(Ver. 2023/8/22)
一、課程說明 (Course Description)
We’ll talk about both classic and modern personality theories one by one, in their historical order, starting from the (in)famous Freud. Along the journey, I’ll also supplement the theories with their historical contexts, to illustrate the social backgrounds that motivated the theorists. Finally, as you might be imagining, this course of personality is going to be more abstract than concrete than most other courses in psychology. Acknowledged, personality psyc has always been on the philosophical side of the family. I’ll nonetheless encourage you to take this opportunity to really train your theoretical eyes, to fly beyond empirical manifestations of the mind in everyday life, and to get to the core of this body of knowledge that the whole psychology enterprise is built upon. By so doing, you’ll finally transform into a psychologist.
二、指定用書 (Text Books)
Personality Theory in a Cultural Context (Click on the link!)
-- https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/personality-theory-in-a-cultural-context
We will use this open textbook that you can read online or download at the link. It’s on eLearn too. Why the textbook? It’s FREE! (And well written of course.)
三、參考書籍 (References)
I’ll periodically post news articles I come across on eLearn. They’re usually, but not limited to, discussions of new scientific findings, reflections on our world today based on science, and reports of anecdotes that I find relevant to our course. You’re NOT required to read these posts and they’ll NOT be on exams or assignments, unless otherwise announced.
四、教學方式 (Teaching Method)
Course format: Our course time will be split between lectures, discussions, and in-class activities. You are expected to keep up with the reading and assignments, to be engaged in class when a discussion is called for, and to contribute to in-class activities.
Course website: The course website is located on eLearn. Announcements and course materials will be posted there. You will also find supplementary reading, if any, on eLearn.
Attendance: I don’t take attendance, although it is strongly recommended, because you won’t be able to find all the materials presented in class in the textbooks and yes, all of them can be on exams. You are responsible for all materials covered in class as well as housing-keeping stuff announced in class, e.g., changes to the schedule. I will post lecture slides before class, so don’t scramble to transcribe the words on slides. Come to the class, try to understand the stuff, and learn to take economical yet sensible notes.
Communication: Everyone is welcome to send me messages “on eLearn,” to request an appointment, ask questions, and share your thoughts or concerns about the course. It’s the best way for me not to miss your messages, as I miss regular emails all the time but don’t want to miss yours. I will try my best to respond to you within two business days.
Office hours: Thu. 11:15 – 12:15 pm & Fri. 2:10 – 3:10 pm
-- I encourage you to take advantage of office hours at least once during this semester. Office hours are a great opportunity to clarify course material before exams, ask questions regarding assignments and quizzes, and review exams.
-- You’re welcome to just walk in during the designated windows. I however would ask you for a favor: Whenever possible, message me before you come, telling me what I can do for you, what questions/suggestions you have etc. Just so I can be better prepared and make our meetings as efficient and meaningful as possible. Also, that prevents you from bumping into others, for their and your own privacy.
Expectations:
-- Please be respectful of your fellow students and silence your phone.
-- Please be responsible for your learning by budgeting your time, being on time and prepared, and seeking assistance when needed.
-- You are responsible for all information presented in class, even if you have an excused absence for a particular class. If you are going to miss a class, plan ahead to get the material from classmates or me, before or after the class.
-- No laptop in class please, except for accessibility purposes. There is a great body of educational research showing that laptops do more harm than good for learning in the classroom.
五、教學進度 (Syllabus)
(subject to change as we go)
Early theories
-- 09/14 Intro (Ch. 1)
-- 09/21 The Freuds (Ch. 3, 5)
-- 09/28 Holiday (no class)
-- 10/05 Feminism (Ch. 6, 7)
-- 10/12 Exam 1 & proj. day (Ch. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7)
Wartime theories
-- 10/19 Trait theories (Ch. 10)
-- 10/26 Adler & Jung (Ch. 4, 13)
-- 11/02 Humanitarianism (Ch. 8, 9)
-- 11/09 Exam 2 & proj. day (Ch. 4, 8, 9, 10, 13) (Proj. 1 due by class)
Postwar theories
-- 11/16 Developmental perspectives (Ch. 5, 12, 17)
-- 11/23 Social learning theory (Ch. 18)
-- 11/30 Cognitive perspectives (Ch. 19)
-- 12/07 Exam 3 (Ch. 5, 12, 17, 18, 19) (Proj. 2 due by class)
Modern theories
-- 12/14 Biological perspectives (Ch. 11)
-- 12/21 Cultural perspectives (Ch. 2, 14, 15, 16)
-- 12/28 Exam 4 (Ch. 2, 11, 14, 15, 16) (Proj. 3 due by class)
六、成績考核 (Evaluation)
4 exams: There will be four non-cumulative exams this semester. They’ll cover the materials discussed in class and, if noted, in the textbooks.
