Fall 2002--Psychology 100

Sections 33-50 (11:00 – 11:50 AM)

Introduction to Psychology

 

Instructor

Dr. Jonathan Golding

118 Kastle Hall

111A Kastle Hall (mailbox)

257-4395 (Dr. Golding's office)

257-6843 (Psychology Department main office)

email: golding@pop.uky.edu

course webpage: http://www.uky.edu/~golding/PSY100homepage.htm

 

Office Hours

MW 9:00-9:50 AM

or by appointment

 

Teaching Assistants (all have mailboxes in the hallway near 111A Kastle Hall)         

SECTIONS 33, 35, 38, 39, 46                                         SECTIONS 34, 36

Lili Cook                                                                       Troy Bitson

 

SECTIONS 37, 42, 47, 48, 49                                         SECTIONS 40, 41, 43, 45, 50

Kelly DiGian                                                                 Kathryn Bylica

 

SECTION 44

Elizabeth Eckler

 

The Course

Purpose

This course is part of the University Studies Program, which is designed to provide all UK undergraduates with a comprehensive liberal arts education. The course can be taken to partially fulfill the Social Science area requirement, and to meet the College of Arts and Sciences laboratory course requirement.

This course is designed to provide you with a broad, general introduction to psychology. We will discuss basic subject matter, approaches to doing research, and also the means by which psychological knowledge is (or can be) applied to our lives.

Passing this course is a prerequisite to more advanced courses in the Department of Psychology that develop in greater breadth and depth topics that you will read about and/or discuss in this course.

 

Goals

There are three goals in this course. First, the course has the goal of increasing your knowledge of psychology. You should finish this course with a better understanding of psychological approaches to studying behavior and mental processes, problems in psychology, historical antecedents, and research findings, concepts, and methodologies.

The second goal is to help you develop scientific values and skills. The course should stimulate your intellectual curiosity about behavior and mental processes. In addition, the course should impress upon you the importance of the scientific method, the possibility of biases in research, and the importance of having a critical attitude toward all generalizations.

The third goal is to aid in your personal development. The knowledge you gain from this course should increase your tolerance of the behavior and mental processes of others. It should also give you a better understanding of the forces that limit your behavior and mental processes, stimulate your curiosity to explain why people behave as they do, and allow you be more critical of the "truth" often expressed by "experts." In sum, you should be made more aware of the psychology of everyday life.

 

Specific Goals

I would like this course to be very special for you, to be something you enjoy, look forward to, and will remember long after you leave UK. For this goal to be realized, we must all work together to create a unique educational experience. This will mean that you must stop thinking of yourself as a "passive academic garbage can" into which words are dumped and only retrieved for exams. You must contribute your curiosity, unique experiences, time, effort, and concern for getting the most out of the course while trying to improve any aspect of class that is less than perfect. For me, this has meant rethinking my role as professor, re-evaluating what I want from the course, being open to all suggestions for change, and being willing to invest time, energy, and enthusiasm into this course. The teaching assistants are also committed to assisting you in your intellectual development.

 

Required Software

            PsychOnline (accessed via the Internet). To access this website you will need to purchase a code number from the bookstore.

 

 PsychOnline is a comprehensive web resource for Introduction to Psychology courses. It is designed to take the place of a traditional textbook, providing: tutorials to guide you through the core content of psychology, activities to demonstrate key psychological principles, quizzes to test your knowledge of the material. We will discuss PsychOnline in detail during class.

 

Required Textbook

Golding, J. M., Yozwiak, J., & Mace, D. (2002). Experiencing psychological science: Students’ edition. Lexington,

KY: University of Kentucky.

 

Optional Textbook

Myers, D. G. (2001). Exploring psychology (5th Edition-paperback). NY: Worth Publishers.

 

IMPORTANT--please note the following:

 

1) You must have access to the Internet.

 

2) Your access to the Internet must include the Shockwave/Flash plug-in.

 

3) You must have an email account.

 

4) When registering for PsychOnline your URL is www.MetaText.com and you will choose Plain Text format.

 

5) My overheads and handouts are protected by state common law and federal copyright law. They are my own original expression. Whereas you are authorized to take notes in class based on my overheads and handouts, this authorization extends only to making one set of notes for your own personal use, sharing one copy of those notes with another student who is enrolled in this class for his/her own studies, and no other use. You are not authorized to make any commercial use of my overheads and handouts without express prior written permission from me.

