UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 47.101
SPRING 2012
Professor: Dr. Ashleigh Hillier
Office Phone: 978-934-2930 Email:
Office: 1 Mahoney Website: http://faculty.uml.edu/ahillier
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10.45am-12.15pm, or by appointment
Class Schedule: Tues, Thurs 9.30-10.45am (section 203)
Course Description: This course examines the major areas of Psychology including the nature of Psychology as a science, research methods, the relationship between physiological and psychological processes, principles of learning, sensation and perception, cognitive processes, motivation and emotion, personality, development, behavior in social and cultural context, and psychological disorders.
Course Objectives:
1) Understand the importance of science and psychologist’s use of the scientific method.
2) Know the major principles and terminology within the various areas of psychology.
3) Critically consider ground breaking theories and studies within the field of psychology and their impact.
4) Apply concepts and findings in psychology to gain a greater understanding of human behavior.
5) Participate in psychological research.
In line with the General Education requirements, you will also develop critical thinking skills where you will be able to synthesize information, discover connections, differentiate between facts and opinions, assess evidence, construct arguments on both sides of a debate, and draw conclusions. You will also improve your communication skills and should be able to articulate, support, and defend a position using various modes of communication.
Required Text: Gazzaniga, M., Heatherton, T., & Halpern, D. (2010). Psychological Science (3rd Ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Attendance and Participation: Attendance is required and will be taken each class. Attendance for each class is worth 1 point; there are a total of 28 classes. You are allowed 3 unexcused absences. I will ask for documentation after the 3rd class to excuse further absences. Attendance is worth 10% of your grade.
You are responsible for getting copies of any handouts given out in class either from another student or from me during my office hours. You are also responsible for finding out about any important announcements made in class. Not being in class is not a sufficient reason for not knowing about important changes to the syllabus, course requirements etc.
To do well in this course you will need to read the assigned readings and the required chapters in the textbook before each class. Students are encouraged to participate in class discussions.
You should also plan on devoting at least 3-4 hours per week outside of class in order to keep up with the reading and class assignments.
Important emails regarding the course will be sent to your UML email accounts. If you do not check your UML email account, you should have that email forwarded to an account you do check. I will only send emails to UML accounts.
Course Assessments:
Quizzes: There will be five regularly scheduled exams during the course. These will consist of multiple choice and short essay questions and will be based on material covered in the class (which may not be in the textbook), and material covered in the textbook (which may not have been covered in class). You must bring a pencil for the quizzes. Having five quizzes allows us to break up the material covered in the course so that each quiz is not overwhelming. Quiz 5 is the final and will be scheduled during finals week. The final is cumulative (i.e. covers material from the whole course).
Make-up Quiz Policy: You are expected to be in class on the day and time that the quizzes are scheduled. If you do not attend a quiz you will receive an F for that quiz. Make-up quizzes will only be allowed if you can provide documentation of a legitimate medical or family emergency. You must notify me of this within 24 hours of missing the quiz and provide documentation within 72 hours of the quiz. Make-ups are scheduled through the Psychology department so have limited flexibility in when they take place.
Written Assignment: Each chapter in Gazzaniga has test questions at the end. Within this section there are questions in the category “Psychology and Society”. Look through this section in the various chapters of the book and choose one of the questions that you would like to answer for your paper (if the question is worded such as “write a letter / prepare a lecture” or something similar, replace that with “write a paper”). You might want to start with the chapters that you have found most interesting and choose a question from one of those. You will choose your question, type it up and hand it in to Prof Hillier on Tue 28th Feb so that I know which one you are planning to do. Your paper itself will be 4-5 pages double spaced and will be due in class (hard copy) on Thursday 26th April. More details are given below.
Research Participation Requirement: The Department of Psychology requires all students enrolled in a section of General Psychology to complete the Research Participation Requirement. This involves taking part in four research activities currently underway by faculty and students at UML, each requiring around an hour. Those who complete 4 hours of participation will receive 100 points (10% of your grade), 3 hours will receive 75 points, 2 hours will receive 50 points, 1 hour will receive 25 points, and 0 hours will receive 0 points. Individuals under the age of 18 will have an alternate assignment. Further details explaining this assignment are below and can also be found at: http://dragon.uml.edu/research_participation.html
Accommodations and Support
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. Please be sure to register with the Office of Disability Services. There are also many resources available including the UMass Lowell Centers for Learning, the Counseling Center, etc.
Grading: %
Quiz 1 10
Quiz 2 10
Quiz 3 10
Quiz 4 10
Quiz 5 (final) 20
Written Assignment 20
Attendance 10
Research Participation 10
A 93-100 C+ 77-79
A- 90-92 C 73-76
B+ 87-89 C- 70-72
B 83-86 D+ 67-69
B- 80-82 D 60-66
F 0-59
University Policy on Cheating: Students who cheat on a quiz or an assignment will receive zero for that quiz or assignment. In addition, a report will be made to University judiciaries. Other penalties such as reduction of course grade may also be imposed.
Plagiarism: presenting someone else’s work and ideas as your own – is a very serious offense. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure they are familiar with what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it.
