syllabus - Paul Trapnell

Introduction to Personality Psychology
Psychology 2300
(Section 001, MWF 10:30)
(Section 002, MWF 11:30)
Instructor: Dr. Paul Trapnell ("DrP")
Website: www.paultrapnell.com/2300
Text: Personality Psychology, by R. J. Larsen and D. M. Buss (5th Ed, 2014)
(Re: 4th edition: Although the 5th edition is likely to be more than 90% identical to the 4th edition, there
could be up to 2 or 3 questions on an exam based on 5th edition material not present in the 4th edition.)
Classroom:
1L12
Office: 4L39 • Office Hours: by appt. (use email below)
Email: paultrapnell@gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Lauren Lischka
Office: 4L42 • Office Hours: By appt. (use email above)
Course Description: This course introduces the general aspects of personality study. These may include (a) theories of
personality, (b) personality assessment from a psychometric perspective; and (c) past and present research on
personality processes and individual differences. Students should gain a good understanding of how the methods and
findings of correlational and experimental research contribute to the study of personality from a natural science
approach.
Evaluation: Course grades will be determined by 3 term tests and a discussion mark.
Term Tests: There will be 3 term tests. The first two are NON-CUMULATIVE, and worth 25% each toward the final
grade. The first will be given during the first week of February, and will cover chapters 1, 2, 3 and 5 in the textbook,
plus all lecture material, and any additional readings (if assigned) up to that date. Exam 1 is 50 questions, all multiple
choice.
EXAM 1:
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5
Monday, February 9thth
There are no classes during Reading Week, Feb. 16th through Feb. 20th. The university will be closed during
Tuesday, February 16th, Louis Riel Day.
The second term test will be given during the first week of March and will cover chapters 6 and 7 plus all lecture
material and any additional readings (if assigned) since the last test. Exam 2 is 50 questions, all multiple choice.
EXAM 2: Chapters 6 and 7
Monday, March 9th
The third test will be given in the final exam period, and is worth 38% of the final grade. Exam 3 has a total of 60
questions. The first 50 questions are all multiple choice, and cover only the material since the last exam. After those
50 question, there are 10 fill-in-the-blank questions based on the whole course. These 10 fill-in-the-blanks questions
target very basic course knowledge (“Letterman Top 10) sampled from each of the three segments of the course.
st
EXAM3: Chapter 8, 11, 19 ( Although lectures may not cover Chapter April 21 , 6-9pm, 1L12 (your class homeroom)
19, Personality Disorders, that chapter is required reading for Exam3.)
Note: The instructor reserves the right to slightly delay (e.g., by 1 lecture day) the date for each of the first 2 exams. If
that occurred, however, you would be notified about the date change 2 weeks in advance in the exam date.
Makeup exam: There is a common date for anyone writing a makeup exam. This will be Thursday, April 7th, at the
usual class time. There is no class lecture on this day—only students with permission to write a makeup exam will
attend on this day. Permission to write a makeup exam must be granted by the instructor. Any missed exam will result
in a mark of 0% unless the absence was excused by the instructor. Excused absences are those for medical, travel, or
family reasons, where the instructor has been notified prior to the start of the exam (e.g., by email). Students with an
excused absence from an exam will be permitted to write a makeup exam on the date above.
Discussion Groups
Approximately 6 times during the term, we will break into groups to discuss text/lecture material of that week. To
stimulate discussion, you will be responsible for coming up with 6 discussion questions+answers sampled widely from
available readings and lectures. Include a brief paragraph for each question (3-5 sentences) in which you discuss a
possible answer. You will hand in a written copy of your questions+answers to me at the beginning of that class,
approximately every two weeks. Your discussion questions+answers are worth 1 point each (for a total of 6 points). If
you demonstrate reasonable effort—e.g., evidence that you took the task seriously—for your discussion
questions+answers, and hand them in on time, you will receive the full 2 points. 1 point will be given if you hand them
in on time, but the amount of effort is deemed to be unsatisfactory. If you do not hand anything in, you will receive 0
points for the questions+answers submission requirement of that discussion period. [Please note that late submissions
of questions will not be accepted because their purpose is to assist stimulating the discussion sessions.]
You will also receive one attendance point for each discussion period you attend, or 6 attendance points, in total. The
total contribution of the discussion points to your final grade will be 6+6= 12, or 12% of your final grade. Note: If we
end up having only 5 discussion periods, the discussion points total will be weighted so that it remains 12% of the final
grade.
Discussion dates (every 2nd Friday class): Jan. 16,
Jan.30,
Feb. 13,
Mar. 6,
Apr. 3rd
Mar. 20,
The last lecture is Monday April 6th
Marks for each of the three tests will be reported to you on our class website at paultrapnell.com/2300 in percentage
format (/100). Total discussion mark will also be reported in percentage format at the end of the year. Final Grade=
.25*Exam1 + .25*Exam2 +. 38*Exam3 + .12*disc = 100%. The cut-offs for grading intervals are shown below.
Numerical Cut-Offs (using final marks expressed in percentage format (%) for Letter Grade Intervals
A+
95-100
A-
81-87
B
70-74
C
55-62
A
88-94
B+
75-80
C+
63-69
D
50-54
F
0-49
Please Note carefully:
1. The above cut-offs are tentative and may be changed in either direction. A department grading committee may, for
example, mandate a minor re-scaling of a grade distribution, although that does not happen very often.
2. The final date for voluntary withdrawals without penalty from a Winter session course is: Monday, March 3rd
3. Students are directed to read the general calendar sections on academic misconduct and appeals.
To prevent class disruptions, please make sure cell phone ringers are turned off. Attendance in university is
voluntary. If you attend class, you must respect others’ need for quiet during class. I must therefore reserve the right to
assess some sort of grading penalty (3-5% reduction of the final mark) for repeated disruptions of the lectures by a
class member after several warnings to cease such disruptions. I have never had the need to assess such a penalty,
thankfully, but this possibility must be noted in the service of protecting all students’ educational rights.