PSYC 201 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Fall 2013 T/TH 8:00 9:55 Instructor: Angela Christian, Ph.D. Sections: F58 Credit Hours: 4 Email: Office: Angela.Sweet-Christian@muskegoncc.edu Office Phone: 616-638-5785 (call or text) Office Hours: 7:15-8a.m. T/TH in our Community Center classroom or by appointment Blackboard URL: http://mccbb.muskegoncc.edu All email communication originating from MCC to students will be via their MCC email account. CHECK YOUR MCC EMAIL FREQUENTLY! Prerequisites Ready to Succeed Required Text Exploring Psychology, 9th Edition by David Myers (Worth Publishers) Study Guide (optional), or use the Psych Portal resources Study Guide for Exploring Psychology, 9th Edition by Richard O. Straub (Worth Publishers) Textbook Companion Website and Psych Portal code included with textbook purchase http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/exploring8e Computer Requirements for Completing Assignments Online: Manually enter the URL to the site and make a shortcut or favorite for it in your browser. Clicking on links in syllabi and Content Management Systems such as Blackboard can cause issues with things like successfully logging in and submitting assignments. The site also requires the following plugins for video playback and image content: Adobe Flash Player: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=buigp Adobe Shockwave Player: http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/ Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=buigo Apple Quicktime: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ A psychology journal is also required. Cost to the Student There is no additional cost to students beyond normal tuition and fees Teaching Method (4 contact hours) Primarily lecture, class demonstrations, group activities, audio/visual presentations, and/or guest speakers Class Format Students are expected to have read the assigned chapter before they come to class. Class time will be used to present, clarify, and discuss points that are of central importance, special difficulty, and/or high interest to you and me. Classroom Expectations It is expected that students attend all class sessions, arrive on time, and stay for the entire class period. If you must leave early, please notify me. Absolutely no cell phone use or text-
messaging will be allowed. If you are expecting a phone call due to a possible family emergency, please place your phone on vibrate. Monitor your own air time. If you tend to be silent speak. If you tend to share a lot please understand that no one appreciates a student who uses a psychology class for personal therapy or personal story-telling. Respect the academic environment: Listen to others, learn from others, ask good questions, be prepared...get INVOLVED in the class and in your own learning. This is essential for the class to be a success for all of us. Laptops are to be put away unless cleared with the instructor. Students with Special Needs I would like to encourage students with any form of disability to contact me early in the semester so I can help you enhance your learning in class. With this said, I would also like to encourage you to contact the Special Services office where they offer support, accommodations, and resources for anyone with special needs. Room 206, (231) 777-0309 Attendance Policy Your attendance is required and essential for you to get a good grade or even pass the class; however, if you are absent, it is your responsibility to get the class notes from a classmate for the day you missed. In-class group activities for points are unannounced and cannot be made up when missed. Six hours of absence or more will result in being dropped from the class unless you have a doctor s note and approval from your instructor. In addition, perfect attendance will result in an additional 10 extra credit points. You are allowed four absences throughout the semester without penalty, but 5 points will be deducted from your final point total (final grade) for every single absence thereafter. Absences will negatively affect your overall grade. Catalog Course Description Catalog 4 Cr. Hrs. This course provides an academic survey of principles of development, learning, thinking, memory, language, motivation, emotion, perception, statistics, testing, personality, behavior disorders, and therapy. It is especially recommended for those who plan to continue their education beyond the associative degree level. Course Objectives In this course, students will have the opportunity to develop or enhance their ability to: 1. Explain how scientific research is used to study human behavior. 2. Explain key psychological concepts and theories. 3. Know how to apply these key concepts to everyday life, when relevant. 4. Critically evaluate popular information (websites, TV shows, etc.) related to these concepts. Course Requirements In-Class Quizzes There will be seven quizzes, on the dates indicated on the calendar. The quizzes are worth 100 points each. Weekly Psych Sim Tutorials worth 20 points each. A midterm worth 200 points will be given that will include 50 multiple-choice questions and an
