University of Missouri Department of Psychological Sciences Psychology General Psychology Fall 2015

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1 1 University of Missouri Department of Psychological Sciences Psychology General Psychology Fall 2015 The instructor reserves the right to amend this document at any time. If this document is amended you will be notified by the instructor and given access to the amended version of the document. Instructor: Dr. Ian Zimmerman Instructor Instructor office: 116 Noyes Hall Instructor office phone: Instructor office hours: Monday Thursday 2:10 4:00 or by appointment Class meeting time: Tuesday / Thursday 12:30 1:45 Class meeting location: 142 Middlebush Hall (W J Auditorium) Teaching Assistant: Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant office: Teaching Assistant office hours: Course Description and Learning Goals This course is designed to introduce you to the science of psychology. We ll survey major content areas of psychology, learning about some of the most important psychological theories and new findings influencing the field. You ll learn how psychologists conduct research, both in class by learning about seminal studies in psychology and out of class by participating in psychological research or writing essays about psychology. Finally, by studying behavior and mental processes in a more scientific context it is intended that you ll start to adopt a more psychological perspective. Required Text The required text for this course is Psychology, by Spielman et al. The book can be downloaded (free of charge) from the Textbook section of Blackboard. Teaching Assistant We re very fortunate to have Kyle J. Clark as the Teaching Assistant (TA) in this course. Kyle will be grading the optional research participation essays (see the

2 2 Research Participation Alternative Optional Essays section below for more information) and will be available to respond to questions you may have about the course. Students with Disabilities If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need to make arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please let me know as soon as possible. If disability related accommodations are necessary (for example, a note taker, extended time on exams, captioning), please register with the Disability Center ( S5 Memorial Union, , and then notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. For other MU resources for persons with disabilities, click on "Disability Resources" on the MU homepage. Intellectual Pluralism The University community welcomes intellectual diversity and respects student rights. Students who have questions or concerns regarding the atmosphere in this class (including respect for diverse opinions) may contact the Departmental Chair or Divisional Director; the Director of the Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities ( or the MU Equity Office ( or by at equity@missouri.edu. All students will have the opportunity to submit an anonymous evaluation of the instructor(s) at the end of the course. Recording Policy University of Missouri System Executive Order No. 38 lays out principles regarding the sanctity of classroom discussions at the university. The policy is described fully in section of the Collected Rules and Regulations. In this class, students may not make audio or video recordings of course activity, except students permitted to record as an accommodation under section of the Collected Rules. All other students who record and/or distribute audio or video recordings of class activity are subject to discipline in accordance with provisions of section of the Collected Rules and Regulations of the University of Missouri pertaining to student conduct matters. Those students who are permitted to record are not permitted to redistribute audio or video recordings of statements or comments from the course to individuals who are not students in the course without the express permission of the faculty member and of any students who are recorded. Students found to have violated this policy are subject to discipline in accordance with provisions of section of the Collected Rules and Regulations of the University of Missouri pertaining to student conduct matters. Attendance Policy Attendance is not mandatory for this course; however lectures slides will only be posted online if we don t get to them in class. Further, the lectures will include material not included in the required readings, so class attendance is highly recommended.

