1 Introduction to Psychology (PSY 1001 – 32) - Department of ...

Introduction to Psychology (PSY 1001 – 32)Fall 2008Monday & Wednesday, 6:20 – 8:15pmAmundson Hall B75InstructorName: Ben DenkingerE-mail: denki004@umn.eduOffice: Elliott Hall S514Office Hours: M & W, 5 - 6pmand by appointmentTeaching AssistantReiko Hiraihira0036@umn.eduElliott Hall N456Fri., 11:30 am - 12:30pmCourse website: http:// moodle.umn.eduRequired materials:• Weiten, Wayne (2007). Psychology: Themes and Variations (7 th ed.).Belmont, CA; Thompson Wadsworth.*DO NOT PURCHASE “BRIEFER VERISON”*• Supplementary readings and materials will be available on the course website.You will be responsible for any additional posted articles as indicated in thesyllabus or in class.Course Objectives / OverviewThis course is designed to provide you with a broad understanding of the concepts relatedto the scientific study of human behavior, and is a prerequisite for all advancedpsychology courses. The primary goals of this class are to help you think critically aboutthe material and to create a conceptual foundation for further learning. By the time youhave completed this course you will know the basic terms, concepts, methods, andperspectives in the psychological discipline. You will also be a big smarty-pants, whichmay make you more or less popular at parties. You will not, however, be licensed toprovide counseling for your friends, nor will you be able to move objects using only yourmind.Introductory Psychology covers material selected from an incredibly diverse field.Psychological issues tend to underlie studies in almost any imaginable discipline, as thequest for knowledge is essentially a very human characteristic. Therefore, anunderstanding of the fundamental aspects of human behavior and reasoning can beapplied in many aspects of everyday life. While originally based on experimentalapproaches to physiology and philosophy, psychology shares close ties to a number ofdifferent fields, including biology, mathematics, history, literature, and art. If you aren’tseeing a connection between the material and your own personal interests, please tryharder to stay awake during the class session. Among the topics covered in this class arepersonality, memory, intelligence, mental health, consciousness, language, childdevelopment, the paranormal, dreaming, and emotion, all of which play out in our liveson a daily basis.1

Lectures and attendance policyClasses will consist of a variety of activities, including group work, film clips,demonstrations, and lectures. You will be responsible for all material covered in thecourse, regardless of your attendance. If you miss class, you are responsible for gettingnotes from a classmate. Lecture slides will be available on the course website at least 24hours before the class in which the material is taught. You are welcome to print thesematerials and bring them to class, but they will not be passed out during class itself due tothe enormous amount of paper that would require. The posted slides will NOT contain allthe material covered in lecture, as I wouldn’t want to spoil any of my jokes by giving youthe punch line in advance. Only the most essential (and note-taking intensive) materialwill be included in the lecture slides.While class attendance is not required, writing assignments will make up about 20% ofyour overall grade for the course (see writing assignments below), and must be submittedduring class time for full credit. Additionally, lectures will cover material from the bookin greater depth, and may include subjects that are not discussed in detail in the text.Writing assignments (45 points)Each Wednesday you will be provided an essay topic to prepare for the followingMonday (see the class schedule for specific due dates). This essay will require you tothink critically about a topic discussed in class or in the text, and but doesn’t requiremuch factual support or references. Instead, I would like to provide you an opportunity toshare your own thoughts about the important issues that psychologists must consider.Essays are worth 5 points each, and you will always be provided almost 5 days to preparethis 1-2 page essay (no more, no less!). While this is an opinion-based assignment, Iexpect that it is proofread and grammatically correct. There is no reason why you shouldnot be able to gain all 5 points on each essay assignment should you take the time tocarefully check your work. There will be a total of 9 essays assigned during the semester,and they comprise about 20% of your final grade. Essays will be collected at thebeginning of class on Monday.If you are unable to make it to class on a Monday in which an essay is due, you maycontact me in advance or have a friend bring your essay along to class. Any essaysubmitted via e-mail, regardless of the reason, is subject to a -2 point deduction fromyour score for that assignment.Research report and experimental design project(40 points [30 – report, 10 – design])A portion of your grade for this course will be based on an experimental design project inwhich you choose one of five papers to review and design an experiment to test ahypothesis based on this issue. The first part of this assignment will consist of reading aresearch report and filling out a worksheet to summarize their findings, and describe themethods they used (30 points). For the second part you will be responsible for describingyour own experiment based on the study you read (10 points). Specific requirements arelisted on a separate handout, which is also available online. You are expected to work2

