COURSE OUTLINE: PSY 305
Fall 2013
1
KOC UNIVERSITY
PSY 305: PERSONALITY THEORIES
Instructor
: Asst. Prof. Dr. Banu Çankaya
Email
: bcankaya@ku.edu.tr
Phone
: Ext. 1894
Office
: SOS 262
Office Hours
: T, Th 13-14, or by appointment
Class Time & Place
: T, Th 9:30-10:45 at CAS B35
Textbook :
Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2009). Personality: Classic theories and
modern research (4th Edition). Allyn and Bacon.*
*Additional brief readings for specific weeks will be assigned throughout semester. You will find e-copies of
these reading on KUAIS.
*A list of readings for students who are interested in reading more than class assignments is available upon
request.
Course Description: This course covers a brief overview of the history and methodology of the study of
personality and a detailed inquiry and discussion of ‘how to describe who a person is’, and ‘what makes this
person different from others,’ from the perspective of major personality theories, both traditional and modern.
Descriptive and causal aspects of individual differences will be discussed from the standpoint of major theories
of personality; including, psychoanalytic, neoanalytic, cognitive, cognitive-social, behavioral learning, humanist,
and trait-theory approaches. In reviewing modern perspectives in personality, we will address current standing of
personality theories and highlight critical and complex influences that affect variation in personality processes
and development (like culture, situation and person interaction, gender, stability vs state factors, common vs
individual focus). In short, the objectives of this course are for you to attain knowledge about the major theories,
both traditional and modern and to critically evaluate conceptual and empirical considerations in the area of
personality psychology that extends our understanding of human behavior, cognition, and emotion. By the end of
the course, you will have knowledge about various models of personality processes and development, and the
complex influences of various critical factors which help explain variations in human behavior, thoughts, and
feelings. Furthermore, you will be able to apply these models of personality and consideration of critical factors
to individual cases, and do so based on a critical evaluation of propositions of different major theories of
personality and relevant up-to-date research findings.
Course Structure: Classes will be a mixture of lecture, in-class activities, and group discussions. You are
expected to follow the course outline, to read the assigned chapter before coming to class, and to participate
actively in the discussion of varied topics.
Course Requirements and Evaluation
1.Participation: Students are required to attend classes regularly. If you are absent from class, you are still
responsible for learning the material of the missed lecture, and turning in any assignment that might be due. You
are responsible for being prepared to actively participate in the course and discuss course subject materials
during lecture.
2. Theory application paper: Please choose a person you know (person to remain anonymous) or a character in
a movie or in a book, and explain his/her development in terms of two different personality perspectives
(choosing from the many perspectives covered in the text.) It should be a minimum of 7 pages in content, it
should contain empirical evidence for your chosen perspectives (please a minimum of five references), and it
should be written in APA format. Details about the expected format and content of the paper will be provided as
a separate handout and will be posted on our KUAIS course page.
3. Examinations: The format of the exams is multi-faceted and may include the following types of questions:
Multiple-choice, matching, definition, fill in the blank, and short- and long- essay questions. The instructor will
inform you of the types of questions prior to the exam. The questions will be based on material covered in
lectures (i.e., video, class discussion) and assigned readings.
COURSE OUTLINE: PSY 305
Fall 2013
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2
Participation: Pop-quizzes (to be randomly administered on the assigned readings for that class period
only), in-class activities (collected for proof of participation), attendance.
Mid-term exams and final exam: Non-cumulative.
4. Make-up exam: All make-up exams must be approved in advance. Make-up exams will be given only under
special circumstances (e.g., medical, family emergency, etc.) consistent with University policy only in the case
of well-documented, official excused absences. There will be no exceptions. Except in cases of very serious
illness, notification of the missed exam must be given within two days following the scheduled exam. If nothing
else, make sure you call me if you are still too ill to come to school. Make-up exams may have a different
format than the original exam. If you do miss an exam and have no valid excuse, you will be assigned a 0 for
that exam.
5. Grading:
_____________________________________________________________
Source of Credit
% of Course Grade
_____________________________________________________________
Participation
10 %
Theory application paper
20 %
2 midterms (non-cumulative)
45 % (First 20%, Second 25 %)
Final exam (non-cumulative)
25 %
_____________________________________________________________
Your final grade will be assigned according to the following scale:
_____________________________________________________________
A
AB+
B
B-
=4
=3.7
=3.3
=3
=2.7
90 – 100
87 - 89
83 – 86
80 - 82
77 – 79
C+
=2.3
73 - 76
C
=2
70 - 72
C=1.7
67 - 69
D+
=1.3
64 - 66
D
=1
60 - 63
F
=0
00 - 59
____________________________________________________________
6. Academic Honesty: All students are expected to read and follow the Koç University guidelines regarding
academic conduct. Any student in violation of these guidelines will (e.g., cheating during an exam, plagiarizing),
where circumstances merit, immediately receive a grade of F and be referred to the disciplinary committee for
further review. More details are provided at the end of this document.
Tentative Schedule
1
Date
Lecture Topics
Assignments
Sep 17
Overview and introduction. And what is
Part I, Ch 1
personality?
2
3
4
Sep 19
What is personality?
Part I, Ch 1
Sep 24
How is personality studied and assessed?
Part I, Ch 2
Sep 26
Conference / No class / Make-up class TB
Oct 1
How is personality studied and assessed?