 

 

 

Class Lectures

11:00 – 11:50 A.M. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Memorial Hall

NO food or drinks are allowed in Memorial Hall.

NO sitting in the balcony of Memorial Hall, unless all of the seats on the floor are occupied.

All cellular phones must be on silent ring in Memorial Hall.

 

Class Lecture Schedule (subject to change)

 

WEEK OF                  TOPIC(S)                                            CHAPTER(S) COVERED

August 28                     The Science of Psychology                    1

 

September. 2                 Research Methods                                1

 

September 9                  Biology and Behavior                             3

 

September 16                Sensation and Perception                       5

 

September 23                Learning                                               7

EXAM 1 (Friday, Sept. 27)                    1, 3, 5

 

September 30                Learning                                               7

                                    Memory                                                8

 

October 7                     Memory                                                8

                                    Intelligence                                           9

 

October 14                    Intelligence                                           9

 

October 21                    Development                                         4

EXAM 2 (Wednesday, Oct. 23)             7, 8, 9

 

October 28                    Development                                         4

                        Motivation                                             10

 

November 4                  Motivation                                             10

 

November 11                Personality                                            12

 

November 18                Abnormal Behavior                               13

EXAM 3 (Wednesday, Nov. 20)                        4, 10, 12

 

November 25                Abnormal Behavior                               13

 

December 2                  Therapy                                                14

 

December 9                  Social Psychology                                  15

 

December 16                EXAM 4                                               13, 14, 15

(Finals Week)               (Wednesday, Dec. 18

            10:3011:20 AM)


PsychOnline Schedule (subject to change)

 

WEEK OF      TOPIC(S)                                PsychOnline (read all unless specified)

August 28         The Science of Psychology        Access PsychOnline

 

September 2      Research Methods                    Due: Wednesday, September 4

Access to PsychOnline should be complete

 

CHAPTER 1

Research Strategies: How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions: Overview

READ The Scientific Method in Psychology

The Scientific Method in Psychology: Activities

DO Assemble the Steps

READ Psychology in the News

                                                                        READ Descriptive Research

READ Correlational Research (pages 1-8)

READ Experiments in Psychology

 

September 9      Biology and Behavior                 Due: Monday, September 9

CHAPTER 2

Neural and Hormonal Systems: Overview

READ Neurons and Neural Impulses (pages 1-3, 9-11)

            READ Neural Communication

                                                                        The Brain: Overview

                                                                                    READ Lower-Level Brain Functions

                                                                                    READ Cerebral Cortex

 

                                                                        Due: Friday, September 13

CHAPTER 2

The Brain: Overview

Cerebral Cortex: Activities

READ Simulate a Split-Brain Experiment

 

September 16    Biology and Behavior                 Due: Monday, September 16

                                                                        CHAPTER 5

                                                                        Vision: Overview

READ Light and the Eye

Light and the Eye: Activities

 Label Structures of the Eye

                        READ Demonstrate Events in the Retina

                                                                        Vision: Overview

Visual Processing

READ Visual Pathway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK OF      TOPIC(S)                                PsychOnline (read all unless specified)

September 16    Biology and Behavior                 Due: Wednesday, September 18

CHAPTER 6

Perceptual Organization: Overview

            READ Depth Perception

                        Depth Perception: Activities

                                    DO Relative Motion in Action

DO Identifying Depth Cues:

            Demonstration

 

September 23    Sensation and Perception           NO PsychOnline assignments

 

September 30    Learning                                   Due: Monday, September 30

                                                                        CHAPTER 8

                                                                        Classical Conditioning: Overview

                                                                        READ Pavlov's Experiments

 

                                                                        CHAPTER 8

Operant Conditioning: Overview

READ Skinner's Experiments

 

October 7         Memory                                    Due: Monday, October 7

                                                                        CHAPTER 8

Learning by Observation: Overview

READ Bandura’s Experiments and Legacy

(Observational Learning)

                                                                        Observational Learning: Activities

READ Psychology Around the Globe: Modeling

Aggression in Mexico

 

                                                                        CHAPTER 9

                                                                        Storage: Retaining Information: Overview

                                                                                    READ Short-Term Memory

 

                                    Due: Wednesday, October 9

                                                                        CHAPTER 9

                                                                        Retrieval: Getting Information Out: Overview

            Memory Retrieval: Activities

DO Demonstrate Tip-of-the-Tongue Experience

 

