Psychopathology PSYC 3313 Spring Semester, 2008 Course Instructor: Teaching assistant: Schedule: Website: Erik, Ph.D. Office: Muenzinger D-313C Phone: 303-492-3304 Email: willcutt@colorado.edu Kyle Davis Office: Muenzinger D-314C Phone: 405-269-9089 Email: Kyle.Davis@colorado.edu Lecture: Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:50; Muenzinger E417 Laboratory: Monday 3-4:50, Stadium 112 Wednesday 3 4:50; Muenzinger E432 http://psych.colorado.edu/~willcutt/psyc3313/index.htm Office hours: Erik: Thursday 2:30-3:30. Kyle: Tuesday 2:30-3:30 and Wednesday 5-6 We are also happy to set up an appointment to meet at another time. Course description and goals: PSYC 3313 is an intensive, upper-level undergraduate course for psychology majors that provides an overview of the causes, development, assessment, prevention, and treatment of psychopathology. We will cover basic research methods that are used to study psychopathology, theories of psychopathology, and diagnosis and classification. This course is especially relevant for students who are interested in a career related to clinical psychology or psychiatry, general medicine, social work, or psychotherapy. Prerequisites: General Psychology (PSYC 1001) is the only prerequisite. Required Text: Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2005). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (4th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press. Two copies of the text will be placed on reserve at the library. Additional readings: Supplemental readings are assigned for several of the lectures. These readings will be distributed to you during class approximately two weeks prior to the lecture.
Course Requirements Examinations (400 points) Examinations 1-3 and the final examination are worth 100 points each, and a book project worth 25 points will be completed at the same time as the final examination. One class day will be devoted to each exam. The exams are designed to take no longer than 1 hour and 15 minutes. Each exam will cover material presented up to the class prior to each exam. The exams are meant to assess understanding of the key concepts presented in class and will consist of both multiple choice and short-answer questions. We will distribute sample questions from prior years before the first exam. In this course we will cover introductory concepts and methods before moving to more advanced material and discussion of specific disorders. Therefore, exams must be somewhat cumulative, as material later on in the course is built upon what came before. However, each exam will focus primarily on material presented since the previous exam. We will try to return the exam to you one week after the exam date. Lab Sections (75 points) Lab sections will provide the opportunity to ask questions about the lectures and readings. In addition, each week the lab will involve an activity designed to expand on issues and themes covered during class. These activities will include group discussion of case studies, videotapes, in-class exercises, and presentation of supplemental information. Grades in lab will be worth 75 points of the 500 total points available in the class, and will be based on two criteria: 1. Quizzes/projects (50 total points): You will complete five brief assignments worth 10 points each in your lab section. Some assignments may be quizzes, and others will involve a written project completed outside of the lab session. Each quiz must be taken during the lab period when it is scheduled, and no make-up quizzes will be given. Projects will usually be due during the lab session the week after you receive the assignment. 2. Participation (25 total points): Participation points will be based on regular attendance and active participation in lab discussions and activities, as well as completion of informal (i.e., ungraded) written assignments. Book Project (25 points) During the semester each of you will read a book about someone with one of the psychopathologies that we discuss in class. Examples include The Years of Silence are Over by Stephen Hinshaw (bipolar disorder), An Unquiet Mind by Kay Jamison (bipolar disorder), Darkness Visible by William Styron (depression), Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams (autism), A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar (schizophrenia), Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher, Monster by Sanyika Shakur (antisocial and aggressive behavior), and Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface by Martha Manning (depression). You are also more than welcome to choose your own book, but please confirm your choice with me before March 1st so that we can make sure it is appropriate for this class. Your final exam will include an essay question about the book that you have chosen. You will be permitted to bring one page of notes about your book to the final to be used on this question only. To be certain that the remainder of the exam is fair, we will collect your notes pages at the beginning of the exam. When you turn in the remainder of the exam you will receive your notes page, and can use your notes to answer the question about the book. Grading Grades will be assigned on a straight scale based on the percentage of the 500 possible points that you earn. The following table summarizes the grade that corresponds to each score. Please come to see me early in the semester if you are concerned that your performance is falling below your goal for the class. Total Points Earned Percentage Grade 463-500 93-100 A 448-462 90-92 A- 433-447 87-89 B+ 413-432 83-86 B 398-412 80-82 B- 383-397 77-79 C+ 363-382 73-76 C 348-362 70-72 C- 333-347 67-69 D+ 313-332 63-66 D 298-312 60-62 D- 297 or fewer 59 and below F
