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2035B-650

Psychology 2035B-650

Understanding Yourself and Others

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This course examines ways in which recent research findings in psychology may be applied in the individual's life. Emphasis on psychology as an empirical science and on avenues of self- understanding and personal growth. Topics include personality, stress and coping, person perception, interpersonal communication, friendship and love, sexuality, vocational development.

 

Antirequisite: Psychology 2050

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

 

0.5 course

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Dr. Kelly Barnes

Office and Phone Number: SSC 7400 Office Hours: By appointment only Email: kbarne2@uwo.ca

 

Teaching Assistant: Celia Goffin Office:

Office Hours: By appointment only Email: cgoffin@uwo.ca

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Required: Weiten, W., Lloyd, M., Dunn D. S., & Hammer, E.Y. (11th ed., 2014). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course provides a broad introduction to theories and findings associated with the scientific study of human behaviour. By understanding the psychological processes that influence behaviour, it is hoped that you will develop a greater appreciation for how these processes might influence your own behaviour in everyday life. Indeed, actively applying the material to your everyday life should enhance not only your self-understanding and personal growth, but also your understanding of other people.

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Students will learn how basic psychological principles apply to their everyday lives
• Students will learn the causes, effects, and ways to reduce stress
• Students will learn to better understand social situations including interpersonal communication,

friendship, love, and marriage

• Students will learn about the psychological bases of their identities including gender, sexuality,

career orientation

• Students will learn about psychological disorders, psychotherapy, and positive psychology

5.0     EVALUATION

Each discussion will be graded out of 5 marks. Students are required to post one original response and two replies to other students for each discussion. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to respond to other students’ responses to your post. Receiving a good mark will require creative, insightful posts that show accurate knowledge of the material, elaborate on information posted  earlier in the discussion, and involve a meaningful dialogue with classmates. More information about the discussions will be available on the course website.

Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:

70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail

6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Exam	% of Final Grade	Date
Midterm	35%	(exact time is TBD)
Final	40%	April 9 – April 30, 2017 (exact time and date are TBD)

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

 

Week 7	February 27,   2017	Interpersonal Communication	Chapter 8
Midterm – March 4, 2017 (Exact Time and Date TBD)   Midterm Exam covers Weeks 1 – 7 (Chapters 1 – 8)
Week 8	March 6, 2017	Friendship and Love   Marriage and Intimate Relationships Development and Expression of Sexuality	Chapter 9   Chapter 10   Chapter 12   (pp. 353-365 only)
Week 9	March 13, 2017	Gender and Behaviour	Chapter 11
Week 10	March 20, 2017	Careers and Work	Chapter 13   Discussion 2
Week 11	March 27, 2017	Psychological Disorders   Psychotherapy	Chapter 14   Chapter 15
Week 12	April 3, 2017	Prepare for Exam	Bonus Discussion
Final Exam   Final Exam covers Weeks 8 – 11 (Chapters 9 – 15)			April 9 – April 30,   2017   Exact Date/Time of Exam TBD

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.