Psychology 2035A 650

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.

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY

LONDON               CANADA

Department of Psychology

2022-2023

 

Psychology [2035A] Section 650

Understanding Yourself and Others

 

 

  • 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: Psychology 2050

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. 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: Not applicable

 

3 lecture hours Course Weight: 0.5

 

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.

 

 

2.0  COURSE INFORMATION

 

Instructor: Dr. Anjana Balakrishnan (feel free to call me Dr. B)                             

Office and Phone Number: N/A                           

Office Hours: Remotely via appointment

Email:abalakr2@uwo.ca                                                            

 

Teaching Assistant: TBA

Office:  TBA           

Office Hours: TBA                                              

Email:   TBA           

 

Time and Location of Classes: Asynchronous

Delivery Method: Virtual

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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 contact Accessible Education at aew@uwo.ca  or 519-661-2147.

 

3.0  TEXTBOOK

 

Weiten, Dunn, & Hammer (2018) Psychology applied to modern life (12th ed.) Boston, MA: Cengage. Be sure to purchase the 12th edition. You are NOT responsible for purchasing MindTap software.

 

 

 

4.0  COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.

Identifying current advances in psychological areas relevant to the self and others. Reflecting on gaps in the literature and critiquing theoretical claims.

Online lectures + supplementary videos

Term Tests

Exam

Term Tests

Exam

Knowledge of Methodologies.

Understanding the tools and methodologies needed to conduct psychological research on human affect, behaviour, and cognition.

Online lectures + supplementary videos

Term Tests

Exam

Term Tests

Exam

Application of Knowledge.

Applying course concepts to novel situations and one’s own life. Identifying how daily experiences relate to core psychological theories.

Term Tests

Exams

Mini-Reflection

Term Tests

Exams

Mini-Reflection

Communication Skills.

Describing content covered in course topic areas and elaborating on what one seeks to learn in the course.

Intro Forum

Mini-Reflection

Intro Forum

Mini-Reflection

Awareness of Limits of Knowledge.

Understanding that the literature can offer a limited perspective on key themes in Psychology and attempting to answer ongoing questions.

Online lectures

Term Tests

Exam

 

 

5.0  EVALUATION

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4.0 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives. The course requirements, along with relative weightings in the determination of final grades, are as follows:

 

Intro Forum – 2%

This assignment will require students to post a response to a prompt posted on the Course Discussion Forum. To earn the full marks of 2.0%, a response must be provided by no later than Oct 11th and ALL the questions must be answered clearly and in full sentences. Submissions between October 12th and December 8th will get a maximum grade of 1.5% on the assignment. This assessment will be TA graded. Please address specific grading queries to the TA, and if further clarification is needed, the instructor can be contacted.

 

Midsemester Content Mini-Reflection – 4%

This assignment will involve students providing a rich commentary on a single chapter covered in the text. Students may choose any of the following chapters: Chapters 1, 3,4,13. For the selected chapter, students are asked to do the following: identify the definition (I.e., from key terms) you found the most interesting as well as the definition you wish to learn more about and explain why. Lastly, students are asked to provide an answer to any ONE of the Spotlight on Research questions within a given chapter. For this reflection, you do not need to cite the textbook. However, you are expected to provide an APA citation (in-text and at the end of the reflection) in relation to the response to the Spotlight on Research Question. It is expected that all work is done independently, and your response is provided in your own words and in full sentences. It is expected that your overall response will be no longer than 3 paragraphs. Mark allocation will take into consideration the following factors: referencing, answering all parts of the assignment prompt appropriately, clarity of the response, and extent of writing convention errors. The official deadline is October 17th. To be eligible for the full marks, participants must submit by the grace period deadline of October 20th. Submissions received from October 21st to 24th will be accepted with a late penalty (i.e., max earnable grade is 3.5%).  After the 24th of October, submissions will NOT be accepted unless this has been pre-approved by the instructor (see note in 5.1). This assessment will be TA-graded. Please address specific grading queries to the TA, and if further clarification is needed, the instructor can be contacted.