Policies and Expectations Attendance The course is designed to integrate readings from the text and material presented in class. Therefore it is important to read the book before each lecture and attend all class sessions. If you are unable to attend class it is your responsibility to get class notes from one of your classmates. Late policy Make-up or early exams will not be given unless your absence is due to some unavoidable, strongly documented, real emergency or severe illness. For example, a death in the family or hospitalization due to a genuinely severe mental or physical health crisis are valid reasons for missing an exam. An alternative time to take the exam can be scheduled with us, but you will need to provide written documentation of the crisis. The following are examples of invalid excuses: Forgetting to set your alarm, spending the night in jail, getting in one last day at Winter Park, having your car in the shop, pulling an all-nighter to finish a paper, or deciding to leave early for spring break or the summer. If you have any questions or concerns about a particular situation, please talk to me as soon as you know about it. Accommodations for a documented disability I encourage students with documented disabilities, including nonvisible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss with me possible accommodations so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. If you do have a documented disability, please see me during the first two weeks of class. University policy requires that you provide documentation from Disability Services (http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices; 303-492- 8671, Willard Hall 322, 107 UCB; dsinfo@colorado.edu). Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Kyle and I will keep any information that you provide confidential. Classroom Behavior Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Many of the topics we cover in this course can be controversial, and may be highly emotional for individuals with a personal experience related to one of the disorders. Therefore, please be considerate of the feelings of others in the class. This does not mean that you have to agree with me, Kyle, or the other students, but it does mean that we expect all discussions to be respectful. Academic Honesty Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. All students at the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. As a member of the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, I am mandated to report all violations of academic ethics to the Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. This includes cheating on an examination or permitting another student to cheat off of your exam, plagiarism, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. I am also required to impose sanctions for violations of academic ethics, including (but not necessarily limited to) a failing grade for that assignment. Documentation of any such violations will also be placed in the student s permanent file. Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Additional information about the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode.
Course Schedule The following schedule is meant to be used as a guideline for the topics covered in class. The lectures will add emphasis to some sections of the text and de-emphasize other sections. The schedule is tentative and may be revised throughout the term depending on the pace of the class and student interests and needs. I have intentionally built some flexibility into the course schedule so that we can spend more time on topics that may be more difficult or of special interest to the class. Therefore, you are encouraged to ask questions during lectures, and should always feel free to ask me to slow down if necessary. Date Topic Required Reading 1 / 17 Defining psychopathology -- 1 / 22 No class -- 1 / 24 Historical traditions and the development of the DSM 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 1, Chapter 2 (pp. 31-33, 54-56), and Chapter 3 (pp. 86-96) 1 / 29 Clinical Assessment & Research Methods 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 3 (pp. 69-85) and Chapter 4 1 / 31 Neural systems and Cognitive Science 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 2 (pp. 41-60) and 3 (pp. 82-85) 2 / 5 Genes, Environment, and their interaction 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 2 (pp. 60-65) and 4 (pp. 111-112) 2 / 7 **Exam #1** 2 / 12 Anxiety Disorders Part I 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 5 2 / 14 Anxiety Disorders Part II 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 5 2 / 19 Mood Disorders part I: Major Depressive Disorder 2 / 21 Mood Disorders part II: Bipolar Disorder and Suicide 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 7 2. Excerpt from Styron, W. (1989) Darkness Visible. 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 7 2. Excerpt from Jamison, K. R. (1997). An Unquiet Mind. 2 / 26 Substance Related Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 11 2 / 28 Tie up loose ends, review for Exam #2 3 / 4 **Exam #2** 3 / 6 Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 6 3 / 11 Eating and Sleep Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 8 3 / 13 Physical Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 9 3 / 18 Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 10 3 / 20 Cognitive Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 15 3 / 25 & 27 **No class: Spring Break** 4 / 1 Tie up loose ends, review for exam #3 4 / 3 **Exam #3** 4 / 8 Schizophrenia Part I 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 13 4 / 10 Schizophrenia Part II 1. Excerpt from Gottesman, I. (1990). Schizophrenia Genesis 4 / 15 Pervasive Developmental Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 14 (pp. 499-507) 2. Excerpt from Grandin, T. (1996). Thinking in Pictures. 4 / 17 Learning Disorders and Mental Retardation 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 14 (495-499 and 507-516) 4 / 22 ADHD 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 14 (pp. 489-495) 2., E. G., & Carlson, C. L. (2005). 4 / 24 Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 14 (pp. 432-440) 2. Excerpt from Hare, R. (1999). Without Conscience. 4 / 29 Personality Disorders 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 12 5 / 1 Final Thoughts and Review 1. Barlow & Durand Chapter 16 5 / 6 **Final Examination: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM** **Book Project Due**