Syllabus East Los Angeles College Psychology 001, General Psychology Fall 2010 Section 1221, Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-10:25 a.m., E3-107 Instructor: Cathy Cleveland, Ph.D. Office hours: MW, 9:00-10:30 a.m. Office: E3-111A Thurs, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Phone: (323) 415-5329 Thurs, 6:40-7:10 p.m. Email: clevelcs@elac.edu Course requirements 1. Textbook. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 12, & 13 are required reading for this course. Myers, D.G. (2009). Exploring Psychology (8 th ed.). New York: Worth. ISBN#: 1-4292-3826-7. 2. Additional readings for assignments and homework will be posted on the class website or handed out in class. 3. Website. The class website is an important tool that is absolutely necessary for this class. You should visit it often. There you will find copies of my powerpoint lectures (very important!), study guides, and additional information. Visit the class Academic Portal at http://academicportal.elac.edu/default.aspx. Or, access it by going to the school webpage (elac.edu), then click on the ACE button at the right (Academic Computing Environment). Then click on portal login for students. Carefully follow the student login instructions, keeping in mind that login info is case sensitive. If you have questions, please see me. 4. Attendance. You cannot do well in this class without excellent attendance. Really. There are many in-class points for pop quizzes and assignments and you may receive these if you come to class regularly. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class period. If you are more than 5 minutes late or leave more than 5 minutes early, it will be considered partial attendance for that day. Two days of partial attendance will equal one full absence. If you accumulate more than 2 unexcused absences, you will be dropped from the class. 5. Exams. You will take 4 exams during the semester, each worth 100 points = 80% of your final grade. The exams will be composed of mostly multiple choice questions, although short essays may be included. Questions will rely heavily on lectures, textbook readings, and material from films and assignments. You are responsible for bringing your own scantron form on each scheduled exam day. You may not be late for an exam, period. Additionally, you may not reschedule or make up an exam except for the most critical excuse, such as serious illness (with a note from a physician) or a death in the family (proper documentation is required before the date of the exam, if possible). YOU MUST NOTIFY DR. C BEFORE THE DAY OF THE EXAM IF YOUMUST MISS IT. BE WARNED: 1
make-up exams may be given in essay format instead and MUST be made up within 5 days of the regularly scheduled exam or you cannot make it up. If you know now that you will not be able to take the exams at the scheduled time, you should drop this course. 6. Homework and in-class assignments. You will be given homework and in-class assignments throughout the semester that will account for 60 points total (12% of your final grade). The in-class assignments will not be announced ahead of time because they are part of your daily in-class work. Homework is due at the beginning of class. Make sure that you arrive on time; otherwise you may miss out on points. 7. In-lecture pop quiz questions. During lectures, I will give random pop quizzes a few questions at a time on current material (usually material covered within the last 1-2 lectures). These questions will pop up at any time during class, even at the end. Questions are worth 1 point each. This means that attendance in lectures is mandatory in order to receive these points. There will be 40 questions throughout the semester (40 points; 8% of your grade). These points cannot be made up even with a valid excuse. Instead, you will be awarded 5 free pop quiz points in case you miss a class. 8. Extra credit. On occasion, I offer a few extra credit points, but not always. In order to receive possible extra credit points, both class attendance and keeping up with assigned reading from your text are very important. Course description What is psychological science? Psychologists study how people perceive, think, and act. We begin by asking questions directed at understanding human behavior, and then employ a variety of empirical methods to test our theories about the mechanisms underlying behavior. Through careful research, the answers to important psychological questions emerge. In this course, you will learn about the different perspectives from which psychologists approach research, the varied methods we use to test our theories, and the terms we use to describe our findings. After taking this course, you should be a more critical thinker as you observe the behavior of those around you, analyze your own thoughts and actions, and evaluate the scientific reports you hear in the media. Psyc 1 Student Learning Outcomes 1. Explain the major divisions of the nervous system and their basic functions. 2. Explain the scientific method and give examples of experiments and correlational studies. 3. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. 4. Identify and evaluate the major theories of personality and demonstrate how each has played a role in your life. Course policies 1. Academic honesty. Plagiarism is the act of stealing and taking credit for someone else s work. Plagiarism includes: 1) cheating on an exam or quiz; 2) turning in a homework 2
