Psychology 1000-003
Introduction to 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
An introductory survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The following topics will be covered: history and methodology, biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning and motivation, verbal and cognitive processes, developmental psychology, social psychology, individual differences (intelligence and personality), and clinical psychology.
Antirequisites: Psychology 1100E, the former Psychology 1200
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.
3 lecture hours, 1.0 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Laura Fazakas-deHoog
Office and Phone Number: SSC 7302 519-472-8430
Office Hours: Wednesday evenings by appointment or after class
Email: lfazakas@uwo.ca or llfazakas@hotmail.com
Course Coordinator: Dr. Mike Atkinson
Teaching Assistants:
Fall Only
Tinachu Zhu tzhu9@uwo.ca
Deanna Walker deannawalker@cmail.ca
Tanya Shoot tshoot@uwo.ca
Both Fall and Winter
Erind Alushaj ealushaj@uwo.ca
Melissa Nantais mnantai2@uwo.ca
Office & Office Hours: To Be posted on OWL
Time and Location of Classes: Thursdays 7-10 p.m. NCB 101
COURSE WEBSITE
The course website is located at: https://owl.uwo.ca/portal
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
Passer, M.W., Smith, R.E., Atkinson, M.L., Mitchell, J. B., & Muir, D.W. (2017). Psychology: Frontiers and Applications. Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is an introductory level survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The goal is to provide students with an overview of various topic domains within the realm of psychology. As such, students will be exposed to diverse theoretical viewpoints and various methods and procedures for the scientific investigation of psychological issues. Note: Modern psychology is scientific in nature. Consequently, we will spend a lot of time discussing science-related topics such as research design, research findings, neural functioning, sensory mechanisms, etc.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Each chapter in the text covers a major interest area in psychology. By the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
o Identify the major concepts, theories and topics in Psychology
o Distinguish between and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of various theories in Psychology
o Apply concepts and theories from Psychology to everyday problems
o Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs
o Ask questions about topics in Psychology
o Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological problems
o Identify common research designs used in Psychology
Learning Outcomes, Activities, and Assessment
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Identify major concepts, theories,& topics in Psychology |
Reading and attendance at lectures |
Multiple choice exams |
|
Distinguish between & identify the relative strengths & weaknesses of various theories of Psychology |
Reading and attendance at lectures |
Multiple choice exams |
|
Apply theories & concepts from Psychology to everyday problems |
Reading and attendance at lectures |
Multiple choice exams |
|
Ask questions about topics in Psychology |
Develop powerpoint assignment |
Quality of powerpoint assignment |
|
Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs
Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological symptoms
Identify common research designs used in Psychology |
Reading and attendance at lectures
Reading and attendance at lectures
Reading and attendance at lectures
|
Multiple choice exams
Multiple choice exams
Multiple choice exams |
5.0 EVALUATION
October Midterm will consist of 75 multiple choice questions based on both the text
(Chapters 1-4 and Appendix A) and lecture material. The October midterm is worth ………………. 20%
December Exam will consist of 75 multiple choice questions based on both the text
(Chapters 5-8) and lecture material. The December midterm is worth …………………..……………. 20%
March Midterm will consist of about 75 multiple choice questions based on both the text
(Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13) as well as lecture material. The March midterm is worth ...…….…. 20%
The Final Exam will consist of 100 multiple choice questions based on material from the text
(chapters 14 -17) as well as the lecture material. The Final midterm is worth ……..…………………. 30%
Assignment Component is worth (Details will be posted on OWL) .................................................10%
___________________________________________________________________________
Assignment:
Students are expected to complete (an) assignment(s) worth 10%. Further details, deadlines, and grading criterion will be covered in lecture and posted on OWL. ___________________________________________________________________________________
REQUIRED RESEARCH COMPONENT
In addition to the exams and the assignment, there is a research participation requirement. Please note that this is a Department of Psychology requirement and does not add marks to your grade. Failure to meet the research requirement will result in a loss of 10 points on your final grade.
To fulfil this research requirement, students must either
(i) participate in 6 research studies in the department of Psychology (i.e., obtain 6 full research credits). Instructions for this research component will be reviewed in the lectures.
OR
(ii) Complete a written one page review of 6 different research articles in the area of Psychology. Packages of articles and related questions may be obtained from:
Daniella Chirila (SSC 7416) 519-661-2111 (x84690) or from the research participation website.
NOTE: It is also possible to combine participation and article review (e.g., do 5 studies and review 1 article).
ALSO NOTE: a maximum of 2 of the research credits may be earned through online research studies.
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
OCTOBER EXAM Saturday October 28, 2017 from 9-11 a.m.
DECEMBER EXAM During December examination period (December 10-21) - TBA
MARCH EXAM Saturday March 10, 2018 from 3-5 p.m.
FINAL EXAM During final examination period (April 10-30) - TBA
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
LECTURE CHAPTER TOPIC
Thursday Sept. 07 1 Introduction/History of Psychology
Thursday Sept. 14 2/Appendix Methodology/Data Analysis/Statistics
Thursday Sept. 21 3 Brain/Nervous System/Neurophysiology
Thursday Sept. 28 3 Brain/Nervous System/Neurophysiology
Thursday Oct. 05 4 Genetics & Evolution
Thursday Oct.12 - NO CLASS (FALL READING WEEK)
Thursday Oct.19 5 Sensation/Perception
Thursday Oct. 26 5 Sensation/Perception
SATURDAY OCTOBER 28 OCTOBER EXAM
Thursday Nov. 02 6 Drugs and Consciousness
Thursday Nov. 09 6/7 Drugs and Consciousness/Learning
Thursday Nov. 16 7 Learning
Thursday Nov. 23 8 Memory
Thursday Nov. 30 8 Memory
Thursday Dec. 07 - Review
TBA (December 10-21) DECEMBER EXAM
Thursday Jan. 11 9 Language & Thinking
Thursday Jan. 18 10 Intelligence
Thursday Jan. 25 11 Motivation & Emotion
Thursday Feb. 01 12 Development (Prenatal/child Development)
Thursday Feb. 08 12 Development (Adolesecence/Adulthood)
Thursday Feb. 15 13 Behavior in a Social Context
Thursday Feb. 22 - NO CLASS (SPRING READING WEEK)
Thursday Mar. 01 13 Behavior in a Social Context
Thursday Mar. 08 14 Personality
SATURDAY MARCH 10 MARCH EXAM
Thursday Mar. 15 16 Psychological Disorders
Thursday Mar. 22 16/17 Psychological Disorders/ Treatment
Thursday Mar. 29 17/15 Psychological Treatment/Stress Health Coping
Thursday Apr. 05 - Review
FINAL EXAM (Date TBA: April 10-30)
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.
