100 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

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1 Psych 100 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY Fall 2014 Professor Mara Breen; Office: Reese 207B; Office Hours: Wednesday 10am - 12pm Class Hours: Monday & Weds 8:35-9:50 am; Fri 9:00-9:50 am Location: Hooker Auditorium (Clapp 016) Required Text: Schacter, D.L., Gilbert, D.T., & Wegner, D.M (2010). Psychology. 2 nd edition New York: Worth Publishers. COURSE DESCRIPTION How do we make decisions, form attachments, and learn a language? Can we inherit schizophrenia? Why are we fearful of some situations and not others? What factors influence the way we form attitudes or develop prejudices? This course addresses such questions to provide an overview of current research in psychology. COURSE OBJECTIVES Knowledge: Abandon myths of pop psychology Gain an understanding of the breadth of the field of psychology Become familiar with terminology and current knowledge in the field Develop a clear understanding of the scientific method as it is used in psychological research Skills: Reading a science textbook Studying for a test Writing for a general scientific audience Improving critical thinking Applying psychological science to your own life RESOURCES The text for this course is: Psychology, 2 nd Edition, by Schacter, Gilbert, and Wegner, (ISBN ). The book is available at the Odyssey bookshop in South Hadley, or you can order it online through Amazon or the publisher: The book is also on reserve in the library. Some information, including notes, assignments, and grades, will only be available on the Moodle site. In addition to the text, you will be responsible for acquiring an i>clicker2 classroom response system remote, which will be used for answering questions during class, and for providing answers to in-class quiz questions. These devices are available for you to check out at no cost from the library circulation desk. You should check out and register an i>clicker2 as soon as possible: THE LECTURES You will be expected to have completed the assigned reading before the lecture with which it is associated. There will be a handout for lectures, which will be posted on Moodle by 8pm on the day before a lecture. It is recommended that you have a copy (printed or electronic) of the handout to refer to during lecture. Handouts will not be a substitute for attending lecture. If you miss a lecture, you should talk to a friend in the class so that you will be able to decipher the handout. The best understanding of the material will come from attending class, reading and studying the material, and completing the assignments. Page 1

2 The lecture slides will also be posted on Moodle the morning of lecture. You should also feel free to print them out to refer to during lecture. PRELECTURE QUIZZES You will understand and remember lecture material better when you have read and understood the text before you come to class. In order to encourage you to read your textbook before lecture, there will be reading quizzes for every chapter. These quizzes will consist of multiple-choice questions and will be completed on the Moodle class site. You must take the on-line quiz before the start of class on the day that we will be discussing the assigned chapter. For example, you must complete the Chapter 3 quiz by 8:35 AM on Monday, 9/15 (though we certainly hope you ll take it earlier). There will be a total of 14 prelecture quizzes throughout the course of the semester. You are allowed to use your book while taking the quiz. You may miss two quizzes without penalty. There will be no make-up quizzes. IN-CLASS QUIZZES There will be a brief quiz at the end of every lecture. These quizzes will be answered with your i>clicker2. Each question will be worth 1 point. Each quiz will consist of a variable number of questions (depending on the amount of material covered). To allow you to miss some classes without penalty, your lowest 10% of quiz questions will be dropped. At the end of the semester, the percent of (the remaining) correct quiz responses will be your quiz grade. For example, assume there were 50 quiz questions and you received 35 points. Because 50 x.10 = 5, 5 questions will be dropped, leaving 50 5 = 45 possible points. So your score would be 35/45 = 78%. There will be no make-up quizzes. MIDTERM and FINAL EXAMS The course will have three in-class midterm exams and a final. The exams will feature multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions, and will include material from lectures and from the textbook. All exams, including the final exam, will cover only material from the most recent lectures. You will be able to drop the lowest of your exam grades. Final exams will not be given before the final exam period. Make-up exams are available only under extenuating circumstances. If you know in advance that you cannot take a scheduled exam, you will need to make arrangements with me to take the exam the day before or the day after the scheduled time. If you miss an exam due to illness, you must make arrangements to take the exam within three days of the scheduled date. 4 th HOURS We will generally meet for 4 th hour on Fridays, unless specified on the schedule. Some of these meetings will be exam periods. During the others, we will be watching and discussing TED Talks, or other movies that are relevant to whatever topic we re discussing. Information discussed during fourth hour may appear on exams. You may miss one 4 th hour meeting without penalty. EXTRA CREDIT RESEARCH PARTICIPATION The discipline of psychology relies on the scientific method as a means of gathering empirical data from human and non-human subjects. We highly value the entire research process and feel that students should be involved in all phases of research. Thus, this course includes a research participation component to give you an opportunity to experience psychological research first- Page 2

