Page 1 Class Meeting Information This course meets online. Instructor Information Name: Thea Andersen Prerequisites Classes or Knowledge Required for this Course None Course Description This one semester course covers some of the principal areas and concepts of modern psychology. Topics include research methodology, learning, perception, social interaction, personality, intelligence, social development and psychopathology. Course Objectives This course is a survey of psychology s basic principles, theories, and methods, with an emphasis on applications to human behavior. Successful completion of this course will enable you to understand the major methods, theories, findings, and historical trends in psychology, and to apply that knowledge to your everyday life. Knowledge of how and why your mind works the way it does will best allow you to tackle the myriad of obstacles that life throws at you! In addition, this course integrates a cross-cultural and multicultural perspective to make psychology meaningful for students of diverse backgrounds. Textbooks and Materials Meyers, D.G. (September 2003). Psychology: Seventh edition in modules. New York: Worth. Course Requirements Prerequisites: Recommended for juniors and seniors Lectures: Each lesson will include a lecture. The lectures will both summarize and complement the materials presented in the textbook. However, some information presented in the lectures cannot be found in the textbooks. You will be responsible for all the material that is presented in the assigned readings AND during lectures on exams, quizzes, and papers. Readings: You are responsible for reading the assigned pages in the textbook PRIOR to the corresponding lesson/lecture. It is very important that you read the assigned sections before the lesson, because the lesson builds upon concepts presented in the book. DO NOT attempt to complete a lesson before reading the assigned text. Also, not all sections in the textbook are assigned. Check the course schedule to make sure you read the correct chapters. Papers: You will write 3 papers for this course. These writing assignments will ask you to expand upon what you have learned and apply psychological concepts to a real world context. Papers should be approximately 2-3 pages long, typed, 12 point font, 1-inch margins, and double spaced. Please see the last page of this syllabus for an example of how your paper should look. Each paper should include (at least) an introduction, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. Detailed instructions for your three paper topics are listed below. If you have any questions or need further guidance regarding your paper, please contact your instructor. Activities: During most of your lessons, you will be asked to complete activities designed to enhance your understanding of the course material. Some of these activities can be completed in class while other activities may require additional work at home or outside of class time. Also, some of these activities will help prepare you for homework assignments.
Page 2 Assignments: Throughout the course you will complete homework assignments related to the concepts you are studying. Assignment instructions are provided in the lessons. Assignments will be graded according to accuracy and completeness and will receive either a satisfactory or unsatisfactory evaluation. Quizzes: You will complete 12 in-class quizzes on the lectures and assigned readings. These brief quizzes are designed to test your comprehension of the course material and will provide you with feedback on your progress. The quizzes will consist of 10 multiple choice and/or fill-in-the-blank questions. Quizzes will take place during the last 10 minutes of class. You can drop your two lowest quiz scores, so that at the end of the course, only your 10 highest quiz scores will count toward your overall course grade. Exams: Three in-class exams (non-cumulative) will be given and each exam will cover approximately 6 weeks of course material. Each exam will consist of a combination of 20 multiple choice questions and 3 short answer and/or short essay questions. Grading Policy Your final grade in this course will be determined by your performance in the following areas: orientation, assignments, papers, quizzes, and exams. The grade breakdown will follow the form below. It is possible for assigned percentages to change as necessary as determined by the instructor. The weights of each category are as follows: Orientation 1% Assignments 14% Papers 30% Quizzes 15% Exams 40% Final grades will be based upon the following percentages: A+ 98-100% C+ 78-79% A 93-97% C 73-77% A- 90-92% C- 70-72% B+ 88-89% D 60-69% B 83-87% F Less than 60% B- 80-82% Academic Integrity Policy Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and may result in a failing grade on an assignment, or failure and/or dismissal from the course. Students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. UC Irvine Extension will impose consequences for any student choosing to engage in such behaviors. The following are examples of academic dishonesty:
