1 The College of Saint Rose - Department of Psychology, Spring 2003 Introductory Psychology - PSY 110 (3 Credit Hours) MWF 7:50-8:40 am Dr. R.W. Flint, Jr., Assistant Professor of Psychology ΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨΨ Office/Hours: Albertus Hall Room 413 - Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 10:00-10:45 AM and by appointment. Phone - 518-458-5379 Email - flintr@mail.strose.edu Web Page - http://academic.strose.edu/academic/flintr/ Emergency Weather Information Number - 458-5377 (or check www.strose.edu). Classes will be held and students will be expected to attend class unless The College of Saint Rose officially cancels classes. Required Text/Materials: Bernstein, D.A. & Nash, P.W. (2002). Essentials of Psychology (2 nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Course Purpose: General Purpose - An overview of the foundational theoretical perspectives and empirical findings in psychology. Topics to be covered include the history of psychology, psychological research methods, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, states of consciousness, conditioning and learning, memory, motivation and emotion, health and stress, and basic statistical applications in psychology. (from The College of Saint Rose Catalog of Undergraduate Studies, 1999-2001) Specific Course Objectives - These objectives involve establishing a firm understanding of the... 1. Scientific method. 2. Measures of central tendency, variability, and simple statistics. 3. Role of neurons in the nervous system.
2 4. Basic components of the nervous system and their contributions to behavior. 5. Structure/function relationships of the visual, auditory, somatosensory, gustatory, olfactory, and vestibular systems. 6. Differences between sensation and perception. 7. Reasons for sleep and dreaming. 8. Characteristics of hypnosis. 9. Effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior. 10. Basics of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. 11. Various theories and types of memory. 12. Reasons for forgetting and amnesia. 13. Various sources biological and incentive motivation for humans and animals. 14. Theories of emotion. 15. Positive and negative effects of stress. 16. Influential figures in the history of psychology. Course Mechanics: Attendance Policy for Lectures - Class attendance at lectures is strongly recommended. Students will be held responsible for all material covered in class and for any announcements made during class regardless of whether or not they attend. Under no circumstances will Dr. Flint provide copies of his lecture notes. It is strongly recommended that students get to know their classmates so that, in the event a class is missed, students may easily acquire a copy of the lecture material without delay. Students are strongly encouraged to seek out Dr. Flint to discuss the course material and ask questions regarding the course material, especially if class is missed. Students are asked to turn off all cellular phones and pagers or set them to an inaudible setting unless specific prior arrangements are made with Dr. Flint. Time Commitment - It is expected that students will read the assigned material PRIOR to coming to class and that students will spend a MINIMUM of 3 hours studying outside of class for every 1 hour of class time. This means that students should spend at least 9 hours per week working on the material for this course outside of classroom contact time. This time should include reading the assigned portions of the textbook, reviewing/studying the textbook and class notes, and completing experimental points.
3 Lectures - Lectures are not designed to cover everything in a textbook and no textbook is comprehensive. Therefore, the majority of the lectures will be comprised of selected topics from the book. Not all of the material covered in the text will be dealt with in class and some of the material covered in class will not be found in the textbook. Students are strongly encouraged to ask questions during class and will be held responsible for knowing ALL assigned readings, lecture information, and classroom exercises/demonstrations. Exams - There will be a total of five major exams, four during the semester and one during the Alternate Schedule/Final Exam Week at the end of the semester (discussed below in the next section). The first four exams will be comprised of 55 questions (multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, and/or true-false) worth one point each and will cover the assigned readings, lectures, and classroom exercises/demonstrations that have occurred since the previous exam. Due to the limited time for lectures and labs, students should anticipate that up to 50% of each exam may be comprised of questions from the text that were not explicitly discussed in class. