Contact Information Psychology 253 Cognition & Learning Fall 2015 Instructor: Office: Phone: e- mail: Office hours: Dr. Dawn McBride DeGarmo 458 438-7146 dmcbride@ilstu.edu Mon 2-3 pm, Thurs 10-11 am, and by appt. TA: Office: e- mail: Office Hour: UTA: Office: e- mail: Office Hour: Diana Steakley-Freeman DeGarmo 12C dmsteak@ilstu.edu Weds 2:15-3:15 pm and by appt Sage Schneider outside DeGarmo 458 seschne@ilstu.edu Tues 11:45-12:45 pm and by appt Course Overview This course will build on knowledge of learning and cognition from PSY 110/111. The course will provide a more in-depth study of topics in these two areas of psychology, while also providing breadth in psychological topics for psychology majors. PSY 110/111 (or comparable course) is a prerequisite for this course. Course Objectives: This course is designed to help you learn specific knowledge and skills as a content requirement for the psychology major. Specifically, after successful completion of this course, students should be able to: Identify the two perspectives that distinguish behavioral and cognitive areas of psychology. Recognize and recall primary concepts from behavioral and cognitive areas of psychology.
Apply content knowledge from behavioral and cognitive areas of psychology to real- world situations. Critically evaluate claims about human behavior using knowledge of behavioral and cognitive areas of psychology. Defend ones claims about human behavior using knowledge of behavioral and cognitive areas of psychology. To view a full list of Psychology Department Course Objectives, click here. Course Requirements Required Readings: McBride & Cutting (2016) Cognitive Psychology: Theory, Process, and Methodology text from SAGE with free Interactive ebook (IEB). Available at the bookstores and online book sellers. Current Directions articles on Milner Course Reserves for CD Writing Assignments Topic Unit PowerPoints in ReggieNet - See the units listed by topic on the left menu in ReggieNet course site. Technical Skills and Requirements: The software and hardware requirements for this course are consistent with what is available on university computers. Students are required to have access to and working knowledge of a computer with dependable Internet access. A good wireless connection is sufficient for most of the learning activities; however, a high-speed cable internet connection may be necessary for some video or other multimedia. Students should have the following software installed on the primary computer used for the course: 1. MS Word. Illinois State University students can download MS Office Software through the ISU Administrative Technologies Portal at no charge. To log in to the portal, go to office365.illinoisstate.edu, and enter your ISU ULID and password. To download the software, click the appropriate link under Install Office on more devices. For more information on using this and other ISU/Office 365 products, visit the administrative technologies webpage or visit the ISU Help Desk. 2. Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF. This should be part of the standard install on your departmental machine. You can download this free add-in for your personal machine from the Microsoft Save as PDF Download Page. 3. Adobe Reader. This is a free program that allows your computer to view/read PDF files. It is standard install on university and personal computers; however, you can check for the most recent version on the Adobe Reader Download Page. 4. Quicktime. Quicktime is a free program that allows you to listen to audio files or watch video files. You can download Quicktime from the Quicktime Download Page. 5. Adobe Flash Player. You can download the free Flash Player from the Flash Player Download Page. 6. Java. You can check for the latest update at the Java Download Page. 7. Firefox (for Windows). Firefox is a free browser and can be downloaded from the Firefox Download Page. 8. Safari (for Mac). Safari is a free web browser and can be downloaded from the Safari Download Page. Assignments: Four Online Exams see schedule below for due dates for exams Three CD Writing Assignments see due dates in the schedule below Unit Quizzes each Unit will contain a graded quiz at the end to be completed by the Unit due date listed in the schedule below Unit Activities see due dates by Topic Unit in schedule below Time: Time commitment will vary across students, but you should plan to spend at least 6-8 hours per week on the course: reading course materials, reading assigned readings, completing