Page 3 Plagiarism: using another person's words, idea, or results without giving proper credit to that person, giving the impression that the work is the student's own. Any form of cheating on exams and quizzes Falsifying or inventing information for any assignment Partly or wholly completing an assignment for another student or submitting assignments partially or wholly completed by another student. If your instructor feels that you have violated the Academic Integrity Policy, they will notify your mentor immediately and provide you with an opportunity to respond. If caught cheating on quizzes and exams the student will receive an automatic zero. For written assignments, students may have the opportunity to resubmit work in their own words. If the assignment is not resubmitted wholly as their own work and with proper citations, the student will receive a zero on the assignment. Any future offenses could result in a failing grade in the course or complete removal from the UC Irvine Extension program. Course Outline Each week will consist of 5 lessons. To prepare for each week s lessons, you will read the assigned chapters from the textbook. For each week s unit, you will complete the online quiz, an in class/homework assignment, and participate in the message board posting. You will also complete 3 exams and 3 writing assignments throughout the course. Unit #1: Introduction to the History and Science of Psychology Lesson #1: Introduction to the Course None None Lesson #2: The History and Scope of Psychology pp. 1-16 None Lesson #3: The Scientific Method; Research Designs pp. 17-32 None Lesson #4: Experimentation pp. 33-36 None Lesson #5: Statistical Reasoning pp. 36-51 Quiz 1 Unit #2: Neuroscience and Behavior Lesson #1: Neurons and Neural Impulses pp. 53-56 None Lesson #2: Neural Communication and Neurotransmitters pp. 56-60 None Lesson #3: The Nervous System pp. 60-75 None Lesson #4: The Cerebral Cortex pp. 75-82 None Lesson #5: Brain Lateralization pp. 82-92 Quiz 2 Unit #3: The Nature and Nurture of Behavior Lesson #1: Genes and Evolution pp. 97-105 None Lesson #2: Heritability and Temperament pp. 105-112 None Lesson #3: Environmental Influences pp. 114-122 None Lesson #4: Gender pp. 114-122 None Lesson #5: The Arts and the Brain None Quiz 3
Page 4 Unit #4: The Developing Person Lesson #1: Prenatal and Newborn Development pp. 132-136 None Lesson #2: Developmental Research Methods and Designs pp. 135 None Lesson #3: Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development pp. 137-141 None Lesson #4: Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development 2 pp. 142-144 None Lesson #5: Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development 3 pp. 145 Quiz 4 Unit #5: The Developing Person (continued) Lesson #6: Attachment pp. 146-151 None Lesson #7: Parenting Styles and Child Development pp. 152-153 None Lesson #8: Adolescence and Self-concept pp. 156-162 None Lesson #9: Identity Development pp. 162-167 None Lesson #10: Lifespan Development and Adulthood pp. 168-184 Paper 1 Due Unit #6: Sensation and Perception Lesson #1: Introduction to Sensation and Perception pp. 187-196 None Lesson #2: Vision pp. 197-209 None Lesson #3: Hearing pp. 210-218 None Lesson #4: The Other Senses pp. 219-228 None Lesson #5: Proctored Exam None Exam #1 Covering Weeks 1-6 Unit #7: States of Consciousness Lesson #1: Waking Consciousness and the Unconscious pp. 260-278 None Lesson #2: Sleep None None Lesson #3: Dreams and Daydreams None None Lesson #4: Altered States of Consciousness pp. 279-287 None Lesson #5: Drugs and Consciousness pp. 288-301 Quiz 5 Unit #8: Learning Lesson #1: Classical Conditioning pp. 303-315 None Lesson #2: Classical Conditioning 2 pp. 303-315 None Lesson #3: Operant Conditioning pp. 318-330 None Lesson #4: Classical vs. Operant Conditioning pp. 303-330 None Lesson #5: Observational Learning pp. 333-337 Quiz 6
