Psychology 2B3: Theories of Personality: Course Outline, September - December 2015

Psychology 2B3: Theories of Personality
Course Outline, September - December 2015
Time: Tues., Thurs., Fri. - 8:30 - 9:20 am Instructor: Dick Day

Room: MDCL-1305 Office: Psych Bldg Room 404
Phone: 525-9140 ext. 23006
Web site: http://intropsych.mcmaster.ca/psych2b3 Email:dayrich@mcmaster.ca
Also available on Avenue2 Learn Office hours: As posted on the website
Course Objectives
This course discusses theories of personality from Freud to the present. At the end of the course, you will be
familiar with the common theoretical approaches to personality (type, trait, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive,
learning, evolutionary), and will understand the concepts involved in one or more specific theories from most of these
approaches and will appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each.
In addition to the specifics of several theories, I hope that you will have a clearer understanding of the nature and
purpose of theories in science, and an appreciation for the interesting relationship between theory and ‘reality’.
Course Materials:
Required Text: Funder, David C. The Personality Puzzle, 6th Edition. W.W. Norton.
Recommended Text: Day, R.B. Psych 2B3 Handbook.
Course Outline:
The table below shows the topics we will be covering, and the (approximate) dates when each topic will
be discussed.
Week: Topic Funder Readings

Sept. 7
Introduction to Personality Chapts. 1, 2
Sept. 14
Sept. 14 The Psychodynamic Approach: Chapts. 10,11,12 (pp. 407-413; 415-

Sept. 21 Freud and Psychoanalysis 432)
Sept. 28 The Psychodynamic Approach II:

Chapt. 12, (pp. 413-414)
Oct. 5 Carl Jung's Analytic Psychology
Oct. 19 The Humanists:

Chapt. 13
* Oct. 26 Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
Nov. 2 The Cognitive/Behavioral Approach:

Chapt. 15, 17
Nov. 9 Bandura and Mischel
Nov. 9 The Trait Approach:

Chapt. 4, 7
* Nov. 16 Eysenck and Multi-Factor Theories
Nov. 23
Chapt. 8 (pp. 247-278, 287-290);
Nov. 30 Biological Bases of Personality
Chapt. 9, Chapt. 19
Dec. 7
Fall Break, Thursday Oct. 12-17

Classes end Tuesday, December 8th
Examination Period Final Examination

Evaluation:
There will be two non-cumulative in-class tests, worth 30% each, and a cumulative final exam worth 40%.
Each in-class test will consist of approximately 40 multiple-choice questions. You will have approximately the full
class period to complete each test.
The final exam will consist of approximately 80 multiple-choice questions. The final exam will cover all the lecture
material in the course. You will have two hours for this test, which will take place during the December examination
period. The tentative dates for the in-class tests are as follows (and are marked on the course outline with an asterisk next
to the week in which they will take place).
In-class Test #1: Thursday, Oct. 29th

In-class Test #2: Thursday, November 19th
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET THIS INFORMATION.
Missed Work: If you miss one of the in-class tests for documented medical or compassionate reasons, you should
complete a Missed Work form in the office of the Associate Dean (Studies) of your Faculty. Once your Associate Dean
has accepted your reason for absence, the remaining in-class test and the final exam will be reweighted (40%, 60%,
respectively) to cover the missed in-class test. Discretionary notes will generally not be accommodated. .
Note also that the online student absence form (MSAF) can only be used once per term, only for medical absences, and
only for assignments worth less than 30%. That means that an MSAF will not excuse you from either of the midterm
tests in this course.
Final Grade Calculation and Adjustment: The final mark in Psychology 2B3 will be computed by applying the
following formula to the percentage scores on Test1, Test2, and the Final Exam:
(Test1% x .30) - (Test2% x .30) - (Exam% x .40) = Final Course Mark
Apart from excused absences from an in-class test, every student will be assessed using the weighting formula shown
above - with one exception:
In assigning final letter grades for the course I look at the pattern of performance over the two in-class tests and the
final exam. If the overall average, as calculated by the formula above, is on the borderline of the next higher letter grade
(e.g. 49%, 66%, or 84%) and if the marks on both the final exam and one in-class test are at the next higher level (e.g., D-,
C+, A), then I will assign the next higher letter grade.
Apart from this one final adjustment, final course grades in Psych 2B3 are not changed
unless they have been calculated incorrectly. Consequently, I do not respond to personal,
phone, or email requests to reconsider correctly calculated final letter grades.
Note that although midterm and exam marks, and final course averages are posted on Avenue
as well as on the intropsych Grades Lookup, ONLY THE NUMERICAL POSTINGS ON THE
GRADES LOOKUP REFLECT THE CORRECT CALCULATION OF YOUR MARKS AND FINAL
AVERAGE. The letter grades posted on Avenue and the Grades Lookup will be identical, and
equally correct.
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during
the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in
extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice
and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to
comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email
and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
Academic Integrity and Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by

deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment,
loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or
suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of
a academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at
http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.htm
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

1. Copying or using unauthorized aids on tests and examinations.
2. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been obtained.
3. Improper collaboration in group work.

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Psychology 2B3: Theories of Personality

Course Outline, September - December 2015

Time: Tues., Thurs., Fri. - 8:30 - 9:20 am Instructor: Dick Day

Week: Topic Funder Readings

Sept. 14 The Psychodynamic Approach: Chapts. 10,11,12 (pp. 407-413; 415-

Sept. 28 The Psychodynamic Approach II:

Oct. 19 The Humanists:

Nov. 2 The Cognitive/Behavioral Approach:

Nov. 9 The Trait Approach:

Fall Break, Thursday Oct. 12-17

Examination Period Final Examination

In-class Test #1: Thursday, Oct. 29th

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET THIS INFORMATION.

(Test1% x .30) - (Test2% x .30) - (Exam% x .40) = Final Course Mark

Academic Integrity and Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

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