1 SYLLABUS Psychology 110.04 – Fundamentals of Psychology (3 cr) Illinois State University Fall 2014 Course Information Classroom and Meeting Time: Schroeder 130; T, Th 2:00-3:15 p.m. Course web page: http://my.ilstu.edu/~mmnauta/psy110/psy110.html Instructor Information Dr. Margaret Nauta Office hours: M 1-2, Th 10-11, + other times by appt. DeGarmo 444, 438-7057 e-mail: [email protected] Teaching Assistant Information We are fortunate to have a teaching assistant. Paige will hold an office hour during which you may stop by to discuss course material, seek assistance in preparing for exams, or receive individual tutoring. Her office hour will be held at a desk in the hall outside DeGarmo 444 at the following time: ______________ (to be announced soon). Tutoring The Julia N. Visor Academic Center provides free weekly tutoring sessions for this and many other general education courses. For more info see http://www.ucollege.illinoisstate.edu/tutoring. Course Description and Goals This course will provide an introduction to methods commonly used to explore and understand psychological and other social science phenomena. We will then use this background to explore the complexities of human behavior within social and cultural contexts by examining physiological processes, learning experiences, thought processes, developmental processes, and social factors. Finally, we will apply this knowledge to life (e.g., apply principles of learning and memory to help you improve your study habits) and current social issues (e.g., examine social problems such as mental illness and how principles of human behavior impact its treatment). We will use lectures, discussions, demonstrations, videos, assignments, and exams to help you meet the following objectives for the course: • Master a broad knowledge (concepts, contributors, history, and principles) of various areas of social science inquiry, with a particular emphasis on those from psychology. • Understand how scientific methodology can be used to answer vital questions about human behavior. • Understand various influences (e.g., physiological, developmental, social) on individuals and groups of people. • Apply this understanding to everyday situations, such as studying more effectively for exams, understanding why those who are different from us behave as they do, etc. • Become a more critical consumer of information, advertising, propaganda, and persuasive appeals. • Be able to discuss societal issues such as the culture-specific definition of “normality” and the effects of diagnoses. For a complete list of course objectives, please visit this webpage: http://www.psychology.ilstu.edu/undergrad/objectives/ Special Accommodations Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TTY). Text and Materials The required text is: Kosslyn, S. M., & Rosenberg, R. S. (2011). Introducing Psychology: Brain, person, group (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. You must understand material in the text to do well on exams. You are expected to know the information in the assigned readings even though we may not discuss all of that information in class. Study guides posted on the course web page will help you identify what is most important from the text to focus on for each exam. Examinations, Assignments, and Grading Your scores will be posted in an on-line gradebook that you can check any time. From the course web page, click on the link that says “Gradebook.” You will need to enter your ULID and ULID password. EXAMS - There will be four exams, consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions each. The questions will be drawn from the text, lectures, class activities, and videos. The final exam is simply a fourth exam (i.e., is not cumulative). Each exam2 is worth 100 points (400 total). It is very important that you take exams at the regularly scheduled time and date. If you know ahead of time that you will have a conflict, let me know in advance so that we can arrange for you to take the exam before the scheduled date. You may make up a missed exam for full credit at my discretion only if you meet the following conditions: (1) You have documented evidence of an extreme circumstance (i.e., hospitalization, death in the family), and (2) you contact me no later than one day after the exam if prior notification is absolutely impossible due to the emergency. IN-CLASS REACTION PAPERS - In class, we will occasionally engage in discussions, activities, etc. These activities will help you understand the course material more thoroughly (and should be fun, too!). On six occasions throughout the semester, I will ask you to write a short response to something we have talked about or done and turn it in at the end of class. You will not know in advance when I will do this. The purposes of these reactions are to help you process the information, help me gauge how well the class understood a particular concept, and reward those who regularly attend class. You must be present in class to receive credit for an in-class reaction paper. It will not be possible to make up a missed reaction paper for any reason; however, I will drop your score and only count your five highest reaction paper scores when calculating grades. Thus, you may miss one reaction paper for any reason without penalty. If you miss more than one reaction paper because of illness or any other reason, you may use extra credit to make up for the missed points. Each reaction paper is worth up to 5 points, for a total of 25 points. EXTRA CREDIT - You may earn up to 5 optional extra credit points during each unit of the course (20 points total). See the course schedule for the deadlines; once a deadline has passed, no additional extra credit may be earned for that unit. You may earn extra credit any time before the deadline. If you earn more than 5 points for one unit, the remainder will be applied to the next unit. There are two ways to earn extra credit (and you do any combination of one or both for each unit if you choose): (1) Participate in psychology research studies. Psychology faculty and students conduct research every semester, and they need participants. Participating is a good way to learn about psychological research, and students often find it fun. Studies vary in terms of their topics, methods, and time requirements. If you choose