Psychology 2990B-650 (online)

Applications of Psychology

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

The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with some of the ways in which psychological evidence and techniques can be applied to the practice of law, business, education, the health sciences, etc.

 

Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course

0.5 course

 

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor:             Corey Isaacs

       Email:                   cisaacs3@uwo.ca

       Office:                  SSC 7440

       Office Hours:        by appointment

 

The best way to contact me is by email. I will always do my best to respond to your emails within 24 hours, though at especially busy times it may take a little longer. If you would like to meet in person, please email me to set up a meeting. Please include "Psych 2990B" as part of the subject of any emails you send to me.


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

 

Textbook (required):

 

Hazlewood, D., & Janes, L. (2017). Topics in Applied Psychology, 5th Ed. Pearson Custom

Publishing.

***Please be sure to purchase the 5th edition of this text***

 


Additional Readings (required):

 

Additional readings (1-2 readings per week) have been prepared for each topic. The additional readings will be available as PDF files from the course website at least one week prior to that topic's listed start date. The material from these additional readings will be tested on the exams.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course covers various areas of applied psychology, including sports psychology, consumer psychology, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, environmental psychology, health psychology, and psychology applied to the courtroom and the classroom. The intent of this course is to expose students to the use of psychology in a wide range of occupations.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

  • Describe theories, research methods and findings regarding a wide range of topics in applied psychology, including sports psychology, consumer psychology, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, environmental psychology, health psychology, and psychology applied to the courtroom and the classroom. Measured through exams.
  • Apply theoretical principles and research findings covered in this course to everyday examples. Measured through online discussions with classmates.
  • Locate and critically evaluate information relevant to topics in applied psychology. Measured through online discussions.

 

5.0     EVALUATION

Student evaluation will be based on two exams and five online discussions.

 

Component

% of final grade

Exam 1

40%

Exam 2

40%

Discussions

20%


5.1  EXAMS

 

Students must complete 2 exams (each worth 40% of your final grade). Exams will be 2 hours in duration and consist of multiple-choice questions based on the assigned readings and OWL Lessons. The exams are NOT cumulative. See the Lecture Schedule below for the topics and readings covered on each exam.

 

All exams will be closed-book—no books, notes, calculators, cell phones, dictionaries, or aids of any type will be allowed. Please bring a couple of pencils, a good eraser, a watch, and your student identification to the examinations.

 

It is recommended that you do NOT bring items such as laptops, backpacks, textbooks, notes, etc. with you to examinations. At the beginning of every examination, you will be asked to place all such items in a common area in the exam room and neither the instructor nor Western can be responsible for theft, damage, or loss of such items.

 

5.2  MAKE-UP EXAMS

 

Tests must be written on the scheduled dates unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate, which will be verified by an Academic Counselor in your Faculty). A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a 0 for the exam.

 

5.3  ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

 

There will be five online discussions (each worth 4% of your final grade). Students are expected to participate in all of these discussions, both by posting their own thoughts or observations and by commenting constructively on other students’ comments. Your grade will be earned based on the quantity and quality of your contributions to these discussions. A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. You are therefore encouraged to participate actively in the discussions to enhance your learning experience throughout the course.

 

Discussions will be graded for the quality and content of your contribution. Examples of quality posts include:

  • providing additional information to the discussion
  • elaborating on previous comments from others
  • presenting explanations of concepts or methods to help fellow students
  • presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion
  • sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic
  • providing a URL and explanation for a topic you researched on the Internet

 

You are strongly encouraged to respond to other students’ postings in addition to replying to students who have responded to your post. For each discussion, you will be assigned a grade out of 4 based on your discussion posts. Grades will be assigned as follows:

0 = Incomplete (no posting, question not answered)

1 = Unsatisfactory (minimal contribution, few if any responses to other students)

2 = Satisfactory (discussion topic addressed, minimal contribution to discussion)

3 = Excellent (posting meets all criteria, provides a valuable contribution to discussion)

4 = Outstanding (posting(s) go beyond basic requirements, present additional information from outside the textbook, and interact well with the other students)

 

Each discussion will be open for five days, from 12:05 am on Monday until 11:55 pm the following Friday (see 7.0 Course Schedule). Once the discussion closes, no more posts can be made. Please post early in the week to avoid last-minute problems, and always back up your work (screenshots of your forum posts are ideal), as “technical difficulties” is NOT an acceptable excuse for missing a discussion deadline.


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 1 is scheduled for Saturday, February 10, 2018 (time and location to be announced on the course website) and will cover all of the material (readings and online notes) in Part 1 of the course.

 

Exam 2 will be held during the April final exam period (April 14 - 30, 2018; date and time to be announced on the course website) and will cover all of the material (readings and online notes) in Part 2 of the course.


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Week

Topic

Readings

PART 1

Jan 8 - 12

Psychology and the Law

• Chapter 1 in text

• Bornstein & Greene (2011)

Jan 15 - 19

The Psychology of Police Investigations

• Chapter 2 in text

• Porter et al. (2000)

Jan 22 - 26

Online Discussion 1

Psychology and Health

• Chapter 3 in text

• Glock et al. (2013)

Jan 29 - Feb. 2

Sports Psychology

• Chapter 4 in text

• Caldwell & Burger (2011)

• Frank & Gilovich (1988)

Feb 5 - 9

Online Discussion 2

Psychology and Education

• Chapter 5 in text

• Jackson & Moreland (2009)

EXAM 1: Saturday, February 10, 2018 (time & location TBA).
Covers all textbook chapters and additional readings in Part 1 of the course.

PART 2

Feb 12 - 16

Psychology and the Workplace
(Part 1: Motivation, Satisfaction, & lnvolvement)

• Chapter 6 in text

• Latham & Baldes (1975)

Feb 19 - 23                                       READING WEEK (No Classes)

Feb 26 - March 2

Online Discussion 3

Psychology and the Workplace
(Part 2: Leadership)

• Luthans Chapter 13 (2011)

Mar 5 - 9

Consumer Psychology (Part 1)

• Chapter 7 in text

Mar 12 - 16

Online Discussion 4

Consumer Psychology (Part 2)

• Dijksterhuis et al. (2006)

Mar 19 - 23

Engineering Psychology

• Chapter 8 in text

Mar 26 - 30

Online Discussion 5

Psychology and the Environment

• Chapter 9 in text

• Steg & Vlek (2009)

April 2 - 6

Military Psychology

• Chapter 10 in text

• Lim & Klein (2009)

EXAM 2: During the Final Exam Period (April 14 - 30, 2018). Exact time and location TBA.
Covers all textbook chapters and additional readings in Part 2 of the course.


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://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2017/pg954.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
- 2017 Calendar References

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