assignment based on the work of another student; and 3) allowing someone else to copy or use your work. Plagiarism is the intellectual equivalent of forgery, and it is never allowed. Any exam, quiz, or assignment that includes plagiarized material will automatically receive a grade of 0 (zero) no exceptions. You will be held accountable if you are involved in plagiarism, so if you are not sure what plagiarism is, familiarize yourself with the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual standards. The manual is available in the library or you can look at it in my office. 2. E-mail. The best way to contact me with short questions outside of class and office hours is via e-mail. If you have a question about your grade, it is best to talk to me in person during my scheduled office hours. 3. Class courtesy and electronic devices. Except during group work, please do not talk in class. It disturbs other students and prevents everyone from learning. Also, please turn OFF your cell phone and other wireless devices and put them completely away during class no texting, phone, or internet access allowed, and no MP3 players. Additionally, you are not allowed to leave class in order to take calls or text. It is also against class policy to use a laptop or other notebook device. Thank you. Grading Your final grade will be based on the total points you earn in this course, as follows: Requirement Maximum Points Possible % of Grade Exam 1 100 Multiple choice; short essay 20% Exam 2 100 Multiple choice; short essay 20% Exam 3 100 Multiple choice; short essay 20% Final exam 100 Multiple choice; short essay 20% In-lecture pop quizzes 40 1 point per question. No make up quizzes; instead, 5 free points given. 8% In-class assignments & homework 60 No make-ups; extra assignments for 10 extra points. 12% Total 500 100% Final grade distribution: Total Points Earned Percent of Points Earned Final Grade 450-500 90-100% A 400-449 80-89.9% B 350-399 70-79.9% C 298-349 60-69.9% D 297 & below 59.5% or lower F 3
Students With Disabilities Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation should talk to Dr. Cleveland immediately, then provide verification of the disability to the Disabled Students Program located in C2-8. Or call (323) 265-8787 to make an appointment at the center. Disclaimer for syllabus The instructor reserves the right to alter the schedule, grading policies, office hours, etc. as necessary. If alterations must be made, students will be notified in advance. Important Dates August 30 September 13 Late registration with instructor s consent. September 13, Monday Last day to ADD classes. September 13, Monday Last day to drop classes without a fee. September 24, Friday Last day to DROP classes without appearing on transcripts. November 19, Friday Last day to DROP classes with a W on transcripts. 4
Tentative schedule, Fall 2010 Date Topic Readings Timeline August 31, Tuesday Course intro; how to study psyc (p. 29-30) Ch. 1 Week 1 Sept. 2, Thursday History & systems; critical thinking Ch. 1 Sept. 7, Tuesday Methods Ch. 1 Week 2 Sept. 9, Thursday Methods; ethical issues Ch. 1 Sept. 14, Tuesday Neurons Ch. 2 Week 3 Sept. 16, Thursday Nervous system; brain structures Ch. 2 Sept. 21, Tuesday Plasticity; brain structure-function Ch. 2 Week 4 Sept. 23, Thursday Exam 1, Ch. 1 & 2 (SCANTRON) EXAM Sept. 28, Tuesday Sensation; vision Ch. 5 Week 5 Sept. 30, Thursday Vision; color theories; hearing & other senses Ch. 5 October 5, Tuesday Perceptional cues; interpretation Ch. 5 Week 6 October 7, Thursday Consciousness; attention; sleep Ch. 6 October 12, Tuesday Sleep disorders; dreams; hypnosis Ch. 6 Week 7 October 14, Thurs. More Chapter 6 Ch. 6 Oct. 19, Tuesday Exam 2, Ch. 5 & 6 (SCANTRON) EXAM Week 8 Oct. 21, Thursday Classical conditioning Ch. 7 October 26, Tuesday Classical; operant conditioning Ch. 7 Week 9 October 28, Thurs. Operant conditioning continued Ch. 7 Nov. 2, Tuesday Complex learning Ch. 7 Week 10 Nov. 4, Thursday Memory models & encoding Ch. 8 Nov. 9, Tuesday Storage, retrieval, & forgetting Ch. 8 Week 11 Nov. 11, Thursday Veteran s Day holiday NO CLASS! HOLIDAY Nov. 16, Tuesday Constructive memory & amnesia Ch. 8 Week 12 Nov. 18, Thursday Exam 3, Ch. 7 & 8 (SCANTRON) EXAM Nov. 23, Tuesday Personality perspectives Ch. 12 Week 13 Nov. 25, Thurs. Thanksgiving Day NO CLASS! HOLIDAY Nov. 30, Tuesday Personality theory Ch. 12 Week 14 Dec. 2, Thursday Personality theory Ch. 12 Dec. 7, Tuesday Disorders Ch. 13 Week 15 Dec. 9, Thursday Disorders Ch. 13 December 16, Thursday Exam 4, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Ch. 12 & 13 only. Non-cumulative. EXAM FINALS WEEK 5