PSY 123-13 Introductory Psychology - Middlesex College

PSY 123-13 Introductory Psychology

Dr. Christine Harrington e-mail charrington@middlesexcc.edu (preferred communication)

Office Hours (Raritan Hall 108; 732-548-6000 X 3838):

Please come and visit me! Drop In: Mondays 9:00 ? 11:00 a.m.; Thursdays 1:00 -2:00 p.m. By Appointment: Mondays 3:30 -4:30 p.m.; Thursdays 3:30- 4:30 p.m.

****Class Meets in CB 123 on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.****

Text: Experience Psychology by King (1st edition) Note: You will want the On-line Student Support Materials (Connect/LearnSmart)- they come with the book if you purchase it at the bookstore. Details about this will be provided on the first day of class.

If you need accommodations due to a disability, contact Disability Services in Edison Hall Room 100, 732.906.2546.

To foster a productive learning environment, the College requires that all students adhere to the Code of Student Conduct which is published in the college catalog and

website.

I am very excited to share my passion for psychology with you as we explore the field of psychology. Believing in your ability to perform well, the course requirements will be academically and personally challenging yet accomplishable. It is my hope that you will experience success now and in the future. You can expect this semester to be filled with lively discussions, activities, and challenging assignments. It is important for you to know that support is available to you. I would be happy to meet with you in person or answer your questions electronically via e-mail. The library is another great resource as is peer tutoring. Forming in-person and on-line study groups are also wonderful ways to expand your academic support system.

Learning Outcomes- Here's what you'll be

able to do after successfully completing this course:

1. Recognize key psychological theories and concepts and be able to summarize the contributions of key psychological figures.

2. Describe the various research methods and apply this knowledge to evaluate psychological research studies.

3. Articulate the importance and value of psychology in today's world. 4. Deliver clear and organized presentations and documents using APA style.

Course Content Areas: Psychological theories: Evolutionary Psychology and how evolution works, Functionalism, Structuralism, Psychodynamic theories (Freud and neo-Freudians),Behaviorism, Cognitive Psychology, Piaget's cognitive developmental theory, Erikson's psychosocial developmental theory, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Research Hypothesis, naturalistic observation, correlational research, experiments, placebo effects, independent, dependent and confounding variables

Brain, Perception, and Consciousness How neurons work, neurotransmitters, frontal, occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes, How information is transformed from sensory to perception, stages of sleep, hypnosis

Learning, Memory, and Intelligence Schemas, assimilation and accommodation, classical conditioning (UR, US, CR, CS, NS, Discrimination, Generalization), operant conditioning (positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, shaping), observational learning (including brain mirror neurons), how memory works (sensory, short term memory, long term memory), strategies to improve memory, intelligence (Gardner, Sternberg, emotional intelligence)

Abnormal Psychology DSM ?IV, Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Anxiety Disorders (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobia), Mood Disorders (Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder),Therapies (Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, Humanistic, System, and Biological)

Social Psychology Attitudes, Attribution theory, Obedience and conformity

Academic Integrity Policy: All Students are Expected to Engage in Academically Honest Work

Academic dishonesty is any attempt by the student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to: submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral. Engaging in academically dishonest acts can result in a failing grade on the assignment, failing course grade and/or an official code of conduct charge being filed.

Late Work/Missed Exam Policy: All Students are Expected to Complete Learning Tasks on Schedule It is important to stay on track with your assignments. You will need to complete all quizzes, exams, and assignments according to the schedule. If you have a personal situation that prevents you from doing so, you will need to discuss this with me prior to the due date. Extensions are only given in rare situations and at my discretion. If provided, a missed quiz or exam may be administered orally.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Reading Assignments Reading your textbook is an essential learning task. For each chapter, you will

need to create a general outline or concept map that includes all of the major points and answer the questions for that chapter (these can be found at back of syllabus). These learning activities need to be brought to class on the day we will be discussing that chapter. These assignments will be randomly collected and will count as quiz grades. After we discuss the chapter, you should go back and re-read the chapter, taking notes on your outline or concept map.

