussion question and to also write approximately 100 – 200 words in response to one of their classmate’s answers. Discussion posts will be graded (assigned a grade out of 2) according to the quality of the discussion posts and held to an appropriate average. A grading rubric will be provided before the first discussion opens. 

 

 

Please note: according to departmental policy, grades in this course will not be rounded. 

 

Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:

70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail


6.0  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

Test 1: 30% (February 8, 2020) 

 

Test 2: 30% (March 15, 2020) 

 

Final Exam:30% (Final Exam Period) 

 

Participation:10% (throughout course) 

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

The following schedule is a guideline only and may be subject to change. Please ensure you monitor announcements on OWL in order to receive updates about any revisions. 

 

 

MONDAY 

WEDNESDAY 

Week 1 

 

Reading: Ch. 1 

Jan. 11 

 

Introduction to the Course 

Jan. 13 

 

Introduction to Personality 

Week 2 

 

Reading: Ch. 9 

Jan. 18 

 

Psychodynamic Theories I 

Jan. 20 

 

Psychodynamic Theories II 

Week 3 

 

Reading: Ch. 12 (pages: 392-395) 

Jan. 25 

 

Behaviorist Theories 

Jan. 27 

 

Social-Cognitive Theories 

Week 4 

 

 

Reading: Ch. 11 (pages: 351-366) 

Feb. 1 

 

Humanistic Theories I 

Guest Lecture Segment: Katherine Irwin, M.Psy., RP (Qualifying) 

Feb. 3 

 

Humanistic Theories II 

 

 

Week 5 

 

Reading: Ch. 3 

Feb. 8 

 

TEST 1 

Feb. 10 

 

Trait Theories I 

Reading Week: No Class Feb. 13 – 21 

Week 6 

 

Reading: Ch. 4 & 5 (select pages TBA) 

Feb. 22 

 

Trait Theories II 

 

Feb. 24 

 

Personality Questions Answered 

 

Week 7 

 

Reading: Ch. 2 

Mar. 1 

 

Research/Measurement I 

Mar. 3 

 

Research/Measurement II 

Week 8 

 

Reading: Ch. 14 

Mar. 8 

 

Personality & Self I 

Mar. 10 

 

Personality & Self II 

Week 9 

 

Reading: Ch. 17  

(select pages TBA) 

Mar. 15 

 

TEST 2 

Mar. 17 

 

Personality & Culture 

Week 10 

 

Reading: Ch. 15 (select pages TBA) 

Mar. 22 

 

Personality & Others I 

Mar. 24 

 

Personality & Others II 

Week 11 

 

Ch. 18 & 19 

(select pages TBA) 

Mar. 29 

 

Personality & Health I 

Mar. 31 

 

Personality & Health II 

 

Week 12 

 

Ch. 12 & 13 

(pages: 396-399 & 430-436) 

Apr. 5 

 

Intelligence 

Guest Lecture: Dr. Tony Vernon 

 

Apr. 7 

 

Emotional Intelligence 

Week 13 

 

No readings 

Apr. 12 

 

Applications of Personality 

 

 

Final Exam: During Final Exam Period 

 

8.0  STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

 

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

 

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offences. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com).

 

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.

 

Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

 

9.0  POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES

 

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

 

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
  • For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

 

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

 

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
  • must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hoursafter the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence

 

10.0      Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.

 

11.0      STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE

 

In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:

  • please “arrive” to class on time
  • please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
  • please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
  • to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
  • In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
  • In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
  • Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting

 

The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:

  • If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
  • Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
  • Self-identify when speaking.
  • Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).

 

General considerations of “netiquette”:

  • Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
  • Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
  • Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
  • Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.

 

Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.

 

12.0      OTHER INFORMATION

 

Office of the Registrar: http://registrar.uwo.ca 

 

Student Development Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca

 

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

 

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct

- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations

- Policy on Attendance

- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines

- Policy for Assignments

- Short Absences

- Extended Absences

- Documentation

- Academic Concerns

- 2020-2021 Calendar References

 

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.