Psychology 3724F-001
The Science of Romantic Relationships
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 provides an overview of the field of intimate relationships. Current empirical research is emphasized. Topics include theoretical perspectives on intimate relationships (e.g., social psychological theory, evolutionary and life histories theory, interpersonal attraction, love, sexuality, communication within relationships, and various relationship challenges (conflict, violence, power, loss, etc.).
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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.
Antirequisites: Psychology 3726F/G, Psychology 3790G if taken in 2012-13
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.
2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Lorne Campbell
Office: SSC 6328
Office Hours: Mondays 2-3pm; or by appointment
Email: lcampb23@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistants:
Nicolyn Charlot
Email: ncharlot@uwo.ca
Rebecca Koessler
Email: rkoessle@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays, 12:30 – 2:30pm, UCC 37
Time and locations of tutorials/labs:
- Section 2: Thursdays, 12:30-1:30pm, SH-3305
- Section 3: Thursdays, 1:30-2:30pm, SH-3305
- Section 4: Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30am, UCC-59
Section 5: Wednesdays, 11:30am-12:30pm, UCC-59
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
Fletcher, G.J.O., Simpson, J.A., Campbell, L., & Overall, N. (2013). The science of intimate relationships. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to develop a thorough understanding of the psychology of romantic, intimate relationships. The topics include interpersonal attraction, relationship maintenance, and relationship dissolution. The objectives are to be aware of current theory and research regarding different facets of intimate relationships, and to critically evaluate this literature.
Lectures are intended to complement the textbook. Thus, material that is not in the book will be presented each week during lecture. An overview of the powerpoint slides (overheads) presented at lectures will be posted in advance on the course website. If you wish, you can print copies of the slides, bring them to class, and use them as a framework for taking notes.
Discussion during lecture time is encouraged, so please feel free to ask questions at any point and to offer your thoughts about issues raised in the lectures.
Tutorial/laboratory meetings will focus on specific aspects of the week’s topic. Sometimes the lab will involve watching a movie and discussing it afterwards, sometimes the lab will expose students to concrete elements of a research topic (e.g., different perspectives on gender differences in interpersonal attraction), and sometimes the lab will involve discussion of a pertinent topic. Tutorial/lab sections are limited to 25 students per section
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge
Describe , identify and explain the evolutionary, personal, interpersonal, and developmental factors that influence thoughts, feelings and behaviors of partners in romantic relationships |
Lecture; Class discussions; Textbook |
Exams, Tutorial participation |
|
Application of Knowledge
Articulate the above concepts when critically evaluating research and building persuasive arguments in this area |
Lecture; Class discussions; Textbook |
Exams, Tutorial participation |
|
Application of Methodologies
Explain how personal, situational, and relationship factors apply to the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of partners in romantic relationships |
Lecture; Class discussions; Textbook |
Exams, Tutorial participation |
|
Communication Skills
Communicate ideas clearly and concisely, in language accessible to intelligent non-experts (oral and written formats) |
Lecture; Class discussions; Textbook, paper |
Exams, Tutorial participation, paper |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge
Describe and explain the limits of research conclusions in the context of methodological practices within the field |
Lecture; Class discussions; Textbook |
Exams, Tutorial participation |
|
Autonomy and Professional Capacity
Develop the ability to critique others’ writing politely and professionally |
Lecture; Class discussions |
Exams, Tutorial participation |
5.0 EVALUATION
Please note that I do not make grade adjustments (e.g., applying a bell curve to the distribution of marks on a test or paper). Also, I cannot adjust marks on the basis of need (e.g., because a certain mark is necessary to get into a particular academic program).
There will be four components to the marking scheme: attendance at tutorial sessions (worth 10%), a Midterm Exam (worth 30%), an essay (worth 30%), and a Final Exam (worth 30%).
Note: You must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
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
The two exams (Midterm Exam and Final Exam) will be a mix of multiple-choice and essay questions. The exams will be 2 hours long. Both text and lecture material will be tested.
MIDTERM TEST: October 22, 2019
FINAL EXAM: TBA (during exam schedule December 8-19)
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 the Office of the Dean). 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.
Paper:
The paper (worth 30%) will be a 10-page double-spaced paper of text (minimum 2500 words of text, maximum 3725 of text), plus title page, references, and tables (if any). Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, with margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides (left, right, top, bottom).
The paper is due on the date of the last lecture. Essays that are late will be penalized 1 mark (out of 30) every 2 days. You must submit both a hard copy and an electronic copy of your paper (which will be submitted to TurnItIn). Further instructions regarding electronic submission will be provided.
For the paper you will (a) identify at least 3 research articles in reputable academic journals on a topic of interests, (b) develop a thorough understanding of the ideas, methods, and results of this body of research, (c) and write a “popular press” article that conveys the information in a way that accurately represents the research but can be understood by someone without a science background. Essentially, I am asking you to become a science writer. For context, here is a link to my favorite science writer: https://ed-yong.squarespace.com/writing/. More information will be provided in class and tutorials
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
September 10
Lecture 1 Organizational Class; Introduction to the study of intimate relationships
Readings: Chapter 1
Lab/Tutorial topic: Introduction, discussion of essay assignment
September 17
Lecture 2 Relationship Science—Key theories and concepts
Readings: Chapter 2
Lab/Tutorial topic: Levels of explanation for human behavior
September 24
Lecture 3 The relationship mind
Readings: Chapter 3
Lab/Tutorial topic: Implicit and explicit processes in relationships
October 1
Lecture 4 The relationship body
Readings: Chapter 4
Lab/Tutorial topic: Distress and eustress in relationships
October 8
Lecture 5 Attachment and life history theory
Readings: Chapter 5
Lab/Tutorial topic: Change in attachment orientations over time
October 15
Lecture 6 Interpersonal attraction
Readings: Chapter 6
Lab/Tutorial topic: Culture and attraction
October 22
Lecture 7 Midterm Test
Lab/Tutorial topic: No lab
October 29
Lecture 8 Love and commitment
Readings: Chapter 7
Lab/Tutorial topic: Same-sex relationships
November 5 No Class—Fall reading week
November 12
Lecture 9 Reading each other’s minds
Readings: Chapter 8
Lab/Tutorial topic: Assessing empathic accuracy
November 19
Lecture 10 Communication and interaction
Readings: Chapter 9
Lab/Tutorial topic: Body language
November 26
Lecture 11 Sex and passion
Readings: Chapter 10
Lab/Tutorial topic: Sexual and relationship satisfaction
December 3
Lecture 12 The Dark side of relationships: Relationship Violence; Relationship Dissolution
Readings: Chapters 11 & 12
Lab/Tutorial topic: Staying in bad relationships
TBA Final Exam (During final exam period December 8-19)
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/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.
