PSY B358 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology Fall 2012 Find a job you like and you add five days to every week. -H. Jackson Brown Contact Information Professor: Office: Email: Office Hours: Dr. Michael Sliter LD126P msliter@iupui.edu By appointment Course Details Course Time and Location Thursdays from 6:00-8:40pm ICTC (IT) Room 252 Textbook (required) Levy, P. E. (2010). Industrial Organizational Psychology: Understanding the Workplace (3 rd Ed.). New York: Worth. Objectives The goal of this course is to familiarize you with what I/O psychology is and what I/O psychologists do. This will be done with an emphasis on how I/O research, theory, and practice are applicable to you, either as a future psychologist or as a future member of the workforce. By the end of the course: Given a topic within I/O psychology, you will be able to recognize key theories applicable to that topic. Given the name of major theories within I/O psychology, you will be able to recognize the major components of these theories and the definitions of these components. Given a situation within your work life or a description of a hypothetical work situation, you will be able to apply theories and research from I/O psychology to that situation. 1
Attendance Evaluation Attendance will be not explicitly assessed in this class. However, given that this class is only held one day per week, attendance is especially important, and missed days will negatively impact your grade through missed quizzes, in-class assignments, and guest lectures. In-Class Assignments 50 points We will frequently do in-class exercises designed to help you understand the course content and to make it more relevant to you. You will turn in these exercises at the end of the class in which they are assigned. If you are not present, you will not get credit for these activities (i.e., they cannot be made up if you miss class). Project 150 points You will complete a written project as part of this course. The project will consist of a report written in response to a structured assignment. There will be two options for this report. The first option is tailored toward students interested in pursuing graduate study in I/O psychology or other psychological disciplines, and the second option is tailored toward students interested primarily in I/O psychology as it applies to their future in the workplace. More information on the project, including a detailed description and grading criteria, is available in the handout entitled Final Project Description and Grading Criteria. The project will be due at the beginning of class on December 6. Late projects will not be accepted. If you think there may be any issues with your ability to turn in your project in class, I urge you to turn it in early. Please note that computer issues (a computer crashing, losing data, etc.) are NOT valid excuses for turning in the project late. Follow good practices for backing up your data! Quizzes 200 points In lieu of traditional exams, we will be having weekly quizzes. The quizzes will consist of a variable amount of items, and will be evaluating the material covered in lecture and in the book from the previous week. If we have a lecturer speak during the previous week, material they cover is fair game for the quiz. Across the semester, we will have 14 quizzes. Your lowest two quiz scores will be dropped (including zeros), and the scores on the remaining 12 quizzes will be weighted out of 200 points. Because your lowest two scores are dropped, this should account for illnesses and other issues. As such, NO MAKE UP QUIZZES WILL BE ALLOWED. If you are thinking of missing class for minor reasons (i.e., I m tired, I don t feel like going ), you might reconsider and save your missed days in case of a real emergency. Also, note that the final exam day is actually reserved for Quiz 14. If you save your missed quizzes for the final quiz, you don t have to be there. Guest Lecturers We will have several guest lecturers coming to class throughout the semester. You are expected to pay attention, participate, and be respectful. If I am not satisfied with the overall classroom behavior during these talks, everyone will lose one full percentage point off their final grade. Extra Credit Opportunities for extra credit MAY be provided at various times throughout the semester. I will notify you of any extra credit opportunities. 2
Final Grading The final grade in this course will be based on th e percentage of 400 points attainable in the class: Assignment Points Possible Percent In-class Assignments 50 12.5% Project 150 37.5% Quizzes 200 50% Total: 400 100 Grade cutoffs A+ 100%+ C+ 78-79% F Below 60% A 92-99% C 72-77% A- 90-91% C- 70-71% B+ 88-89% D+ 68-69% B 82-87% D 62-67% B- 80-81% D- 60-61% *If your final percentage total ends in.5 or up it will be rounded up to the next highest number. Oncourse You will be able to access up-to-date information regarding your grades on Oncourse. It is your responsibility to ensure that all grades have been posted correctly. If you believe that one of your grades is incorrect, contact me as soon as you notice the potential problem. DO NOT WAIT until the end of the semester. A course schedule, overviews of the lecture notes, various announcements, class polls, and other course related materials will also be available at the Oncourse website, so please login regularly to keep up-to-date on these materials. 3