3 hand as a participant and to learn about the different types of psychological research conducted by the faculty and students in the department. Research conducted at Mount Holyoke College follows the ethical principles prescribed by the American Psychological Association. Before you agree to participate in a given study you will be provided with a description of the procedures to be used, and informed of your right to end your participation at any time (i.e., what researchers call informed consent ). After participating you will be given a full explanation of the research study (called debriefing ). Thus, another purpose of research participation is to help you learn about the ethical issues concerning research in psychology. You can get credit for research participation in either of two ways, namely by participating in a department-sponsored research project conducted by a faculty member and his or her students; or, by attending an approved research talk in some area of psychology at any of the five colleges (Smith, MHC, Amherst, Hampshire, UMass). You may apply up to 6 hours of research credit to your final grade. Every hour of research credit you earn if worth an extra ½ percentage point on your final grade. For example, if your final grade is 87.5%, and you ve earned 5 hours of research credit, then your final grade will increase by 2.5%, giving you a final grade of 90%. Please note: The Research Participation program is managed entirely by Janelle Gagnon, who is Laboratory Director in the Department. Janelle will attend class early in the semester to explain these procedures in greater detail. Should you have any questions or concerns about research participation, please contact Janelle, either in person (Room 220 Reese) or via (jlgagnon@mtholyoke.edu). GRADING ALGORITHM Here is the formula that will form the basis of your grade: Prelecture Quizzes 15% (12 out of 14 required) In-class Quizzes 10% 4 th Hour Attendance 15% (6 out of 7 required) Midterm Exams: 40% (2 out of 3) Final Exam 20% ACCOMMODATION If you require accommodation for a disability, you need to provide the appropriate documentation from AccessAbility Services: Please provide this documentation within the first 2 weeks of class, and plan to meet with me either after class or during office hours to determine how we can best make the accommodations. ACADEMIC HONESTY I expect that everyone will abide by the Mount Holyoke College honor code both in and out of the classroom. Note that sharing quiz answers (in or out of class), using someone else s clicker in class, or asking someone else to use your clicker, are in violation of the College honor code. Moreover, in order to protect the integrity of the honor code, I request that you report violations that you witness (anonymously, if preferred) to me. Any student found to be in violation of the honor code could receive a failing grade for the class and be reported to the Dean of the College. Page 3

4 For more information on the honor code, consult the student handbook: CLASSROOM CIVILITY I expect that everyone will strive to maintain a mutually respectful classroom environment that is conducive to learning and the open exchange of ideas. To this end, I ask that you arrive on-time for class and that you refrain from packing up your things before class ends. Moreover, I ask that you refrain from using personal electronic devices for anything that is not class-related. Texting, Facebooking, shopping, etc. are disrespectful not only to me, but also to your fellow students, and I won t tolerate these activities in the classroom. GRADE CALCULATION Grades will be rounded to the nearest whole number, and assigned a letter as follows: F D D+ C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A <= >=93 Page 4

5 Class Schedule: Always subject to change Day Date Lecture Topic Assignment 4 th Hour Weds 9/3/14 Introduction Fri 9/5/14 NO 4 th Hour Mon 9/8/14 Introduction Chapter 1 Weds 9/10/14 Methods in Psychology Chapter 2 Fri 9/12/14 Textbook /Research Credit Mon 9/15/14 Neuroscience and Behavior Chapter 3 Weds 9/17/14 Neuroscience and Behavior Fri 9/19/14 4th Hour Mon 9/22/14 Sensation and Perception Chapter 4 Weds 9/24/14 Wrap-Up and Review Fri 9/26/14 Exam 1 Mon 9/29/14 Consciousness Chapter 5 Weds 10/1/14 Consciousness Fri 10/3/14 4th Hour Mon 10/6/14 Memory Chapter 6 Weds 10/8/14 Memory Fri 10/10/14 NO 4 th Hour Mon 10/13/14 MID-SEMESTER BREAK Weds 10/15/14 Learning Chapter 7 Fri 10/17/14 4th Hour Mon 10/20/14 Emotion and Motivation Chapter 8 Weds 10/22/14 Wrap-Up and Review Fri 10/24/14 Exam 2 Mon 10/27/14 Language and Thought Chapter 9 Weds 10/29/14 Language and Thought Fri 10/31/14 4th Hour Mon 11/3/14 Intelligence Chapter 10 Weds 11/5/14 Development Chapter 11 Fri 11/7/14 4th Hour Mon 11/10/14 Development Weds 11/14/14 Wrap-Up and Review Fri 11/14/14 Exam 3 Mon 11/17/14 Social Psychology Chapter 13 Weds 11/19/14 Social Psychology Fri 11/21/14 4th Hour Mon 11/24/14 Psychological Disorders Chapter 14 Weds 11/26/14 THANKSGIVING BREAK Fri 11/28/14 THANKSGIVING BREAK NO 4 th HOUR Mon 12/1/14 Psychological Disorders Weds 12/3/14 Treatment of Disorders Chapter 15 Fri 12/5/14 4th Hour Mon 12/8/14 Wrap-Up and Review Page 5

INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC 1101) ONLINE SYLLABUS. Instructor: April Babb Crisp, M.S., LPC

INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC 1101) ONLINE SYLLABUS Psychology 1101 Instructor: April Babb Crisp, M.S., LPC Intro to General Psychology Fall Semester 2012 (8/20/12 12/04/12) Office Hours (virtual):