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the extra credit opportunities by earning additional experimental points. Students will be given a total of 50 minutes to complete each of these four exams. Failure to arrive on time to class for an exam will result in the forfeiture of that time available to complete the exam. Once all students present have completed the exam, no other students may begin the test, so students are strongly encouraged to arrive to class on time. Final Exam - A comprehensive final exam will be given during the Alternate Schedule/Finals Week on the date/time scheduled for your course section listed on the course outline. The comprehensive final exam will include a total of 150 questions (1 pt. each) and will take the same format as the regular semester exams. Questions will be a sampling of material from the course readings, lectures, and classroom exercises/demonstrations covered over the entire semester. Some questions may be taken from previous exams. Failure to arrive on time to class for this exam will result in the forfeiture of that time available to complete the exam. Once all students present have completed the exam, no other students may begin the test, so students are strongly encouraged to arrive to class on time. Make-Up Exams - If a student misses an exam and has an adequate written excuse (e.g. serious illness, death in the family, uncontrollable emergency situation) he/she may take a make-up exam. All excuses must be provided in writing before any make-up exam will be offered/graded
4 and may be subject to verification by the instructor. The instructor reserves the right to decide on the adequacy of all excuses. Make-up exams will be comprised of essay questions and must be completed by Tuesday April 29 th. See Dr. Flint immediately if you miss an exam for any reason. Experimental Points - Psychology is an empirical science and thus, it is important for students to experience the scientific method first hand. In an effort to provide students with these experiences you will be required to earn 8 experimental points. These points may be earned by participating in ongoing research projects in the Psychology Department and/or by writing two page critical evaluations of research articles. A detailed description for "Subject Pool Participation" is attached to this syllabus. Participation in research projects is recorded in 15-minute increments. As a student in this class you will receive 1 experimental point for every 30 minutes of participation. Article summaries will be assigned points as outlined in the "Subject Pool Participation" policy. Extra Credit - In addition to the required experimental points, students may opt to participate in additional studies and/or write additional article summaries for extra credit points. The points will be assigned in the same manner as described above under "Experimental Points." Students may earn a maximum of 10 extra credit points. Essays - On five separate occasions Dr. Flint will assign an essay related to the material that was recently covered in the readings and lectures. Essays will be due by the end of class (8:40 AM) on scheduled days. Essays should focus on a critical and insightful analysis of the question/issue. It is expected that students will demonstrate a clear understanding and high level of analysis in their essay. Simply regurgitating what you have read is not acceptable and will result in a grade of zero. Essays must be 700 to 900 words in length (approximately 1 full page using size 10 font in MS- Word), typed, single spaced, and in final draft form with respect to spelling and grammar. Each reaction essay will be worth 10 points. Late essays will be penalized 2 points beginning at the end of class (8:41 AM) on the due date of the assignment. An additional 2 points will be deducted for each additional day the essay is late. Academic Accommodations - All exams will be administered in the classroom where normal academic instruction occurs. If you are a student with a documented disability who may need special academic accommodations for exams or laboratory activities, please see Dr. Flint immediately to make appropriate arrangements.
5 Plagiarism and Academic Integrity - Grades are not competitive and thus, students are encouraged to discuss the material and study together outside of class. In other words, there are not a limited number of A's to be earned, everyone has the potential and opportunity to earn an A in this course. However, all assignments (exams & article reviews) are expected to be a reflection of the individual student's work. Students caught plagiarizing, cheating, or violating The College of Saint Rose policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity in any way will receive a zero for the course and disciplinary action may be taken. If you have any questions or are unsure about these rules and regulations you should see Dr. Flint immediately. A copy of The College of Saint Rose Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity is included in this syllabus. Grading Policy - Grades will be calculated based on the total number of points earned by each student during the semester (total possible = 480 pts). The number of points earned will be divided by the total possible points and multiplied by 100 to yield the final percentage for the course. Students interested in taking this course on a Pass/Fail basis must earn enough points for a C in order to be given a Passing grade. Grades will be assigned using the grading scale listed below: Grade Percentage GPA Points* Raw Points Earned A 95%-100% 4.0 A - 90%-94% 3.7 B + 87%-89% 3.3 B 83%-86% 3.0 B - 80%-82% 2.7 C + 75%-79% 2.3 C 70%-74% 2.0 D 60%-69% 1.0 F < 59% 0.0 *GPA points are assigned by The College of Saint Rose.
