Introduction to Psychology
50:830:101 Fall 2014
CLASS: Monday/Wednesday/Friday * 11:15 – 12:10. * ATG-121
Instructor:
/Dr. Ioana Latu
/ /Phone:
/856-225-6535
Office:
/Armitage 348
/ /Email:
/Office Hours:
/ Mondays and Wednesdays 1:10-2:10 p.m. or by appointment / / Email is the best way to contact me.Required Text / Myers, D.G. (2012). Psychology in Modules, 10th edition. Worth Publishers.
Course Description / This introductory psychology course is designed to provide an overview of the field of psychology and human behavior. There will be emphasis on understanding the scientific method, critical thinking, and application of psychological principles to everyday life.
Learning Objectives / The learning objectives of this course are consistent with the goals of the Psychology Department. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of psychology as well as the basic vocabulary of the discipline. We will explore a wide range of topics such as scientific methods, consciousness, gender, development, memory, emotion, intelligence, psychological disorders, therapy, and social psychology.
2. Apply the concepts of psychology to your everyday life. The concepts we explore during the semester can be used to improve your life. You will learn keys to happiness, romantic success, influencing others, and raising successful children, and will be able to identify behaviors that reflect these keys.
3. Distinguish scientific psychology from junk science and folk beliefs. There are self-help books and videos, popular treatments of psychological issues, and opinions aplenty in popular culture. Introduction to Psychology prepares you to distinguish psychologically plausible accounts from those that are likely wrong. You will be more informed consumers of psychological science.
Course Requirements and Grading / Final course grades will be based on performance on the following course requirements:
Exam 1 / 25%
Exam 2 / 25%
Exam 3 / 25%
Quizzes / 10%
Research Participation / 10%
Attendance and Participation / 5%
Total / 100%
Exams: Each of the three non-cumulative examinations will be comprised of multiple-choice questions. The examinations will cover all material presented in the assigned readings and in-class sessions. Any material presented in the course (lectures, readings, videos, etc.) is fair game for exams. Note that up to 25% of the questions on each exam will be comprised of information covered only in the text and not in class sessions (although questions about the text during class sessions are encouraged). The remaining questions will be based on material covered in class sessions or covered in both the text and the class sessions. Many of the questions will require students to apply course concepts to “real life” situations. A study guide for the exam will be posted on Sakai one week before the exam.
Make-up policy for exams: Students with an unexcused absence on an examination day will receive a failing grade on the missed exam. Students with an excused absence may have the option of taking a 10-question, fill-in-the-blank and short answer exam generally considered to be much higher in difficulty than the regular exam. In order to have the opportunity to take a make-up exam, students must provide the instructor with original written documentation of an illness or emergency within one week following the missed exam. The instructor will then determine if the absence is excused. A reason for missing the exam that in essence boils down to a scheduling conflict does not create legitimate grounds to miss an exam—no matter how much inconvenience is involved. All make-up exams will be administered immediately following the final exam. Exam dates are listed on the class schedule.
Bring at least two #2 pencils and an eraser form on the day of the exam. You must provide your own pencil sharpener. Scantron forms will be provided for you.
Quizzes: You are expected to have read the assigned material prior to attending class (see schedule). There are 6 reading quizzes. The quizzes are designed to assess your knowledge about the assigned reading modules; the quizzes should not be difficult if you do the assigned readings and process the material. Quizzes will emphasize psychological ideas, theories, and research more than names, dates, and statistics. Quizzes may be short answer or multiple-choice questions. Arrive on time for quizzes; you will be given 15 minutes to complete each quiz and if you are late, you do not receive extra time to complete the quiz. No makeup quizzes are administered. You can drop one quiz from the final grade.
Class Attendance and Participation: Regular class attendance is essential to students’ success in this course. Much of the material presented in the class sessions will complement rather than repeat the material presented in the course readings. All material covered in class (lectures, discussions, videos, etc) is fair game for the exams.