Page 5 Unit #9: Memory Lesson #1: Introduction to Memory pp. 340-343; None 344-346 Lesson #2: Encoding: Getting Information In pp. 347-352; None 353-361 Lesson #3: Storage: Retaining Information pp. 363-365 None Lesson #4: Retrieval: Getting Information Out pp. 366-371 None Lesson #5: Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory pp. 372-383 Quiz 7 Unit #10: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence Lesson #1: Thinking, Judgement, and Decision Making pp. 385-402 None Lesson #2: Biases and Errors in Thinking None None Lesson #3: What is Intelligence? pp. 420-429 None Lesson #4: Assessing Intelligence pp. 430-433; None 450-452 Lesson #5: The Extremes of Intelligence pp. 438-441 Quiz 8 Unit #11: Motivation Lesson #1: Introduction to Motivation pp. 455-459 None Lesson #2: Needs as Motivations None None Lesson #3: Hunger pp. 460-467 None Lesson #4: Sexual Motivation pp. 468-472 None Lesson #5: Sexual Orientation pp. 475-485 Paper 2 Due Unit #12: Emotion Lesson #1: Theories of Emotion pp. 499-505 None Lesson #2: Experienced and Expressed Emotion pp. 506-511; None 513-516 Lesson #3: Experienced and Expressed Emotion pp. 511-512; None (continued) 517-521 Lesson #4: Experienced and Expressed Emotion pp. 521-529 None (continued) Lesson #5: Proctored Exam None Exam #2 Covering Weeks 7-12 Unit #13: Stress, Health and Work Lesson #1: Stress and Illness pp. 532-536 None Lesson #2: Stress and Illness (continued) pp. 536-346 None Lesson #3: Promoting Health pp. 548-557 None Lesson #4: Promoting Health (continued) pp. 557-574 None Lesson #5: Motivation to Work None Quiz 9
Page 6 Unit #14: Personality Lesson #1: Psychoanalytic Perspective pp. 577-588 None Lesson #2: Humanistic Perspective pp. 588-593 None Lesson #3: Traits pp. 594-603 None Lesson #4: Social Cognitive Perspective pp. 604-611 None Lesson #5: The Self pp. 612-621 Quiz 10 Unit #15: Psychological Disorders Lesson #1: Introduction to Disorders pp. 623-633 None Lesson #2: Anxiety Disorders pp. 634-640 None Lesson #3: Mood Disorders pp. 646-657 None Lesson #4: Schizophrenia pp. 658-665 None Lesson #5: Personality Disorders pp. 643-645 Quiz 11 Unit #16: Therapy Lesson #1: Introduction to Therapy pp. 667-672 None Lesson #2: Behavioral and Cognitive Techniques pp. 672-680 None Lesson #3: Group and Family Therapies pp. 680-683 None Lesson #4: Evaluating Therapies and Alternative Therapies pp. 684-696 None Lesson #5: Biomedical Approaches pp. 697-703 Quiz 12 Unit #17: Social Psychology Lesson #1: Introduction to Social Psychology pp. 705-708 None Lesson #2: Social Thinking: Attitudes and Actions pp. 708-712 None Lesson #3: Social Influence: Conformity pp. 713-716 None Lesson #4: Social Influence: Group Influence pp. 719-723 None Lesson #5: Social Influence: Obedience pp. 716-719 Paper 3 Due Unit #18: Social Psychology (continued) Lesson #1: Social Relations: Prejudice pp. 725-730 None Lesson #2: Social Relations: Aggression and Conflict pp. 730-739 None Lesson #3: Social Relations: Attraction and Romantic Love pp. 739-745 None Lesson #4: Social Relations: Altruism and Helping pp. 745-759 None Behaviors Lesson #10: Proctored Final Exam None Exam #3 Covering Weeks 1-18
Page 7 Types of Communication In an online course, the majority of our communication takes place in the course forums. However, when we have a need for communication that is private, whether personal, interpersonal, or professional, we will use individual email or telephone. Code of Conduct All participants in the course are bound by the University of California Code of Conduct, found at http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/coordrev/ucpolicies/aos/uc100.html. Netiquette In an online classroom, our primary means of communication is written. The written language has many advantages: more opportunity for reasoned thought, more ability to go in-depth, and more time to think through an issue before posting a comment. However, written communication also has certain disadvantages, such a lack of the face-to-face signaling that occurs through body language, intonation, pausing, facial expressions, and gestures. As a result, please be aware of the possibility of miscommunication and compose your comments in a positive, supportive, and constructive manner. Course Policies Expectations of students I expect you to Participate actively, constructively, and politely in all course forums Submit all assignments by the time and date indicated Notify me as soon as possible if you have an emergency or need more time for an assignment (Late assignments will be granted within a time frame of up to two weeks / 14 days from receipt of notification.) Expectations of the instructor You can expect me to Review all the course content, materials, assignments, and forum prompts prior to the start of the class Post my syllabus to the class prior to start Post my welcome message prior to start Be online every day during the course Respond to individual email within 24 hours Give you individual feedback on your posted assignments within 48 hours Enjoy the experience!