assignments, etc. Due dates for the unit homework assignments are given to help you stay on track for completing course materials on time and preparing for exams. Assignment Descriptions Exams: The exams will contain multiple-choice questions and will cover content from course materials in the topic units and assigned readings. Exams will be taken online before the due date and time and will be open-book and open-note exams. However, you will only have 1 hour to complete each exam from the time you begin. In addition, the questions will appear one at a time and you cannot return to previous questions so you must budget your time for this format. This format is designed to increase the security of the exams and discourage academic dishonesty. The final exam will be cumulative, but will be the same length and worth the same number of points as the other exams. Each exam is worth 10% of your final grade in the course. Exams must be taken by the due date and time or points will be deducted automatically. See Late Policy for more information on late assignments. CD Writing Assignments: Listed in the Assignments tool in ReggieNet you will find three CD Writing Assignments. For each of these assignments, you must choose one of the two Current Directions articles listed, download the article from the Milner Library Course Reserves page and read it, and then answer the questions listed in the assignment for that article. Due dates are listed in the schedule. Your responses will be graded based on clarity of question responses, accuracy of the presentation of concepts discussed in the articles, completeness of responses, and writing style. Your responses must be in your own words. DO NOT QUOTE from the articles to answer the questions. Instances of plagiarism will receive no credit (0 points) and will be referred for academic dishonesty (see guidelines below). Each assignment is worth 50 points toward your final grade in the course (10% of your final grade). The late policy applies for any late assignment. Remember that you will need to submit 3 of these assignments 1 on each due date. Unit Quizzes: At the end of each unit, there will be a quiz on the material in that unit (including assigned readings and PPT lectures). The graded quiz on each unit will be scored for 5 points each. A final review quiz in listed in the ReggieNet Units menu and is worth 10 points. You may retake each quiz for a maximum of 3 submissions for each quiz to improve your score. Your highest score will be saved. Due dates for the quizzes are the same as due dates for the Topic Units and are listed in the schedule below and on the first page of each unit in the course site. The quizzes will contribute 10% of your final grade in the course. The late policy applies for any late quiz and late quizzes can only be taken once. Unit Activities: Embedded within each of the Topic Units are Activities designed to help you understand the course materials you are reading online. Some will be practice quizzes that are scored for completion only (not accuracy) and others will be short written assignments. 3-5 activities will be embedded within the lessons of each Topic Unit. Each activity is worth 3-5 points for completing the activity according to the instructions. Due dates for the units are listed in the schedule below and on the first page of each unit in the course site. The activities will contribute 20% of your final grade in the course. The late policy applies for any late assignment. Grading Grading will be based on the following distribution:
Exams - 10% each 40% 200 points CD Writing Assignments - 10% each 30% 150 points Unit Quizzes 10% 50 points Unit Activities 20% 100 points ================================================= Total 100% 500 points Grading will be based on a straight percentage scale. The following point breakdown will be used to determine final course grades: A = 450 and above B = 400-449 C = 350-399 D = 300-349 F = below 300 Your final grade in the course will be determined from the total number of points (not percentages) you earn on assignments in the course. You must earn at least the lowest point total in these ranges to earn a particular grade. No curving or rounding will be done for grading. Grade records for this course will be kept on ReggieNet in the Gradebook tool. Tips for Taking the Course Set aside times in your weekly schedule to work on the course Check the Calendar tool each time you log in to look for upcoming due dates Note due dates of exams and topic units in your calendar to ensure you have enough time set aside to complete them Note the graded assignments listed at the bottom of each Unit start page to ensure you complete each graded assignment/quiz for that unit by the due date Check your email every couple of days for important Announcements about the course and reminders of assignments due (these will also be listed in the Announcements tool) Work through Topic Units in order and complete assignments/quizzes as you go to make sure you don t miss any or submit responses in the wrong assignment Save the submission confirmation emails you get form ReggieNet in case something goes wrong Ask questions when you aren t sure about a concept or how something in the course works Read through