essay portion that will be a response to 1-3 questions. A comprehensive final exam will be given on 12/10 and is worth 20% of the course grade. Two papers and a presentation on each paper worth 200 points each. Materials You will need a scantron form and a #2 pencil for all quizzes, the midterm, and the final exam. Neither of these materials will be provided, so be sure to bring them with you. Preparing for Quizzes The publisher s quizzes will provide a very good basis for the types of questions that will appear on the midterms. In addition, the publisher s website includes excellent study tools that will assist you in preparing for the quizzes. Make-Up Midterms I will allow a make-up of a missed midterm if it was missed for one of the following, documented, reasons: Personal illness or injury, documented by a doctor s note, and with notification to me before the test is missed (via phone or email) Death in the immediate family I will NOT administer any midterms early for any reason. PsychSim Tutorials There will be weekly PsychSim tutorials due every Thursday that will coincide with the textbook topics that will be discussed in class. These tutorials are interactive activities that are to be completed online and submitted to me on the due date indicated in the course calendar. They are worth 20 points each. You can access the tutorials by going to the textbook companion website (http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/exploring8e). From there you just choose the appropriate chapter and the tutorial indicated on the course calendar. After you ve completed the exercise, a form will pop up that will ask for Instructor s email address. Enter Angela.Sweet- Christian@muskegoncc.edu. You will also need to print a copy of the last PsychSim page (the Congratulations page) and bring it to class every Thursday (This is subject to change and may become unnecessary). You can print it by pressing ctrl+p while the Congratulations page is showing. If you don t have a copy of your original work, you will not be able to prove that you completed the assignment on time. Papers: The writing must be well-organized and written in complete and grammatically correct sentences according to APA style. NO late papers will be accepted. In addition to handing in a hard copy of your work, the papers must also be turned in to SafeAssign (a plagiarism detection and prevention program) on Blackboard by the due date listed on your course calendar (we will go over how to do this in class, in case you are new to the SafeAssign technology). Papers: 200 points possible for each paper/presentation. The first paper and presentation will cover the first half of the textbook topics (Ch. 1-6) and will be due on 10/17. The next paper will cover the second half of the textbook topics (Ch. 7-9 & 12-14) and will be due on 11/26. Please make sure you rehearse your presentations. Your presentation will help the class to review for the final exam. Meeting the minimum 10-minute presentation time is worth 50 points for each paper/presentation grade. The concepts you choose to write about are completely up to you but they must be covered
somewhere in the appropriate chapters. There are NO exceptions to these due dates. Please put a title on your paper naming the concept and the chapter in which you read or heard about the concept. Submission Accuracy It is the student s responsibility to check his or her grade on Blackboard to assure that all of the submissions have been accounted for by the due dates. If there is any discrepancy between what is on Blackboard s grades and what you have completed, please see me as soon as possible. Please note that it may take up to a week for grades to appear on Blackboard. Course Calendar Please note: All of the reading indicated is required. The days on which we begin a new topic may vary slightly from the schedule. Exam dates and assignment dates are firm unless class is cancelled due to winter weather. Also note that PsychSim tutorials are due in class every Thursday, reflection papers are due on the days indicated, and in-class activities are scattered throughout the semester but are approximately one per week. Each unit s study quiz is available until 11:59 p.m. on the day before the test. ---------------------------------------- Myers = Exploring Psychology, 9 th edition UNIT 1 August 27 September 12 (no class Tuesday September 3) The Scientific Method: Critical Thinking and Research.......... Myers: Chapter 1 PsychSim Tutorial: Psychology s Timeline due 9/5 PsychSim Tutorial: Descriptive Statistics due 9/12 Quiz 1: 9/17 UNIT 2 September 17 September 26 Brain, Body, and Behavior.................... Myers: Chapter 2, 3, 4 PsychSim Tutorial: Hemispheric Specialization due 9/19 Quiz 2: 10/1 UNIT 3 October 1 October 10 Learning and Conditioning................... Myers: Chapter 5, 6 PsychSim Tutorial: EEG & Sleep Stages due 9/26 PsychSim Tutorial: Mind Reading Monkeys (under chapter 7) due 10/3 PsychSim Tutorial: Cognitive Development due 10/10