Quizzes/Exams Quizzes: Throughout the semester, you will take quizzes on content from the

lectures and readings. The quizzes will be taken on-line via Campus Cruiser. The quizzes and the reading assignments together will count as 10% of your total grade. Mid-term: You will take a Mid-term Exam that will consist of information from the first half of the book (Chapters 1-7). It will be a multiple choice exam and is worth 20% of your final grade. Final Exam: The final exam will be cumulative, covering all chapters (1-13). The final exam is also in a multiple choice format and is worth 30% of your total grade.

Research Assignments There are 2 written research assignments where you will summarize

psychological research studies that will be provided to you. You may work in a group of up to 4 students for the first assignment and will need to work independently for the second assignment. Details are provided toward the end of the syllabus.

Presentation A presentation on an approved research study is required. The research article

should be on an experimental or correlational research study. You can work alone or in a small group of up to 4 students. Groups are strongly recommended. You will have approximately 10 minutes for your presentation; depending on the number of total presentations. A copy of your peer reviewed journal article will need to be provided to the professor. A visual aid or handout is required. Please see me if you need special equipment ordered.

Participation Class participation in discussions and activities is also expected.

EXTRA CREDIT- Learn Smart/Connect On-Line Support (McGraw Hill Textbook Support)

You are expected to complete the on-line support activities for each chapter. In addition to preparing you for the midterm and final exam, successfully completing these activities will add up to 3% toward your final grade. Details about this assignment will be provided in class. In order to earn credit, you will need to purchase the support separately if you did not buy your book at the college bookstore.

FINAL GRADES: Reading Assignments and Quizzes Midterm Exam Final Exam Research Assignments Presentation Extra Credit: Learn Smart/ConnectOn-Line Student Support Total Points:

15% 20 % 30 % 20% 15%

3% extra credit 100%

Your Grades: ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

___________ ___________

Grade Reading

Assignments and Quizzes 15%

Presentation 15%

Research Assignments

20%

Midterm Exam 20%

Final Exam 30%

A =

A- =

B+ =

B =

B- =

C+ =

C =

D =

F

=

Date 9/6/12

9/13/12 9/20/12

93 -100% 90 ? 92% 87 - 89% 83 ? 86% 80 - 82% 77 ? 79% 70 ? 76 % 65 ? 69% 64% or below

Course Outline

All dates are subject to change.

Topic/Activity Course Introduction Getting to Know You Exercise Chapter 6 - Memory

Chapter 1- The Science of Psychology Read Dickinson and O'Connell (1990) article before class

Chapter 2- The Brain and Behavior Chapter 3- Sensation and Perception

9/27/12 10/4/12 10/11/12 10/18/12 10/25/12

11/1/12 11/8/12 11/15/12 11/22/12 11/29/12

12/6/12

12/13/12

Chapter 4- States of Consciousness Research Assignment#1 Due

Chapter 5 ? Learning Chapter 7 ? Thinking, Intelligence, and Language

Midterm Exam (Chapters 1-7) Chapter 8 ? Human Development Chapter 8 continued Chapter 9 Motivation and Emotion

Research Assignment #2 Due Chapter 10 Personality Chapter 11 Social Psychology Presentation Preparation- No Class Chapter 11 continued Chapter 12 Psychological Disorders COLLEGE CLOSED Chapter 13 Therapies

Presentations

Presentations Final Exam Review

Extra Credit LearnSmart Due

Final Exam (Chapters 1-13)

Reading Assignments

For every chapter, you are expected to create an outline or concept map that includes all major concepts (not just the ones below).

