Intro Psych Syl Lab Us

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Introduction to Psychology

Psychology 1101

University of West Georgia

Instructor:

Emaline FriedmanDepartment of Psychology / University of West Georgia

Office: TBA / Email: [email protected] Hours: Monday/1:30-3:30/Humanities 308

Course Description:

Welcome to your very first psychology class! This course is designed to give you a fast-paced

introduction to the young discipline of psychology. We will take up multiple differentperspectives on psychological life in order to appreciate the historical development of the field

and its current status, both in research and clinical practice. We will explore concepts that pertain

to human development, mind, perception, social life, culture, personality, and psychopathology.Needless to say, we will be very busy. Further, we will encounter many recurring questions

posed by psychologists from various traditions. What is a human being? How can we study her

or him? What are the causes of how we feel, think, and live? How do we interact with ourenvironments? Our textbook, selected articles and class discussions will help us to consider these

questions throughout the semester. And, by approaching a wide range of topics, perspectives,

and figures in psychology, we will develop an appreciation for the applications and development

of psychological knowledge in the world.

Course Objectives:

Each student should, upon completion of this course

Have a basic understanding of the subject matter, vocabulary, and concepts of thediscipline.

Understand the processes of testing and studying people and life enacted bypsychologists.

Start thinking deeply about human life, our relationships with others and with ourenvironments, and the way we go about living in the social world.

Be equipped to subject various views of human psychological life to scrutiny and weighthe value of different types of evidence for these views.

Be able to form critical opinions about the conclusions drawn from psychologicaltheories and research (become a critical consumer of psychological theories andpseudo-theories floating around out there!)

Make learningpersonal, or, dare to think about your own views on psychological topicsin relation to the ones we learn about in class

Course Readings


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There will be one required texts for this course, which are available inexpensively at the

bookstore, as well as through Amazon.com and similar websites. I may periodically

assign articles based on class interest to be accessed through D2L. If you have anyproblem accessing D2L, please contact the Universitys Information Technology Services(ITS).

Text:

The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explainedby Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff ISBN-10: 0756689708 or ISBN-13: 9780756689704

Class Assignments:

Quizzes

There will be four quizzes (dates on the schedule) over the course of the semester. These quizzestogether comprise a large portion of your total grade in the class. Quizzes will consist of short-

answer and multiple choice questions. You will be given sufficient notice as to when these

quizzes will occur, in addition to preparatory material.

Take-home Midterm

Your take-home midterm will be one of the two major writing assignments of this class. It will becomprised of one long essay and two shorter essays which I will expect to include at least twocited sources and should reflect the psychological themes which have intrigued you the most up

to this point of class. A paper copy of your midterm should be turned in to me at thebeginning of class on Thursday, October 10

th. More details will come as we approach the

middle of the semester.

Research or Experimentation Project

Each student will be expected to complete a project which shows an in-depth interest and

developing understanding of a topic that we have covered in the second half of class. As I amwilling to allow a large degree of creative freedom on this project, you will be required to submita one-paragraph (or longer) proposal, due three weeks before the project deadline, explaining

your topic and the direction in which you want to take your project. I will approve your topicsand make myself available for further discussion, if necessary, while you are in the process of

working. Full details and dates will be provided as we get closer to the second half of thesemester. Also, you can see the class policies section for my policy on late work.

1) Research project:The first option, which entails much more reading, is a term paper with your own uniquecontribution to a topic. You will be expected to read at least three psychological articles, alldiscussing one (the same) topic or perspective of your choosing that we have covered inclass. These articles should be assessed in your paper, along with a development of your ownconclusions drawn from the articles youve read. You should also include at least one

potential experiment that would add to the body of knowledge on your topic. The papershould be between 8 and 10 double-spaced pages in length. However, as with the morehands-on project, you will be required to present a short summary of your work during thelast week of class.


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2) Experimentation project:

This second option involves going out into the world to seek out and interact in real examplesand instances of the social phenomena which we will discuss in the second part of class. Asthe time to start thinking about these projects draws closer, I will present you with a list of 7

possible phenomena to investigate. You will be responsible for finding or instigatingexamples of 3 of these phenomena, and presenting them to the class. I will request that youalso turn in a short, 3 to 5 double-spaced page summary to me.

Class Attendance and Participation

Class attendance will be absolutely crucial to your ability to succeed in grasping the material andexpressing that grasp in assignments and examinations. I expect that you show up ready to engage

critically with the material. This is a course that will take its direction largely from classdiscussion, thus drawing from material that may not always show up explicitly in our required

texts. So, I will take attendance daily! Your rate of attendance and participation will factorinto your final grade, whose breakdown is below.

