Psychology 100 (027-044)

MWF

Introduction to Psychology

Fall 2012

 

Instructor

Dr. Jonathan Golding

118 Kastle Hall

111A Kastle Hall (mailbox)

257-4395 (Dr. Golding's office)

257-9640 (Psychology Department Office—do NOT call this phone number to find out about research credits)

email: golding@uky.edu

 

Office Hours

W 12:00-12:50 PM or by appointment

 

Course Webpage

                The course webpage includes links to the syllabus, the Teaching Assistants (including the Subject Pool TA), exam grades, and final grades.

 

http://www.uky.edu/~golding/PSY100MWFhomepage.htm

 

Course Facebook Group

The course has a Facebook group that should help with various aspects of the class. First, as you all know Facebook has bulletin boards, instant messaging, email, and the ability to post videos and pictures. Thus, we can all communicate about class in a seamless manner. Second, Facebook will allow you to connect with other students in the class, which is an important aspect of student education. For example, you can use Facebook to contact classmates about questions regarding class assignments, class notes, or help one another prepare for exams.

The course Facebook group is:

 

Golding: MWF PSY 100 Fall 2012 (University of Kentucky)

 

IMPORTANT: You have 2 weeks to add yourself as a “friend” to the Facebook group.

 

Teaching Assistants (all have mailboxes around the corner from 111A Kastle Hall)

SECTIONS 27, 34, 38, 39                  SECTIONS 28, 29, 33, 42                  SECTIONS 30, 31, 32

Rachel Steffens                                   Shuang Bi                                             Laura Smart

 

SECTION 35                                        SECTIONS 36, 37, 40, 41                  Section 43

Stephanie Richman                            Ramey Monem                                   Michael Lee

 

Due to our class size, only in-class activities, lab quizzes, and exams with the correct section number and code number will be graded. All in-class activities, lab quizzes, and exams without the correct section number and code number will receive a “0”. You will have 5 school days from the date of an in-class activity, lab quiz, or exam to inform Dr. Golding or your TA of your correct section number and code number and have the “0” changed for that in-class activity, lab quiz, or exam.

The Course

Purpose. This course is part of the new General Education Program, 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, research methods, and how 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 six goals in this course:

1) You should finish this course with a better understanding of psychological approaches to studying behavior and mental processes, problems in psychology, historical antecedents, theories, and research findings, concepts, and methodologies (including ethical issues).

2) The course should stimulate your intellectual curiosity about behavior and mental processes, impress upon you the importance of the scientific method and the possibility of biases in research, and stress the importance of having a critical attitude toward all generalizations.

                3) Demonstrate an ability to identify and use appropriate information resources to substantiate evidence-based claims.

                4) Demonstrate knowledge of how a social science discipline influences society.

                5) Demonstrate an ability to identify a well-formulated question pertinent to a social science discipline and to employ the discipline’s conceptual and methodological approaches in identifying reasonable research strategies that could speak to the question.

                6) 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 Textbooks

Griggs, R. A. (2012). Psychology: A concise introduction (3rd Edition). NY: Worth Publishers.

 

Golding, J. M., Wasarhaley, N., Simcic, T., Godlaski, A. J., Hodell, E. C., & Yozwiak, J. A. (2010). Experiencing          psychological science: Student edition. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky. YOU MUST PURCHASE THE                2010 LAB MANUAL, BECAUSE SOME OF THE LAB ACTIVITIES ARE DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS     YEARS.

 

IMPORTANT--please note the following:

1) You must have access to the Internet. It does NOT matter if you access the Internet from home or a UK computer.

2) You must have a UK email account.

                3) My overheads, Power Point presentations, 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, Power Point presentations, 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, Power Point presentations, and handouts without express prior written permission from me.

                4) NO computers in the balcony of Memorial Hall.

5) NO food or drinks are allowed in Memorial Hall.

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

7) All cell phones must be on silent ring in Memorial Hall and in laboratory.

8) NO text messaging on electronic devices while in Memorial Hall or in laboratory.

9) NO “surfing” the Web in lecture or laboratory.

 

The penalty for NOT following any of the above rules may be a “0” on the current or next in-class/out-of class activity, general lab quiz, lab reading assignment quiz, or exam.

