Introduction to Psychology Psychology 1315 Section 007 – Fall 2010 Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00 am – 12:20 pm Life Science Building – Room 122 (LS 122) Instructor: Nicolette P. Lopez, Ph.D. Office: Life Science Building, Room 308 Phone: (817) 272-5480 Office Hours: Tuesday from 2:00 pm -3:00 pm or by appointment E-mail: [email protected] 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 communication 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. 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.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: Exam 1 20 Points Exam 2 20 Points Exam 3 20 Points Final Exam 20 Points Quizzes 30 Points The course grades will be assigned as follows: A 90 – 100 Points B 80 – 89 Points C 70 – 79 Points D 60 – 69 Points F 0 – 59 Points Involvement & Attendance 10 points Exams There will be three (3) regular exams worth 20 points each. The exams will cover material from lectures, assignments, discussions, videos, presentations and the corresponding readings in the textbook. All of the exams will consist of multiple-choice items. Students are required to provide their own Scantron answer sheets and pencils for the exams. The lowest exam score will be dropped. If an exam is missed, that will be the score that is dropped. Any additional exams missed will result 0 points for the exam grade. Students are not exempt from any exams. There are a total of 40 points to be earned through exam performance. If an exam is canceled due to inclement weather or other unexpected reasons, it will take place in the subsequent scheduled class time and at the same place as originally scheduled. Make-up Exams Because the lowest exam score is dropped, no makeup exams will be given. Final There will be one comprehensive final worth 20 points. The final is mandatory and is not eligible to be dropped. Quizzes Quiz grades will be calculated based on each student’s ability to read the text and complete the quizzes prior to the beginning of each class. Students will be required to complete the quizzes for each chapter before our class meeting to discuss the given chapter. The quizzes will be administered via the UT-Arlington WebCT system. WebCT can be accessed via https://webct.uta.edu. Deadlines for each
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