Grading:

Quiz 1 = 25 points+Quiz 2 = 25 points

+Quiz 3 = 25 points+

Quiz 4 = 25 points+

Take-home Midterm Examination = 100 points+

Final Research/Experimentation Project = 100 points+Attendance and Participation = 50 points

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350 points possible

Class Policies and Regulations

MISSING A TEST, CLASS, OR ASSIGNMENT DUE DATEAs already emphasized, class attendance is mandatory. However, if you are unable to attend aclass you do not need to inform me. It is your responsibility to find out from a classmate what

you have missed and to catch up accordingly. The only instance in which you will need to make

advanced arrangements is missing an examination or assignment due date. No make-up exams

will be given without evidence of a verifiable emergency. If you do have an emergency, you willbe given a substantially different exam to be made up within a week of the original test date.

This same week-long window applies to late assignments. Late assignments will be penalized

with a full letter grade reduction for every late day. After one academic week, both late workand missed examinations will receive no credit.


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If you miss your final exam, and prior arrangements have not been made, you may receive a

grade of F on that exam or paper and this may affect your final grade in the class. If you missyour exam due to an emergency, please contact the Psychology office at (678) 839-6510 or go to

Melson Room 123 as soon as possible to complete the application: Missed Final Exam:

Verification of Emergency. This form will need to be approved by the chair for an incompletegrade which may allow you the time to make up your exam or complete your final assignments.This application will require documentation and authorization from you to verify your

emergency.

PLAGIARISM

As you probably know very well, plagiarism is highly unacceptable. All written work which you

turn in as your own should give due credit to any intellectual material which is notyours. This

includes not only direct quotations, but ideas as well. I urge you to air on the side of caution, and

not to take this consideration lightly. Please see the honor code in the student handbook, or comeask me personally if you have any doubts about proper citation. If any plagiarized work is turned

in as your own, or if you are caught cheating in any way, the assignment in question will receive

zero credit and you will be subject to disciplinary action by the University.

ACCEPTANCE AND OPENNESS

This class will provide an environment of open exchange, through attitudes which evoke respect

and willingness to receive the ideas and thoughts of others. To maintain this environment, Irequire that we adopt non-prejudicial or discriminative ways of expressing ourselves. This may

not be how you behave outside of classthats fine. I ask that you strive to make your fellow

students feel accepted through your active participation andthe way you listen.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DISABILITIES

Arrangements and accommodations will be made for any student with disabilities. Please come

and make these arrangements with me as soon as possible. If you have a learning disability,please be prepared to show documentation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Students, please carefully review the following information at this linkhttp://www.westga.edu/assetsDept/vpaa/Common_Language_for_Course_Syllabi.pdf. It

contains important material pertaining to your rights and responsibilities in this class. Because

these statements are updated as federal, state, university, and accreditation standards change, youshould review the information each semester.

Tentative Course Schedule:

All readings are listed by the key figures they highlight, in accordance with your textbook.These readings should be completed by the beginning of class on the first day listed unless

otherwise noted in class.

27 Introduction

No readings


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29 - 3 Philosophical Roots of Psychology

readings: Descartes, Wundt, James, Herbart, Kierkegaard

5 - 10 Behaviorism

readings: Pavlov, Thorndike, Skinner, Lorenz, Lashley

12 - 17 Psychoanalysis

readings: Freud, Adler, Jung, Klein, Winnicott, Lacan

19 - Quiz One

24 - 26 Humanistic Psychotherapy

readings: Fromm, Rogers, Maslow, Frankl, May

--October--

1 - 3 Cognitive Psychologyreadings: Kohler, Bruner, Festinger, Tulving, Shepard, Ekman, Kabat-Zinn

8 - Memory

readings: Bower, Loftus, Schacter, Miller

10 - Social Psychology

readings: Lewin, Asch, Goffman, Zajonc,

15 - Quiz Two

17 - 22 Social Psychology Contd

readings: Spence, Moscovici, Glasser, Lerner, Aronson, Milgram, Zimbardo, Martin-Baro

24 - Discourse Psychology and Social Constructionism

readings: TBA

29 - 31 Developmental Psychology

readings: Piaget, Vygotsky, Bettelheim, Erikson, Dolto, Kohlberg

--November--

5 - Developmental Psychology Contd

readings: Bowlby, Harlow, Ainsworth

7 - Quiz Three

12 - 14 Learning and Prejudice

readings: Clark, Maccoby, Bandura, Baron-Cohen


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19 - 21 Intelligence and Personality

readings: Guilford, Allport, Cattell, McClelland, Frijda, Mischel

Thanksgiving Weekno class 26th

or 28th

--December--

3 - Psychopathologyreadings: Eysenck, Rosenhan, Laing*, Thigpen & Cleckley

5 - Presentations

No readings

Final Exam Day (Thursday, 12/12 @ 2:00-4:30) - Presentations Contd and Quiz Four

Documents

Intro Psych Syl Lab Us