Introduction to Abnormal Psychology PSY 3604, section 001 University of Minnesota, Fall 2011 Instructor: Jim Porter, M.A., porterj@umn.edu Class Location: 133 Tate (Physics Building) Time: Monday and Wednesday, 12:45 2:00 pm Assistants: Ian Ramsay, ramsa045@umn.edu Credits: 3.0 Mike Natali, nata0017@umn.edu Office Hours: Jim: Wednesdays, 2:30 3:30 pm, Elliott Hall S- 344 Ian: Wednesdays, 11:00 am 12:00 pm, Elliott Hall N- 437 Mike: Mondays, 2:30-3:30 pm, Elliott Hall N- 489 Required Text: Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley. (2010). Abnormal Psychology: Core Concepts. 2 nd Ed. ** Save money! Available in rental and electronic formats at http://www.bookstores.umn.edu/ ** Description: This course covers the domain of psychopathology as it is represented in the American Psychiatric Association s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2000: 4 th ed., Text Revision). The DSM- IV- TR is not a required textbook for this course. However, you may find it helpful to read the associated sections of the DSM- IV- TR with each new diagnostic category covered. Luckily, the library has reference copies on the shelf as well as a free, online version. Websites: Lecture slides, grades, and other pertinent materials will be posted to a UMN Moodle site (https://moodle.umn.edu/course/view.php?id=19963). This is the official course website. You are encouraged to log on prior to attending each lecture to check for new materials. Additionally, there will be reading knowledge quizzes posted here, which you must complete by assigned dates (see below). You may wish to avail yourself of the online resources made available by our textbook s publisher (http://www.mypsychlab.com). There is a fee for access to the publisher s supplementary web site. NB!: Purchasing access to the publisher s online learning resources is NOT part of the textbook requirement for this course. Purchasing access to these materials is at the student s discretion. See the publisher s website for information on the materials and resources are available. What This Course is About By the end of this course, it is expected that students will be able to: Define and evaluate criteria for abnormal behavior and specific psychological disorders, Recognize or "diagnose" common psychological disorders, Describe common explanations for the etiology of psychological disorders, and Outline effective treatments for specific psychological disorders. A successful student will leave this course with: A deep understanding of the scientific bases of contemporary theories of major psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, The ability to differentiate contemporary forms of mental health treatment such as psychopharmacology, cognitive- behavioral therapy, and talk therapy, as well as an understanding of the scientific support for choosing treatments for particular disorders, The ability to rationally think about and discuss the societal implications of mental disorders, Familiarity with current practices in mental illness prevention, and The necessary foundation for further graduate- level training in psychopathology.
How to Earn Points for This Course Exams: There will be 3 largely noncumulative exams throughout the semester made up of primarily multiple- choice questions, with a few short answer questions. Each exam will be worth 50 points. Each exam will focus on the material presented during that portion of the course. Students are responsible for knowing all material covered in readings and lectures. There will also be a cumulative Final Exam on Wednesday December 21 st from 1:30 3:30 pm. The final exam will be worth 100 points, and it will test your knowledge of content from the entire semester (50 points of items on the final portion of the course, 50 points of questions covering the entire semester). The latter section will be equal parts multiple- choice and short answer. Students will be responsible for integrating concepts learned throughout the course and differentiating between various disorders. Reading Comprehension Quizzes: For 10 of the 15 weeks in the semester, you will be required to complete a 5- item reading comprehension quiz. Each quiz question will be worth 1 point, for a total of 50 points over the semester. There will not be quizzes for the first week or for weeks with an exam. You must log in to the course s Moodle site (see above) and take each quiz before the Wednesday lectures. After 12:45 pm on Wednesdays, each week s quiz will no longer be accessible, and uncompleted quiz points will be forfeit. You will have 1 attempt to complete each quiz. The quizzes will have time limits. The time limits will be generous enough to allow you to go back to your textbook to confirm your answers, but not so generous as to allow you to (easily) complete the quiz without prior knowledge of the chapter s contents. It is not assumed that everybody has the same level of facility with the Moodle interface. If you have trouble accessing the quizzes, please contact the TAs. Extra Credit: Students can earn up to 10 points of extra credit (1 point of extra credit for every 30 minutes of participation) through the Psychology department s Research Experience Program (REP; https://filemaker.cla.umn.edu/psyrep/). Participation provides in a research study. A brief (e.g., less than 1 page) summary is required to obtain any extra credit. The summaries should answer the following: 1) What did you do?, 2) What was the study about/trying to find out?, and 3) How might the study be related to abnormal psychology? (It may not be related!) Email