the ReggieNet Introduction before you begin if you have not used ReggieNet for online courses before Read through the How to Succeed in Online Courses provided by University College: http://universitycollege.illinoisstate.edu/workshops/online_courses/ Feedback You will receive scoring and response feedback upon submission for Unit Quizzes. We will provide feedback on some written assignments as you go through the units. Feedback will also be given on the writing assignments when they are graded. The comments are recorded in the Assignments tool after we release the scores. Click on the assignment in the Assignment tool to view feedback (see the ReggieNet Introduction page for more information about feedback). You will not receive feedback online for exams, except for your score. This is to protect the integrity of the exam process to keep questions secure. If you would like individual question feedback on exams, you will need to come to my office to go over that with me in person. If this is not possible for you, I can give you
some more general topic feedback by email or over Skype/FaceTime. This can be done anytime during the semester. Extra Credit You will be given the opportunity to earn a maximum of 20 points of extra credit by two methods: (1) You may volunteer to participate as a subject in psychological research. You may earn 2.5 extra credit points for each half hour (5 points per hour) of participation if you choose to volunteer, for a maximum of 20 points (4 hours maximum). Participation as a research subject is entirely voluntary. To sign up for a study, go to the SONA sign up system (https://ilstu.sona-systems.com). To use SONA, go to the How To Use SONA tool in the left menu on the course site. You will receive your log in and password from the SONA system administrator near the beginning of the semester. Please respect the sign-up process by keeping appointments. The SONA system will only allow you to sign up for a study once. Please read the participation guidelines before signing up for a study. You will receive electronic credit for the class you designate when you sign up. Credit may be used in one class only, but you can change your designated course in the system during the semester. However, I will recheck at the end of the semester to make sure credit you submitted by the first due date is still designated for PSY 253. You must also complete the Extra Credit-Participation form for each study you participate in to receive credit. Responses must be typed into the form available in the Assignments tool portion of the ReggieNet webpage (see Assignments in the left menu on the course site). You may submit up to 2 hours by each due date (i.e., after the 10/19 has passed, you can only submit 2 hours of credit). (2) You may answer questions for up to 4 journal article summaries by completing the Article Question form. You must also complete the Extra Credit-Articles form for each article you read to receive credit. Responses must be typed into this form, available in the Assignments tool portion of the course site. The articles may be on a topic of your choice, but must come from the scientific journal Psychological Science. The article must also be submitted with your Extra Credit-Article form. Each article is equivalent to one hour of research participation (i.e., 5 pts of extra credit). Extra credit is due on two dates only: 10/18 & 12/6. You may submit up to 2 hours (or 2 articles) of extra credit on each of these days. Your grade will not be affected if you do not choose to participate in one of the extra credit options. You may only earn a total of 20 extra credit points by these activities, no matter which option you choose. Extra credit assignments will be held to academic dishonesty standards like any other assignment. If you plagiarize an article for extra credit, you will not earn any points for that article and your violation of the university conduct code will be reported to the CR&R office (and I check them carefully so be sure to complete article assignments in your own words). Extra credit points will be added to your exam score for the exam they are turned in with. I will do a final check at the end of the semester to make sure participation points turned in at each exam are still designated for PSY 253. Late Policy Any assignment completed late that is not due to a documented emergency (which means you can prove it was an emergency with paperwork) will be counted late and the grade you receive will be adjusted according to the number of days the assignment is late. For late assignments 10% of the total possible points will be deducted for each day it is late. You may submit late work up to 5 days past the due date. Computer mishaps (e.g., failure to successfully save work, internet problems) are not acceptable excuses for late assignments. It is your responsibility to back up your work and
