PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Course Goals: This course is designed to help you:
 Develop a thorough grasp of the basic concepts of personality psychology including its methods, theories,
experimental findings, and their applicability to your world.

Give you an understanding of the person as a whole in terms of structure, organization, and development.

Improve your skills in reading psychological research articles.
Class Meetings: MWF 11:00 pm- 11:50 pm, VAC 1B20
Instructor: Dr. Chelsea Pierotti
Office: Muenzinger E228
Email: Chelsea.Pierotti@colorado.edu
Office Hours:
 M 10:00 am-10:45 am

F 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Teaching Assistants:
 Sarah Hagerty (Sarah.Hagerty@colorado.edu) Office hours: Mon & Thurs 12-1pm MUEN X

Sean Hudson (Sean.M.Hudson@colorado.edu) Office hours: Tuesdays, 2-4pm, MUEN D350

Laura Michaelson (laura.michaelson@colorado.edu) Office hours: Wednesday 1:30-2:30 in MUEN D434
Textbook
There is no assigned textbook for this class but one is strongly encouraged and available in the bookstore:
Funder, D. C. (2013). The Personality Puzzle (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton.

Required weekly readings will include journal articles and book chapters and will be available on D2L.
Grading Scale Grades will be assigned based on the following percentages:
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A: 100%-93%
C: 77.4%-73%
A-: 92.4%-90%
C-: 72.4%-70%
B+: 89.4%-88%
D+: 69.4%-68%
B: 87.4%-83%
D: 67.4%-63%
B-: 82.4%-80%
D-: 62.4%-60%
C+: 79.4%-78%
F: Below 60%
PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Policies
Disabilities
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit a letter from Disability Services to
me in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that
your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu.
If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see guidelines at
http://disabilityservices.colorado.edu/general-information/temporary-injuries
Also: if you're struggling in my class and don't know why, if you're trying to study but can't concentrate, if
you're doing everything you can be to be a good student but you're still having difficulty, talk to disability services
and/or your academic advisor about getting tested for learning disabilities. I know a lot of people are ashamed to
reach out for help, but a diagnosis of a disability is not an admission of failure or a sign that you are worth less than
others.
Religious Observance
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and
fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or
required attendance. In this class, requests for special accommodations need to be presented in a timely manner: at
least one week prior to scheduled exams or other deadlines. See full details at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
Final Exam Policy
If you have three or more final exams scheduled on the same day, you are entitled to arrange an alternative
exam time for the last exam or exams scheduled on that day. To qualify for rescheduling final exam times, you must
provide evidence that you have three or more exams on the same day, and arrangements must be made with your
instructor no later than the end of the sixth week of the semester (Friday, February 20, 2015). For the complete final
examination policy, see the University of Colorado at Boulder Catalog.
Late Assignments Policy
Late assignments will be accepted, but there will be a 10% grade penalty for every day that the
assignment is turned in after the deadline (in other words, an assignment that would have earned a 90% but is
turned in 2 days late will instead earn a 70%).
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PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Academic Integrity
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the
academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic
dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be
reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in
violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and
non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other
information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at
http://honorcode.colorado.edu
Class Behavior
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those
who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty members have the professional
responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set
reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and
sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color,
culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age,
disability, and nationalities.
This classroom will thrive on respect. I promise to respect your time, intelligence, curiosity, and
investment in your education by preparing and delivering the best, most thorough, and most interesting course that I
can. In turn, please respect your fellow classmates, your TAs, your university, and me. To ensure that our class
functions, please participate in class discussions respectfully and calmly and do not disrupt the class (with cell phones,
conversations, obvious internet surfing, continuous texting, personal grooming, newspaper or book reading, indiscreet
eating, or any other behaviors that will disrupt the class or others' ability to pay attention).
Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to
address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that
I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
Discrimination & Harassment
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working,
and living environment. The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in admission and access to, and treatment and
employment in, its educational programs and activities. (Regent Law, Article 10, amended 11/8/2001). CU-Boulder
will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by
any employee or student. For purposes of this CU-Boulder policy, "Protected Classes" refers to race, color, national
origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran
status. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office of Discrimination and
Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at303-492-5550. Information about the
ODH, the above referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination
or harassment can be obtained athttp://hr.colorado.edu/dh/
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PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Assessment
Writing Assignment (10%)
There will be one written assignment in this class, which will count for 10% of your final grade. Essays are
expected to be original work (please refer to academic integrity policy above). Details of the assignments will be
discussed during class.
