Personality Psychology (PSY 240)
Dr. Simine Vazire
University of Virginia
Fall Semester, 2006
Class Time & Location:
Office Hours & Location:
Contact:
Course website:
Tues & Thurs, 11:00 - 12:30 in GIL 130
Tues 4:30-5:30; Wed 2:00-3:00 pm or by appointment in GIL 217
Email: simine@gmail.com
www.simine.com/240
(check the website regularly)
Course Objectives
Personality refers to the patterns in individuals ways of behaving, thinking, and feeling, and the
psychological mechanisms that drive these patterns. This course will examine methods of personality
research, various approaches and theories (specifically: trait, biological, psychoanalytic, humanistic,
learning, and cognitive approaches) as well as contemporary research in personality (e.g., personality
change, personality judgment, and self-perception). The focus of the course will be on current empirical
research and modern theories of personality.
Required readings
 Funder, D.C. (2004). The personality puzzle (third edition). New York: Norton.
 Funder, D.C., & Ozer, D.J., Eds. (2004). Pieces of the personality puzzle: Readings in theory and
research (third edition). New York: Norton.
 Additional articles will be made available on the course website (these are required).
Exams
There will be 4 exams in this course. The best 3 out of 4 exam grades will be used to determine your total
exam grade. You can drop any of the exams for any reason BUT YOU MUST PASS THE LAST
EXAM (held on 12/14). If you do not pass the final exam, your score on that exam will count as one of
your 3 grades. If you do pass the final exam, then the best 3 grades will be used (irrespective of your
score on the final exam).
BECAUSE ONLY 3 OUT OF 4 EXAMS WILL DETERMINE THE TOTAL
EXAM GRADE, MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL NOT BE ADMINISTERED.
The format of the test will be multiple-choice questions and a few short-answer questions. You will be
tested on the content of the textbook and lectures (including demonstrations and videos). You are
learning a lot of material so don’t let the work pile up to the last day.
Test Dates
Test 1: Tuesday, 9/19
Test 2: Tuesday, 10/17
Test 3: Thursday, 11/9
Test 4: Thursday, 12/14 (you must pass this!)
The tests are cumulative in the sense that each section of the course is related to the others, so exam
questions will ask you to compare and contrast the various theories and research findings we discuss
throughout the course. Exam 4 covers all the theories in the course but will focus on the research
discussed in the last section of the course.
Grading
Exams: Each exam is worth 30% of your grade.
Assignments: There will be several short assignments. These are worth 10% of your grade.
Grade Break Down
90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; 0-59% = F
Experiment Participation
Requirements: Learning about Psychology requires reading, listening, and doing. You are required to have
participated in 6 hours of experimental research, or completed an equivalent alternative assignment, if you have not
already done so in a different 100 or 200-level Psychology course at UVA. This is referred to as The Participant
Pool Requirement. The Participant Pool Coordinators maintain records of completion, coordinate experiment
participation, and assist students with fulfilling the requirement. At the end of the semester, the coordinators will
give each professor a report noting the students who have and have not fulfilled the requirement.
The participant pool coordinators maintain the Participant Pool Website at:
http://www.virginia.edu/psychology/ppool/. To register or see personalized information, you will need to log on
using your email id and the last 5 digits of your social security number. Please note that the coordinators may not
have information about previous completion, so EVERY student should visit that website and log in to check and, if
needed, update their status. If you have any questions about this requirement or related issues, please check the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) available at the website. If your question is not answered, please fill out a
support request available at http://www.virginia.edu/psychology/ppool/support/, or email the coordinators at
ppool@virginia.edu.
Participant Rights: Your rights as a participant in psychological research are paramount and will be fully explained
to you when you register and when you arrive for a study. You have the right to refuse to participate or to
discontinue your participation at any time. If you decide after you arrive and consent to participate in a study that
you no longer wish to participate, you will still receive credit.
Keeping Appointments: Many research protocols are time-sensitive, so participation requires arriving at the study
location on-time. If you do need to cancel an appointment, be sure to do so within the study's cancellation time
limit. An additional experimental hour (beyond the 6 standard credit hours) will be required for each missed study
session.
Alternate Assignment: If you would prefer not to take part in studies, you can learn about research by reading and
summarize up to six articles (you will receive one hour for each article summarized). You may select articles from
any of the following journals: Journal of Social and Personality Psychology; American Psychologist; Psychological
Review; Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Psychological Bulletin; Developmental Psychology; and Psychological
Science. All journals can be found in university libraries and you should select articles that have been published
within this calendar year. Write a 1-2 page typed summary of the research question, methods, and findings of each
article, ending with at least one paragraph giving your own critique, or ideas for further research. Be sure to
photocopy the first page of the article, which must include an abstract and put it in the Participant Pool box in the
psychology department mailroom, Gilmer 103. It should require approximately one hour to complete each article
summary. Complete comprehension of all of the statistical analyses in the results section is not necessary. The
authors usually summarize the findings in English at the beginning of the discussion section.
Penalty: If you do not fulfill the participation requirement, you will receive a letter grade in the course that is one
grade lower than the grade derived from your final score (e.g., a B- would be a C+).
SYLLABUS
Day
Date
Topic
Readings
1
8-24
Intro
2
8-29
What is personality?
Ch. 1, McAdams; Sapolsky (11)
3
8-31
Sources of data: BLIS
Ch. 2
4
9-5
Sources of data: Research
Gosling et al.; Hofstee (5)
5
9-7
Reliability & Validity
Ch. 3
6
9-12
Research design
Furr (3); Gosling (4)
7
9-14
Interpreting results
Rosenthal & Rubin
8
9-19
EXAM 1
9
9-21
Personality traits & situationism
Ch. 4; Kenrick & Funder
10
9-26
Environmental influences
Plomin et al. (9)
11
9-28
Personality assessment
Ch. 5
12
10-3
Personality judgment
Ch. 6
13
10-5
Special topic: Everyday manifestations
Vazire & Gosling (14)
14
10-10
Many traits vs. essential traits
Ch. 7; Costa & McCrae
15
10-12
Big Five
Rauch; Paunonen & Jackson (8)
16
10-17
EXAM 2
17
10-19
Biological approach
Chs. 8 & 9; Dabbs et al.
18
10-24
Special topics: Twins & birth order
Jefferson et al. (7)
19
10-26
Psychoanalytic approach
Ch. 11
20
10-31
Special topic: Self-deception
Robins & John (10)
21
11-2
Culture (& personal constructs)
Ch. 14; Benet-Martinez & John
22
11-7
Learning & cognitive approaches
Chs. 15 & 17
23
11-9
EXAM 3
24
11-14
Research: Personality change
Srivastava et al. (13)
25
11-16
Research: Regional differences
Cohen et al. (2)
26
11-21
Research: Happiness & well-being
Holmes et al. (6)
27
11-28
Research: Status
Anderson et al. (1)
28
11-30
Research: Personality in relationships
Slatcher & Vazire (12)
29
12-5
Research: Results from class
Ch. 18
12-14
EXAM 4 at 9 a.m. in Gilmer 130