Psychology 300 – General Principles

Fall 2008

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Instructor: Mark A. Stewart
Office Phone: 484-8319
Office: Davies Hall 352
Office Hours: MTWTh 8:00-8:50, TTh 1:30-2:00
E-mail: stewarm@arc.losrios.edu
Website: http://arc.losrios.edu/~stewarm

TEXT: What is Psychology?, Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, 2^nd Edition
(Study Guide is Optional)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this course is to 1) provide you with a brief introduction to the major theories and topics of interest to psychologists, 2) increase your understanding and appreciation for the scientific research conducted by psychologists, 3) encourage critical thinking and careful analysis of psychological theories, research and other issues, and 4) aid in your personal adjustment to life.

These objectives will be fulfilled through a combination of instructional methods: lecture, class discussion, video presentations, textbook study, a writing assignment, and testing. Regarding the classroom portion of this, you should take notes on whatever is covered in class. The material presented in class is critical to your learning and is designed to elaborate on, give examples of, and to stimulate critical thinking about the material that is presented in the textbook. The textbook is also a central aspect of the course and assigned chapters should be read prior to the class periods in which they will be discussed. When reading, it is usually best to focus on main points and general concepts. Even though the detail is often important to your overall understanding, you should not spend all of your time trying to memorize definitions and specific detail. Seeking an understanding of the material should be your goal. In general, class lectures and textbook information will supplement each other, with lectures providing highlights and discussion, and the textbook providing more detail and background. The study questions found on my website will help you identify the information in lectures and the textbook that is most likely to show up on tests.

GRADING

Your grade will be determined by your performance on five tests, a summary/analysis paper, several “two-minute essays,” and extra credit. The list of tasks or assignments (excluding extra credit which will be covered later in the syllabus) and the number of points you can earn from each is as follows:

Test 1	45
Test 2	45
Test 3	45
Test 4	45
Test 5	30
Summary/analysis paper	60
In-class activities	75
TOTAL	345

The writing assignments will be graded on a 90% (A), 80% (B), 70% (C), 60% (D) scale. However, each of the four tests will be graded on a curved scale depending upon the performance of the class as a whole. As a result, it is impossible to determine the final grading scale for the class until after all the tests have been completed. As a rough guide only, if this semester is similar to previous semesters, an A will be earned by approximately 85% of the total, a B by approximately 72%, a C by approximately 59%, and a D by approximately 48%.

TESTS

Tests will consist of multiple-choice questions, the majority of which will come from the textbook. We will be covering much of the textbook material in class, but it will still be necessary for you to have a good knowledge of the basic material in the book. The study questions on my web site will help determine the information in the textbook not covered in class that is still important to know. Each test will cover the three chapters discussed in class over the previous three weeks, with the exception of the last test which will cover only the last two chapters. There are no comprehensive exams in this class. You will need a Scantron form #882 for each test.

You are allowed to make up one test during the semester if you miss it due to sickness or similar emergency. All make-up tests, regardless of the particular test, will be held at the time of the regularly scheduled final exam for this class. If you miss more than one test, you will only be allowed to make up one of them.

SUMMARY/ANALYSIS PAPER

To help you gain a greater depth of knowledge in a specific area of your choosing you are required to find a specific outside resource and provide a written summary of it as well as a personal analysis of the issues and concepts involved. Resources may include a relevant newspaper, magazine, or journal article, or a relevant educational video presentation. Books, advertisements, pamphlets, Hollywood movies, or personal experiences are not acceptable as sources. This is not a research paper, so you must use only one source. The purpose is to give you experience in thoroughly understanding and analyzing a specific published piece of information. In order to earn the best possible grade on this assignment, please pay attention to the following criteria:

• Source is relevant to psychology (ask me if unsure) and a copy turned in with the paper
• Source is of sufficient length and quality (ask me if unsure) to generate at least the required length paper (as indicated below)
• Paper is typed (double-spaced) with a standard size font, and turned in on time
• Paper is at least 5 pages, appropriately divided between a summary of the source and a personal analysis of the source (the length of the analysis is more important, and therefore should generally be longer than the length of the summary)
• Basic rules of spelling and grammar are followed and paper is easy to read and understand
• Summary is accurate and comprehensive (for the main points) and in your own words/style
• Analysis shows evidence of considerable thinking about the article and the issues it raises. You may want to relate it to the information learned in this class, argue some of the points made in the article, discuss the implications, relate it to a personal experience, etc. The highest scores go to papers in which some kind of theoretical discussion occurs. It's not enough to simply state that "the article was good," or that you "agree with it." Even when you illustrate your agreement with the article through a personal experience, you should add other discussion. It usually helps to present alternative views - play the "devil's advocate." At the same time, you should have opinions about the issues stated in the article and these should be presented in your paper. The analysis, which is mainly a reflection of your personal creativity and ability to think, is the most important part of the paper. In writing your paper, you should make it very clear what portions of your paper are summary and what portions are analysis.

