Psychology 2035A-001

Understanding Yourself and Others

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

 

This course examines ways in which recent research findings in psychology may be applied in the individual's life. Emphasis on psychology as an empirical science and on avenues of self- understanding and personal growth. Topics include: personality, stress and coping, person perception, interpersonal communication, friendship and love, sexuality, vocational development.

Antirequisite(s): Psychology 2050.

 

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.

3 lecture hours, 0.5 course

 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor:   Dr. John Campbell                               

       Office and Phone Number: SSC 7440           

       Office Hours: TBA; and by appointment                 

       Email: jcampb7@uwo.ca

 

       Teaching Assistant: Ashwin Harimohan         

       Office: TBA                                                 

       Office Hours: TBA                                       

       Email:              

 

            Time and Location of Classes:   Mondays 7 – 10 pm, SSC-2050                                                                                  

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Weiten, Dunn, & Hammer (2018)

 

Psychology applied to modern life (12th ed.)

 

Boston, MA: Cengage

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course examines ways in which recent research findings in psychology may be applied in the individual's life. Emphasis on psychology as an empirical science and on avenues of self- understanding and personal growth. Topics include: personality, stress and coping, person perception, interpersonal communication, friendship and love, sexuality, vocational development.

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

~ identify major concepts and theories (including examples) relevant to topics in this course;

~ interpret the results of research that has examined these concepts and theories; and

~ apply these concepts and theories to everyday life.

The specific Learning Objectives associated with each textbook chapter and lecture should also help students achieve the course objectives and learning outcomes. 

5.0     EVALUATION

Grades in this course will be based on three multiple-choice exams.  Students are responsible for material assigned in the textbook, as well as material covered in lectures.  The First Exam (October 2), worth 25% of the final grade, will cover material from September 11 through September 25.  The Second Exam (November 6), worth 35% of the final grade, will cover material from October 16 through October 30.  The Final Exam (during the Midyear Exam period in December), worth 40% of the final grade, will cover material from November 13 through December 4.

 

Grades will be posted to the course web site as soon as possible after each exam.

 

NOTE: Grades cannot be adjusted on the basis of "need".  In addition, students will not be given the opportunity to improve their grades by completing extra assignments.  As such, it is important that you monitor your performance on exams and take steps to eliminate any problems as soon as possible, so the problems do not interfere with your performance on subsequent exams. 

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 Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/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


6.0  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE


Date

% of final grade

Material covered

 

Exam 1

October 7

25%

September 9 through September 30

Exam 2

November 11

35%

October 14 through October 28

Exam 3

TBA Dec 8-19

40%

November 18 through December 2

Note 1: Exams will cover material from the textbook and lectures.

 

Note 2: You must go to your assigned room! Room assignments will be announced in class, posted on the course website, and posted on my office door a few days prior to each exam. Please do not contact the department secretaries for this information!!

Note 3: Electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, dictionaries, ipods/earbuds) are NOT permitted during exams.  Please leave these devices at home or in your book bag. 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Session

Date

Topic(s) to be covered

Reading (s)

1

Sept 9

Introduction

Ch 1 (pp. 1-15)

2

Sept 16

Theories Of Personality

Ch 2

3

Sept 23

The Self

Social Thinking and Social Influence

Ch 6

Ch 7

 4

Sept 30

Social Thinking and Social Influence

Ch 7

 

Oct 7

EXAM 1 (25%)

Sept 9 - 30

4

Oct 14

Interpersonal Communication

Friendship and Love

Ch 8

Ch 9

5

Oct 21

Friendship and Love (cont’d)

Marriage and Intimate Relationships

Ch 9

Ch 10

6

Oct 28

Gender and Behavior

Development and Expression of Sexuality

Ch 11

Ch 12

 

NOV 4-8

 Fall Reading Week – No Classes

 

 

Nov 11

EXAM 2 (35%)

Oct 7 - Oct 28

7

Nov 18

Stress and Its Effects

Coping Processes

Ch 3

Ch 4

8

Nov 25

Psychology and Physical Health

Psychological Disorders

Ch 5

Ch 14

10

Dec 2

Careers and Work

Positive Psychology

Ch 13

Ch 16 (pp. 456-475) (lecture only)

 

TBA

FINAL EXAM  (40%)

Date, Time, and Location to be announced

Nov 18 - Dec 2

 

 

 

 

Note 1: Chapter 15 will not be covered in this course. In addition, the Personal Explorations Workbook at the end of the textbook provides some interesting self-assessment and self-reflection exercises that are relevant to each chapter, but this material will not be covered on exams.

Note 2: Exams will cover textbook and lecture material.

Note 3: There will be no lecture after the exams.

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

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf


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

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;

For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;

must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence



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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.