                                                                        Due: Friday, October 11

                                                                        CHAPTER 11

Introduction to Intelligence: Overview

READ Defining and Describing Intelligence

 

October 14        Intelligence                               Due: Monday, October 14

                                                                        CHAPTER 11

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence: Overview

READ The Nature and Nurture of Intelligence

 

 

 

WEEK OF      TOPIC(S)                                PsychOnline (read all unless specified)

October 21        Development                             Due: Friday, October 25

                                                                        CHAPTER 4                                                               

Prenatal Development: Overview

            READ Prenatal Development and the Newborn

Infancy and Childhood: Overview                                                                       READ Physical Development in Infancy and Childhood

                                                                                    READ Cognitive Development in Inf and Child (pp.1-13)

Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood: Activities

DO Simulated Exp.: Piaget's Checkers Task

Social Development in Infancy and Childhood: Activities

DO Simulated Experiment: The Attachment Bond

 

October 28        Development                             Due: Monday, October 28

                                                                        CHAPTER 4

Adolescence: Overview

READ Adolescent Development

 

Due: Friday, Nov. 1

                                                                        CHAPTER 12

                                                                        Introduction to Motivation: Overview

                                                                                    READ Motivational Concepts

Hunger: Overview

READ Physiology of Hunger

                                                                                    READ Psychology of Hunger

                                                                        Sexual Motivation: Overview

READ Sexual Motivation and Orientation

 

November 4                                                      NO PsychOnline assignments

 

November 11    Personality                                Due: Monday, Nov. 11

CHAPTER 14

The Trait Perspective

The Trait Perspective Activities

DO Body Types and Personality

The Trait Perspective: Overview

READ The Trait Perspective

 

                                                                        Due, Wednesday, Nov. 13

                                                                        CHAPTER 14

                                                                        The Psychoanlystic Perspective: Activities

Defense Mechanisms

 

November 18    Abnormal Behavior                   Due: Friday, Nov. 22

                                                                        CHAPTER 15

                                                                        Anxiety Disorders: Overview

READ Symptoms and Types of Anxiety Disorders

                                               

 

 

 

WEEK OF      TOPIC(S)                                PsychOnline (read all unless specified)

November 18    Abnormal Behavior                   Due: Monday, Nov. 25

                                                                        CHAPTER 15

Mood Disorders: Overview

READ Symptoms and Types of Mood Disorders

                                                                                    Symptoms and Types of Mood Disorders: Activities

DO Demonstrate a Test for Depression

 

Dec. 2              Therapy                                    Due: Monday, Dec. 2

                                                                        CHAPTER 16

Biomedical Therapies: Overview

READ Biomedical Therapies

 

                                                                        Due: Friday, Dec. 6

                                                                        CHAPTER 16

                                                                        Psychological Therapies: Overview

                                                                                    READ Humanistic Therapies

                                                                                    READ Group and Family Therapies

Evaluating Psychotherapies: Overview

READ The Effectiveness of Therapies

 

Dec. 9              Social Psychology                      Due: Monday, Dec. 9

                                                                        CHAPTER 18

Social Thinking: Overview

READ Attributions

Social Influence: Overview

READ: Conformity and Obedience

Social Influence: Overview

            Conformity and Obedience: Activities

DO Conformity in Daily Life

 

Due: Wednesday, Dec. 11

                                                                        CHAPTER 18

                                                                        Social Influence: Overview

READ Group Influences

                                                                        Social Relations: Overview

                                                                                    READ Altruism

 

Evaluation Criteria

Exams

70% of your grade will be based on exams that cover material from the MWF lectures, the textbooks, and the laboratories for this course. There will be four exams, each comprised of multiple-choice items. Your three highest scores on exams will each count 20% toward your final grade, and your lowest score on exams will count 10% toward your final grade.

 

 

 

 

 

Exam Dates and Times (subject to change)

Dav                  Date                            Chapters Covered

EXAM 1           Friday               September 27                1, 2, 5

EXAM 2           Wednesday       October 23                    7, 8, 9

EXAM 3           Wednesday       November 20                4, 10, 12

EXAM 4           Wednesday       Dec. 18                                    13, 14, 15

 

All exams are from 11:00 - 11:50 AM, except Exam 4 that is from 10:30--11:20 AM. The 50 minutes allotted for each exam includes the distribution and collection of each exam.