Part I, Ch 2
Oct 3
Psychoanalytic aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 3
Oct 8
Psychoanalytic aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 3
Oct 10
Psychoanalytic aspects of personality and
Part II, Ch 3
Neoanalytic/ego aspects of personality
and Ch 4
COURSE OUTLINE: PSY 305
Fall 2013
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6
MT1
7
8
3
Oct 15 & 17
KURBAN BAYRAMI /HOLIDAY
Oct 22
Neo-analytic and ego aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 4
Oct 24
Biological aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 5
Oct 29
HOLIDAY
Oct 31
Biological aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 5
Nov 5
Behaviorist and learning aspects of
Part II, Ch 6
personality
Nov 7
Behaviorist and learning aspects of
Part II, Ch 6
personality
9
Nov 12
Cognitive and social-cognitive aspects of
Part II, Ch 7
personality
OPTIONAL Nov 14
Cognitive and social-cognitive aspects of
PAPER
personality
Part II, Ch 7
DRAFT
DUE
10
Nov 19
Cognitive and social-cognitive aspects of
Part II, Ch 7
personality
11
MT2
12
13
14
15
PAPER
DUE
Nov 21
Traits aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 8
Nov 26
Traits aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 8
Nov 28
Humanistic, existential aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 9
Dec 3
Humanistic, existential, aspects of personality
Part II, Ch 9
Dec 5
Person-situation interactionist aspects
Part II, Ch 10
Dec 10
Person-situation interactionist aspects
Part II, Ch 10
Dec 12
Applications: Male-female differences
Part III, Ch 11
Dec 17
Applications: Male-female differences
Part III, Ch 11
Dec 19
Applications: Culture, religion, ethnicity
Part III, Ch 13
Dec 24
Applications: Health
Part III, Ch 14
Dec 26
Applications: Love and hate
Part III, Ch 14
COURSE OUTLINE: PSY 305
Fall 2013
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Koç University
Statement on Academic Honesty
with Emphasis on Plagiarism
Koç University expects all its students to perform course-related activities in accordance with
the rules set forth in the Student Code of Conduct (http://vpaa.ku.edu.tr/academic/studentcode-of-conduct). Actions considered as academic dishonesty at Koç University include but
are not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and impersonating. This statement’s goal is
to draw attention to cheating and plagiarism related actions deemed unacceptable within the
context of Student Code of Conduct:
All individual assignments must be completed by the student himself/herself, and all team
assignments must be completed by the members of the team, without the aid of other
individuals. If a team member does not contribute to the written documents or participate in
the activities of the team, his/her name should not appear on the work submitted for
evaluation.
Plagiarism is defined as ‘borrowing or using someone else’s written statements or ideas
without giving written acknowledgement to the author’. Students are encouraged to conduct
research beyond the course material, but they must not use any documents prepared by current
or previous students, or notes prepared by instructors at Koç University or other universities
without properly citing the source. Furthermore, students are expected to adhere to the
Classroom Code of Conduct (http://vpaa.ku.edu.tr/academic/classroom-code-of-conduct) and
to refrain from all forms of unacceptable behavior during lectures. Failure to adhere to
expected behavior may result in disciplinary action.
There are two kinds of plagiarism: Intentional and accidental. Intentional plagiarism
(Example: Using a classmate’s homework as one’s own because the student does not want to
spend time working on that homework) is considered intellectual theft, and there is no need to
emphasize the wrongfulness of this act. Accidental plagiarism, on the other hand, may be
considered as a ‘more acceptable’ form of plagiarism by some students, which is certainly not
how it is perceived by the University administration and faculty. The student is responsible
from properly citing a source if he/she is making use of another person’s work. For an
example on accidental plagiarism, please refer to the document titled “An Example on
Accidental Plagiarism”.
If you are unsure whether the action you will take would be a violation of Koç University’s
Student Code of Conduct, please consult with your instructor before taking that action.
An Example on Accidental Plagiarism
COURSE OUTLINE: PSY 305
Fall 2013
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This example is taken from a document prepared by the City University of New York.
The following text is taken from Elaine Tyler May’s ‘Myths and Realities of the American
Family’:
“Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage,
single mothers rarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And
because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children,
even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain
woefully inadequate.”
Below, there is an excerpt from a student’s homework, who made use of May’s original text:
“As Elaine Tyler May points out, “women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that
men earn the family wage” (588). Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and
their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers
stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still “woefully inadequate.”
(May 589)”.
You may think that there is no plagiarism here since the student is citing the original author.
However, this is an instance of accidental plagiarism. Although the student cites May and
uses quotation marks occasionally, the rest of the sentences, more specifically the following
section: “Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately.
Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children,
facilities for day care in this country are still “woefully inadequate.” (May 589)” almost
exactly duplicates May’s original language. So, in order to avoid plagiarism, the student either
had to use quotation marks for the rest of the sentences as well, or he/she had to paraphrase
May’s ideas by using not only his/her own words, but his/her own original ideas as well. You
should keep in mind that accidental plagiarism often occurs when the student does not really
understand the original text but still tries to make use of it. Understanding the original text and
understanding why you agree or disagree with the ideas proposed in that text is crucial both
for avoiding plagiarism and for your intellectual development.
Reference(s):
Avoiding and Detecting Plagiarism: A Guide for Graduate Students and Faculty.
The Graduate Center. City University of New York, 2012. Web.
<http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-GraduateCenter/PDF/Publications/AvoidingPlagiarism.pdf>