Psychology 303

Spring 2017

Table of Contents

1. Contact Information (Office Location and Office Hours)
2. Course Overview
3. Exams
4. Papers
5. Grading
6. Schedule
7. Make-Up Exams and Incompletes
8. Classroom and Email Etiquette

1. Contact Information

Professor	Jonathon D. Brown
Office	135 Guthrie Hall
Office Hours	By appointment
Textbook	Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (2017). Perspectives on personality (8th ed.). New York: Pearson.
TA	Office	Office Hours
Dominic Sivitilli	Winkenwerder 216	Monday: 1:30-2:20
	322 Guthrie Hall	Wednesday: 1:30-2:20
Peter Zambetti	328 Guthrie Hall	Tuesday: 9:00-9:50
		Thursday: 10:00-10:50
Email	psych303@uw.edu



2. Course Overview

This course provides students with a basic understanding of personality psychology. Students are expected to attend class meetings and to do the assigned reading in advance. Class lectures will clarify and go beyond the material covered in the text, and students will be responsible for all material covered in class. Brief demonstrations will be conducted in class to illustrate various points.

1. Lecture Notes

Each week's lecture notes will be available on the course website by Sunday evening. These notes are in outline form and will provide a structure to the day’s lecture. I suggest printing these notes and bringing them to class. Doing so will organize your thoughts during lecture, allowing you to understand and absorb the material as it is presented rather than having to jot down every word I say. Of course, you should also make clarifying comments on your copy of the lecture slides as needed.

2. Section

The discussion sections led by your graduate TA will solidify your knowledge of the material presented in lecture and demonstrate its applicability to everyday life. You are expected to attend and actively participate in these sections.

3. Extra Help

If you have a disability that we should know about, please contact us immediately and we will make reasonable accommodations.

4. Time Management

This is a 5-credit course. The UW advises that you spend 3 hours each week for each course credit hour, which means you are expected to devote 15/week to this course. You are expected to attend class 5 hours/week, so that leaves 10 hours/week to study. I estimate that each chapter will take 4 hours to read (assuming you are taking notes on the material and reading carefully). There are 18 chapters and 10 weeks in the quarter, so you will need to allot (approximately) 7 hours/week for reading. This leaves (approximately) 3 extra hours/week for you to study and review. Many students save those hours up for the night before the exam, but research shows this is not an effective way to learn. You are better off studying 3 hours/week for 3 weeks than studying 9 hours before an exam.



3. Exams

Three multiple choice exams will be given. The first two exams will have 50 questions, each worth one point; the final exam, which will cover the entire course, will have 75 questions, each worth one point. You will need to purchase a mark-sense form (available for purchase at the UW bookstore and "By George") for each exam. You will have 50 minutes for each midterm, starting with the beginning of class time and ending 50 minutes later.




The final exam will be given during the time the final exam is scheduled by the University. We will not accommodate requests to give the final at a different day or time.



4. Papers
1. General Information

Four papers are due at various points throughout the quarter (see the syllabus for exact dates). For each paper, you will first read a short story by Ernest Hemingway (available through the course website), and then analyze it using material we have covered in class. Late papers will not be accepted unless accompanied by a doctor's note. If you think there is any chance your printer will break or your dog will be sick on the day the paper is due, write it tonight and turn it in tomorrow. NO EXCEPTIONS.

2. Paper Specifications

Each paper is worth 10 points and must be no more than 3 pages in length with the following specifications:

• double-spaced with no extra spacing between any of the paragraphs
• normal font
• 1 inch margins on all sides
• Name, assignment # (e.g., Paper 3) and page numbers in a header that appears on every page. Note: You cannot just type this information on every page; instead you must learn to use a header
• You must submit an electronic copy to the course dropbox (see course website for URL) by 5:00 pm on the day the paper is due. Late papers will not be accepted under any circumstances (e.g., including a slow internet connection).

3. Paper Points
• 4 points: Accuracy and thoroughness of your review
• 4 points: Clarity and organization
• 2 points: Spelling and punctuation. To receive these points your paper must be free of obvious spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.


5. Grades

Midterm 1	50
Midterm 2	50
Final	75
Papers	40
Total	215




194-215	4.0	174-175	3.0	154-155	2.0	134-135	1.0
192-193	3.9	172-173	2.9	152-153	1.9	132-133	0.9
190-191	3.8	170-171	2.8	150-151	1.8	130-131	0.8
188-189	3.7	168-169	2.7	148-149	1.7	<130	0.7
186-187	3.6	166-167	2.6	146-147	1.6
184-185	3.5	164-165	2.5	144-145	1.5
182-183	3.4	162-163	2.4	142-143	1.4
180-181	3.3	160-161	2.3	140-141	1.3
178-179	3.2	158-159	2.2	138-139	1.2
176-177	3.1	156-157	2.1	136-137	1.1