 

Class Lectures

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

 

WEEK OF                           TOPIC(S)                                             Chapter

(read by start of week)

August 22                              The Science of Psychology                1

 

August 27                              Research Methods                              1

 

September 3                         Biology and Behavior                        2

 

September 10                       Sensation and Perception                  3

 

September 17                       Perception                                             3

EXAM 1 (Wednesday, Sept. 19

Chapters 1, 2, 3, Labs 1, 2)

 

September 24                       Learning                                                4

                               

October 1                              Memory                                                                5

 

October 8                              Intelligence                                           6

 

October 15                            EXAM 2 (Monday, Oct. 15

Chapters 4, 5, 6, Labs 4, 5)

Development                                        7

 

October 22                            Motivation                                            4

 

October 29                            Personality                                            8

 

November 5                          Personality/Abnormality                    8, 10

 

November 12                       EXAM 3 (Monday, Nov. 12

Chapters 7, 4, 8, Labs 6, 7, 8)

Abnormal Behavior                            10

 

November 19                       Therapy                                                 10

 

November 26                       Therapy                                                 10

 

December 3                          Social Psychology                               9

Gen Ed paper Part 1 due in lecture on M, Dec. 3

Gen Ed paper Part 2 due in lecture on W, Dec. 5

 

Finals Week                          EXAM 4 (Wednesday, Dec. 12

                                                10:30-11:20 AM

Chapters 10, 9, Labs 9, 10)

 

 

Laboratory Schedule

Week of                           Topic(s)                                             Lab

August 22                              NO LAB!!!                                            ------

August 27                              The Science of Psychology                1

September 3                         NO LAB!!!                                            ------

September 10                       Research Methods                              2

September 17                       Brain and Behavior                            3

September 24                       Conditioning                                         4

October 1                              Memory                                                5

October 8                              NO LAB!!!                                            ------

October 15                            Developmental Psychology               6

October 22                            Motivation                                            7

October 29                            Personality                                            8

November 5                          NO LAB!!!                                            ------

November 12                       Psychopathology                                 9 (Gen Ed paper handout)

November 19                       NO LAB!!!                                            ------

November 26                       Social Behavior                                   10

December 3                          NO LAB!!!                                            Gen Ed paper Part 1 due in lecture on M, Dec. 3

Gen Ed paper Part 2 due in lecture on W, Dec. 5

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

 

Evaluation Criteria

 

Your final grade point total in this course is from 0-100 points.

 

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. Each exam is graded from 0-100.

 

Exam Dates and Times (subject to change)

Day                        Date                                       Time (includes                     Chapters               Labs

distribution and

collection of each

exam)   

EXAM 1                Wednesday           September 19                       11:00-11:50 AM                 1, 2, 3                     1, 2

EXAM 2                Monday                                October 15                            11:00-11:50 AM                 4, 5, 6                     4, 5

EXAM 3                Monday                                November 12                       11:00-11:50 AM                 7, 4, 8                     6, 7, 8

EXAM 4                Wednesday           December 12                        10:30-11:20 AM                 10, 9                       9, 10

 

Laboratory Quiz Performance

15% of your grade will be based on your performance on quizzes in the lab for this course (5% for 6 reading assignment quizzes and 10% for 11 general lab quizzes). Each lab will involve a demonstration and/or experiment concerning a topic in psychology, typically from your laboratory manual. Some labs also include reading assignments. Unless you are told otherwise by Dr. Golding or your TA you should bring your laboratory manual to lab each week. On weeks that you have a reading assignment you should also bring the reading. Each reading assignment quiz and “general lab” quiz will include one or more questions. 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 0-100. All quizzes are due at the time they are collected. No late quizzes will be accepted (and each will be given a score of 0) unless you have an excuse that has been approved by your TA or Dr. Golding.

 

Note that your last “general lab” quiz is called the “Gen Ed paper” and partially fulfills the General Education requirement for this course. The Gen Ed paper does not correspond to a particular lab. The Gen Ed paper will be a 2-3 typed paper. In addition, your paper will be typed in 12-font, double-spaced, and have a 1-inch margin on all sides. The specific topic of the paper and other important aspects of the paper will be presented in lab at a later date. It is important to note that a hardcopy of this paper will be turned in during lecture in two parts. Part 1 will be turned in at the start of lecture on Monday, December 3 and Part 2 will be turned in at the start of lecture on Wednesday, December 5. You MUST be in lecture on both of these days to turn in both parts of the paper. If you do not turn in either part of the paper, or you do not come to lecture to turn in both parts of the paper (i.e., you give it to someone else to turn in), or you turn in either part of the paper late (i.e., after each is collected), your final letter grade for the course will be dropped 2 letter grades. That is, if you had a final grade of “A” in the course, you will be dropped to a final grade of “C” in the course. In addition to turning in a hardcopy of the two parts of the paper, you may have to turn in the two parts of the Gen Ed paper via Blackboard.