-- Exams are non-cumulative in the sense that all questions will focus on the designated textbook chapters. The reality, however, is knowledge is always cumulative.
-- Your lowest exam grade will be dropped.
-- In the case of a medical emergency, please provide a signed doctor’s note, either before or after your missing. Any other unexcused absence will be counted as an absence and result in a zero on the exam. With proper documentation, you’ll have up to a week to make up a missed exam. Those who arrive to class after someone has already turned in their exam won’t be allowed to take the exam and will get a zero.
3 “group” reports: In groups, you’ll conduct three small group projects outside the classroom this semester; every group will write a report on each of the projects. I’ll reveal the topics of the projects as we go, so don’t worry at this point, and be excited. Here, what I can tell you is:
-- Each group only needs to turn in one report for a project, and please, try not to exceed two pages, and make the file a Word or PDF. (That is, no Apple Pages please.) The work should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, and no messing with the margins. That’s about 600 words.
-- Reports should be turned in on eLearn, by the designated dates (see the schedule above). There will be a penalty for late assignments. (No, I won’t tell you what it is.) So please plan ahead, for unexpected technological and human issues.
-- I will announce a project topic—same for all groups—and who your groupmates are for the topic at the same time. That is, you’ll be working with new people on every project. I’ll make sure I announce everything early enough, so you can finish the work in time.
-- A group only needs to turn in one report every time, but every individual can turn in a short, open-ended peer-contribution review with the report. I’ll check your comments on each other, and adjust final assignment grades for individuals if necessary (e.g., if everyone says the work wouldn’t have been done without you, you might get extra points).
7 quizzes: Throughout the semester, I will give you seven pop-up quizzes in class, each with two multiple choices, without forewarning. Quizzes will only ask about the most important, central ideas covered in class or the textbooks. So, if you schedule your study well, read the texts, pay attention in class, and ask lots of questions in class (IMPORTANT!!!), quizzes should be zero cause of concern for you. The bottom line: you need to come to the class to take the quizzes.
-- No quiz makeup
-- Your two lowest quiz grades will be dropped.
Research participation: To not only show you theories but also give you real experiences of empirical research, you’re required to take part in actual studies as participants and collect 3 participation credits on “Sona” by the last class.
-- Sona is the online system in which you can find and sign up for studies happening on the NTHU campus, and then track your participation records there. It’s here: https://nthu.sona-systems.com/
-- 1 credit on Sona usually means 1-hour participation, but the rate varies a little depending on other factors, e.g., task difficulty.
-- As encouragement, completing the about-15-minute prescreening survey by October (i.e., by 10/1 12:00 am) will give you the bumped-up 1 full credit. Doing it later gives you the only-fair 0.3 credit.
-- In case you can’t or don’t want to participate in actual studies for some or all 3 credits required, there are sets of learning materials and quizzes on Sona, in the format of research studies. Taking these fake studies to learn about psychology and pass the quizzes will also give you the credits needed, without you participating and leaving personal info in real research. You can then mix these learning credits with research credits to fulfill the course requirement. However, because this is single-directional, non-participatory learning, not like taking actual studies as recommended, every educational credit here asks for more, specifically, 1.5 hours of participation.
Course grade:
-- 3 exams not dropped for 58.5% course grade, 19.5% each
-- 3 activity reports for 27% course grade, 9% each
-- 5 quizzes not dropped for 4.5% course grade, 0.9% each
-- Research participation for 10% course grade; use the formula:
this part of the course grade = 10 + 45 x # of credits W22; 5 x (# of credits) ^ 2
Yes, you may get more than 100 here with > 3 credits and the grade reaches max with 4.5 credits.
No, I won’t actually deduct your score if you exceed 4.5; it’ll just be capped there.
-- No rounding and likely no curving either
七、可連結之網頁位址
https://elearn.nthu.edu.tw/course/view.php?id=28608