Five percent of a student’s final grade in the course will be determined by the student’s contributions to the class dynamics. Points will be awarded based on students’ timely arrival to class sessions, class attendance, and contributions to class discussions. Points may be deducted from a student’s final grade if the student is late for more than one class session, misses more than three class sessions, leaves the room during a class session without discussing any special circumstances with the instructor before class, or otherwise introduces distractions into class sessions.
You are expected to attend lecture, arrive on time and leave only when the instructor dismisses you. If you are unable to attend a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from another student. The instructor will not repeat lectures for absent students. However, if you have questions concerning a missed class that you are unable to answer after talking to other students, reviewing their notes, or reading the textbook, please do not hesitate to contact me.Research Participation The final requirement for the course is specified by the Psychology Department. This requirement is described below.
The Psychology Department of the Camden Faculty of Arts & Sciences has established a policy that students enrolled in Introduction to Psychology (830:101) must either participate as subjects in psychological research activities or complete a designated alternative activity. This policy is designed to enhance students' understanding of the nature of psychological research and to support the research activities of the faculty. At the present time, the research participation option requires completion of a total of 4 hours worth of credits for participating in research studies (but only 3 if you complete them without missing appointments). The designated alternative activity consists of writing a paper on some aspect of the psychological research process associated with a psychology related topic. This option must have the prior approval of the instructor, be on a topic selected by agreement between the instructor and the student, and be five (5) pages in length, typed and double-spaced, with appropriate documentation. (Please review the departmental policy on plagiarism, if you are not familiar with it). Failure by a student to satisfy the requirement before the end of the semester, either by completion of 4 hours worth of experiments or by writing an acceptable paper, will result in the student receiving no credit for 10% of the course OR in the student receiving a grade of "Incomplete" ("IN") for the course. This "Incomplete" will only be bestowed based on prior arrangement, and can only be removed by the student's fulfillment of the requirement.* Unless prior arrangements are made, all the work needed to remove an "Incomplete" grade should be finished before the start of the following semester.
The deadline for completing the research participation requirement or the alternative paper requirement is the last day we meet for class, Wednesday December 10th, 2014.
Benefits of Participating. By participating as a subject in research, you will contribute in a small way to increasing our understanding of psychological processes. You will have an opportunity to gain some direct experience of what psychological research involves, and you may acquire a better understanding of some of the issues and topics you are studying in your course. You will be able to give your own insights and comments to the experimenter and perhaps suggest ways to improve the methods or alternative ways to think about the task. Finally, most of the research projects are interesting to do (some are down-right fun) and you will learn a little bit more about yourself in the process.
Where to sign up. Sign up for participation is handled online at the website https://experimetrix2.com/rutcmdn/. The first time you go to this site, register as a new user (select “New User Registration” and follow the instructions. Please register for the correct section of your course –50:830:101:01. Once registered, you can see what experiments are available and sign up to participate in any of them. Each posted experiment includes a brief description of the study, its location, how much time credit you will receive, and available appointment times. To participate in a study simply sign up for an available time. You must register using your assigned Rutgers email account. Once you register you will be sent a password and login ID which you can use to sign up for experiments. If you do not use the account within 30 days, you will need to re-register.
Sign-up responsibility. Students who sign up for a particular time are responsible for fulfilling their commitment. If you must cancel your appointment, notify the experimenter at least 24 hours before the scheduled session; the telephone number will be provided with the description of the study. You may be subject to a penalty of additional required time for completing this requirement if you fail to notify the experimenter in a timely manner.
Experimenters also have a responsibility. Should an experimenter fail to show up within 15 minutes of the scheduled session, the student will receive full credit for that session. To receive credit, make a note of the study, the date, the time, and the name of the experimenter and give this information to the secretary in Room 301 on the same day that the experimenter did not show up. At times, students may be called by experimenters requesting participation in a particular experiment. In such cases, several available times will be discussed and such calls will be at least 48 hours prior to any agreed upon session.