In addition, you will need to answer the following questions:

Chapter 1:

1. Why do giraffes have long necks? 2. Johnny, a two year old, just threw his toy on the floor. According to the behavioral

approach, why do you think he did this? 3. You want to know more about serial killers. What type of psychological research (which

method) would you need to use? Why? 4. A researcher finds a high correlation between eating ice cream and violence. Can he say

that eating ice cream causes people to be more violent? Why or why not? 5. Your friend is just diagnosed with depression. He is being prescribed an anti-depressant

to help with symptom management. What type of research do you hope was done on this medication? Why? 6. Your classmate believes that corporal punishment (i.e. hitting children) is the most effective way to discipline and he wants to do an experiment to find out if his hypothesis is correct. Can he do this research? Why or why not?

Chapter 2:

1. You are at a baseball game and a baseball is flying toward you. You really want to catch this homerun ball. How long will it take for this message to get from your brain to your glove? How did the message travel?

2. You may have heard the phrase "chemical imbalance" associated with mental disorders. What part of the brain is affected by many psychological disorders such as depression or schizophrenia?

3. Who is Phineas Gage? What did he teach us about the importance of the frontal lobe?

Chapter 3:

1. Have you ever been around someone who did not smell very good but did not seem to be bothered by the odor? What concept explains this phenomenon?

2.

Use Gestalt principles to explain our perception of these

images.

3. Let's assume that two individuals have both touched a hot pot. Will their experience of

pain be identical? Why or why not?

Chapter 4:

1. Does getting enough sleep really matter? Explain your answer.

2. You are staying at a hotel with some of your friends. One of your friends gets up and

starts walking around in her sleep. What stage of sleep is she in?

3. How does alcohol affect the brain and behaviors?

4. Can anyone be hypnotized?

Chapter 5:

1. Every time the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" comes on, Maria gets very sad. Using learning theory, why might this be?

2. What learning theory explains why advertisers use attractive models to sell their products?

3. At a dolphin show, dolphins jump through hoops and do other tricks. How did they learn to do these tricks? Use learning concepts to explain your answer.

4. Why do people continue to play slot machines even if they don't often win? 5. Maria got into trouble in school. Her mom says "Wait until your father gets home!"

Why is this strategy ineffective? Using operant conditioning principles, what would be a better strategy? 6. What theory explains why you slow down when someone else was pulled over by a police car?

Chapter 6:

1. Why is easier for me to remember your name if you sit in the same seat? Be sure to use memory terminology!

2. Samantha remembers: what she wore on the first day of school; what she was doing when the 9/11 attacks occurred, how to ride a bike, and the President of the United States. Describe which type of memory is attached to each of these memories.

3. Your friend is on trial and the verdict may hinge on eyewitness testimony. How confident are you that the eyewitness testimony will be accurate? Explain your answer.

4. When I leave class on the first day, I remember everyone's names, but when we have our second class, I have difficulty recalling all of your names. Why?

Chapter 7:

1. What biases/heuristics impact our decision making? Give examples of each one. 2. You take an IQ test and your score is 110. What does this score mean? Will it be likely

to change over time? Why or why not? 3. What would Chomsky say about language development?

Chapter 8:

1. Thinking about pre-natal development and the impact of teratogens, why is it important to plan pregnancies?

2. Little Tom who is only 6 months old is playing with his stuffed animal. He keeps throwing it on the ground and his mother is tired of picking it up so she takes the animal and puts it in a closet. What will Tom do?

3. What did we learn about attachment from the Harlow (1958) wire monkey study? 4. When presented with the Heinz dilemma, what would a child in the pre-conventional

level of moral development (Kohlberg) do? 5. Your friend tells you that all cognitive functioning declines in middle to late adulthood.

Is this true? Explain your answer.

Chapter 9:

1. Why should elementary school teachers allow children to eat snacks when hungry? Whose theory can support your response?

2. Jane wants to go to college because she wants the degree she will need to earn a lot of money. Her friend Alyssa wants to go to college because she enjoys learning and wants to do something she enjoys for a career. According to most psychologists, which

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