Introduction to Psychology Psychology 1315 Section 006 Spring 2009 Tuesdays and Thursdays 12 30 pm 1 50 pm Life Science Building Room 100 LS 100 Instructor Nicolette P Lopez Ph D Office Life Sciences Building Room 308 Phone 817 272 5480 E mail nlopez uta edu Office Hours Thursday 2 00 pm to 4 00 pm or by appointment Student Learning Outcomes Objectives and Goals This course will cover a wide range of Psychological concepts and topics Successful completion of this course will require students to a be able to describe and integrate the basic theories of psychology b be able to identify and apply the techniques and methods used by psychologists c be able to explain and the application of psychology and d be able to begin answering questions that they may have about themselves and the people around them Psychology is the scientific study of behavior cognition and emotion The basic unit of study in psychology is the human being As a species human beings are and have been fascinated with ourselves for millennia Psychology is the result of this fascination It developed as a method for answering questions that we have asked about ourselves since earliest times Questions such as Why do I do the things I do What is love How can I be sure you understand my experience Why do I remember certain things and not others How can I ever survive this experience Overall we still have more questions than we have answers The overarching purpose of this course is to share with you the empirically derived answers that we do have to help you apply this knowledge to solve problems and increase your understanding of everyday life and to formulate better more objective questions about human agency It is critical that students read the assigned material before coming to class Discussions and lectures will be based on the assigned readings Students are expected to budget enough time during the week to read the material from the text Required Text The Science of Psychology by Laura A King 1st edition McGraw Hill The study guide optional but recommended The text is also available as an eBook at http www coursesmart com or http textbooks vitalsource com Research Participation Requirement Students enrolled in Psychology 1315 must complete the research participation requirements Research participation is an experiential learning opportunity that enhances and deepens students understanding of and appreciation for the scientific study of psychology Failure to meet this requirement will result in an Incomplete or failing grade This requirement can be satisfied by participating in psychological research or by summarizing and evaluating published studies in journals or in other sources More details will be provided in an orientation session and in an informational handout This handout can be viewed on the Department of Psychology website https www uta edu psychology under Participant Pool Information Points are not added to the course grade for completion of this requirement Communications When communicating with faculty members and other professionals all students are expected to communicate in a professional and formal manner regardless of the communications media phone e mail face to face etc This includes addressing one s audience using their proper title using proper grammar and using proper spelling How one delivers a message is often as important as the message itself Thus I expect students to communicate professionally when communicating with me This includes but is not limited to using proper greetings proper grammar and an appropriate tone Communications deemed inappropriate will not receive a response Electronic Mail UT Arlington provides all students with an official UT Arlington electronic mail e mail address UT Arlington and this instructor will use students UT Arlington e mail accounts for official communication with students All communications regarding this course will be sent to students UT Arlington e mail accounts Evaluation Grading is based on a mastery model There is NO curve You may all get A s you may all fail or you may sort yourselves out across a normal distribution of grades It depends on your time your effort and your effectiveness at mastering the material Grades for the course will be computed as follows Participation Psychology Knowledge Exercises 30 Points 60 Points Involvement Attendance 10 points B C D F 80 89 Points 70 79 Points 60 69 Points 0 59 Points The course grades will be assigned as follows A 90 100 Points Cellular Telephones and Other Electronic Devices Do not leave your cellular telephone cell phone or other electronic device blackberry or other electronic communication device turned on during class Even on vibrate mode these devices are very distracting to me and to other students Final Grade Information No final grade information will be released by phone or e mail Only by providing the instructor with a stamped self addressed envelope will you be able to receive your final grade before it is posted on MyMav Exams There will be no exams for this course Participation Participation grades will be calculated based on each student s ability to read the text and complete the textbook publisher s online web quizzes at the beginning of each week Students will be required to complete the Multiple Choice Quiz for each chapter on or before our class meeting to discuss the given chapter The on line web quizzes can be found at http highered mcgrawhill com sites 007353188x student view0 index html and deadlines and specific links for each chapter can be found on the last page of this document It is the responsibility of the student to e mail the results of each on line web quiz to the instructor before the deadline 8 00 am CST on the day the assignment is due If the on line web quiz results are received by the instructor after the deadline the student will get zero 0 points for that assignment regardless of when the results were sent Late assignments will not be accepted Each on line web quiz for Chapters Two 2 through Sixteen 16 will count for two 2 Participation points Your score on each on line web quiz will determine what percentage of Participation points you earn 100 2 points 50 1 point 75 1 5 points etc Psychology Knowledge Exercises PKEs PKE grades will be calculated based on each student s ability to read the text attend class master the material and complete an on line PKE Students will be required to complete a PKE for chapters on or before the specified deadline The PKEs
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