summaries to TA Mike Natali (nata0017@umn.edu). Credit Opportunities Quizzes 50 pts. Exam 1 50 pts. Exam 2 50 pts. Exam 3 50 pts. Final Exam 100 pts. REP 10 pts. Attendance and Participation: Although there is no formal class attendance requirement, you must regularly attend class in order to do well in this course. While some of the lecture content will overlap with the textbook, exams will draw upon class lectures in addition to the textbook. If you cannot avoid missing a class, only lecture slides will be available. You will need to obtain notes from a classmate of the material missed. The instructor will not provide copies of lecture notes regardless of the reason for missing class. This decision conforms to University policy. The purpose of this course is to encourage you to think critically about how different types of psychopathology are conceptualized. In order to achieve this goal, you should to take an active role in your education. All students in this class are expected to think and participate actively during class discussions and class exercises. Laptops may be used for the purposes of taking notes, but other electronic devices (e.g., MP3 players, mobile phones) are to be Grading Scale A 93 100% 279 to 300 pts. A- 90 92% 270 to 276 pts. B+ 87 89% 261 to 267 pts. B 83 86% 249 to 258 pts. B- 80 82% 240 to 246 pts. C+ 77 79% 231 to 237 pts. C 73 76% 219 to 228 pts. C- 70 72% 210 to 216 pts. D+ 67 69% 201 to 207 pts. D 63 66% 189 to 198 pts. D- 60 62% 180 to 186 pts. F <60% 0 to 177 pts. turned off while in the classroom. In sum, texting in class will earn you no brownie points with the instructor, but asking questions (any questions!!) will.
Two Special Notes on Participation in This Course: 1) As you will learn throughout the semester, mental illness is a pervasive element of society. Almost all students in this course will know a friend or relative who has suffered from some sort of disorder at some point, and many of you may have faced transient symptoms of, or been treated for, a psychiatric disorder at some point in your lives. During class discussions, it is not uncommon for students to relate details about their experiences. You are certainly welcome to share your experiences and impressions as you see fit. However, in this course we will adhere to the same rules for protecting a person s right to privacy that all professional mental health providers must follow. For example, your instructor works with patients as a part of clinical training in the Ph.D. program. During lectures, you will hear stories from these experiences that help illustrate how clinical presentations of a disorder relate to the formal DSM- IV- TR diagnostic criteria, or what a disorder looks like in real life. However, these anecdotes will not contain any personally identifying information. That is to say, you will not be able to leave the classroom and identify the person in question, even if he or she were standing right outside the doors to the lecture hall. No names will be used, personal details (age, sex, physical features, etc.) will be omitted or altered, and stories may present a single patient who represents a conglomeration of experiences with several patients. As students in this course, you will be expected to respect the rights to privacy that your friends and family members are due, so you will be obliged to follow these rules as well. 2) It is not uncommon for students in this course to feel that they identify with some of the experiences and symptoms of a psychiatric disorder being presented in the textbook readings and lectures. Such students sometimes seek advice or assistance from their instructors and TAs, hoping that they can receive formal clinical support from their instructors. If this happens to you, know that you are welcome to speak with your instructor or your TAs. However, none of them are legally qualified or permitted to provide any form of assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Aside from personal support, they may only provide clinical information pertinent to enhancing your comprehension and completion of coursework. For any issues requiring clinical attention, the University provides several resources. Student Mental Health Web Portal http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu A web resource for students, their parents, faculty, and staff who wish to learn more about mental health and related resources at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. University of Minnesota Counseling Program - http://www.uccs.umn.edu The UCCS Counseling program helps students with their concerns and offers an opportunity to talk with an experienced counselor who can help students select and achieve goals for personal and career development. The center offers three types of counseling: personal counseling, academic counseling and career counseling. The Learning and Academic Skills Center offers class, workshop, and individual assistance aimed at helping students achieve academic goals. Boynton Health Services - http://www.bhs.umn.edu/east- bank- clinic/mental- health- services.htm Boynton s staff of psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, and licensed independent clinical social workers provides a variety of counseling options. Services available include individual and couple counseling and psychotherapy (up to ten visits per year for one or in combination), medication assessment and management, urgent consultation (phone or in person), a variety of group therapies, social work assistance, and chemical health assessment and treatment.