6. Schedule

Week	Date	Chapter	Lecture Topic
01	Monday March 27	01	Introduction
	Tuesday March 28		Science
	Wednesday March 29	02	Methods
	Thursday March 30	03	Assessment
	Friday March 31
02	Monday April 03	04	Traits 1
	Tuesday April 04		Traits 2
	Wednesday April 05		Traits 3
	Thursday April 06		Traits 4
	Friday April 07
03	Monday April 10	05	Motives 1
	Tuesday April 11		Motives 2
	Wednesday April 12	No Class
	Thursday April 13	06	Genes 1
	Friday April 14		Paper #1
04	Monday April 17		Genes 2
	Tuesday April 18	07	Biology 1
	Wednesday April 19		Biology 2
	Thursday April 20		Biology 3
	Friday April 21:
05	Monday April 24	Midterm 1
	Tuesday April 25	08	Freud 1
	Wednesday April 26		Freud 2
	Thursday April 27		Freud 3
	Friday April 28
06	Monday May 01		Freud 4
	Tuesday May 02		Freud 5
	Wednesday May 03		Freud 6
	Thursday May 04	09	Ego 1
	Friday May 05		Paper #2
07	Monday May 08	No Class
	Tuesday May 09		Ego 2
	Wednesday May 10		Object 1
	Thursday May 11		Object 2
	Friday May 12
08	Monday May 15	MIDTERM 2
	Tuesday May 16	10	Learn 1
	Wednesday May 17		Learn 2
	Thursday May 18		Learn 3
	Friday May 19		Paper #3
09	Monday May 22	11	Humanism
	Tuesday May 23		Rogers
	Wednesday May 24		Kelly
	Thursday May 25		Self-Esteem
	Friday May 26
10	Monday May 29	No Class
	Tuesday May 30	12-14	Mischel 1
	Wednesday May 31		Mischel 2
	Thursday June 01		TBA
	Friday June 02		Paper #4
11	Thursday June 08	FINAL: 8:30-10:20

7. Make-Up Exams and Incompletes
1. Make-Up Exams

If you are facing a unique circumstance (e.g., serious illness, family emergency) that you think may impair your ability to perform well on an exam, see one of us as soon as the situation arises so that we can discuss whether a make-up or Incomplete will be granted. Do not wait until after you have taken an exam to tell us that your score was low because of some unique circumstance. Once you take an exam, that score counts no matter what. If you are under duress and feel you cannot perform up to your potential, you must receive permission AHEAD OF TIME to reschedule the exam. Be advised, however, that requests to delay taking an exam will rarely be granted. Exceptions to this rule are made only in dire, unavoidable circumstances (e.g., serious illness or emergency) that are fully documented (e.g., with official correspondence from physicians and/or Deans). On the extremely rare occasions that they are offered, make-up exams are essay exams, and are graded by Professor Brown.

2. Early Exams

Early exams will be given only in the case of student athletic travel (see below) or with approval by the Dean of Arts and Sciences. General, non-university affiliated travel and/or schedule conflicts are not legitimate reasons for taking an exam early.

3. Incompletes

Incompletes will be granted only if students experience extraordinary difficulties beyond their control, and have received permission for an incomplete no later than the start of the 8th week of the quarter. Incompletes will NOT be given out at the end of the quarter simply as a way to "take the course over again" in the case of a bad grade in the course. If your grade isn’t what you need or want, come to office hours during the quarter and the T.A.s and I will try to assist you and help you learn the material. Don't wait until it's too late.

4. Student Athletic Travel

If you need to miss an exam due to UW-related athletic travel, you will need to make arrangements to take the exam while you are away. Your coach needs to vouch for you and supervise the exam. This responsible party should contact us via email at least one week prior to the exam and provide a fax number where the exam can be sent. You are required to take the exam and return the answers via fax no later than the time and date the exam will be given in Seattle. Your coach must fax your answers back to the UW Psychology office (206.685.3157) before 2:30 p.m. PST on the day of the exam. No late exam answers will be accepted.



8. Etiquette
UW Policy: Establishing Expectations for Student Conduct

"To establish an atmosphere where students can learn and have that learning assessed equitably, instructors may forbid conduct that distracts other students and/or interferes with their ability to teach, including such things as:

• use of cell phones, pagers, music or video players
• loud talking or whispering
• eating and drinking

When students violate the rules that have been established to promote learning, you may ask them to stop their disruptive behavior or leave the class. (From the Student Conduct Code, WAC 478-120-020 (5): An instructor has the authority to exclude a student from any class session in which the student is disorderly or disruptive.)"



1. Classroom Behavior

I expect you to behave while you are in class. This means that cell phones must be turned off during class time, and sleeping, eating (in any way other than discreetly), and resting your feet on the desk in front of you are forbidden. Anyone who violates these rules will be asked to leave.

2. Email

We are available to answer emails during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm). All emails must be sent to the course email account: psych303@uw.edu. If you send us an email, you must use correct grammar and punctuation, without typographical errors. Otherwise, we will not reply or acknowledge receipt. Emails must also begin with a salutation that doesn't include the word "Hey" and end with your name and student number.

3. Laptop Policy

The last row of the room is prioritized for laptop users. All laptop users must sit in the last row unless it is full, in which case the next-to the-last row also will be opened to laptop use. No laptop use is permitted in any other row (unless you can verify with a doctor's note that your eyesight requires that you use a laptop and sit in a closer row).

4. Classroom Atmosphere

Finally, to establish a class atmosphere in which you can ask questions and in which I can have discussions with the class and perform demonstrations, I ask that if you come to class, please come to learn. If you want to chat with classmates, read the newspaper, eat or drink, etc., then please go elsewhere. These behaviors distract your classmates. If a classmate asks me a question during lecture, please show her or him respect by not starting to talk. Remember, no one is taking attendance or making you come to class. In sum, come to class because you want to, and because you wish to learn about psychology. For my part, I will do my very best to make lectures informative and interesting. Thanks.