6 Assignment Summary - The table below summarizes the graded assignments for this course and lists their point value: Assignment Point Value Exam #1 55 Exam #2 55 Exam #3 55 Exam #4 55 Exam #5 (Final Exam) 150 Essays 50 Experimental Points 8 Total
7 Introductory Psychology Essay Assignments 1. A young woman, having given birth 48-hours earlier, begins to loose both sensation and muscle control in her right arm and leg. This becomes progressively worse, and she soon appears to be paralyzed on her right side. What do you think is occurring neurologically? What areas of the brain do you thing are being influenced and why? Can you speculate about the neurotransmitter systems that may be involved? How might you explain what is happening and why? DUE: Monday February 3 rd, by 8:40 AM 2. Using your knowledge of the sensory systems and the anatomy of the human brain, explain how/why one might experience visual and auditory hallucinations. Do you think that hallucinations are different if they occur because of epilepsy, schizophrenia, or drug use? Why or why not? DUE: Wednesday February 12 th, by 8:40 AM 3. Mr. Mnemonic, an elderly man residing in a nursing home, repeatedly locks himself out of his room. Due to the frequency of this occurrence (up to 15 times per day), you have been asked to try and curb Mr. Mnemonic's bad habit, as it is becoming a nuisance to security. Using what you have learned and read about learning and memory, develop a plan to train Mr. Mnemonic to remember his keys!! DUE: Friday February 28 th, by 8:40 AM 4. As the project manager for a small company you have the arduous task of maintaining and facilitating worker morale and productivity. Unfortunately, your work force is divided into two groups, the smokers and the non-smokers. One of the major points of contention that you must deal with is the inefficiency of the smokers due to their frequent and long smoking breaks. Based on what you have learned thus far, develop a plan to improve worker morale and productivity while keeping both groups from resenting each other. Incorporate concepts from motivation and emotion where ever possible. DUE: Wednesday March 19 th, by 8:40 AM 5. Select one of the following psychological disorders and write an essay focusing on what you believe 'a day in the life' of this individual might be like. (paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or OCD) DUE: Friday April 25 th, by 8:40 AM
8 The College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Definition: Students at The College of Saint Rose are expected to be honest in every aspect of their academic work. All work presented as a student's own must be the product of his or her own efforts. Students working in groups are each individually responsible for the academic integrity of the group project. Plagiarism, cheating, academic misconduct, or any other submission of another's work as one's own is unacceptable. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:! Purchasing, copying, down-loading, printing, or paraphrasing another's book, article, paper, speech, exam, portfolio, creative work, argument or any other work and presenting it as one's own, either in whole or in part.! Incorporating portions of another's work without proper acknowledgement and documentation. Academic misconduct includes but it not limited to:! Providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation, including papers, projects, and examinations.! Attempting to influence one's academic evaluation for reasons other than academic achievement or merit.! Presenting as one's own the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation without proper acknowledgement and documentation.! Doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated.! Presenting the same of substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the instructor(s) involved. Also, one is not allowed to cooperate or be an accessory to another's academic misconduct. Thus, a student who writes a paper or does an assignment for another students is an accomplice and must be held accountable just as severely as the other. A student who knowingly permits another student to copy from his or her own paper, examinations, or projects should be held as accountable as the student who submits the copied material. The work of others, regardless of origin, must be properly and accurately cited in an accepted style, and research data must be obtained and
9 reported in an ethical and accurate manner. Students avoid plagiarism by concentrating on their own words and ideas and by fully crediting others' work when used. Students are advised to always indicate another writer's exact words and ideas with appropriate references. Whenever in doubt, cite the source. Procedure: Student work failing to meet the standards of academic integrity will not be given a passing grade. It is the responsibility of the course instructor to identify and act upon breaches of academic integrity according to his or her best judgement. However, a failing course grade for academic dishonesty will not be recorded by the Registrar until the student has been informed of the charge and the evidence upon which it is based, and the student has been given an opportunity to present his or her defense to the instructor. The instructor may withhold the course grade if the case is not resolved before final grades are due at the Office of the Registrar. If a student is given a failing course grade for an abuse of academic integrity, as determined by the instructor, the student may appeal the grade by following the steps outlined in the College's grievance procedure. When a failing grade due to a violation of academic integrity is recorded, the instructor will send written notification to the school dean(s), the student's advisor, and the Registrar. The notification will identify both the student and the course, and it will describe the offense. A student who violates said standards of academic integrity on more than one occasion may receive sanctions up to, and including dismissal from the college.