Credit for participation. When a student arrives at an experimental session, he or she will be provided further information on the nature of the experiment and the procedures to be used and may be asked to sign a consent form. When the experiment is over, the experimenter will ask you to write your name and id # on the master list that will be turned in to the research pool coordinator. You may check at any time on the Experimetrix website to see that you have received credit for your participation. If you find you did not receive credit for an experiment, please contact the department secretary in Room 301 within 48 hours. After investigation, if due, your credit will be reflected on the website. NOTE: If you do not inquire about the discrepancy within the 48-hour period, we do not guarantee that you will receive the credit.
Participant safeguards. Please be assured that you will not be asked to participate unknowingly in research that is detrimental to your physical or psychological health. All research projects must be approved by an institutional review board (IRB) before it can be done. The IRB screens proposed research carefully to be sure it is safe and justified. In addition, you are entitled to refuse to participate in a study if you find it personally objectionable or feel it is harmful to you. Obviously, we do not expect you to sign up for studies if you object to them, based on their descriptions. Conversely, you would normally be expected to complete a study if you sign up for it. However, you may only find out while you are participating that you have serious objections to further participation. In such a case, you are free to terminate your participation without prejudice or penalty, and you will receive credit for participation. If you have further questions or concerns, please refer them to your instructor or to Dr. van der Wel, who is serving as the coordinator of the psychology research subject pool this semester.
Grades
Grades will be posted on Sakai and exams/quizzes will be returned within one week of the date they were completed. Any concerns about the grades must be submitted in writing to the instructor within one week receiving the graded exam/quiz. Federal regulations prohibit instructors from giving graded work to anyone but the person whose name is on the assignment; unless that person gives use specific permission to do so in writing.
Sakai / This course has a companion Sakai site. The site includes on-line versions of the syllabus, handouts, or study guides that you can download. You are responsible for reading email and bulletin board postings on a regular basis. You are responsible for checking the resources I post online.
Disabling Conditions / Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments (ADAA) of 2008, and Sections 504 and 508 which mandate that reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students with disabilities and accessibility of online information. If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination accommodation, please contact me early in the semester so that I can provide or facilitate in providing accommodations you may need. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the Office of Disabled Student Services (http://learn.camden.rutgers.edu/disability/disabilities.html), the designated office on campus to provide services and administer exams with accommodations for students with disabilities.
Academic Honesty / Academic dishonesty will NOT be tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) cheating on exams and plagiarism. Students caught participate in academic dishonesty will receive a score of zero on the relevant assignment. In addition, instances of academic dishonesty will be referred to the Scholastic Conduct Committee. Sanctions for academic dishonesty range from failing an assignment to failing a course or expulsion from the University. For additional information about Rutgers’ policies concerning academic dishonesty refer to: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu.
Classroom Courtesy / All members of the class are expected to treat each other in a respectful, civil manner. If you are in class, you will be expected to be attentive, participate, arrive on time, stay the entire class time, and be prepared for any activities and exams scheduled for that day.
For the purposes of this class, disruptive behavior also includes talking out of turn during lectures and class discussion, while the instructor or other students are talking, even if the disruptive conversation is about class material. The students who present this disruptive behavior will be first notified by the instructor after class. If disruptive behavior continues, the student may be removed from the classroom and/or dropped from the course.
Cell Phones/Smartphones/Pagers, Etc.: Disruptive behavior also includes the receiving or making a phone call, paging, text messaging, or any other communication during class time. Any student who violates this policy will first be given a verbal warning. If interruptions occur often, I reserve the right to take points off of the offending student’s final grade. Phones and messaging devices MUST be turned off and put away during exams and quizzes. If circumstances beyond your control require that you be available to receive a phone call or page during class (e.g., your child is ill), please notify the instructor before class. When the call or page comes in, please leave the room discretely to answer it. You will not be penalized for such calls or pages. This exception is not made during exams. All electronic devices must be turned off during exams.
Final Note / This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary.
Course Schedule