PSY 101- GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, I
INSTRUCTOR: Carol Topping, PhD
Please feel free to call me at home (277-0639), leave a message on my voice mail (452-8600, ext 2421), or e-mail me at: carol.topping@volstate.edu. If I am not available when you call, please leave a message, and I will do my best to return your call within 24 hours.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Invitation to Psychology, Carole Wade and Carol Tavris, 2nd edition
Writing Papers in Psychology, Ralph and Mimi Rosnow, 5th edition
This course is the first in a series of two general psychology classes designed to provide an overview of the filed of psychology and human behavior. Psychology 101 includes the topics of: philosophical perspectives, history, personality, learning, social behavior, abnormal behavior, therapies, and applied psychology.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOALS: The general education goal of this course is to provide the student with a foundation for studying psychology and human behavior. In this section, the student will develop a basic knowledge regarding: the history of psychology and its development as a science; research and methodology; important psychological concepts and terminology; behavior in relation to social and cultural contexts; how humans behave in group situations; characteristics of various psychological disorders; and the theorists and theories that have shaped the field of psychology.
OTHER GOALS: In addition, this course seeks to provide the student with opportunities to acquire and develop critical thinking skills, skills for the assessment of personal values and an understanding of how these values impact mental and physical well-being. It further provides an opportunity to explore issues regarding problem-solving, communication, interpersonal relationships, and academic and personal development.
GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES: As a result of successful completion of this course, the student will be able to demonstrate an acceptable level of mastery of psychological concepts, theories, and vocabulary. The student will also have demonstrated an understanding of how these concepts are applied as the individual develops and functions within contemporary society. Mastery of the course content will indicate sufficient acquisition of skills for pursuing further course work in the fields of psychology.
SPECIAL NOTICE: In compliance with the Americans Disability Act, students are encouraged to register with the Office Student Disability Services for assistance with accommodations. It is the student’s responsibility to voluntarily and confidentially disclose information regarding the nature or extent of a disability. The College does not assume responsibility for providing for providing accommodations or services to students who have not identified themselves as having a qualifying disability. Disability Services is located in the Campus center, Suite C206B.
Volunteer State Community College is an equal opportunity Affirmative Action Education Institution. No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of the College because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or physical appearance. The College also complies with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1957, as amended and with the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974. The commitment to equal opportunity applies to all aspects of recruitment, employment and education of individuals at all levels throughout the college.
EXAMINATIONS: Six (6) multiple choice exams worth forty (40) points each will be given. You must receive permission in advance in order to miss an exam (except in the case of a DOCUMENTED emergency). There are NO alternative exam dates, and it is not my policy to leave exams at the College at Home desk. Your lowest test score will be dropped. There will be NO extra credit assignments in this course as extra credit is built into the exams. NOTE: If a student is caught cheating on an exam, the action will result in an automatic grade of “F”.
CLASS PRESENTATION: Students will give a presentation of approximately 5 minutes in length on a topic chosen in class. Presentations will receive up to ten (10) points: organization, 2pts; presentation, 2pts; knowledge presented (facts), 2 pts; interesting examples, 2pts; personal example(s) or opinion, 2 pts.
CLASS PAPERS: Four (4) discussion papers worth up to ten (10) points each should be 2-3 pages in length on any topic of interest related to general psychology. See guidelines and example for more information.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance WILL be taken. Information from lectures that is NOT in the textbook WILL be on the exams. It is YOUR responsibility to get class notes from your classmates as I DO NOT give out my notes. It is also YOUR responsibility to let me know reasons for your absences immediately after they occur so that I can excuse you (if possible) and log it on my attendance cards. You are expected to be present and on time for all classes. NOTE: Students who are frequently late will lose attendance points. (Absences: 0 = 5pts; 1 = 4 pts; 2 = 3pts; 3 = 2pts; 4 = 1pts; 5/+ = 0pts)
GRADING SCALE:
Examinations (5) up to 200 points
Class Presentation (1) up to 10 points
Class Discussion Papers (4) up to 40 points
Attendance/participation up to 5 points
TOTAL: up to 255 points
The following grade scale is used:
A = 255 – 230; B = 229 – 204; C = 203 – 178; D = 177 – 152; F = 151 and below
INCOMPLETE POLICY: The grade of “I” will ONLY be given under the following circumstances: 1) if the student has experienced an illness or emergency situation which could not be avoided (appropriate documentation MUST be provided); and 2) the student has completed AT LEAST 50% of the coursework and is receiving a passing grade of C or better.
CONFERENCES: If you or I feel the need to schedule a conference, we will need to get together to schedule a time. Please feel free to meet with me before or after class to do so or call or email me at the above addresses.