independently on this assignment, and this project must be submitted at the beginning ofclass on November 12th.ExaminationsA total of 4 exams will be given throughout the semester, including the final. Theseexams will include questions based on readings from the text, supplementary materials,and lectures. Examinations will consist of multiple choice and short essay questions.Review materials will be available online in the week preceding the exam. Each of thethree exams given during regular semester will cover only the newest material, while thefinal will contain both new material and some cumulative material from earlier in thesemester. Study guides and learning objectives will be made available via the coursewebsite at least one week in advance of each test.Missed examsInstead of a missed exam policy, in this course your lowest test score is dropped and yourfinal grade only includes your best 3 test scores. If you choose to do so, you are allowedto miss one of the 4 exams, as you can receive a 0 on one test with no penalty to yourfinal grade. However, keep in mind that it is to your benefit to take each test. NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN, so plan carefully. As an added bonus, if you are satisfiedwith your grade at the end of the semester and have taken the first three tests you mayskip the final exam.Summary of gradesEssay assignments (9 required)Research report projectExam IExam IIExam IIIFinal45 points40 points55 points55 points55 points55 pointsTotal 305 points- lowest test scoreStudent ConductA number of the issues covered in this course are the source of intense debate, and mayelicit some strong emotional reactions. While I enjoy a great debate, I expect all of you tobe respectful of the opinions of others regardless of the strength of your own beliefs.Every student has the right to a civil, productive, and stimulating learning environment,and as such, you are expected to abide by the College of Liberal arts student conductregulations. Accordingly, students whose behavior is disruptive to the instructor or otherstudents will be asked to leave the classroom. The full student code of conduct isavailable at http://advisingtools.class.umn.edu/cgep/studentconduct.htmlSexual harassment (defined as any unwelcome sexual advance, verbal or physicalconduct of a sexual nature) will not be tolerated, and complaints should be directed to theUniversity’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (624-9547).3

Academic dishonestyStudents are expected to adhere to the university’s policy on academic dishonesty, asdefined by the Committee on Student Academic Affairs. Any misrepresentation of astudent’s own work will not be tolerated, including cheating on assignments or exams,plagiarizing, submitting the same paper or material for more than one course, or thewillful sabotage of another’s work. Students suspected of cheating on an exam, quiz, oressay will receive a 0 on that assignment and, in accord with University policy, furtheraction may be taken.Students with special needsThe University of Minnesota is committed to providing equal access to learning for all itsstudents. If you need any special accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.Please remember that the office of disability services is at your disposal to aid you inyour studies, and can be contacted at (612) 626-1333. As an instructor, I am notauthorized to honor any request that has not been brought to the attention of this group. Ican assure you, however, that your confidentiality and success at learning are of utmostimportance to the office of disability services, and I strongly encourage that you seektheir aid, if necessary. Students with special needs or those for whom English is not theirnative language can arrange to be granted extra time on tests. While the use of foreignlanguage dictionaries and computers will not be permitted during exams, all students arepermitted to ask for help with words that are not technical psychological terms covered inthe course.Syllabus changesWhile the general structure of the assignments and the topics covered each day shouldremain as indicated, some changes to the syllabus may occur during the semester. Youwill be informed of these changes in class, and updated syllabus information will beposted on the course website.GradingYou will be graded based on total points earned, not on performance in comparison toother students. Given that your grade is based on your own performance, there is noreason that every one of you cannot achieve an A grade in the course. Alternately, it isalso in your power to choose to earn an F. As you will learn in class, people tend toattribute their own behavior to others as a defense mechanism, and I’d rather you did wellin the class and didn’t waste your precious emotional energy on hating me for the rest ofyour natural lives. The grading scale is approximately as follows:4