For further information about academic integrity and UML policies see: http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergraduate/policies/academic_dishonesty.htm
Class Schedule
Tue 24th Jan / Introduction – What is Psychology? / Ch. 1
Thur 26th Jan / History and theories, applications / Ch. 1
Tue 31st Jan / Research Methods / Ch. 2
Thur 2nd Feb / Neuroscience I / Ch. 3
Tue 7th Feb / Neuroscience II / Ch. 3
Thur 9th Feb / Quiz 1
Tue 14th Feb / Consciousness I / Ch. 4
Thur 16th Feb / Consciousness II / Ch. 4
Tue 21st Feb / Sensation & Perception I / Ch. 5
Thur 23rd Feb / Sensation & Perception II / Ch. 5
Tue 28th Feb / Learning. Hand in the question you are going to write your paper on. / Ch. 6
Thur 1st March / Quiz 2
Tue 6th March / Attention and Memory I / Ch. 7
Thur 8th March / Attention and Memory II / Ch. 7
SPRING BREAK
Tue 20th March / Thinking and Intelligence I / Ch. 8
Thur 22nd March / Thinking and Intelligence II / Ch. 8
Tue 27th March / Motivation and Emotion / Ch. 8
Thur 29th March / Quiz 3
Tue 3rd April / Human Development I / Ch. 11
Thur 5th April / Human Development II / Ch. 11
Tue 10th April / Social Psychology I / Ch. 12
Thur 12th April / Social Psychology II / Ch. 13
Tue 17th April / Quiz 4 / Ch. 13
Thur 19th April / Personality I
Tue 24th April / Personality II / Ch. 14
Thur 26th April / Psychopathology I. Written assignment due.
Tue 1st May / Psychopathology II / Ch. 14
Thur 3rd May / Treatments. Reflection, wrap-up, review for final. / Ch. 15
Guidelines for written assignment:
1) You will provide Dr. Hillier with the question you are answering for your paper by Tuesday 28TH February (it should be worded appropriately, i.e. if the question in the chapter says “write a lecture, write a lecture, etc., change this to “write a paper.”.
2) The paper must be 4-5 pages double spaced.
3) Papers will be typed in 12 size Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1” margins at top and bottom, 1.25” inch margins at the left and right margins.
4) You will submit a hard copy at the end of class on Thursday 26th April. You will lose 5% from your grade for each day your paper is late. I will not accept emailed copies.
5) Points will be deducted for poor spelling, grammatical errors, and poor sentence and paragraph structure.
6) Your paper should include a clear introductory paragraph where you introduce the topic and outline what will be covered in the paper. This will be followed by the body of the paper which should be well structured, with appropriate length paragraphs, where your points and arguments are presented in a logical and easy to follow manner. The paper should end with a conclusion paragraph where you succinctly draw together the points and arguments presented in the body of the paper.
7) The reference section should list the sources you have referred to in the paper (it is not a bibliography). Points will be deducted for not following APA format for referencing in the paper itself and in the reference section. A handout describing APA format will be provided.
8) You must have at least 3 primary source references which you use in the paper (i.e. journal articles not textbooks) NOT including internet articles.
Scoring system (100 total points):
-10 points for introductory paragraph where topic is presented, briefly outlined, and the reader is given a clear idea of what the paper will cover.
-30 points for clear and concise description of issues surrounding the topic, research related to the topic, the significance of the topic, the implications of the topic.
-30 points for depth of knowledge, insight and understanding presented in the paper.
-10 points for succinct conclusion paragraph where points and arguments made in the body of the paper are drawn together in a concludory manner.
-5 points for including reference to at least three primary sources.
-5 points for correct APA referencing in the paper and in the reference section.
-5 points for correct spelling and grammar.
-5 points for clear sentence structure and paragraph formatting.
Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell
47.101 General Psychology, THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT*
· A Sona Systems account name and password were sent to your @student.uml.edu email account, if you were enrolled in General Psychology before the semester began.
· If you forget your password, have it sent to your @student.uml.edu address by going to the Sona site at http://umasslowell.sona-systems.com and clicking ‘Forgot your password?’.
· People who did not receive an account must register for a Sona Systems account immediately. Click ‘request an account’ to register.
· Your UMass Lowell email account name, which appears before the ‘@’ in your email address, must be used as your Sona Systems login name (e.g. James_Jones). Do not add the ‘@student.uml.edu.’ The Sona Systems computer will add the ‘@student.uml.edu’ and send information to your account. Do not use your student ID number or you will not receive account information.
· Select your General Psychology section correctly or you may not receive credit. People who change sections must be sure you change the Sona listing or credit may not be recorded correctly.
· An email message will be sent when studies are available. Check your email regularly. There is no need to check Sona Systems listings, unless you received notification. More opportunities for participation will be offered in the second half than in the first half of the semester. Reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. People who are not among the first to register will need to wait for other opportunities to be announced.
· Notification can only be sent to you if you are registered on Sona Systems.
· When you receive notification of a participation opportunity, log in to Sona Systems and reserve a time slot.
· Researchers will post credit for your participation within one week after you participate.
· Alternatives to research participation are available.
· Participation helps you to understand how psychologists study behaviors.
· Participation counts for 10% of your course grade.
· Four hours of participation are required. Satisfy your requirement as soon as possible.
· You risk missing email correspondence if you change your email address. Please use your @student.uml.edu address.
· Research will be conducted throughout the semester, but the majority of participation opportunities will occur during the second half of the semester.