Psyc310: Psychology of Personality

Course Description:
An examination of theory and research on human personality from a variety of perspectives, including the dispositional, biological, psychoanalytic, neoanalytic, learning, phenomenological, and cognitive perspectives.

Required Text:
Carver, C., & Scheier, M. (2008). Perspectives on personality. (6th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Note: This website is for the web-based version of the course; for the classroom-based course website, click here.

Getting Help:
For computer, internet, and Blackboard problems contact the UI Help Desk: support.uidaho.edu, helpdesk@uidaho.edu, 208-885-2725. For questions or comments concerning the course content, schedule, or grading, contact Ken Locke, 208-885-4453, klocke@uidaho.edu. If you e-mail me, please put "psyc310.02" in your subject line.

Grading:

• There are 16 non-cumulative examinations. Each consists of 10 multiple-choice questions. Each question is worth one point. Each exam covers material from both the text and and my lectures at this website. Each exam can only be taken once. Once you open a test, the clock starts ticking and nobody can stop it and once your time runs out you can never re-open that test; so, be sure to open tests at a time and place that you (and your internet connection) will not be interrupted.
• There are 26 pass/fail homework assignments. Each homework completed in an adequate fashion by the due date is worth 1 point. Please access the homework assignments via the web page associated with each lesson (rather than directly from Blackboard).
• You can complete the homeworks and exams any time prior to the deadlines (Blackboard shows the exact deadlines, Pacific Time). I strongly recommend staying two days ahead of the deadlines, since I do not permit (or even respond to) requests for make-up exams or make-up assignments for any reason. However, because unavoidable problems (e.g., power outages, medical emergencies) can happen, I will use only your best 13 exams in computing your final grade. In other words, this deal is: I let you miss 3 exams before it starts to impact your grade, and in return you do not ask me to re-open assignments for you. (If you are curious to understand why I created this policy, click here.)
• Final grades will be based on the number of points you accumulate divided by the possible number of points (130 possible exam points + 26 possible homework points), with 88% = A, 76% = B, 64% = C, 52% = D.

Note about outreach course fees: We regret the fee, but we receive no money for outreach so without the fee we would have to discontinue these courses. Note: The University's refund policy for outreach course fees differs from that for regular course fees. The registrar will not refund the fee if you drop a course after 2 weeks in a regular semester or one week in summer.

The dates below are deadlines for the exams and any homework assignments associated with the lessons. Blackboard shows the exact times the assignments close; assignments close at 11:00 pm Pacific Time on the day they are due. Because I do not allow make-up assignments, you should complete all assignments at least 24 hours before the deadlines in case Blackboard is unavailable or some other technical or personal problem arises on the day the assignment is due. Indeed, if you want, you can finish the entire course before the first assignment is due!

Access the lectures and homework assignments by clicking on the lessons below.

Homework FAQs:

Q: How do I know if there is a homework assignment associated with a lesson?

A: After you click on one of the lessons below, look at the "To Do List" near the upper right of the page. If there is no "Homework" link, then there is no homework assignment. If there is a "Homework" link, then there is an assignment. To complete the assignment, click on that "Homework" link . For some assignments, that link will ask you to just continue on to Blackboard; for other assignments, that homework link will display additional information.

Q: Where do I submit the homework assignments?

A: All assignments and quizzes are submitted in Blackboard. To submit a homework assignment, log on to Blackboard, click on “Assessments” and then scroll down. (The final homework assignment is “Homework 17.2”; if you do not see “Homework 17.2” at the bottom of the Assessments page, then change the “paging preferences” by clicking on the little icon in the lower right corner so that all of the exams and homework assignments appear on the same page. You should then be able to scroll up and down the page to find the exam or homework assignment you want.)