3 3 Cell Phone / Tablet / Notebook Computer Policy Like several other instructors for Psychology 1000 in the MU Department of Psychological Sciences, it s my policy not to permit use of laptops, tablets, or cell phones in the General Psychology lectures. A major reason for this is that use of these devices can be a distraction not only for the user, but for also for neighboring students. In addition, considerable evidence indicates that use of these devices during lecture is associated with lower grades. You may think you can multi-task, but again, evidence indicates that attempts to multi-task come with a cost in terms of attention and learning. Evaluation Exams There will be five exams including a cumulative final, and each exam will consist of 60 multiple-choice items. Before each exam a study guide will be posted in the Study Guides section of Blackboard. After each exam, keys for the exam will be posted in the Exam Keys section of Blackboard. The exams make use of scantron forms, so please bring a number 2 pencil on exam days because the instructor will not have any extra pencils. Your lowest exam score for the course will be dropped, however make-up exams will not be given so if you can t make it to an exam that can be the exam that s dropped. When it comes to dropping your lowest exam score, Blackboard is programmed so that your lowest score is not included in your total grade calculation despite the fact that it will still be visible in the Blackboard Grade Center. One other thing regarding the dropping of your lowest exam score: The final exam can be dropped, however even if you have a high grade at the end of the semester it is recommended that you take the final exam so that you can earn as many points as possible. Quizzes There is one quiz for each chapter, and the quizzes are completed in the Quizzes section of Blackboard. Each quiz consists of 6 multiple-choice items. Each quiz must be submitted by 11:59 pm the day we finish its associated chapter. Your lowest three quiz grades for the course will be dropped. Quizzes may be not be submitted late, however they may be submitted early so if you won t be able to complete a quiz the day it s due complete it early. Alternately, if you can t complete a quiz it could one of the quizzes that are dropped. As with your lowest exam score, when it comes to dropping your lowest quiz scores Blackboard is programmed so that your lowest scores are not included in your total grade calculation despite the fact that they will still be visible in the Blackboard Grade Center. Research Participation One of the best ways to learn about something is by experiencing it firsthand. As a General Psychology student you ll learn about psychological research by reading, attending lectures, and completing quizzes and exams, but we also ask that you do so by participating in psychological research conducted at MU. We ask that you participate

4 4 in research for six hours during the course of the semester. The six hours are broken up into 12 one credit sessions (each of which is 30 minutes long), which you may space out over the course of the semester as you wish. For example, you may earn one credit one week, two credits the next week, and then not participate in any research the following week. As long as you earn 12 credits by the end of the semester you ll receive full points for research participation. All the research studies you may participate in are listed at the Sona-Systems website, and you can access Sona by clicking here. You must login to Sona in order to browse the site. Your PawPrint password cannot be used to access Sona. A Sona username and password will be automatically generated for you and ed to you. If you don t receive a Sona user name and password or have other technical difficulties with Sona, you may the instructor at zimmermani@missouri.edu or Melissa Spina (one of the Sona administrators) at psych1000research@missouri.edu for assistance. If you check Sona and don t find any studies, don t be discouraged; new studies are posted often, so keeping checking the site. Some research studies can be completed online. However, only 50% of your research participation requirement may be satisfied by participating in online studies, so please don t try to satisfy your entire research participation requirement by participating in online studies. Research Participation Alternative Optional Essays If you don t want to participate in research you may instead write one page essays on psychology articles that are posted in the Research Participation section of Blackboard. You may write about any of the articles posted; you don t have to write about the first article for your first essay or the second article for your second essay. The essays must be one double-spaced page with one inch margins and use 12 point Times New Roman Font, and should summarize the article. Each essay is worth two research credits, meaning you may write six essays if you don t want to participate in any research. Each essay will be due at a certain point in the semester (listed below in the Course Calendar), and to be clear, optional essays may not be submitted after their respective due dates, so please don t wait if you want to write essays. You don t have to choose to write essays or participate in research; you may do both, so long as you earn 12 credits. For example, you might write one essay and participate in research for five hours, you might write three essays and participate in research for three hours, you might write six essays and participate in no research, or you might participate in research for six hours and write no essays. If you d like more detailed information about your research participation requirement, go to the Research Participation section of Blackboard and download the file entitled Important Information about PSYCH 1000 Research Participation. How to Submit an Optional Essay Links for submitting each optional essay are listed in the Research Participation section of Blackboard. Click on the optional essay you wish to submit (click on the lowest numbered essay available, as it will have the earliest due date) and then follow the directions for uploading the essay.

