Psychology 2020A-001
Drugs and Behaviour
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
Survey of the major drugs of abuse, including, but not limited to alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, opiates, stimulants, inhalants, sedative-hypnotics. For each drug there will be discussion of historical and current patterns of use and abuse, behavioral and psychological effects of both acute and chronic use, psychological processes involved in drug effects, neurochemical bases for action, and treatment issues.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: DR. RILEY HINSON
Office, Phone Number, Email: 7308 SSC 519-661-2111 EXT 84649 hinson@uwo.ca
Office Hours: MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY, 2:00-2:30
Times and Location of Lectures: MONDAY 2:30-4:30
WEDNESDAY 2:30-3:30
SSC 2050 BOTH DAYS
Website: There is an OWL site for this course. Access to this site is via your id name and password (this is typically your last name and the code involving a combination of numbers and upper and lower case letters). Important course information will be posted at the website, and this is the main method of communicating information to students. It is the student’s responsibility to check the web site regularly for important course information. If you miss a course component (test, make up test, etc) when the information for that course component has been posted on the web site, then you will receive a grade of zero (0) on that course component.
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
There is no required text for the course. I will cover in lectures the material that will be on tests. A lot of material is presented in lecture, consequently I make a printed version of my lecture notes available if you wish to purchase them. Psychology 2020A/B 2019-2020 Lecture Notes is available in the Graphics Building located at the foot of the hill leading to Saugeen Maitland residence. The Lecture Notes are NOT in the bookstore. You are not required to purchase these notes. We may not cover everything in these notes, and I may present material not in these notes during lecture (NOTE: Most of the pictures that I will be presenting in class are not in the Lecture Notes. Any material presented in class may possibly be on tests), but the notes cover approximately 90% of what will be on tests.
Optional Text: Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology, 8th Edition, Stephanie Hancock and William McKim is available in the book store if you would like a more traditional style textbook. This is an optional textbook, and you are not required to purchase it. This text covers much of the same material as in the Lecture Notes, but there is also a lot of material in the Lecture Notes that is not covered in this text. This text should be viewed as a supplemental text. You may buy it at your discretion
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the major drugs of use and abuse. These include alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, opiates, marijuana, sedatives, hallucinogens, stimulants, inhalants, steroids and other
miscellaneous drugs. The history of use of the different drugs will be presented. The current use of drugs will be described. The behavioral effects will be presented. Behavioral and biopsychological research aimed at identifying factors involved in drug use will also be discussed.
By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to
- recognize and identify major drugs of abuse when they are discussed texts, news, public forums
- recognize and identify major concepts related to drug addiction
- recognize and identify major experimental procedures related to the study of drug addiction
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Student Learning Outcomes, Activities and Assessment
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5.0 EVALUATION
There will be three tests. The tests are NOT WEIGHTED EQUALLY. SEE THE TIMETABLE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON WEIGHTING OF TESTS. Two will take place on Saturdays and will be 2 hours in length. The third will be scheduled by the registrar’s office and will be 3 hours in length. The tests will not be explicitly cumulative, although general principles introduced during earlier parts of the term will be relevant throughout the course. The tests will use multiple choice questions graded without a correction factor. The exact format of each test will be posted on OWL a few days before the actual test.
THE TESTING FORMAT AND MARKING SCHEME ARE FULLY EXPLAINED HERE AND ABSOLUTELY NO CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO ARGUMENTS THAT THE TESTING FORMAT OR MARKING SCHEME WERE NOT UNDERSTOOD. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TESTING FORMAT OR MARKING SCHEME SEE ME BY THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES.
Here is some information on the grade distribution from previous years. This is for information purposes only and is not intended to suggest that this year’s class performance will be similar to last year’s: the mean grade is generally around 70% with about 25% A or A+ and 25% B
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 Western's 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 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE---SEE BELOW UNDER 7.0
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Tentative and subject to change
M September 9: Discussion of course outline and start of Introductory Concepts
W September 11: Introductory Concepts
M September 16: Introductory Concepts and Alcohol
W September 18: Alcohol
M September 23: Alcohol
W September 25: Alcohol
M September 30: Alcohol
W October 2: Cannabis
TEST 1 (WEIGHTED 30%) WILL BE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2-4:30 in the following rooms—go to these rooms first UCC 146 and UCC 56 (and maybe UCC 37 and UCC 41 only if needed, do not go to these rooms first). TEST 1 WILL INCLUDE ANY MATERIAL COVERED BY THE END OF THE CLASS ON SEPTEMBER 30.
M October 7: Cannabis
W October 9: Tobacco
M October 14: No Class, Thanksgiving
W October 16: Tobacco
M October 21: Caffeine and Stimulants
W October 23: Stimulants
TEST 2 (WEIGHTED 20 %) WILL BE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 (PLACE AND TIME TO BE DETERMINED) AND WILL COVER ALL MATERIAL PRESENTED IN LECTURE FROM OCTOBER 2 UP THROUGH AND INCLUDING MATERIAL PRESENTED IN CLASS BY THE END OF THE LECTURE ON OCTOBER 23.
M October 28: Stimulants and Hallucinogens
W October 30: Hallucinogens
M November 4: No Class—Fall Break
W November 6: No Class—Fall Break
M November 11: Hallucinogens and Sedative Hypnotics
W November 13: Sedative Hypnotics
M November 18: Sedative Hypnotics
W November 20: Opiates
M November 25: Opiates
W November 27: Opiates and Gambling/Gaming/Treatment
M December 2: Gambling/Gaming/Treatment
W December 4: Gambling/Gaming/Treatment
Final Exam (WEIGHTED 50%) Scheduled by Registrar (December 8-19) and will cover any material from the lecture on October 28 to the end of term
Make-ups for the two term tests will most likely take place on the Monday evening (starting between 5 and 7) immediately following the scheduled Saturday test. The exact day/time/place of make-ups will be posted to OWL, but you should anticipate the make-ups being on the Monday evening following the scheduled test.
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
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
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/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
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
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
SOME ADVICE ON STUDYING FOR THIS COURSE
Much of the material in this course involves straightforward facts, e.g., the active component in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Because the material is largely straightforward facts, many students tend to study too little and when they do study, they study ineffectively. In order to get the highest grade you can in this course you must come to lectures and you must carefully read all the lecture material. If you fail to do either of these, you will not make a good grade in this course. But simply attending lectures and reading the material is not sufficient to achieve the best mark you can. I recommend the following steps.
- Take through notes during class. I do not ask a lot of questions on people’s names and dates and when I do, I tend to emphasize the importance of the name and date during lecture. However, there are many facts presented during every lecture.
- Ideally, after a lecture you would immediately examine your notes to identify material that is unclear. During this time, you should try to recopy or reorganize your notes. If you have access to a word processor it would be ideal to type your notes. This would allow you to fill in missing information since it should still be fresh in your mind, and this is also a way of studying.
- If you could form a study group, of about 4 people, then you could use what students have found to be the most useful way of studying. One member of the group could pose questions from a set of pages, then another member of the group would pose questions from a different set of pages, and so on. This form of active studying and hearing the responses results in better learning and retention than does studying silently alone.
In studying, the goal should be to understand and remember the material, and NOT to “study” for a certain time or number of pages. Too often, students set the goal of a study session as to spend a certain amount of time or cover a certain number of pages, and this is ineffective. Instead you should strive to understand and retain material regardless of how long it takes or how little you cover in a study session. Also, do not wait until the day before the test to look at the notes