Survey Assignment (6%)
Before the end of the semester you will be required to complete an online survey. This survey, consisting of
several personality measures, will be used during the semester to help illustrate several course concepts with real data
and to advance personality research. By the end of the semester you will also receive a copy of your results for many
of the measures. The survey should take around an hour to complete.
Reading Responses (24%)
One of the major goals of this course is to increase your familiarity and comfort with reading and interpreting
psychological research journal articles. The assigned readings for the course are a mix of primary empirical articles,
qualitative comprehensive reviews, and quantitative meta-analytic reviews. In addition to reading the articles to help
answer test questions, you will be required over the course of the semester to show your comprehension of the
assigned readings by answering quiz questions. These questions will be available to answer through D2L. There are
six opportunities to fulfill this requirement during the semester, (therefore, each reading response counts 4 percent
toward your grade).
Examinations (60%)
There will be two exams during the semester (one midterm and one final). The midterm will count for 25%
of your grade and the final examination will count for 35% of your final grade. Examination questions will come from
lecture and assigned readings and the examination format will consist of short answer and short essay questions.
Exams are (mostly) not cumulative. Other than for reasons outlined in the policies above [religious accommodation
reasons (agreed upon ahead of time in writing) or short term disabilities approved by disability services] make up
examinations will not be given.
The midterm will cover all lectures and readings through week 8. The final will cover all lectures and readings
from week 9 through week 16.
Final Exam Date and Time: Wednesday, May. 6th, 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Optional Term Paper (Can replace your midterm grade)
You may choose to replace your score on the midterm by writing an optional term paper instead. If you
choose to do the paper, it is due on Wednesday, April 22nd (at 11:59pm) in the course dropbox. For this assignment,
no papers will be accepted after the due date. Specific guidelines for the paper will be discussed later in the course.
Extra Credit (Up to 3%)
Attending and participating in class will provide an opportunity for you to earn 3% extra credit toward your
final grade. Although lecture ‘gapped notes’ will be posted online, they are meant to serve as an outline to the lecture
and do not capture everything. Therefore, they will probably not be very useful if you miss class. Participation credit
will be measured with periodic clicker questions. Students who participate in 90% or more of the clicker questions
during the semester will receive extra credit worth 3% Clickers can be purchased at the CU bookstore.
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PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Theme
What is
Personality?
Parts &
Processes
Dispositional
&
Environmental
Influences on
Personality
The Big Five
Model in
Detail: Factors,
Facets, and
Applications
Dates
Topic
Week 1
Jan 12th
Introduction: What is
personality and how do you
measure it?
Personality Structure &
Personality Traits
Funder (2013), chap. 1 & 2
Greenhalgh (1997)
Jordan & Zanna (1999)
Dar-Nimrod et al. (2012)
Ozer & Benet-Martinez (2006)
Sherman et al. (2010)
Week 3
Jan 26th
The Five Factor Model
Week 4
Feb 2nd
How are Personalities
Perceived?
Ashton & Lee (2007)
John et al. (2008)
Funder (2013) chap. 7
Gosling et al. (2002).
