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Requirements

1.     Read the designated portions of the following texts:

        Carducci, B. J. (1998) The Psychology of Personality.  Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

        Carducci, B. J. (1998) Study Guide for the Psychology of Personality.  Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole

        Frick, W. B. (1991). Personality Theories: Journeys into self. (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.       

2.     Three examinations.  The final exam (exam #3) is not comprehensive.

3.     Quizzes.  Quizzes may be given on the scheduled first day we discuss a new chapter of the main text.  (The exceptions are on the days just after exams one and two---the quizzes may be on the second day following the exam.)  Please keep up with your reading.  Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Quizzes may have items from your Study Guide, so it may be wise to review these.

4.     Frick Assignments:  All students will complete a total of five (5) units in the Frick text.  Unit one will be completed by all students (“Childhood Recollections and Experiences”) by February 4.  Then, you will have a choice of completing four more from the units in the book. For maximum learning, make every effort to complete a unit in Frick while we are studying that theory in the Carducci text.  For example, do the Adler unit while we are reading and discussing chapter 4 (Jung and Adler) in Carducci.  [Special note:  If you have a used Frick text, and a unit has handwritten entries, cross out every page of the handwritten material so the instructor knows it is not your work.  Then, go ahead and complete other units of your choice in the book.  However, if you desire to complete a unit somebody has filled in, retype the unit questions on your computer, complete the answers, and then turn in the printout with the book at the designated time. All students will turn the books in for review, and the books will be returned to you. Know that they are for your eyes and my eyes only.

        Here are several other important points to remember about the Frick assignments:

        (a)   Do not carry out any particular exercise in a unit that calls for group discussion or involvement.  Simply omit that small section of the unit.  Your work on these units are strictly for your eyes and the instructor's eyes only. All that you write will be confidential.  However, we may take some class time to discuss the Frick assignments in a general way.

        (b)   Be prepared to hand in your Frick text at the designated times.  The “grace period” (discussed later in this syllabus) does not apply to the handwritten exercises in the Frick text.  Handing your book in late will mean that you lose some credit.

        (c)   On the outside of the front cover, write your name at the top on the white sticker which will be provided.

        (d)   Evaluation of these experiential exercises will depend on completeness (i.e. general effort), neatness and timeliness, rather than content.  Each of the five (5) assignments will count 10 points toward the final grade.

5.    Class Folder.   As a class, we will share an email class or public folder to communicate between classes and to carry on exchanges about questions and topics which get  posted.  Therefore it is important for you to check the folder at least once every 24 hours.  At times the instructor will post an internet or web site that relates to our course, along with several questions for discussion.  Or, you may be asked to search for a site that gives help in learning about the topic.  You are expected to make a minimum of 5 quality entries. Any postings of a mini-project (see below) do not count toward this total of 5 entries.   Grading for this level of active participation can result in a possible total of 25 points (5 points for each of 5 entries).   Decisions about credit are solely at the instructor’s discretion.  Responding to questions as part of an ongoing discussion, and finding/posting a new web site for others to explore, are intended to be an integral part of this course.  Your involvement here is part of the overall fun and participation in the course.  Cute greetings and precious language (e.g., "Yo dudes, how ya duen?") are not tolerated (receives no credit), nor are entries without proper punctuation.  Consider it an academic exercise and not just a communication among close friends.

[Special note 1 about accessing the discussion folder: The folder has been added to your e-mail account.  It will show up in the left panel of your screen as a folder labeled Psychology of Personality under Public Folders.  Follow this sequence: click on the plus sign next to Public Folders, then click on the plus signs for All Public Folders...Academic...Classes...Stevenson.D.  Click on "Psychology of Personality" and you are there.  The first messages from me explain several basic things to know.  Also, please reply according to the instructions there.]

[Special note 2 about form and frequency:  First, always include the date and time of your entry at the beginning of your entry, because it is not automatically done by your computer. We don't typically do that on emails, but, for this assignment, we will.  Second, you may not make more than one entry per day for credit. One recent semester a student made five entries during the final few minutes of the last day of classes and expected to get credit for it!   Of course, no one read them and it defeated the purpose of the assignment. So, the last day for entries is April 23 at 5 pm.]

6.    Personal Project or Case Study.   Choose one of the following options as your major project.   Both would take time and energy to complete, and both would be interesting, but do not do both. You will need to indicate your choice by February  9, so be thinking about this.

        a)     Personal Project.  Complete two standardized personality instruments: the NEO-PI-R and the 16PF.  After you complete both instruments by March 5, you will receive a more extensive handout describing how to proceed to finish the 7-8 page project.  It will involve recruiting several family members or friends to participate--people who know you well.  The emphasis is on evaluating your own personality by making predictions of your own profile and then comparing this to the results of the two instruments.  The handout is very detailed (about 12 pages) and will take you through the process step by step.

        b)    Case Study.  A written case study is a time-tested method of personality research, but is only "empirical" in a loose sense of the term.  There are many instances of individuals being evaluated according to some theoretical perspective, such as Freud's Cases on Hysteria and Allport's Letters to Jenny.  Such cases may also be viewed as a means to evaluate the theory's usefulness.   This project involves writing a 7-8 page case study on someone much older and whom you know very well.  You will select one theory, from among those we study in this course, and use information from your subject's life pattern of personality development to evaluate the theory.  Thus you are not evaluating the person but the theory.  A separate handout given later will explain the steps to follow.

        Remember that a decision as to which project you select is due February 9.