5 5 Blackboard Grade Center Research Participation Points Research participation points, whether earned by actually participating in research or writing essays, won t appear on Blackboard until finals week. Before that any credit you ve earned for participating in research or writing essays will appear on Sona, and you can login to your Sona account to check to see how many credits you ve earned. It may take a week or two after you participate in research or submit an essay for credits to appear on Sona, so if you ve recently participated in research or written an essay but the credits aren t on Sona please be patient. Evaluation Point Value Exams: 60 points each x 4 exams = 240 points Quizzes: 6 points each x 13 quizzes = 78 points Research participation: 3 points per credit; 6 points per essay 36 points total Total points possible for the course: 354 Grade Calculation 96.5% = A+ 92.5% % = A 89.5% % = A- 86.5% % = B+ 82.5% % = B 79.5% % = B- 76.5% % = C+ 72.5% % = C 69.5% % = C- 66.5% % = D+ 62.5% % = D 59.5% % = D- < 59.5% = F Extra Credit If you receive zero unexcused no-shows for research participation you will receive one extra research participation credit (3 points). This is the only extra credit you may earn in this course, and to be clear you may not earn extra credit by participating in extra research. Academic Dishonesty Policy Academic integrity is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards breaches of the academic integrity rules as extremely serious matters. Sanctions for such a breach may include academic sanctions from the instructor, including failing the course for any violation, to disciplinary sanctions ranging from probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism,

6 6 paraphrasing, quoting, collaboration, or any other form of cheating, consult the course instructor. Intellectual Property Notice All course materials including but not limited to the syllabus, course assignments, study guides, and online lecture videos and content, are property of the instructor and University and may not be shared online or distributed in any manner to others. Students are prohibited from posting course materials or notes online and from selling notes to or being paid for taking notes by any person or commercial firm without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. Doing so will constitute both an academic integrity violation and a copyright violation. Violations of copyright laws could subject you to civil penalties and criminal liability. Violations of academic integrity may subject you to disciplinary action under University policies. Course Calendar Day Week Date Topic Reading Tue 1 8/25 Course Introduction Syllabus Thu 1 8/27 Course Introduction Syllabus Tue 2 9/1 Introduction to Psychology; Ch. 1 quiz due Ch. 1 Thu 2 9/3 Psychological Research Ch. 2 Tue 3 9/8 Psychological Research; Ch. 2 quiz due Ch. 2 Thu 3 9/10 Biopsychology; Ch. 3 quiz due Ch. 3 Tue 4 9/15 States of Consciousness Ch. 4 Thu 4 9/17 States of Consciousness; Ch. 4 quiz due Ch. 4 Tue 5 9/22 Exam 1 (covers Ch. 1 4) None Thu 5 9/24 Sensation and Perception; Optional Essay 1 due Ch. 5 Tue 6 9/29 Sensation and Perception; Ch. 5 quiz due Ch. 5 Thu 6 10/1 Learning Ch. 6 Tue 7 10/6 Learning; Ch. 6 quiz due Ch. 6 Thu 7 10/8 Thinking and Intelligence; Optional Essay 2 due Ch. 7 Tue 8 10/13 Thinking and Intelligence; Ch. 7 quiz due Ch. 7 Thu 8 10/15 Memory; Ch. 8 quiz due Ch. 8 Tue 9 10/20 Exam 2 (covers Ch. 5 8) None Thu 9 10/22 Lifespan Development; Ch. 9 quiz due; Optional Ch. 9 Essay 3 due Tue 10 10/27 Motivation and Emotion; Ch. 10 quiz due Ch. 10 Thu 10 10/29 Personality; Ch. 11 quiz due Ch. 11 Tue 11 11/3 Social Psychology Ch. 12 Thu 11 11/5 Social Psychology; Ch. 12 quiz due; Optional Essay 4 due Ch. 12

7 7 Tue 12 11/10 Exam 3 (covers Ch. 9 12) None Thu 12 11/12 I-O Psychology; Ch. 13 quiz due Ch. 13 Tue 13 11/17 Stress, Lifestyle, and Health Ch. 14 Thu 13 11/19 Stress, Lifestyle, and Health; Ch. 14 quiz due; Ch. 14 Optional Essay 5 due Tue 14 11/24 Thanksgiving recess no meeting None Thu 14 11/26 Thanksgiving recess no meeting None Tue 15 12/1 Psychological Disorders Ch. 15 Thu 15 12/3 Psychological Disorders; Ch. 15 quiz due; Optional Ch. 15 Essay 6 due Tue 16 12/8 Therapy and Treatment; Ch. 16 quiz due Ch. 16 Thu 16 12/10 Exam 4 (covers Ch ) None Tue 17 12/15 Final Exam in 142 Middlebush Hall 10:00 12:00 None