Funder (1995)
Week 5
Feb 9th
Neuroscience, Genetics, and
Evolution
Week 6
Feb 16th
Personality Disorders
Week 7
Feb 23rd
Personality Development
Week 8
Mar 2nd
Personality and Culture
Week 9
Mar 9th
Openness and Creativity
Week 10
Mar 16th
Extraversion and Humor
Week 2
Jan 19th
Week 11
Mar 23rd
Week 12
Mar 30th
DeYoung et al. (2010)
Nettle (2006)
Gosling & John (1999)
Funder chap. 18 pp. 645-673
Leichsenring & Leibing (2003)
Widgier & Trull (2007)
Caspi et al. (2005)
Harris (1995)
Putnam et al. (2002)
Cheung et al. (2011)
Fulmer et al. (2010)
Plaut et al. (2012)
Amabile (2013)
Batey & Furnham (2006)
Gelkopf (2011)
Greengross & Miller (2009)
SPRING BREAK
Week 13
Apr 6th
Conscientiousness and
Motivation
DeSteno et al.(2013)
Lahey (2009)
O’Boyle et al. (2010)
Steel (2007)
Ryan & Deci (2000)
Week 14
Apr 20th
Agreeableness and
Relationships
Fletcher & Kerr (2010)
Hoyle et al. (2000)
Week 15
Apr 27th
Applications:
Personality & Sport
Personality & Crime
Readings TBA
Week 16
Finals
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Readings
Neuroticism and Emotion
FINAL
Wednesday May 6th
4:30p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Tests/ Deadlines/
Notes
No class MLK Day
(Jan 19)
Survey
Due Friday Jan 16th
Reading Response #1
Due Fri. Jan 30th
Reading Response #2
Due Fri. Feb 13th
Paper
Due Friday Feb 20th
Reading Response #3
Due Friday Feb 27th
Midterm:
Friday Mar 6th
Reading Response #4
Due Fri Mar 20th
Reading Response #5
Due Fri Apr 10th
Optional Term Paper Due
Wed. April 22nd
Reading Response #6
Due Fri May 1st
PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Readings Weekly readings include selections from primary journal articles and a textbook. The journal article
readings are available on the course D2L site. The full citations for the readings appear below.
Alison, L., Bennell, C., Mokros, A., & Ormerod, D. (2002). The personality paradox in offender profiling: A
theoretical review of the processes involved in deriving background characteristics from crime scene actions.
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 8, 115.
Allen, M. S., Greenlees, I., & Jones, M. (2013). Personality in sport: A comprehensive review. International Review of
Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6, 184-208.
Amabile, T.M. (2013). Componential Theory of Creativity. In E. H. Kessler (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Management
Theory. New York, NY: Sage Publications.
Andersen, S. M., & Chen, S. (2002). The relational self: an interpersonal social-cognitive theory. Psychological Review,
109, 619-645.
Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2007). Empirical, theoretical, and practical advantages of the HEXACO model of
personality structure. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11(2), 150-166.
Batey, M., & Furnham, A. (2006). Creativity, intelligence, and personality: A critical review of the scattered literature.
Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 132, 355-429.
Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of
Psychology, 56, 453-484.
Cheung, F. M., van de Vijver, F. J., & Leong, F. T. (2011). Toward a new approach to the study of personality in
culture. American Psychologist, 66, 593-603.
Dar-Nimrod, I., Hansen, I. G., Proulx, T., Lehman, D. R., Chapman, B. P., & Duberstein, P. R. (2012). Coolness: An
empirical investigation. Journal of Individual Differences, 33, 175-185.
DeSteno, D., Gross, J. J., & Kubzansky, L. (2013). Affective science and health: The importance of emotion and
emotion regulation. Health Psychology, 32, 474-486.
DeYoung, C. G., Hirsh, J. B., Shane, M. S., Papademetris, X., Rajeevan, N., & Gray, J. R. (2010). Testing Predictions
From Personality Neuroscience Brain Structure and the Big Five. Psychological Science, 21, 820-828.
Fletcher, G. J., & Kerr, P. S. (2010). Through the eyes of love: reality and illusion in intimate relationships.
Psychological bulletin, 136(4), 627.
Funder, D. C. (1995). On the accuracy of personality judgment: A realistic approach. Psychological review, 102, 652670.
Funder, D.C. (2013) The Personality Puzzle (6th ed.). New York, NY: Norton.
Gelkopf, M. (2011). The use of humor in serious mental illness: A review. Evidence-based Complementary and
Alternative Medicine, 2011. 1-8.
Gosling, S.D., Ko, S.J., Mannarelli, T., & Morris, M.E. (2002). Room with a cue: Personality judgments based on
offices and bedrooms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 379-398.
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PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Greengross, G., & Miller, G. F. (2009). The Big Five personality traits of professional comedians compared to
amateur comedians, comedy writers, and college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 79-83.
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and metaanalyses). British Medical Journal, 315, 672-675.
Harris, J. R. (1995). Where is the child's environment? a group socialization theory of development. Psychological
Review, 102, 458-489.
Hoyle, R. H., Fejfar, M. C., & Miller, J. D. (2000). Personality and sexual risk taking: A quantitative review. Journal of
Personality, 68, 1203-1231.
