Psychology 1000-001 Summer Evening 2019

Introduction to Psychology

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 introductory survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The following topics will be covered: history and methodology, biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning and motivation, verbal and cognitive processes, developmental psychology, social psychology, individual differences (intelligence and personality), and clinical psychology.

 

Antirequisite: Psychology 1100E

 

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.

 

Prerequisite: none

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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.

 

 

3 lecture hours;

Course Weight: 1.0

 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

            Instructor: Dr. Laura Fazakas-deHoog, Ph.D., C. Psych                          

            Office and Phone Number: SSC 7302; 519-317-7025      

            Office Hours: Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. by appointment or after class                   

            Email: llfazakas@hotmail.com  OR lfazakas@uwo.ca                                                     

 

       Time and Location of Classes:  Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-10 p.m.   UCC-146

                                                                                   

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

Passer, M.W., Smith, R.E., Atkinson, M.L., Mitchell, J. B., & Muir, D.W. (2017). Psychology: Frontiers    and Applications. Sixth Canadian Edition.  Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson

 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is an introductory level survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The goal is to provide students with an overview of various topic domains within the realm of psychology. As such, students will be exposed to diverse theoretical viewpoints and various methods and procedures for the scientific investigation of psychological issues. Note: Modern psychology is scientific in nature. Consequently, we will spend a lot of time discussing science-related topics such as research design, research findings, neural functioning, sensory mechanisms, etc.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Each chapter in the text covers a major interest area in psychology. By the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:

o Identify the major concepts, theories and topics in Psychology

o Distinguish between and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of various theories in Psychology

o Apply concepts and theories from Psychology to everyday problems

o Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs

o Ask questions about topics in Psychology

o Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological problems

o Identify common research designs used in Psychology

 

Learning Outcomes, Activities, and Assessment

 

 

 

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

Identify major concepts, theories,& topics in Psychology

Reading and attendance at lectures

Multiple choice exams

Distinguish between & identify the

relative strengths & weaknesses of various theories of Psychology

Reading and attendance at lectures

Multiple choice exams

Apply theories & concepts from Psychology to everyday problems

Reading and attendance at lectures

Multiple choice exams

Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs

 

Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological symptoms

 

Identify common research designs used in Psychology

Reading and attendance at lectures

 

Reading and attendance at lectures

 

 

Reading and attendance at lectures

 

 

Multiple choice exams

 

 

Multiple choice exams

 

 

 

Multiple choice exams

 

5.0     EVALUATION

There will be 4 exams during the course. Each exam is non-cumulative and consists of multiple-choice questions covering the material in the textbook as well as in the lecture.  

 

Exam 1             (Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, & Appendix)                    25%.

 

Exam 2             (Ch. 5, 6, 7, & 8)                                    25%

 

Exam 3             (Ch. 9, 10, 11, & 12)                               20%

 

Final Exam        (Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17)                       30% 

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  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

There will be 4 exams during the course. Each exam is non-cumulative and consists of multiple-choice questions covering the material in the textbook as well as in the lecture.  

 

Exam 1             (Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, & Appendix)        Tues. May. 28, 2018      7:00 – 9:00 p.m.            25%.

 

Exam 2             (Ch. 5, 6, 7, & 8)                        Tues. June 18, 2018       7:00 – 9:00 p.m.            25%

 

Exam 3             (Ch. 9, 10, 11, & 12)                   Tues. July 09, 2018        7:00 – 9:00 p.m.            20%

 

Final Exam        (Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17)           TBA                                                                  30%

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Classes may include lectures, demonstrations, films, etc., and may be used to present material not contained in the textbook.  Lectures are intended to highlight certain areas of each topic -- there is not enough time available to us to cover all the material in the textbook. However, students are responsible for reading and understanding the assigned portions of the textbook, even if this material is not covered in the class lectures.  Any difficulties encountered should be brought to the attention of the instructor.

Topics will be covered in the following order during the year. Approximate lecture dates are given so that you can keep up with the readings. Ideally, you should do the required readings before the topic is covered in class. Please note that there is a fairly heavy reading load in this course. Thus, it is important for you to keep up with the readings.

LECTURE                                 CHAPTER                     TOPIC                              

 

Tues.  May  07                          1                                  Introduction/History of Psychology

Thurs. May  09                          2/Appendix                   Methodology/Data Analysis/Statistics   

Tues.  May  14                          3                                  Brain/Nervous System/Neurophysiology

Thurs. May  16                          3                                  Brain/Nervous System/Neurophysiology

Tues.  May  21                          4                                  Genetics & Evolution

Thurs. May  23                          5                                  Sensation/Perception

 

TUESDAY  MAY  28                                                      MIDTERM EXAM          1    (in class)   

           

Thurs. May 30                           5                                  Sensation/Perception               

Tues.  June 04                           6                                  Consciousness

Thurs. June 06                           7                                  Learning

Tues.  June 11                           8                                  Memory

Thurs. June 13                           8/9                                Memory/Language and Thinking

TUESDAY June 18                                                        MIDTERM EXAM          2    (in class)

Thurs. June 20                           10                                 Intelligence

Tues.  June 25                           11                                Motivation & Emotion   

Thurs. June 27                           12                                 Development (Prenatal/child Development)

Tues.  July 02                            12                                 Development (Adolescent/Adult)           

Thurs. July 04                            13                                 Behavior in a Social Context

 

TUESDAY JULY 09                                                       MIDTERM EXAM          3    (in class)

                       

Thurs. July 11                            13                                 Behavior in a Social Context

Tues.  July 16                            14                                 Personality       

Thurs. July 18                            16                                 Psychological Disorders           

Tues.  July 23                            16/17                            Psychological Disorders/Treatment

Thurs. July 25                            17/15                            Psychological Treatment/Stress & Health

                                                                       

FINAL EXAM    (Date TBA: on either /July 29 or July 30)

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://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12 

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
- 2019 Calendar References

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