Psychology 101 (Section 003): Introductory PsychologySpring, 2012Time: Monday and Wednesday, 12:40-2:30 PM Location: E100 Veterinary Medical CenterInstructor Teaching AssistantDr. Richard Lucas Sam XieOffice: 249A Psychology 302 PsychologyOffice Hours: Thursday 2:00-4:00 Tu-Th 10:00-11:00Or by appointmentFOR ALL COURSE E-MAILS, PLEASE USE ANGEL AND SEND E-MAILS TO FACULTY (FROM THE ANGEL “COMMUNICATE” TAB)Course Objectives:• To learn about the major theories and findings from the field of psychology.• To learn about the research methods that psychologists use.• To learn to think critically about conclusions made by psychologists and other social scientists.• To apply ideas from psychology to your own life experiences.Course Readings: Required Text: Psychology (9th Edition) by David G. Myers. Please make sure you read all assigned readings immediately after the corresponding lecture. The readings are listed at the end of the syllabus. If you wish, you may also purchase the accompany study guide written by Richard O. Straub. I did not order the book for the bookstores because there is now quite a bit of review material available for free on the text book’s web site (see below). However, if you want to purchase this book, you should be able to find it at places like Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. iClicker: You will need to purchase an iClicker remote for in-class activities. These are available at the bookstores.Attendance: I will not take attendance, but you can get points for coming to class. Specifically, if you come to class and answer the iClicker questions that I pose each day, you will receive .5 points for each class (excluding the first two). You can get a maximum of 10 points for attendance over the course of the semester. However, if you attend all 23 classes, you will receive a 5-point attendance bonus. In addition, throughout the semester, there will be short, for-credit, in-class activities (see below). If you miss these activities, you miss out on the points that they will contribute to your final grade. Finally, much of the material on the exam will come from class lectures. Therefore, you are encouraged to attend every class. Please note: If you have someone else use your iClicker for you when you are not in class, you will lose all class participation, in-class activity, and bonus points for the semester.Important note about coming to class late and leaving class early: This class is scheduled from 12:40 to 2:30. I start on time and will almost always lecture until the last minute. Coming late and leaving early is very distracting both to me and to other students in the class. For that reason, although I will not keep track of attendance, I will keep track when people arrive late or leave early. If you come in late or leave early, please sign in with the undergraduate assistant. Although you will not be penalized for doing this a couple times, if it becomes a pattern I will contact you to discuss why it is happening. Ultimately, the policies described under the “class disruptions” section below may come into play. In addition, any attempt to avoid signing in (or signing the wrong name) will be dealt with severely, including the possibility of a 0.0 in the class. You may leave during break without signing out and without penalty.Class Participation: Although this is a large class, I encourage class participation. In fact, there will be many times that I will require it (in the in-class activities). Please feel free to ask questions and offer your opinions about the topics we are discussing.Course Notes: Please take detailed notes on the lecture material—you will be tested on it. To help you focus on the important details (rather than writing down everything), I will provide overheads from my lectures on the web (see Course Web Sites below). These overheads are not meant to replace detailed notes; they simply provide a basic outline of the material I will cover so you do not have to write this basic material down. The details will be filled in during class, and many of these details will be included on the exam. You will not succeed in this class if you rely solely on the posted overheads for your notes. Research Participation: An important part of your education in psychology is to learn, first hand, how psychological research is carried out. In Psychology 101, this is accomplished through a research participation requirement. Students in Psychology 101 are required to participate in seven and a half hours of research credit. The psychology subject pool allocates credits in half hour units. This means that you will need 15 half-hour credits to complete your research participation requirement. Each credit is worth 2 points towards your overall grade. So completing your participation requirement is a very easy way to improve your grade in this course! You must complete your research participation by April 27th at 5:00 PM.In addition, as an added incentive, students who complete 14 half-hour credits before Friday, March 16th will get a one-credit bonus. This means that you will get credit for 15 half-hour studies (and your full 30 points), even though you only participated in 14. By participating in research projects, you will provide an important service to psychologists who are trying to further knowledge in the field. As you read through your textbook, you may notice the names of some of the professors at Michigan State. In most cases, these professors’ studies were carried out right here at MSU, using participants from Psychology 101. So, at some point in the future, you may be able to point to a study that is being reported in a textbook or even in the news and say “I was a participant in that study, they’re talking about me!” If you have any objections to participating in psychological research, alternative projects are available. These will involve reading and writing about published psychological studies. Details about these alternative projects will be posted on the course web site. An information sheet describing the psychology department participant pool is available on-line (under “Lessons” and then “Course Documents”). If you have any questions about the participant pool procedures, please contact the coordinator: Leslie Baldwin, 262 Psychology Building, [email protected] .Course Web Sites: There are a number of web sites that you can access to learn more about the material we will