 

Laboratory

20% of your grade will be based on your performance in the lab for this course. Each lab will involve a demonstration and/or experiment concerning a topic in psychology, typically from your laboratory manual. Unless you are told otherwise by Dr. Golding or your TA you should bring your laboratory manual to lab each week.

You will be required to answer one or more questions concerning each of the labs. The question(s) will be given prior to a specific lab, the day of a particular lab, or the next week in lab. The answers to the question(s) for a particular lab will be graded from 0-10 points.

NOTE: There will be no labs the week of Aug. 28, Sept. 2, Sept. 30, Nov. 11, Nov. 25, Dec. 9, and Dec. 16 (Finals Week).

 

Laboratory Schedule

Week of                      Topic(s)                                               Lab

August 28                     NO LAB!!!                                          ------

 

September 2                  NO LAB!!!                                          ------

 

September 9                  The Science of Psychology                    1

 

September 16                Brain and Behavior                                2

 

September 23                Sensory Processes and Perception         3

 

September 30                NO LAB!!!                                          ------

 

October 7                     Conditioning                                          4

 

October 14                    Memory                                                5

 

October 21                    Developmental Psychology                    6

 

October 28                    Motivation                                             7

 

November 4                  Personality                                            8

 

November 11                NO LAB !!!                                         ------

 

November 18                Psychopathology                                   9

 

November 25                NO LAB !!!                                         ------

 

December 2                  Social Behavior                                     10

 

December 9                  NO LAB !!!                                         ------

 

Finals Week                  NO LAB !!!                                         ------

 

In-class/Out-of-class Assignments

5% of your grade will be based on your performance in numerous assignments that will either be completed in-class (i.e., during lecture) or out-of-class (e.g., via email, in lab). These may include giving your opinion of a particular reading, doing some library research, taking a PsychOnline quiz, looking something up on the Internet, answering a survey about class, etc. To pass the course students must have a score above "0" on at least 75% of all in-class/out-of-class assignments. (There will be a minimum of 10 of these assignments.) That is, if there are 10 assignments and you miss 3 or more assignments without having an excused absence for each assignment you miss you will automatically fail the course regardless of your other grades.

 

Research Participation

5% of your grade will be based on the successful completion of a research participation requirement. You will be required to complete 6 credits of research as a research participant. (Note: Completing more than 6 credit hours does NOT earn you extra points.) Each 25 minutes of research participation will be worth 1/2 credit. It is worthwhile to get this requirement completed as soon as possible. This requirement will be discussed more fully in lecture and in lab.

            If you are unwilling or unable to participate as a research subject in some or all of the required hours, an alternative is available. You may read an article (to be obtained from your TA) and then answer questions about the article or write an article summary. You will give your answers or summary to your TA. This alternative is worth 1 credit. Answers or summaries will be evaluated as "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable." If "Acceptable" you will receive the 1 credit, but if "Unacceptable" you will not receive this credit. An "Unacceptable" set of answers or summary may be rewritten and resubmitted. However, if the answers or summary is “Unacceptable” and the deadline for turning in alternative research summaries has passed you cannot turn in a resubmitted set of answers or a summary.

If you sign up for a research study and do NOT show up at the assigned time without an excused absence, you will receive a no-show. A “no show” decreases the total number of credits that you can earn. For example, if you miss a one-hour experiment, then you can only earn a maximum of five rather than six hours. If you miss a two-hour experiment, the maximum credits that you can earn during the term gets cut to 4. If you have a “last-minute” emergency that occurs within 24 hours of the experiment, then you must provide the experimenter with documentation of the legal or medical emergency that necessitated your absence.

The last day you can deposit research credit slips and alternative research summaries (including resubmitted summaries) in the research credit boxes will be announced in lecture and/or lab.

 

Extra Credit

The possibility of extra credit will be discussed during the course of the semester.

 

Grades

90-100              A

80-89.99           B

70-79.99           C

60-69.99           D

Below 60          E

 

Attendance Policy

Attendance must be discussed with regard to lecture, exams, and laboratory. First, attendance at lectures is not a specific course requirement. However, you are strongly encouraged to be present for lectures. Moreover, whether you are present or not, you will be responsible for material covered, in-class assignments, and/or relevant announcements. It is most unlikely that you will be able to do well in this course without regular lecture attendance.