This assignment is worth 60 points and is due by the date indicated on the attached schedule. It will be accepted late but 3 points will be deducted for every day that school is in session (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) that the paper is late.

ATTENDANCE (Two-minute essays)

I feel that attendance in class is always important. It shows commitment and a willingness to learn. Past experience has shown me that students who miss class do not do well. This is most likely because the lectures typically pertain directly to the information that will be on the tests. In addition, regular class attendance helps you keep track of important dates such as those for tests and papers. Being on time is also important since it is the courteous thing to do and because I often will give crucial information at the beginning of a class period that may not be repeated later.

The two-minute essays are a way of encouraging attendance. They are also a way to keep you focused on the material. As such, these essays will consist of short responses that you will provide to questions or prompts given in class. The questions or prompts will usually be related to the material discussed in class that day. Your responses will be graded, but usually if you have been awake in class and can communicate your thoughts or knowledge about basic information that was discussed, you will earn the 5 points possible for that day. Since one of the purposes of these activities is to encourage attendance, they cannot be made up if you are absent. If you miss more than a couple of these, you should plan on doing the extra credit paper (described later in the syllabus) to make up the difference.

EXTRA CREDIT

All students can do an extra credit paper, and most should in order to ensure the likelihood of a “good” grade in the class. The extra credit paper is simply a shorter version of the paper that is required for the class (described above). Your task is to obtain another source and write a summary and analysis of it just as described for the required paper. Generally the same criteria will be used to assign points for this paper. In this case however, the length requirement is only two pages. Only one extra credit paper may be turned in and it is due no later than the date indicated on the schedule that follows.

MY WEB SITE

I have a web site that will prove to be very valuable to your performance in this class. The address is on the front of the syllabus. As you will see, the site includes study questions for each of the chapters we cover, an outline of class lectures, an indication of your current points and grade in the class, and several other things of interest. If you need help accessing the web site let me know.

STUDENT CONDUCT

Adherence to certain rules and guidelines will help ensure the appropriate atmosphere for a college class:

• Unnecessary conversations between students during lectures should be held to a bare minimum, and should generally be non-existent during tests.
• Usage of cell phones (including the sending of text messages) and any listening devices is not appropriate in class under any circumstance.
• Baseball type hats, visors, and any type of earphones are not to be worn during tests.
• Plagiarizing in any form is not acceptable. You may not use another’s words, writing style, or ideas in your own written assignment without giving proper credit.
• Tolerance and acceptance is to be accorded every individual in the class. If there are situations involving other students that interfere with your ability to succeed in the class, please let me know.
  
  

Failure to abide by these rules and guidelines may result in loss of points on specific assignments/tests and/or dismissal from the class.

TENTATIVE READING ASSIGNMENT AND TEST SCHEDULE

DATES	READING	SUBJECT	TEST/ASSIGNMENT
Week of:
Aug 25-28	Chapter 1	Introduction
Sep 2-4	Chapter 1	Introduction
8-11	Chapter 11	Social Behavior
15-18	Chapter 13	Personality	Test 1: Ch. 1, 11, 13
22-25	Chapter 2	Biology of Behavior
Sep 29-Oct 2	Chapter 9	Development
Oct 6-9	Chapter 3	Sensation/Perception	Test 2: Ch. 2, 9, 3
13-16	Chapter 4	Consciousness
20-23	Chapter 5	Learning
27-30	Chapter 6	Memory	Test 3: Ch. 4, 5, 6
Nov 3-6	Chapter 7	Cognition/Intelligence	Written Assignment due Nov 3/4
11-13	Chapter 8	Motivation & Emotion
17-20	Chapter 10	Gender & Sexuality	Test 4: Ch. 7, 8, 10
24-26	Chapter 14	Psychological Disorders
Dec 1-4	Chapter 14	Psychological Disorders
8-11	Chapter 15	Therapy	Last day for extra credit: Dec 8/9 Test 5: Ch. 14, 15
Make-up tests will be given at the final exam time according to the formal college schedule.

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