complete assignments in time for them to be submitted. Any late assignment will have points deducted! Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty such as cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated. Cheating or plagiarism will result in an F and referral to the Community Rights and Responsibilities (CR&R) Office for disciplinary action. Cheating INCLUDES (but is not limited to): plagiarism of both published and unpublished written work, "cutting and pasting" or copying from a web site to complete an assignment, having another individual take or assist you with an exam, taking an exam for or assisting another individual with an exam, performing or completing a class assignment or quiz for another individual or having another individual perform or complete a class assignment or quiz for you. Cheating is thus defined generally as representing work that is NOT your own as your work or allowing your work to be represented as another's so that individual receives academic credit. You are responsible for understanding what is and isn't plagiarism. More information about plagiarism is included in the assignment sheets for written assignments. Violators of this policy will receive a failing grade on that assignment, a possible failing grade for the course, and referral to the CR&R Office for disciplinary action. Your work on assignments must be your own. If you discuss material in written assignments found in another source, you must use your own words and cite the source. You may NOT lift wording from published works or websites for any assignment in this course. Netiquette To help guide our online interactions, students should demonstrate appropriate netiquette (i.e., internet etiquette). That is, that we agree to interact in a positive, cooperative and supportive manner and display respect for the privacy and rights of others. This policy is inclusive of, but not limited to the following guidelines: Keep your questions and comments relevant to the discussion topic in communication with me and other students. Be courteous and treat colleagues with respect, modeling the same standards of behavior online you would follow in a face-to-face discussion. This includes beginning emails with an address (e.g., Hi Dr. McBride, ) to the person you are writing to and signing your emails with your name so that it is clear who the message is from. Be respectful and open to opinions and ideas that differ from yours. Being deliberately hostile and insulting online is not appropriate under any circumstance. All course communication should be conducted in Standard American English to ensure understanding among diverse participants. Final Notes If you have any questions about the syllabus, course, or your progress in the course, please feel free to come talk to me. My office hours are listed above and I am also available for appointments. You should also feel free to stop by my office anytime my door is open. I am happy to answer emails from students about the course. However, if you have a question about an assignment or course policy, please check the syllabus before emailing us your question. If the answer is in the syllabus, we will refer you there. I will make every attempt to answer all emails within 24 hours of receipt unless I am out of town or it is received over the weekend. If I am out of town, you will receive an out-of-office reply to your message to let you know it may take longer for me to respond. Any student in need of a special accommodation should contact 438-5853 (voice) or 438-8620 (TDD).
Course Schedule The following is a schedule of topics, readings, and other assignments for the course. Due dates are listed by assignment in ReggieNet under the Assignments tool. All assignments are due by 11:55 pm on the due date listed. WEEK UNIT READINGS ASSIGNMENTS DUE 1 Introduction/Classical Conditioning 2 Classical & Operant Öhman & Mineka CC Unit due SUN 8/30 Conditioning (2003) article 3 Operant Conditioning Thompson (1998) article 4 Operant OC Unit due SUN 9/13 Conditioning/Review 5 EXAM 1/Perception M& C text CHs 1 & 3 EXAM 1 DUE WEDS 9/16 6 Perception & Memory M&C text CHs 5 & 6 Perception Unit due SUN 9/27 7 Memory M&C text CH 7 CD Writing Assign #1 due SUN 10/4 8 Memory/Review Memory Unit due SUN 10/11 9 EXAM 2/Language M&C text CH 9 EXAM 2 due WEDS 10/14 Extra Credit #1 due SUN 10/18 10 Language/Concepts M&C text CH 10 Language Unit due SUN 10/25 Knowledge 11 Problem Solving M&C text CHs 11 & 12 Concept Knowledge Unit due SUN 11/1 12 Problem Solving/Review Problem Solving Unit due SUN 11/8 CD Writing Assign #2 due SUN 11/8 13 EXAM 3/Cognitive M&C text CH 2 EXAM 3 due WEDS 11/11 Neuroscience 14 Cognitive Neuroscience 15 Thanksgiving Week Cog Neuroscience Unit due SUN 11/29 16 & F Review/Final Exam Extra Credit #2 due SUN 12/6 CD Writing Assign #3 due SUN 12/6 Review Quiz due WEDS 12/9 FINAL EXAM due WEDS 12/9