 

Laboratory In-Class Oral Participation

5% of your grade will be based on your oral participation in the lab for this course. Participation is defined as any meaningful spoken contribution to the entire class (comment or question) that pertains to a particular lab. (Note: Even if you give an incorrect answer, your effort still will typically earn you credit.) Each time you participate in lab you will turn in a card (with your name, seat number, and date) that day (i.e., no late cards will be accepted) to your TA. You are required to bring these cards to class. You must participate at least 5 times in lab. That is, across the 10 labs you must have a meaningful contribution to the entire class at least 5 times (in 1 or more labs). If you do not fulfill this requirement your final letter grade for the course will be dropped 2 letter grades. That is, if you had a final grade of “A” in the course, you will be dropped to a final grade of “C” in the course.

 

In-class Activities

5% of your grade will be based on your performance in numerous writing activities that will be completed during lecture. These may include giving your opinion about how you think the results of an experiment might turn out, discussing a particular reading, doing library research, using the Internet, answering a survey about class, etc. These activities are graded from 0-100 based on meaningful participation. You must have a score above "0" on at least 80% of all in-class writing activities. If you do not fulfill this requirement your final letter grade for the course will be dropped 2 letter grades. That is, if you had a final grade of “A” in the course, you will be dropped to a final grade of “C” in the course. There will be MINIMUM of 10 of these writing activities. That is, if there are 10 writing activities and you miss 3 or more writing activities without having an excused absence for each writing activity you miss, 20 points will be deducted from your point total for the entire course regardless of your other class grades. To be clear about this grading policy, the in-class writing activity grade is based on the total number of these activities. Although you may miss one or more writing activities due to an unexcused absence and still pass the course, you will receive a 0 for each writing activity missed due to an unexcused absence when the in-class writing activity grade is calculated. All in-class activities are due at the time they are collected. No late in-class activities will be accepted (and each will be given a score of 0) unless you have an excuse that has been approved by Dr. Golding.

 

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 credit hours 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 hour. It is worthwhile to get this requirement completed as soon as possible. This requirement will be discussed more fully in lecture and in lab. Please note that you will be given another handout about this requirement that is considered part of the course syllabus.

 

Extra Credit

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

 

Grades (based on final point total)

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 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 activities, 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 course requirement. Make-up exams will only be offered in the case of an "excused" absence. The UK Bulletin defines excused absences; you should consult the Bulletin for this definition. 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 0 for that particular exam.

Third, attendance at labs AND completing (i.e., having a score above “0”) the corresponding general lab quiz for all labs are specific course requirements. A make-up for a lab and general lab quiz will only be offered in the case of an "excused" absence. (See the UK Bulletin for the definition of an “excused” absence.) 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 general lab quiz for all labs. You must attend at least 9 labs and complete the corresponding 9 general lab quizzes to pass the course. That is, if you do not meet these requirements you will automatically fail the course regardless of your other class grades. An unexcused absence from a lab or not completing a corresponding general lab quiz (and reading assignment quiz if applicable) will result in a grade of zero (0) for that particular general lab quiz (and reading assignment quiz if applicable). 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 and corresponding general lab quiz (and reading assignment quiz if applicable) due to an unexcused absence and still pass the course, you will receive 0 points for that general lab quiz (and reading assignment quiz if applicable) when your lab grade is calculated. Please note that arriving to lab 15 or more minutes late or leaving 15 or more minutes early without an excuse accepted by your TA will be considered an absence from lab, and you will receive a grade of zero (0) for that particular general lab quiz (and reading assignment quiz if applicable).

Fourth, the Gen Ed paper will be turned in as a hardcopy in lecture in two parts. Part 1 will be turned in by the start of lecture on Monday, December 3 and Part 2 will be turned in by the start of lecture on Wednesday, December 5. You MUST be in lecture on both of these days to turn in both parts of the paper. If you do not turn in either part of the paper, or you do not come to lecture to turn in both parts of the paper (i.e., you give it to someone else to turn in), or you turn in either part of the paper late, your final letter grade for the course will be dropped 2 letter grades. That is, if you had a final grade of “A” in the course, you will be dropped to a final grade of “C” in the course.

