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Extra Credit Possibilities

      Here are several ways by which you may gain some extra credit in this course, if you have completed (or expect to complete) all of the required elements of the course.  That is, you may not substitute some extra credit points in lieu of writing one of the required papers or taking an exam.

        a)   Attendance at class is presumed and you are responsible for information given in this forum.  But you can get extra credit for being there!  We keep records of attendance every day, but six class periods will be selected randomly--three at mid-semester and three at the end.  You will receive one point for each of those random days you were present, and, if you missed none of the six randomly selected days, you get a bonus of four points, for a total possible of 10 points extra credit.  HOWEVER, if you miss more than four class periods for the entire semester, you forfeit all extra credit opportunities offered in this syllabus.

                  (NOTE: It is your responsibility to be sure you have signed the attendance sheet each day, even if you happen to arrive late.  Once we have left the classroom, the attendance is decided for the day.  Thus someone may not explain to me at the next class meeting that she really was present, but forgot to sign in.  And while we are speaking about attendance, please know that your integrity is on the line and that the honor code should be followed when the sheet is passed around class.  You must sign your own initials only--and for that day only.)

         b)  Another way to achieve more substantial extra credits is to do one of the following three mini-projects.  Each would take about the same amount of time, in my judgment, and either one can earn up to 15 extra credit points, if done well.  Evaluation will be 15=superior, 13-14=very good, 11-12=acceptable, 10=barely acceptable (below 10 receives no credit).   Remember, you do not have to do any of these!!

                                1) Rorschach Ink Blot  mini-project.  Read about Hermann Rorschach and how he got started using ink blots.  Among any other sites, check out <www.phil.gu.se/fu/ro.html>.  This project involves first understanding about the background, theory, and technique of "Rorschaching," then moving ahead to make your own “instrument,” collecting data from some friends, and finally completing a three page summary of your findings.  What I am about to ask you to do is not the way a true Rorschacher would proceed.  There are very complex scoring procedures.  The first time I gave a full Rorschach (ten blots) it took me more than 12 hours to score and interpret the results.  With practice I got it down to several hours.  So, do not assume your results will confirm or disconfirm the usefulness of the Rorschach technique.

                                  First, make ONE ink blot by folding a piece of full-sized, plain white paper in half and pouring a little black ink on one side of the fold. Then fold the paper down on the ink so a symmetrical ink blot appears in the middle of the page.  You may have to experiment a little and do it several times before you have a usable blot. Make about 12 photocopies of your blot after it dries.

                                  Standardize the ink blot by asking ten friends, each interviewed separately, to look at the blot as you say these words exactly: “What might this be?”  Hand them one copy, and as they talk, have a separate copy on which you can write.  Record on your copy--one clean one for each friend--their descriptions of what they say and indicate where they see it.

                                  Summarize your findings in a short paper of about 750 words, which is normally about three double-spaced pages.  However, you should single-space this assignment because it will be posted in the shared folder and take less space. The first 25% of the paper should be introduction and a summary of what you found out about Hermann Rorschach and his technique.  In the middle 50% explain any common or typical responses to the blot, compare the number and types of content in their responses, and perhaps share one or two unique responses.  Knowing your friends, you might try categorizing them beforehand as, say, introverts versus extraverts, and see if one group gives different responses from the other.  Or, select some other way to make pre-test categories for comparison (see me, I have some ideas).  The final 25% should give your reactions to doing all this and what you learned.

                                  Post your paper in our class email folder for all of us to read.  The same day send a hard copy to me with a copy of the blot.  Both must be done for consideration of extra credit. (Your classmates will want to see your blot, so let’s make an overhead of it and we will view it in class.)  I hope you find the activity enjoyable and instructive, even though it is not highly reliable and valid.

                                2) Biography mini-project.  There are many dozens of personality psychologists around the country (and world) who specifically teach and research many of the concepts we learn about in this course.  One fun website by Dr. G. Scott Acton, of Northwestern University, is called Great Ideas in Personality.  Use the following address to go to his list of active researchers in personality, with hyperlinks to their home pages:

                                <www.personalityresearch.org >

                                Click on "psychologists" under the "General Personality" category at the left of the home page.  Select one of these researchers on whom to write a short biography to post in the class folder.  However, do not select any of the following six researchers, since students recently did:  J. Michael Bailey, Henry Stein, Robert Sternberg, Howard Friedman, Timothy Trull, Lisa Feldman Barrett. To avoid two students selecting the same person, announce your selection in the class folder early in the semester.  No one else may use your researcher for this mini-project.  Your report will be no more than 750 words (about three double-spaced pages) but you may use single-spacing to save space when you post it in the shared folder.

                                  The first 25% of the report will be about the researcher from information you gather from his/her website.  The middle 50% will discuss his/her current research interests, either gleaned from your web search or by e-mailing the researcher and finding out! If you do use e-mail for contact, explain who you are very briefly, where you go to school, and that you are doing a report on his/her general research program. (Of course it would be helpful for you to have read at least one article by the psychologist so you know something about the line of research.  These will probably be listed online in the author’s curriculum vitae.)  Ask simply: “What is your current research project and what are you hoping to find? Are your students involved, and if so, how?”  That should be enough information.  You don’t want to ask for an extensive response--make it short and courteous. The final 25% will be your reaction to this little project and what you have learned by doing it.

                                  Post the report in the class folder and the same day send a hard copy to me.  It must be filed both places for the credit.  Make it creative, fun-to-read, and even humorous, if that is your style.

  3)  “The Rest of the Story…” Paper.   Yet another option is to write a 500-750 word paper following the style and format which Paul Harvey does when he creates his “The Rest of the Story” radio spots.  You have probably heard Harvey tell an interesting episode in a person’s life (unknown and cleverly disguised , at first).  At the end, the famous person’s identity is revealed in such a way as to create the surprise ending.  The last words usually are, “ … and now you know the rest of the story.” Your task is to read about the life of one of the theorists we study (through Internet sources or library sources) and write a light-hearted, factual, and perhaps clever, paper which is similar in style to Paul Harvey’s famous stories, but just a bit longer.  Click here to read two examples created by Paul Harvey.  They illustrate how informal, fun and detailed you might be in crafting your "Rest of the Story" paper.   Or, you can hear current radio spots on WHAM 1180 AM (from Rochester) at 8:30 am and 5:30 pm.  When you choose to write this option, submit the paper on hard copy, and the same day, post the paper in the class folder (be sure it is single spaced to save space).  As with the other two options, the extra credit may total up to 15 points.

                The following theorists are on the approved list: Freud, Adler, Jung, Horney, Allport, Eysenck, Cattell, McCrae, Costa,  Maslow, Rogers, Bandura, Rotter, Mischel.