10 MWF 7:50-8:40 - Tentative Course Outline (subject to change by the instructor): Reading & Assignment(s) Date Lecture Topic Due Monday January 13 th Syllabus & Course Overview Read Chapter 1 Wednesday January 15 th Introduction to the Science of Psychology Read Chapter 1 Friday January 17 th Introduction to the Science of Psychology Read Chapter 1 Monday January 20 th MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY No Classes Wednesday January 22 nd Introduction to the Science of Psychology Read Chapter 2 Friday January 24 th Biopsychology Read Chapter 2 Monday January 27 th Biopsychology Read Chapter 2 Wednesday January 29 th Biopsychology Read Chapter 3 Friday January 31 st Sensation & Perception Read Chapter 3 Monday February 3 rd Sensation & Perception Read Chapter 3; Essay #1 Due Wednesday February 5 th Sensation & Perception Friday February 7 th Exam #1 (Chapters 1-3); Read Chapter 4 Monday February 10 th Consciousness Read Chapter 4 Wednesday February 12 th Consciousness Read Chapter 5; Essay #2 Due Friday February 14 th Learning Read Chapter 5 Monday February 17 th Learning Read Chapter 5 Wednesday February 19 th Learning Read Chapter 6 Friday February 21 st Memory Read Chapter 6 Monday February 24 th Memory Read Chapter 6 Wednesday February 26 th Memory Read Chapter 7 Friday February 28 th Thought, Language, & Intelligence Read Chapter 7; Essay #3 Due Monday March 3 rd Thought, Language, & Intelligence Wednesday March 5 th Exam #2 (Chapters 4-7); Read Chapter 8 Friday March 7 th Motivation & Emotion Read Chapter 8 Monday March 10 th SPRING BREAK No Classes Wednesday March 12 th SPRING BREAK No Classes Friday March 14 th Motivation & Emotion Read Chapter 8 Monday March 17 th Motivation & Emotion Read Chapter 9 Wednesday March 19 th Human Development Read Chapter 9; Essay #4 Due Friday March 21 st Human Development Read Chapter 9 Monday March 24 th Human Development Read Chapter 10 Wednesday March 26 th Health, Stress, & Coping Read Chapter 10 Friday March 28 th Health, Stress, & Coping Read Chapter 11 Monday March 31 st Personality Read Chapter 11 Wednesday April 2 nd Personality Friday April 4 th Exam #3 (Chapters 8-11); Read Chapter 12
11 Monday April 7 th Psychological Disorders Read Chapter 12 Wednesday April 9 th Psychological Disorders Read Chapter 12 Friday April 11 th Psychological Disorders Read Chapter 13 Monday April 14 th Treatment of Psychological Read Chapter 13 Disorders Wednesday April 16 th Treatment of Psychological Read Chapter 13 Disorders Friday April 18 th EASTER VACATION No Classes Monday April 21 st EASTER VACATION No Classes Wednesday April 23 rd Treatment of Psychological Read Chapter 14 Disorders Friday April 25 th Social Psychology Read Chapter 14; Essay #5 Due Monday April 28 th Social Psychology Read Chapter 14 Wednesday April 30 th Social Psychology Friday May 1 st Exam #4 (Chapters 12-14) Tuesday May 6 th 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM Final Exam
12 Verification of Receipt/Understanding of Course Syllabus I (PRINT YOUR NAME CLEARLY) have received a copy of the Introduction to Psychology (PSY 110) syllabus for Spring 2003. I have read the syllabus and I understand all of the course policies and requirements. In addition, I have received a copy of The College of Saint Rose's Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity as part of this syllabus and have read and understand this policy. I understand that violation of this policy will result in a zero for the course and possible disciplinary action. Signature Date