GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY I
PSYC 1100 sec 80-92, Fall 2016
Lecture: MW 2:30-3:20, ITE C80
Lab: as scheduled (see reverse)
in Whetten Graduate Center (WGC) 300-B or C
Instructor: Eric Lundquist
Office: BOUS 136
Phone: 486-4084 (during office hours)
Office Hours:Mon Wed 12:00-1:00
and by appointment
E-mail:
Web Page:
REQUIRED TEXT:
1)Gleitman, H., Reisberg, D., and Gross, J. (2007). Psychology (7th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. (ISBN13: 978-0-393-97768-4)
GRADING:
Exam 1:FRIDAY 10/14/16 in seventh week of class50 points
Exam 2:FRIDAY 11/11/16 in eleventh week of class50 points(cumulative)
Exam 3 (Final):TBA AS SCHEDULED BY THE REGISTRAR50 points(cumulative)
Lab:see reverse side50 points
Experiment Participation:see reverse side5 credits required; 7 extra credits allowed
TOTAL: 200 points
COURSE OUTLINE: Topics & readings
INTRODUCTION
The Science of Psychology (no text reading): History, Philosophy, and Definitions of Psychology
BIOLOGY
Neural Bases of Behavior (Ch. 3 pp. 100-111, 79-82, 86-97, 113-117; Ch. 2 pp. 46-49, 56-57, figure 2.1 p. 48 [ANS, hypothalamus]; Ch. 8 p. 302-308 [frontal lobe and memory; consciousness]
A) neural basis: reflex, nerve impulse, action potential, communication by neurotransmitters
B) brain basis: nervous system structure, localization of function, disorders, lateralization
BEHAVIOR
Learning: The Changing Organism's Adaptation to the Changing World (Ch. 6 pp.195-225, 228-230); natural selection (ch. 2 pp. 41-43, 44-46)
A) classical and operant conditioning: concepts, procedures, and experimental phenomena
B) biological constraints: belongingness
C) cognitive learning: contingency in classical conditioning, learned helplessness, latent learning
MIND
Memory: Preserving the Past (Ch. 7 pp. 233-268); Generic and Semantic Memory (Ch. 8 pp. 278-280)
A) types of memory: short-term/long-term, episodic/generic, explicit/implicit, declarative/procedural
B) encoding and retrieval
Sensory Processes: Experiencing the World (Ch. 4 pp. 119-124, 127-129, 136-153); note figures 4.4 & 4.5 on (sound) waves; 4.12 & 4.13 on the eye; 4.20 on lateral inhibition; 4.21 on the visible spectrum; 4.24 on cone types; 4.28 on opponent processes in color vision
A) light and sensory mechanisms in the eye
B) psychophysics
Perception: Knowing the World (Ch. 5 pp. 155-179, 187-191)
A) empiricist approach to depth perception: Helmholtz
B) nativist approach to form perception: Gestalt Psychology
C) ecological approach: Gibson
LECTURE is in ITE C80, MW 2:30-3:20. You'd have to be crazy to miss lecture; for details take PSYC 1103.
LAB:
ATTENDANCE AT LAB SECTIONS IS MANDATORY FOR EVERY PSYC 1100 STUDENT. PSYC 1100 is a 3 credit class, corresponding to 3 meeting hours per week; two of those hours are lecture and the third is lab. LAB GRADES COUNT FOR 25% OF THE COURSE GRADE. This means that if you skip the lab you could score perfectly on all three exams and still only receive 150 out of 200 points for the course. Laboratory meetings for PSYC 1100 sections 80-92 are in Whetten Graduate Center (WGC) Room 300-B or 300-C at the times stated in the course schedule. All students should know their lab section number, meeting time, and teaching assistant's name. LABS BEGIN TUE9/6/16.
