This semester will be a whirlwind of an introduction to the science of psychology. We will touch on everything from the structure of individual neurons to the nature of social interactions and social influence. By the end of the semester, you will be familiar with how we collect data in many areas of psychology and how we use that data to try to explain psychological experience and behavior.
Course Grade Components
Exams. There will be two midterms and one final exam. These exams will consist of multiple choice and short answer/short essay questions. Prior to the exams, I will distribute a study guide to limit any uncertainty about the material covered by the exam. Exams are conducted during class time, in the designated classroom, and are closed book and closed notes.
Quizzes. Throughout the semester, there will be a quasi-randomly distributed in-class quizzes consisting of 1 or 2 questions distributed at the start of class. There are no make-up quizzes will be provided. You will be able to drop one of your quiz scores, hence missing one quiz will have not impact on this component of your final grade.
End of Chapter Quizzes. At the end of each chapter of the text, you will answer a series of multiple choice questions covering that chapter. You may take these quizzes up to four times and we will take your final score.
Research Experience
Everything discussed in this class is based on research findings of scientists in some area of psychological science. While research in psychology is similar to research in many other disciplines, the nature of the topic (e.g., thought processes, social behavior, attitudes) also poses special challenges to carrying out rigorous scientific study. To gain exposure to research in psychology, you will be asked to complete 4 ‘credits’ of research experience. These credits can be completed using any combination of the following:
Research Participation. You may participate in 4 hours of research currently being conducted in the School of Psychology. To participate, you will need to sign up on the web-based psychology subject pool manager that is linked to off of the course web page. One hour of participation is worth one credit.
Research Report. You will identify an empirical paper from an approved journal and answer 4 questions about the paper and the reported research. Each research report is worth 1 credit and should take an amount of time similar to 1 hour of research participation.
Text: Psychology, 6th edition, Schacter, Gilbert, & Nock.
Macmillian Publishing.
You need to purchase a text with access to the Macmillian Achieve site. I'll have information posted at the top of the Modules page.
Other materials will be made available on Canvas.
Weightings for each course component
Midterm 1 .20
Midterm 2 .20
Final Exam .20
Quizzes .10
Chapt Quizzes .20
Research Exp. .10
To calculate, each component is converted to a percentage of the possible points and multiplied by the associated weight and summed across components. You should assume a straight grading scale (e.g., 91-100, 81-90, etc…) but I reserve the right to lower the grade cutoffs. I mat make a smallish adjustment to the cutoffs and I will announce any such changes.
Students are responsible for materials presented in class. Occasional random in class quizzes will be given, approximately 8 over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester you may drop one of these quizzes.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.