Points Earned Percent Letter Grade250 – 232 100% - 93% A231 – 225 92.9% - 90% A-224 – 217 89.9% - 87% B+216 – 207 86.9% - 83% B206 – 200 82.9% - 80% B-199 – 192 79.9% -77% C+191 – 182 76.9% - 73% C181 – 175 72.9% - 70% C-174 – 167 69.9% - 67% D+166 – 150 66.9% - 60% D149 - 0 59.9% and below FStudents registered for a S-N grade in the course must earn a minimum of 70% of thepoints to receive an S grade. Grades will be available at any time on request, but Iencourage you to keep track of your score using the worksheet provided below. If you areconcerned about any of the grades you have received, feel free to talk to me during officehours. The University of Minnesota has adopted the following definitions for lettergrades:Grade DefinitionAOutstanding achievement relative to the level necessary to meet courserequirementsBAchievement significantly above the level necessary to meet courserequirementsCAchievement that meets the course requirements in every respectDAchievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to fully meet thecourse requirementsSAchievement that is satisfactory and is equivalent to a C- or betterF or N Represents failure (and no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1)completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2)was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor andthe student that the student should be awarded an I.IAssigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to an extraordinarycircumstance (e.g. hospitalization) a student is prevented from completingthe work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between theinstructor and the student.5

Extra credit & The Research Experience Program (REP)The Research Experience Program (REP) is a voluntary part of the 1001 course that givesyou an opportunity to gain extra credit through participation in research projectsconducted by members of the Department of Psychology. This program serves two mainpurposes: 1) to expose students to educational opportunities for learning aboutcontemporary research in psychology; and 2) to sustain the University of Minnesota’sextensive and internationally recognized research program by providing a source ofresearch participants.Students may participate in as many research studies as they wish, and each is worth avarying number of extra credit points (typically 2 points / hour of participation).However, students may earn a maximum of 15 extra credit points throughout thesummer session. These points must be accumulated before Friday, December 5 th .For a list of eligible studies and further information, visit the REP website at:http://www.psych.umn.edu/research/rep/default.htmWhen you agree to take part in a research study, you are required to meet any scheduledobligations that you have made. Skipping a research session is an enormous waste of timeand resources, and is unfair to those that are trying to perform their research. For thisreason, skipping a research session will cost you a -1 point penalty to your grade for eachmissed session.REP study participationName of Study Researcher / Project Number Points earned6

WEEK DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENTS BE PREPARED WITH1 3-Sep Welcome and Introduction none2345678910111213148-Sep Research Methods I pp. 48-6910-Sep Research Methods II pp. 37-4815-Sep Biological Psychology I Essay 1 pp. 73-10017-Sep Biological Psychology II none22-Sep Genetics Essay 2 pp. 101-11524-Sep Sensation and Perception I pp. 119-14929-Sep Sensation and Perception II pp. 149-1691-Oct Mid-term I none6-Oct Learning I pp. 215-2378-Oct Learning II pp. 238-25513-Oct Development I Essay 3 pp. 417-43215-Oct Development II pp. 433-44720-Oct Development III Essay 4 pp. 447-46522-Oct Memory I pp. 259-27627-Oct Memory II Essay 5 pp. 276-29529-Oct Mid-term II none3-Nov Language pp. 299-3095-Nov Intelligence pp. 335-36910-Nov Consciousness Essay 6 catch-up!12-Nov Sleep and Dreams *RRP DUE* pp. 174-19817-Nov Cognitive Psychology Essay 7 pp. 310-33119-Nov Social Psychology pp. 633-67124-Nov Mid-term III none26-Nov Personality pp. 469-5051-Dec Motivation Essay 8 pp. 375-3983-Dec Emotion pp. 398-4118-Dec Abnormal Psychology Essay 9 pp. 551-5891510-Dec Treatment pp. 199-211, 595-61516 15-Dec FINAL EXAM none7

Keeping track of your gradesYou may use the following table to keep track of your grade in this course.Assignment Date Due Points earned Points possibleEssay 1 15-Sep 5Essay 2 22-Sep 5EXAM I 1-Oct 55Essay 3 13-Oct 5Essay 4 20-Oct 5Essay 5 27-Oct 5EXAM II 29-Oct 55Essay 6 10-Nov 5RRP 12-Nov 40Essay 7 17-Nov 5EXAM III 24-Nov 55Essay 8 1-Dec 5Essay 9 8-Dec 5FINAL 15-Dec 55TOTAL 250**lowest test score isdropped8