Second, attendance at exams is a specific course requirement. Make-up exams will only be offered in the case of an "excused" absence. Excused absences are defined by the University of Kentucky Bulletin--you should consult the Bulletin for a description of what is an excused absence. An excused absence from an exam must be verified by presenting documentation to me. If you know before the excused absence is to occur that you will be absent, then present documentation to me ahead of time. Unexcused absences are any cases of absence that do not meet the University's definition. An unexcused absence from a lecture exam will result in a grade of zero (0) for that particular exam.

Third, attendance at labs and completing the corresponding lab assignments (i.e., having a score above “0”) are specific course requirements. A make-up for a lab or lab assignment will only be offered in the case of an "excused" absence. (See above for definitions of “excused” and “unexcused” absences.) If you know before the excused absence is to occur that you will be absent, then present documentation to your TA ahead of time. There are 10 labs--attendance will be taken and records made of whether you complete each lab assignment. You must attend at least 9 labs and complete the corresponding 9 lab assignments to pass the course. That is, if you do not meet these requirements you will automatically fail the course regardless of your other grades on labs, exams, in-class/out-of-class assignments, and research participation. An unexcused absence from a lab or not completing a corresponding lab assignment will result in a grade of zero (0) for that particular lab. To be clear about the lab grading policy: your lab grade is based on 10 grades. That is, although you may miss one lab due to an unexcused absence and still pass the course, you will lose 10 points for that lab when your lab grade is calculated.

 

Make-Up Policy

In the event of an excused absence from a lecture exam, lab, lab assignment, or in-class/out-of-class assignment you have the right to make up the work. The following conditions apply to making up the work due to an excused absence. For a missed lecture exam, you must present documentation of the absence to Dr. Golding by the time you return to lecture and be prepared to take the make-up exam within 3 school days. For a missed lab or lab assignment, you must present documentation of the absence to your TA by the time you return to lecture or lab and a make-up activity will be provided for you within 5 school days of your return. For a missed in-class/out-of-class assignment, you must present documentation of the absence to Dr. Golding by the time you return to lecture or lab and a make-up activity will be provided for you within 2 school days of your return.

Failure to make up an excused lecture exam, lab, lab assignment, or in-class/out-of-class assignment by following the conditions specified above will result in a grade of zero (0).

 

 


Grade Sheet

 

Exams                                                                                     Laboratory

                                                                                                Score on

Exam 1 point total = ______                                                      Lab Question(s)

Exam 2 point total = ______                                                      Lab 1    _______

Exam 3 point total = ______                                                      Lab 2    _______

Exam 4 point total = ______                                                      Lab 3    _______

                                                                                                Lab 4    _______

High point total 1 =        ______ x .20 = ______                                    Lab 5    _______

High point total 2 =        ______ x .20 = ______                                    Lab 6    _______

High point total 3 =        ______ x .20 = ______                                    Lab 7    _______

Low point total 1 =        ______ x .10 = ______                                    Lab 8    _______

                                                                                                Lab 9    _______

TOTAL______                                    Lab 10  _______

TOTAL_______ x .20 = _______

 

In-Class/Out-of-Class Assignments                                      Research Participation          

(minimum of 10 assignments)                                                            (each completed ½ credit is worth 50 points)

 

Assignment 1    _______                                                          Credit ½           _______

Assignment 2    _______                                                          Credit 1            _______         

Assignment 3    _______                                                          Credit 1½          _______

Assignment 4    _______                                                          Credit 2            _______         

Assignment 5    _______                                                          Credit 2½          _______

Assignment 6    _______                                                          Credit 3            _______         

Assignment 7    _______                                                          Credit 3½          _______

Assignment 8    _______                                                          Credit 4            _______

Assignment 9    _______                                                          Credit 4½          _______

Assignment 10  _______                                                          Credit 5            _______         

Assignment 11 _______                                                          Credit 5½          _______

Assignment 12  _______                                                          Credit 6            _______

Assignment 13  _______                                                          TOTAL            _______/6 x .05 = _______

Assignment 14 _______

Assignment 15 _______

Assignment 16 _______

Assignment 17 _______

Assignment 18 _______                                                          POINT TOTAL

Assignment 19 _______                                                          Exams              _______

Assignment 20 _______                                                          Lab                  _______

TOTAL            _______                                                          Assignments     _______

                                                                                                Research          _______

TOTAL/(number of assignments) x .05 = _______                    Extra Credit      _______

                                                                                                TOTAL            _______

Extra Credit

 

______, _______, _______