Expectations Participation Participation will be a key component of this course. It will be essential that you have read the assigned readings BEFORE class and that you are ready to be an active participant in classroom discussions. Attendance Attending class is an essential part of learning the material. Further, because the class will only be held once per week, missing a single class will mean missing an entire week s worth of material. As such, it is expected that you will attend class every time it is held. Furthermore, it is expected that you will arrive on time and remain focused until class has ended. Course Notes Though a rough outline of the notes will be provided on Oncourse ahead of time to aid in taking notes during class, this will NOT provide all of the information given during lecture and will not substitute for attendance at lecture. In the past, students have found it helpful to either print the notes or to view them on a laptop during class. Please use whatever method works best for you, however if laptops become a distraction they will be disallowed. Readings There will be a set of assigned readings that must be done BEFORE each class. If you don t read the book ahead of time, you will not be able to keep up with the material taught during class. Please set aside time each week in your schedule to read the assigned readings. Behavior My expectations for your behavior in this class are based on mutual respect among all members of this class, including the instructor. Please uphold this respect by arriving to class on time, turning off cell phones, not leaving early, and paying attention. Please do not come to class with the intention of chatting with friends (in person or via text messaging), reading the newspaper, sleeping, or other inappropriate activities. In addition, please respect the opinions of other students and refrain from communication that is offensive to others. E-Mail Communication This is an institution of higher learning, and your communication should reflect this. All emails sent to either me or the TA must be professional in nature, including a greeting, a clear purpose to the email, and a closing (e.g., Thanks; name; Sincerely; name). Additionally, you must exhaust other resources before sending an email. For instance, don t send an email to ask when s the test? before checking your syllabus. Requests for Reconsidering a Grade If you feel that an assignment has been improperly evaluated, you can ask to have the grade reviewed and reconsidered. To make such a request, you must give me a written statement (approximately 1-2 paragraphs) explaining what you believe is the issue with the grade. Although I will not re-grade assignments simply because you feel that your grade is too low, if you feel that I have made an error I will be happy to revisit the grade. 4
Academic Dishonesty Academically dishonest behaviors are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Behaviors such as cheating on tests or plagiarizing ANY of your project work (borrowing from other students, from the textbook, from any website, from your articles, or any other outside source and claiming it as your own) are unacceptable. If you cheat or plagiarize you will receive, at a minimum, a zero on the assignment, and you will be referred to the chairperson of the department and the Dean. For more information, see the IUPUI Student Code of Conduct - http://www.iupui.edu/code/ Special Arrangements for Students with Disabilities If you require special arrangements, please let me know during the first week of class. The Office of Adaptive Educational Services (AES) helps students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations from the university and their professors. Students need to register with the AES office in order to officially receive such services. For information, call (317) 274 3241 or go to http://www.iupui.edu/~divrsity/aes/ Note. The contents of this syllabus are subject to change as necessary at the discretion of the instructor. 5
Course Schedule* Date Topic Chapters Other 23-Aug Introduction to and History of I-O Psychology 1 Syllabus overview 30-Aug Research Methods in I-O Psychology 2 Quiz 1 6-Sep Job Analysis 3 Quiz 2; Assignment of Final Paper 13-Sep Criterion Measurement (Outcomes) 4 Quiz 3 20-Sep Performance Appraisal 5 Quiz 4; Guest: Dr. Jane Williams; Topic for Final Paper Due 27-Sep Predictors and Individual Differences 6 Quiz 5; Guest: Dr. Katherine Sliter 4-Oct WORK DAY -- NO CLASSES Work on your final papers! 11-Oct Selection 7 Quiz 6 18-Oct Training 8 Quiz 7; Guest: Dr. Leslie Ashburn- Nardo 25-Oct Motivation 9 Quiz 8 1-Nov Attitudes 10 Quiz 9 8-Nov Occupational Health Psychology 11 Quiz 10; Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Boyd 15-Nov Group Processes and Work Teams 12 Quiz 11; Guest: Dr. Dennis Devine 22-Nov THANKSGIVING BREAK -- NO CLASSES 29-Nov Leadership 13 Quiz 12; Guest: Dr. Peggy Stockdale 6-Dec Organizational Theory and Development 14 Quiz 13; FINAL PAPER DUE 11-Dec Final Exam (Quiz) (6:00-8:00) Quiz 14 *Schedule is tentative and may change. Please read all chapters BEFORE arriving in class. 6