 


Term Tests - Term Test 1-26 %; Term Test 2- 32%

There will be 2 term tests in this course. Both term tests will be held online in a synchronous format with no backtracking (i.e., questions will be presented in a linear format and no going back to prior questions). Tests are open book, but students are highly encouraged to be prepared on exam day to optimize time usage. Term Test 1 will be held on Saturday October 15th from 10-11:30 AM. Term Test 2 will be held on Saturday November 12th from 10-11:30 AM. Exams will be multiple-choice format. Please note the following information regarding tests: Each student will receive a test that has questions drawn from larger question pools. The presentation of questions will be scrambled. As the tests are unproctored and synchronous, such measures are to raise the integrity of the assessments. Students are reminded that all work on tests is expected to be done independently and academic honesty is expected of all. These tests will include content from the textbook, lecture material, as well as posted supplementary videos. Students are NOT expected to download and read through the articles cited in the lectures. However, it should be noted that such material covered in lectures is testable.

      

Final Exam -36%

The final exam in this course will be held online in a synchronous format with no backtracking (i.e., questions will be presented in a linear format and no going back to prior questions). Tests are open book, but students are highly encouraged to be prepared on exam day to optimize time usage. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office during the Final Exam Period. Exams will be multiple-choice format. Please note the following information regarding the final exam. Each student will receive a final that has questions drawn from larger question pools. The presentation of questions will be scrambled. As the exams are unproctored and synchronous, such measures are to raise the integrity of the assessments. Students are reminded that all work on tests is expected to be done independently and academic dishonesty is expected of all. These tests will include content from the textbook, lecture material, as well as posted supplementary videos. The final exam will only cover material from after term test 2 (I.e., non-cumulative). Students should be advised that for any of the assessments in the course, there could be overlap in content presented in new chapters with material learned in previous chapters. As such, if material recurs in a new chapter and is relevant for assessment, it may be testable. Students are NOT expected to download and read through the articles cited in the lectures. However, it should be noted that such material covered in lectures is testable.

 

 

5.1  POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK

 

Intro Forum

This assignment will be available on the OWL course site by the day of the first lecture (i.e., Sep 8th). To earn full marks (i.e., 2%) ALL questions must be answered in the OWL forum by Tuesday October 11th. After Tuesday the 11th, a MAXIMUM of 1.5 % can be earned by completing the assignment. Please note that NO submissions will be allowed after the last day of classes (i.e., December 8th). As this assessment is one that is open all semester long, once the semester ends, missing coursework on this component will receive a 0.

 

Midsemester Content Mini-Reflection

This assignment will be available on the OWL course site by Monday September 26th. Please note that submissions have a firm final deadline October 24th (I.e. including late penalty). In highly extenuating circumstances, where instructor approval has been provided, small extensions for submission may be afforded to students with official accommodations and/or on medical/compassionate grounds. Such assessments will be done on a case-by-case basis and need to be requested in advance of firm deadline date. Please note all submissions post the 24th will receive the 0.5% penalty (I.e., max earnable grade of 3.5%). This is due to the official deadline of the assessment being a week before the final deadline, and due to there being a grace period.

 

Term Tests and Final Exam

 

Students who miss the scheduled term tests or Registrar-scheduled final exam with official accommodation (i.e., approved documentation from their faculty academic counselling office) will be given an opportunity to write a makeup exam. The makeup exam may adhere to a modified format from the original exam. Please note that vacations do not count as a valid reason for requesting accommodation.

 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:

 

70%      1000-level to 2099-level courses

72%      2100-2999-level courses

75%      3000-level courses

80%      4000-level courses

 

The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines, which are as follows (see: https://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

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.

 

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course.

