Psychology 3225A-001
Sex Differences in Human Brain and Behaviour
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An evolutionary and biological approach to understanding the differences between men and women. Topics include sociobiological explanations of sex roles; gonadal and brain sexual differentiation; hormonal factors in aggression, sexual preference and gender identity; sex differences in cognitive function; genetic and hormonal influences on sexually dimorphic brain function.
Antirequisite: Psychology 3215F/G
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810, and one of Psychology 2220A/B, 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000. Minimum grade of 60% required in all prerequisite courses.
3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor:Prof. K.-P. Ossenkopp
Office and Phone Number: 9248 SSC; 519-661-2111 ext. 84656
Office Hours: Mondays 1 – 3 PM (9245 SSC)
Email: ossenkop@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Danna Zevy
Office: TBA
Office Hours: TBA
Email: dzevy@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Lectures: Thursday 2:30 – 5:30 in UCC Room 53
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Students will be required to read journal articles and book chapters that will be provided by the instructor either as online texts or hardcopies. A list of these readings will be posted on the course OWL page and a hardcopy will be made available as well.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course will examine the role of sexual dimorphism in the shaping of biological processes that influence human behaviour. It will start with an examination of the importance of sex from an evolutionary perspective and then deals with the role of genetics and hormonal influences across the life span in sex dimorphic aspects of behaviour. The primary objective is to provide a basic understanding of the complexities of hormonal organizational and activational processes (including the effects of stress) and how they relate to human behaviour. The effects of these processes on various types of normal and abnormal behaviours will be examined, as will the relationship between brain sexual dimorphism and behaviour.
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
Midterm Exam 35%
Final Exam 35%
Quizzes (2 @ 10 pts) 20%
Oral Presentation 10%
**Please note that the quizzes, Midterm Exam and Final Exam are handwritten essay format, consisting of definitions, and short and long essays. The oral presentation will consist of a 7 – 10 minute presentation, to the class, of the material in one of the readings for the course. The oral presentations will be scheduled throughout the course as well as during the last class.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Quiz #1 – October 1 – in class (30 min.; covers material from the first 3 lectures and readings)
Midterm Exam – October 22 – in class (2 hr exam; covers the first 6 lectures and readings)
Quiz #2 – November 26 – in class (30 min; covers material from lectures 7 – 9 and readings)
Final Exam – Exam Period (2 hr exam; covers the whole course, both lectures and readings, but with emphasis on the second half)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
10 September 1. Sex, Evolution, and Behavior
17 September 2. The Development of Sexual Dimorphism: Organizational and Activational Effects
24 September 3. Abnormalities in Development: Genetic and Hormonal
1 October 4. Early life programming: Sexual Dimorphism (Quiz #1, in class; Lectures 1 - 3)
8 October 5. Normal and Abnormal Infant and Child Play Behavior
15 October 6. Sex Differences in the Central Nervous System
22 October MIDTERM EXAM (in class;Lectures 1 – 6)
29 October Study Day
5 November 7. Cognitive Sex Differences
12 November 8. Cognitive Sex Differences cont’d
19 November 9. Stress and Emotional Development
26 November* 10. Oral Presentations (Quiz #2, in class; Lectures 7 - 9)
3 December 11. Oral Presentations
Exam Period FINAL EXAM
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