SEC DAY TIME ROOM T.A. (@uconn.edu)
80 Mo 9:05AM - 9:55AM 300C Benjamin.De_Bari
81 Mo 12:20PM - 1:10PM 300C Ragan.Decker
82 Mo 3:35PM - 4:25PM 300C Lauren.Moss-Racusin
83 Tu 8:00AM - 8:50AM 300C Courtney.Pfeifer
84 Tu 11:00AM - 11:50AM 300C Alexandra.Palmisano
85 Tu 3:00PM - 3:50PM 300B Henry.Harrison
SEC DAY TIME ROOM T.A. (@uconn.edu)
86 We 11:15AM - 12:05PM 300B Nana.Marfo
87 We 1:25PM - 2:15PM 300C Courtney.Pfeifer
88 We 6:50PM - 7:40PM 300C Justin.Ellenberg
89 Th 10:00AM - 10:50AM 300C Sarah.Berger
90 Th 3:00PM - 3:50PM 300B Shireena.McGee
91 Th 6:00PM - 6:50PM 300C Karl.Lerud
92 Fr 9:05AM - 9:55AM 300C Terence.Ching
EXPERIMENT PARTICIPANT POOL:
There is a large amount of ongoing psychological research in the department which depends mainly upon General Psychology students as participants. Researchers include faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduate students. The traditional mechanism that has been in place for several decades nationwide is to allow introductory psychology students to earn part of their course credit through participation in experiments. Benefits to the science of Psychology are obvious; benefits to the student include exposure to research in specific areas of Psychology, insight into the general nature of psychological research, and opportunity to earn extra credit in this course (see details below). Information about experiments (time, place, duration, description, experimenter's name, etc.) is posted on the Participant Pool experiment sign-up page, which is also where you make appointments to participate in the studies you choose; there are instructions on the page for how to log in.Refer to for details of participation procedures. Experiments this semester run from Tuesday September6th through Wednesday December7th. All experiment participation must be completed during that time, and any credit accounting errors must be detected and corrected absolutely no later than Friday December 9th. Credit totals will be posted on the Participant Pool web page on Monday December 12th.Specific policies for PSYC 1100 sec 80-92 are as follows:
Each 1/2 hour of experiment participation counts for 1 experiment participation credit. All experiments are at least 1 credit; some are only 1 but some may be more depending on the amount of time required to participate.
5 experimental credits (2.5 hours) are REQUIRED of each student to maintain the grade they earn for the course. These credits count ONLY as points to be LOST from the final point total for the course, if they are not completed. For example, a student who earns 40 points on exam 1, 40 points on exam 2, 40 points on exam 3, and 40 points in lab has a total of 160 points; with 5 experimental credits the student maintains that score, but without the 5 credits the total score would drop to 155. All 5 credits must be earned; if only 4 credits are earned, the 5 points are still lost.
Up to 7 additional experimental credits (3.5 hours) may be earned as EXTRA CREDIT, once the required 5 credits have been completed; this is the only form of extra credit offered in this course. These extra credits count ONLY as points to be ADDED to the final point total for the course. For example, a student who earns 40 points on exam 1, 40 points on exam 2, 40 points on exam 3, and 40 points in lab and has completed the required 5 experimental credits has a total of 160 points; with 1 extra credit the total becomes 161, and with the maximum of 7 it becomes 167. Note that the difference between 160 points and 167 points out of 200 could be the difference between, say, a B and a B+ as a course grade. (Actual course letter grade cutoffs will be determined before adding any extra credits, so that no one is penalized for not earning extra credit.)
Participation in experiments is strictly voluntary. For students not wishing to participate in experiments an alternative assignment may be arranged early in the semester, requiring about the same amount of time as the 5 experimental credits and playing the same role in grade calculation as described above for the 5 credit requirement. However, no extra credits may be earned until 5 experimental credits are completed.
Once you make an experiment appointment you MUST keep it, or cancel with at least 24 hours notice; the web page allows cancellations only until the 24-hour point is reached! If you miss TWO appointments with less than 24 hours notice, the system will automatically disqualify you from further participation in experiments: it won't allow you to sign up for any more experiments, and you won't earn any more extra credits. (But really, keeping appointments is a fairly basic responsibility that you can probably manage okay!)
All questions about experiment participation procedures and issues should be addressed to or in person at the Undergraduate Studies Window in the Skip Lowe Atrium of the Bousfield Psychology Building. Be sure to first consult the web page where you'll find most questions have already been answered!
OLD VERSION:
Once you make an experiment appointment you MUST keep it, or cancel with at least 24 hours notice; the web page allows cancellations only until the 24-hour point is reached! If you miss TWO appointments with less than 24 hours notice, the system will automatically disqualify you from further participation in experiments: it won't allow you to sign up for any more experiments; you won't earn any more extra credits; and if you are lacking your five required credits you will have to complete the alternative assignment described above to avoid losing the associated points. (But really, keeping appointments is a fairly basic responsibility that you can probably manage okay!)