CHEATING: Cheating is defined as plagiarism, talking to another student during an exam, looking at another student’s work during an exam, using notes or books during an exam, turning in a paper that isn’t the student’ own work, or copying from another student’s answer sheet. Any student caught engaging in these behaviors will be given an automatic failure for the course, regardless of the grade up to that point.
CLASSROOM DEPORTMENT: All policies and procedures for classroom misconduct are discussed in the Student Handbook. As a point of emphasis, the instructor will NOT tolerate any activity that is disruptive to the classroom setting, which adversely affects others, and which is considered by the instructor to be unethical, immoral, or illegal. Students will be dismissed from the class and the issue of misconduct will be brought before the Associate Deal of Students.
In addition, there is to be NO smoking, drinking, or eating in the classroom. Parents are asked not to bring children to class. Cell phones need to be turned off before entering the class.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY: If Volunteer State Community College is officially open, all classes WILL meet as scheduled. All assignments WILL be due and any scheduled tests or exams WILL be given. Any missed work will be subject to the policies outlined in this syllabus.
TENTATIVE TIMELINE FOR FALL SEMESTER 2003
Week Two (9/2) Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Week Three (9/9) Chapter 1 continued; Review Chapter 1
Week Four (9/16) Exam #1; Paper #1; Chapter 2: Theories of Personality
Week Five (9/23) Chapter 2 continued; Chapter 8: Learning
Week Six (9/30) Exam #2; Chapter 8: Learning
Week Seven (10/7) Chapter 8 continued; Paper #2
Week Eight (10/14) FALL BREAK
Week Nine (10/21) Exam #3; Chapter 9: Behavior in Social and Cultural Contexts
Week Ten (10/28) Chapter 9 continued; Review Chapter 9
Week Eleven (11/4) Exam #4; Chapter 11: Approaches to Treatment
Week Twelve (11/11) Chapter 11 continued; Review Chapter 11
Week Thirteen (11/18) Exam #5; Paper #3; Chapter 10: Psychological Disorders
Week Fourteen (11/25) Chapter 10 continued; Review Chapter 10
Week Fifteen (12/2) Exam #6; Paper #4
Week Sixteen (12/9) FINAL
NOTE: This is a TENTATIVE timeline and changes may occur which will be announced in class. It is YOUR responsibility to keep up with these changes, especially if you miss class.
The objective of this assignment is to encourage the student to become familiar with the mechanics of scientific research as it relates to psychology and human development. The student is to submit four (4) discussion papers on any subject related to the study of psychology. Each discussion paper is worth 10 points; however, in order to receive credit, ALL papers must be submitted. Submission of only a portion of the required numbers of papers will result in an INCOMPLETE. Incomplete assignments will not be graded.
The general psychology text for the class is unacceptable as a resource for the discussion paper. The discussion papers must be based on information from professional journals, scientific research or published books, NOT on opinions or discussions of specific topics. Newspaper articles and magazines are NOT acceptable. Discussion papers submitted that are not based on research are unacceptable. If you are not sure what constitutes research, please refer to the chapter in the book that discusses scientific research and the book Writing Papers in Psychology.
Each paper MUST include the attached “title page for discussion papers” and answers to the following questions:
1. Where is the abstract located?
2. What is the purpose of the abstract?
3. Was a hypothesis stated? What is the purpose of a hypothesis?
4. What was the hypothesis?
5. What information can be found in the methods section? What information was found in the methods section?
6. What information can be found in the conclusion section? What information was found in the conclusion section?
7. How is this article significant to the study of human behavior?
8. What is your opinion of the article? (This is a critical portion of the paper, so give it some thought. Simply stating that is was a good or bad article is NOT acceptable)
NOTE: All of these points MUST be addressed in your paper. Omission of any will result in lost points in grading your paper. Grading scale: effort = 1 point; title page = 3 points; questions 1-4 = 2 points total; questions 5-8 = 1 point each.
TITLE PAGE FOR DISCUSSION PAPERS
(This title page MUST be turned in with each discussion paper)
*Student Name:
*Name of the professional publication, journal, or book:
*Date the article was published:
*Name(s) of the author(s):
*What type of research is the article discussing? (survey, experimental, naturalistic observation, correlational, etc. – refer to the research section in the book)
*Describe this particular type of research (meaning: describe what survey, experimental, naturalistic observation, etc. research entails.)
*What chapter(s) in our textbook does this article relate to?
*Identify two theories in the book that are related to this article (theories are broad and general like child development theory, theories of stress management, etc.):
1.
2.