Course Information

Course Description:

This is an introduction to psychology course. This course is designed to provide an overview of the field of psychology and human behavior. Topics include: philosophical perspectives, history, biology, learning, personality, behavioral biology, development, motivation, emotion, abnormal behavior, theories, and therapies.

Course Objectives:

The major objective of this course is to give students a broad introduction to the field of psychology. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Discuss historical and philosophical foundations of psychology.
• Discuss biological perspectives of human behavior.
• Evaluate theories and perspectives on human behavior and mental processes.
• Describe theories of human concept and language development.
• Evaluate psychological disorders and therapies.
• Demonstrate knowledge of research methodology.
• Explore research related to topics such as sensation, perception, consciousness and etc..

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Reading and writing proficiency appropriate for college level coursework.

Course Topics:

• Definition and Historical Foundations of Psychology
• Psychology and Science
• Biology and Behavior
• Sensation and Perception
• Operant and Classical Conditioning
• Freud and Humanistic Theories
• Consciousness
• Hypnosis and Drugs
• Memory
• Intelligence, Thought and Language
• Motivation and Emotion
• Health, Stress and Coping
• Assessment and Psychological Disorders

Specific Course Requirements:

The student will need to be very comfortable navigating the Web, use e-mail and a word processor.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Plotnik, R. (2002) Introduction to Psychology, 6th Edition, Wadsworth Thomson Learning,
ISBN 0-534-98760-5

Supplementary Materials:

Materials packaged with the purchase of the textbook.

Hardware Requirements:

See RODP Minimum Requirements

Software Requirements:

See RODP Minimum Requirements: Real Player, Media Player, Acrobat Reader, Word Processing Software

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

There will be five timed online exams.

Grading Procedure:

Total Grade:

• 50 percent - online timed exams (500 points)
• 40 percent - assignments and research activites(400 points)
• 10 percent - discussions postings(100 points)

Grading Scale:

90 - 100% = A
80 -  89% = B
70 -  79% = C
65 -  69% = D
 below 65 = F

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Students must read the textbook chapters and complete course lesson assignments for each of the five lesson sections.

The assignments consists of study questions and research activities Page.

The Course Calendar and the Assignment pages list the exam availability dates, as well as assignment due dates.
 

Class Participation:

Students are required to participate in the class discussion postings. You are expected to read the discussions and respond to the topic issues. You should make attempts to contact the professor via course e-mail concerning issues , content, or questions about the course.

Punctuality:

Check Course Calendar.

Be sure to read entire syllabus before beginning the course.

Course Ground Rules

Learn how to navigate in WebCT.

Keep abreast of course announcements.

Use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address, Address technical problems immediately, Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

Examples: Always include a subject line.

Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.

Use standard fonts.

Do not send large attachments without permission.

Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.

Respect the privacy of other class members.

Discussion Groups:

• Consider the discussion topics thoroughly before entering the discussion.
• Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
• Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
• Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
• Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
• Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
• Relate text readings to discussion. (This does not suggest you have to agree with the information in the text, but at least relate the information to your discussion)

Chat:

• Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
• Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
• Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
• Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
• Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

Web Resources:

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html
• The Wadsworth Psychology Resource Center http://psychology.wadsworth.com
• http://www.psychweb.com
• http://www.cnn.com
• http://www.psychology.com
• http://www.apa.com
• http://www.medscape.com

The Tennessee Board of Regents Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

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