John, O. P., Naumann, L. P., & Soto, C. J. (2008). Paradigm shift to the integrative big five trait taxonomy. In O. P.
John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (eds.): Handbook of personality: Theory and research, 3rd. ed. (114-158).
New York, NY: Guilford.
Jordan, C. H. & Zanna, M. P. (1999) How to read a journal article in social psychology. In Baumeister (Ed.), The Self
in Social Psychology (pp. 461-470). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Lahey, B. B. (2009). Public health significance of neuroticism. American Psychologist, 64, 241.
Leichsenring, F., & Leibing, E. (2003). The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy in
the treatment of personality disorders: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1223-1232.
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5, 100.
Nettle, D. (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans and other animals. American Psychologist, 61(6),
622-631.
O'Boyle, E. H., Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., & Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between
emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 788818.
Ozer, D. J., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review
of Psychology, 57, 401-421.
Peterson, C. P., Seligman, E. P., Yurko, K. H., Martin, L. R., Friedman, H. S. (1998). Catastrophizing and Untimely
Death. Psychological Science, 9, 127-130.
Plaut, V. C., Markus, H. R., Treadway, J. R., & Fu, A. S. (2012). The cultural construction of self and well-being A
Tale of Two Cities. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 1644-1658.
Putnam, S. P., Sanson, A. V., & Rothbart, M. K. (2002). Child temperament and parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (ed.),
The Handbook of Parenting, Volume 1, Children and Parenting. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and
Associates.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social
development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
Sherman, R. A., Nave, C. S., & Funder, D. C. (2010). Situational similarity and personality predict behavioral
consistency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 330-343.
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PSYC 3456: Psychology of Personality Spring 2015 Syllabus
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory
failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 65-94.
Widiger, T. A., & Trull, T. J. (2007). Plate tectonics in the classification of personality disorder: shifting to a
dimensional model. American Psychologist,62, 71-83.
Optional Readings
Gosling, S.D. & John, O.P. (1999). Personality dimensions in non-human animals: A cross-species review. Current
Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 69–75.
Heine, S. J., Buchtel, E. E., & Norenzayan, A. (2008). What do cross-national comparisons of personality traits tell us?
The case of conscientiousness. Psychological Science, 19, 309-313.
Terracciano, A., Abdel-Khalek, A.M., Ádám, N., Adamovová, L., Ahn, C.-k., Ahn, H.-n., Alansari, B.M., Alcalay, L.,
Allik, J., Angleitner, A., Avia, M.D., Ayearst, L.E., Barbaranelli, C., Beer, A., Borg-Cunen, M.A., Bratko, D.,
Brunner-Sciarra, M., Budzinski, L., Camart, N., Dahourou, D., De Fruyt, F., de Lima, M.P., del Pilar, G.E.H.,
Diener, E., Falzon, R., Fernando, K., Ficková, E., Fischer, R., Flores-Mendoza, C., Ghayur, M.A., Gülgöz, S.,
Hagberg, B., Halberstadt, J., Halim, M.S., Hebíková, M., Humrichouse, J., Jensen, H.H., Jocic, D. D.,
Jónsson, F.H., Khoury, B., Klinkosz, W., Kneevi, G., Lauri, M.A., Leibovich, N., Martin, T.A., Marušic, I.,
Mastor, K.A., Matsumoto, D., McRorie, M., Meshcheriakov, B., Mortensen, E.L., Munyae, M., Nagy, J.,
Nakazato, K., Nansubuga, F., Oishi, S., Ojedokun, A. O., Ostendorf, F., Paulhus, D.L., Pelevin, S., Petot, J.M., Podobnik, N., Porrata, J.L., Pramila, V.S., Prentice, G., Realo, A., Reátegui, N., Rolland, J.-P., Rossier, J.,
Ruch, W., Rus, V.S., Sánchez-Bernardos, M.L., Schmidt, V., Sciculna-Calleja, S., Sekowski, A., ShakespeareFinch, J., Shimonaka, Y., Simonetti, F., Sineshaw, T., Siuta, J., Smith, P.B., Trapnell, P.D., Trobst, K.K.,
Wang, L., Yik, M., Zupani, A., & McCrae, R.R. (2005). National character does not reflect mean personality
trait levels in 49 cultures. Science, 310, 96-100.
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