Class Schedule and Assigned Readings Week Day Topic Chapter Quiz 1 Weds, 9/7 Introduction, Research Methods 1 2 Mon, 9/12 Historical and Contemporary Views of Abnormal Behavior 1,2 Weds, 9/14 Classification and Diagnosis 3 3 Mon, 9/19 Classification and Diagnosis Weds, 9/21 Assessment and Treatment Approaches 3 4 Mon, 9/26 Assessment and Treatment Approaches Weds, 9/28 Exam #1 (Bring pencils, eraser, and student ID.) 5 Mon, 10/3 Stress, PTSD, and Adjustment Disorders 4 Weds, 10/5 Anxiety Disorders 5 6 Mon, 10/10 Anxiety Disorders Weds, 10/12 Anxiety Disorders 7 Mon, 10/17 Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders 7 Weds, 10/19 Eating Disorders 8 8 Mon, 10/24 Exam #2 (Bring pencils, eraser, and student ID.) Weds, 10/26 Mood Disorders and Suicide 6 9 Mon, 10/31 Mood Disorders and Suicide Weds, 11/2 Mood Disorders and Suicide 10 Mon, 11/7 Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders 12 Weds, 11/9 Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders 11 Mon, 11/14 Substance- Related Disorders 10 Weds, 11/16 Substance- Related Disorders 12 Mon, 11/21 Exam #3 (Bring pencils, eraser, and student ID.) Weds, 11/22 Disorders of Childhood/Adolescence 14 13 Mon, 11/28 Personality Disorders 9 Weds, 11/30 Personality Disorders 14 Mon, 12/5 Cognitive Disorders 13 Weds, 12/7 Cognitive Disorders 15 Mon, 12/12 Sexual Disorders and Dysfunctions, Gender Identity 11 Weds, 12/14 Forensic and Social Policy Issues 15 Weds, 12/21 Final Exam - - 1:30 to 3:30 pm (Bring pencils, eraser, and student ID.) NB!: This schedule is subject to change over the course of the semester. Some topics may be shortened or dropped, as dictated by time.
University Policies Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is defined by the Committee on Student Academic Affairs as any act that violates the rights of other students with respect to academic work or that involves misrepresentations of a student's own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) cheating on examinations or assignments, plagiarizing, etc. Students caught cheating on an exam will receive a zero for that exam. Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course and referral to the Scholastic Conduct Committee. Policy for Missed Exams: Students are expected to take exams on the date scheduled in the syllabus. There are few acceptable reasons for missing an exam. Arrangements to take a missed exam MUST be made prior to the exam date, and under almost all circumstances exams must be made up within a week of the exam date. You will need to schedule the exam with one of the TAs at a time they are available. Difficulties, Incompletes, and Withdrawing from the Course: Failing assignments or exams will NOT be considered sufficient cause to drop this course. If you choose to withdraw, do so before the date on which the instructor s signature is required (see the University s academic calendar on OneStop for this deadline). Incompletes ( I grades), followed by retaking the course during another term to finish, will NOT be given. If you are experiencing difficulties in the course, please talk to the instructor as soon as you realize it, and, if at all possible, BEFORE you get a string of poor scores back on your quizzes and exams. Overall, the earlier you share your concerns, the more likely your instructor and TAs will be able to help you. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The University of Minnesota is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. Disability Services (DS) is the campus office that works with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations. Students who have, or think they may have, a disability (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical or systemic), are invited to contact DS to arrange a confidential discussion at 612-626- 1333 (V/TTY) or ds@umn.edu. Students registered with DS, who have a letter requesting accommodations, are encouraged to contact the instructor early in the semester to discuss accommodations outlined in their letter. Additional information is available at the DS website http://ds.umn.edu. Diversity of Student Body: You are expected to listen to and interact with each other in a respectful manner. Students in this class are quite diverse; they will have different values, beliefs, and opinions. Students are expected to maintain open minds to the differences among themselves. Students may argue with others who hold opinions different from their own, but must maintain respect for all students at all times. Sexual Harassment: University policy prohibits sexual harassment as defined in the University Policy Statement adopted on December 11, 1998. Complaints about sexual harassment should be reported to the University Office of Equal Opportunity, 419 Morrill Hall, East Bank. For more information, please refer to http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/humanresources/sexharassment.html.