PsychSim Tutorial: Visual Illusions due 10/10 Secrets of the Psychics Film Paper and Presentation Due: 10/8 Midterm 10/15: 200 points UNIT 4 October 15 October 24 Perception.................................. Myers: Chapter 7 Quiz 3: 10/29 PsychSim Tutorial: Operant Conditioning due 10/17 PsychSim Tutorial: Iconic Memory due 10/24 Brain Man Film UNIT 5 October 29 October 31 Consciousness.............................. Myers: Chapter 8 Memory.................................... Myers: Chapter 9 Quiz 4: 11/5 PsychSim Tutorial: My Head is Spinning due 10/31 PsychSim Tutorial: Helplessly Hoping (under Ch. 11) due 11/7 UNIT 6 November 5 November 19 Development............................... Myers: Chapter: 10 & 11 Quiz 5: 11/21 PsychSim Tutorial: Mystery Client due 11/14 UNIT 7 November 21 December 5 Quiz 6: 12/5 PsychSim Tutorial: Computer Therapist due 11/28 PsychSim Tutorial: Social Decision-Making due 12/5
Psychological Disorders...................... Myers: Chapter: 12 & 13 Paper and Presentation Due: 11/26 Total Points Possible: 1505 Quizzes: 500 pts total, I will not count your lowest quiz score. Midterm: 200 points Papers and 10-minute presentations: 200 points each PsychSim assignments: 20 points each, 280 points possible Journals and daily class work: 120 pts 60 pts before mid-term, 60 after the final class Final Exam: Tuesday December 10, worth 20% of the course grade Grade Distribution Grade Breakdown Points are calculated on a straight point score and represented as a percentage: A A- 90-92 B+ 86-89 B 83-85 B- 80-82 C+ 76-79 C 73-75 C- 70-72 D+ 66-69 D 63-65 D- 60-62 93 or better Muskegon Community College Policies Statement on Student Assessment and Accreditation Muskegon Community College is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission located in Chicago (http:ncahlc.org/). The Higher Learning Commission accredits degree granting postsecondary educational institutions in the North Central Region. Accreditation helps ensure students that they are receiving a quality education and can transfer to other colleges and universities with ease and confidence. MCC is committed to an essential part of the accreditation process: assessing student learning. You will likely be asked to participate in assessment activities as part of MCC s assessment of programs and general education. Statement on MCC Email All email Communication originating from MCC to students will be via their email account. CHECK YOUR MCC EMAIL FREQUENTLY.
Statement on Student Behavior Muskegon Community College is a community of scholars whose members include administrators, faculty, staff, and students. Mutual respect and civility are expected in the classroom or other college academic settings, as well as, in any communication. MCC has the duty of providing students with privileges, opportunities, and protections that best promote learning; Students have the right to a non-threatening learning environment; Students have the responsibility to refrain from infringing on the right of others to learn or the right of teachers to teach; and Any student whose behavior disrupts learning may be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the Muskegon Community College Student Handbook/Planner. Academic Integrity Policy Muskegon Community College expects that all faculty and students will adhere to high standards of personal and academic honesty. This means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned without unauthorized aid of any kind. Faculty members, for their part, will exercise care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be positively encouraged. Academic dishonesty consists of, but is not limited to: Cheating. Cheating is defined as using or attempting to use, giving or attempting to give, and obtaining or attempting to obtain, materials or information, including computer material pertaining to a quiz, examination, or other work that a student is expected to do alone. Plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another's words or ideas without acknowledgement. Penalties for violation of these standards of conduct may result in sanctions of up to and including suspension or expulsion from MCC. Statement on Dispute Resolution Process Should a student not agree with a faculty member's decision or actions as they may relate to this policy, the following steps shall be followed: 1. A student suspected of academic dishonesty shall be notified in writing within two school days of the time the violation is discovered. Copies of the written notification shall also be filed with the department chair and Vice President of Student Services. 2. The student should try to reach resolution of the matter through direct discussion with the involved faculty member within three (3) school days of the written notification. 3. If the matter is not resolved in Step 2, the student shall bring the matter to the attention of the department chairperson of the involved faculty member. 4. If the matter is not resolved at the department chairperson level, the student shall bring the matter to the attention of the Vice President for Academic Affairs who shall render a decision within five school days of the receipt of the dispute information. 5. If a satisfactory solution is not reached at the Step 4 level, the student may file a written request with the Vice President of Student Services for a hearing before the disciplinary board. This meeting shall be held not more than 20 days following the written request. A student may request a hearing before the disciplinary board. The disciplinary and judicial procedures are outlined in the Muskegon Community College Student Handbook/Planner.