 

6.0  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

 

Term Test 1 (Oct 15th from 10-11:30 AM)

26%

Term Test 2 (Nov 12th from 10-11:30 AM)

32%

Final Exam (TBD by Registrar in the final exam period)

36%

Intro Forum (Due date Oct 11th; Oct 12th – Dec 8th max earnable grade 1.5%; NO submissions after Dec 8th)

Midsemester Content Mini-Reflection (Oct 17th due date; accepted until grace period Oct 20th for full marks; Oct 21st – Oct 24th max earnable grade 3.5%; firm deadline Oct 24th)

2%

 

4%

 

Submission deadlines & time zone: Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is the time zone in London, ON. That means that if you are in a different time zone, you'll need to adjust your deadline time accordingly to ensure you don't miss the times for assessments. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they are aware of time zones when doing all assessments.  

 

 

7.0  CLASS SCHEDULE

Please review and familiarize yourself with the dates specified in this class schedule as well as be aware of all due dates as noted above. I look forward to a wonderful semester with you all! :)

Date

Topic

                Reading

Sept 8

Introduction to the Course + How to Thrive Guide

[Intro Forum Opens]

                N/A

Sep 12

Adjusting to Modern Life

                Ch 1

Sep 19

  Careers and Work

                Ch 13

Sep 26

Stress and its Effects [Mini-Reflection info posted]

                Ch 3

Oct 3

  Coping Processes + Psych and Physical Health

   [Guidelines for studying for Test 1 will be given]

                Ch 4; Ch 5(p. 150-155  

                 + Spotlight on Research)

Oct 11

 Personality (please note that this week’s chapter  

content is being posted a day later to account for the    holiday.

 

                Ch 2

Oct 15

   Test 1 – Online Synchronous Saturday 10-11:30     AM. Spans  lecture + supplementary video + text material from Sep 12-Oct 3 inclusive    

 

Oct 17

   Self

                Ch 6

Oct 24

   Gender and Behaviour + Sexuality

                Ch 11; Ch 12 (p. 360-   

                363+ Spotlight on

                Research)

  Nov 7

 Friendship & Love   

[Guidelines for studying for Test 2 will be given]

                Ch 9

  Nov 12

  Test 2-Online Synchronous Saturday 10-11:30 AM

   Spans lecture + supplementary video + text material   

   from Oct 10-Nov 7 inclusive

 

Nov 14

 Social Thinking & Social Influence                                                 Ch 7

  Nov 21

   Interpersonal Communication                                                     

                Ch 8

Nov 28

 Psychological Disorders

                Ch 14

Dec 05

   Psychotherapy

   [Guidelines for studying for the Final will be given]

                Ch 15

 

   FINAL EXAM DATE & TIME TBD BY REGISTRAR

   Spans lecture + supplementary video + text material  

   from Nov 14 - Dec 05 inclusive (non-cumulative)

 

 

 

8.0  Land Acknowledgement

 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.

 

With this, we respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation, as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service.

 

 

9.0  STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

 

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence are described at the following link: https://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 offences. 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).

 

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

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.

 

Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

 

10.0      POLICY ON THE USE OF EXAM PROCTORING SOFTWARE

 

If a remote proctoring service is used, the service will require you to provide personal information (including some biometric data). The session will be recorded. In the event that in-person exams are unexpectedly canceled, you may only be given notice of the use of a proctoring service a short time in advance. More information about remote proctoring is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines. Please ensure you are familiar with any proctoring service’s technical requirements before the exam. Additional guidance is available at the following link: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf

 

* Please note that Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination. See this link for technical requirements: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us  

 

11.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES

 

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

 

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. 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;
  2. 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.

 

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html

 

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hoursafter the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.

 

12.0      Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown: IN-Person & Blended classes

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence or any other event that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor.

 

 

 

13.0      STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE

 

In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:

  • please “arrive” to class on time
  • please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
  • please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
  • to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
  • In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
  • In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
  • Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting

 

The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:

  • If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
  • Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
  • Self-identify when speaking.
  • Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).

 

General considerations of “netiquette”:

  • Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
  • Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
  • Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
  • Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.

 

Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.

 

14.0 OTHER INFORMATION

 

Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca 

 

Student Development Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf

Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).

 

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.

 

Policy on the Recording of Synchronous Sessions: Some or all of the remote learning sessions for this course (if scheduled) may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings. Participants in this course are not permitted to privately record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the student has the prior written permission of the instructor.