 

Make-Up Policy

In the event of an excused absence from a lecture exam, lab, lab quiz (general or reading assignment), Gen Ed paper, or in-class activity you have the right to make up the work. The following conditions apply to making up the work due to an excused absence:

 

1) For a missed lecture exam, you must present documentation of the absence to Dr. Golding by the time you return to

lecture or lab and be prepared to take the make-up exam within 5 school days.

2) For a missed lab or lab quiz (general or reading 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.

3) If you miss turning in either part of the Gen Ed paper (hardcopy and/or Blackboard copy) you must present

documentation of the absence to Dr. Golding by the time you return to lecture and turn in the part of the paper you missed at that time.

4) For a missed in-class/out-of-class activity, 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 quiz (general or reading assignment), Gen Ed paper, or in-class activity by following the conditions specified above will result in a grade of zero (0).


Grade Sheet

Exams                                                                                                   Lab Reading Quizzes                        General Lab Quizzes

Exam 1 (Raw Score x 2) = ______                                                  Score                                                     Score

Exam 2 (Raw Score x 2) = ______                                                  Reading 1 _______                            Lab 1     _______

Exam 3 (Raw Score x 2) = ______                                                  Reading 2 _______                            Lab 2     _______

Exam 4 (Raw Score x 2) = ______                                                  Reading 3 _______                            Lab 3     _______

                                                                                                                Reading 4 _______                            Lab 4     _______

High 1 score =      ______ x .20 =     ______                                  Reading 5 _______                            Lab 5     _______

High 2 score =      ______ x .20 =     ______                                  Reading 6 _______                            Lab 6     _______

High 3 score =      ______ x .20 =     ______                                  TOTAL    (_______ / 6)                     Lab 7     _______

Low 1 score =       ______ x .10 =     ______                                                  x .05 = _______                  Lab 8     _______

                                                                                                                                                                                Lab 9     _______

TOTAL  ______                                                                                                  Lab 10   _______

                                                                                                                                Gen Ed   _______

                                                TOTAL  (_______ / 11) x .10 = _______

In-Class Activities                                                                              Laboratory In-Class Participation

(minimum of 10 activities)                                                              (put a “1” each time you participate)

Activity 1              _______                                                                                Participation 1 _______

Activity 2              _______                                                                                Participation 2 _______

Activity 3              _______                                                                                Participation 3 _______

Activity 4              _______                                                                                Participation 4 _______

Activity 5              _______                                                                                Participation 5 _______

Activity 6              _______                                                                                TOTAL            _______

Activity 7              _______                                                                               

Activity 9              _______                                                                                Research Participation (each ½ credit = 50 points)

Activity 9              _______                                                                                Credit ½                 _______

Activity 10            _______                                                                                Credit 1                  _______               

Activity 11            _______                                                                                Credit 1½              _______

Activity 12            _______                                                                                Credit 2                  _______

Activity 13            _______                                                                                Credit 2½              _______               

Activity 14            _______                                                                                Credit 3                  _______

Activity 15            _______                                                                                Credit 3½              _______               

Activity 16            _______                                                                                Credit 4                  _______

Activity 17            _______                                                                                Credit 4½              _______

Activity 18            _______                                                                                Credit 5                  _______

Activity 19            _______                                                                                Credit 5½              _______

TOTAL                  _______/ (# of activities) x .05 = _______    Credit 6                  _______

                                                                                                                TOTAL                  _______/6 x .05 = _______

Extra Credit: ______, _______, _______

 

POINT TOTAL                  Maximum Points You Can Earn                      Your Point Total

Exam High Grade 1                            20                                                           _______

Exam High Grade 2                            20                                                           _______

Exam High Grade 3                            20                                                           _______

Exam Low Grade                                10                                                           _______               

Lab Reading Assignment Quizzes      5                                                            _______               

General Lab Quizzes                           10                                                           _______

In-Class Lab Participation                   5                                                            _______

In-Class activities                                  5                                                            _______

Research Participation                         5                                                            _______

Extra Credit                                                                                                          _______

FINAL POINT TOTAL                       100                                                         _______

If you did not meet the in-class lab participation requirement, the Gen Ed paper requirement, or the in-class activities requirement your final letter grade for the course will be dropped 2 letter grades. If you did not meet the in-class lab attendance requirement, you fail the course regardless of your other class grades.