PERSONALITY – fully online in 2020
PSY 3113 Fall, 2020
MWF 12:00-12:50 (see below)

Professor: Dr. Travis Langley
Email: langlet@hsu.edu

Required textbook:
Theories of Personality, by Schultz and Schultz
Table of Contents/Course Topics: https://is.gd/PERSONALITY (scroll down on that page).
The book is required. You have a choice between getting a physical copy or accessing it online.

Synchronous schedule:
Class is fully online, but tests and some occasional Zoom meetings will all be held at noon on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday (probably not Friday).

• Meetings will be announced on the MyHenderson discussion forum for the course and/or via email.
• Test schedule appears below.
• The final exam will be held when classes for that time have their finals.
• You are NOW responsible for making sure you can take the final at the scheduled time.

OVERVIEW:

This course looks at personality, your characteristic pattern of behavior. The course examines the topic from a variety of theoretical perspectives, and explores such topics as personality development, gender roles, personality disorders, character types, and other stuff.

SCHEDULE:

The 50-minute tests will will be conducted in Canvas at noon on their respective dates because this class is scheduled for 12:00-12:50.

Refer to official schedule for last day to drop with grade of W. After that, the professor will not assign a grade of WP to someone who is failing.

EXAMS (40% of course grade, total for regular tests; 30%, final)

Each unit will conclude with a 40-item exam covering all required material, to be completed through Canvas. Except for the final exam, many of the questions will be multiple-choice.

There will be NO makeup tests. There’s no such thing as a perfectly fair makeup test. Take each test when it’s scheduled.  If funeral, jury duty, or medical event would keep you from using Internet at the exact time when a test is scheduled, contact your professor about that as early as you can.

In case of power outage or computer trouble, you need to be ready with an alternate method of taking the test, and you need to prepare that beforehand. If you cannot take it on your computer, you probably need to take it on your phone. More options appear under DEADLINES later in this syllabus.

GRADING SCALE

Test questions range in difficulty to get an accurate idea of exactly how much you know and understand about the course material. The scale on the 40+ point tests is simply this:

Your professor reserves the right to subtract any number of points from the grade of someone who disrupts class  or to assign a course grade of F to someone caught cheating.

Writing Across the Curriculum:

The last question or questions at the end of the test will broadly ask about what else you learned that was not covered by multiple-choice questions. When the class is fully online, they will ask about certain topics. The normal maximum credit for this is 3 points, although someone who writes a lot of extra material might earn 3.5 or 4.0. Generally, you get half a point per distinct fact provided in your answer.

Show your understanding of material. Answer in your own words.  Copying wording from the book, online, someone else, or any other source  is plagiarism. The penalty for plagiarism is a grade of F for the course.

Do not simply write a name or term. Write complete sentences and tell what you learned about that name or term. For example: Writing Julian Rotter would earn no credit by itself. Writing that Rotter developed the idea of locus control would get you half a point. Defining locus of control would get you another half. Good examples could get another half. To earn full credit on the bonus question, you really need to talk about multiple topics.

INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS (30% of course grade)

To do your assignments, check the discussion forum on the MyHenderson page for this class several times each week. You will either do each assignment on that discussion forum or learn from the forum where to go to do each task. Each response you’re required to make counts as one point simply for following the instructions or minus one point (-1, negative credit) if you don’t do it. You will have several assignments every week. Because missing an assignment in an online class counts as missing class, anyone who fails to do three or more of the assignments may be dropped from the course without further notice. Think of this as a MyHenderson class. Even though Canvas will be used for tests and practice quizzes, otherwise this is not a Canvas class. The “total” or “average” in Canvas for the class can be misleading when it includes things that do not count as part of your grades and leaves out some things that do.

Do NOT email your work to your professor. Emailing it instead of posting it where it’s supposed to go counts as missing the assignment altogether, plus you’ll lose points from your overall grade.

DEADLINES

Assignments are due at the end of each week, indicated in the assignments’ subject headings. The week’s assignments are posted on the MyHenderson discussion forum by the end of each Wednesday, and they often appear earlier in the week. If you see no new assignments by Thursday, ask the professor in case of a MyHenderson error.

The deadline is 5 minutes until midnight at the end of each Saturday. For assignments that don’t lock you out at the end of Saturday, you get half credit for up to three assignments completed Sunday – only three, no more. No later work will be accepted. Meet the deadlines.

If you wait until that last day and something goes wrong that keeps you from doing the assignment, well, you should have done it earlier because you’ll have several days to complete each task. If your Internet is out all day, you are responsible for going somewhere with Internet access. If your wifi is out, you could use a phone to create a hotspot with access. The Internet is all around us, the ways to access it are many, and you have chosen to take an online class. Accessing the Internet and keeping track of your schedule are your responsibilities.

ATTENDANCE

Because doing Internet assignments counts as attendance, missing an assignment counts as missing class. People who miss three assignments could be dropped from the class without notice. This is your notice.

PERSONAL COMMITMENT

While you enjoy great flexibility in taking this course online, you and you alone are responsible for your success. It requires motivation and devotion. You must make sure you follow instructions and do your work before the deadlines. Developing the habit of following instructions and doing things when you’re supposed to do them is probably more important in your life than any specific bit of information that any class can teach you.

COMPUTER TIPS

To make sure your computer can interact with our system, you may need (1) the most current version of your Internet browser, (2) Windows updates, and (3) Java updates. Some systems we use don’t work well with Safari.

Call the HSU Computer Help Desk at 230-5678 or email helpdesk@hsu.edu if you have non-Canvas account difficulties. They will not be able to answer questions about specific assignments.

Contact George Finkle at finkleg@hsu.edu about Canvas login or access problems. George has nothing to do with the course content.

COMMUNICATION

The best way to contact your professor is via email at langlet@hsu.edu.

Every time you email your professor, say who you are and which course and assignment you’re talking about at the beginning of your message (not just in your subject line because that doesn’t immediately show in some apps).

Syllabus Part II: Expected Learning Outcomes, Computer Tips, Disability Services
(not covered by syllabus quiz)

Any information in this syllabus may be subject to alteration, correction, date change, or other revision.