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Psychology 3720F-650

The Psychology of Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour

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

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY 

LONDON              CANADA 

Department of Psychology 

Fall 2021 

 

Psychology 3720F   Section 650 

The Psychology of Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour 

 

1. CALENDAR DESCRIPTION 

 

The course will consider the social, situational and personality factors responsible for the occurrence of antisocial behaviours such as violence and aggression, and of prosocial behaviours such as helping others in disaster or crisis situations. 

 

Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810 (or Psychology 2780E or permission of the Department at Huron) 

3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course 

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites 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: Dr. Graeme Haynes  

Office:    SSC 7440  

Office Hours: TBA  

Email:  ghaynes@uwo.ca  

 

Teaching Assistant: TBA 

Office Hours:  

Email:  

 

This is a fully online course that will use Western University’s learning platform, OWL (Sakai) and other educational resources based on the needs of the course. This class is designed to be asynchronous, meaning we will not have a regular, mandatory time when the entire class must be online.  However, there may be some synchronous activities that you will sign up for based on your own schedule, including office hour appointments with the professor or T.A. 

 

Email is the best way to contact me, and if need be, I can be available to meet with you in person during office hours (assuming public health guidelines permit this), or over Zoom.   

 

When sending me an email, please make sure to use proper email etiquette (e.g., start with a greeting), and include the following information: your name, the course you are in (I’m teaching several different courses this semester), and your question.  

 

Sample email: 

 

Hi Prof. Haynes,  

 

This is [insert name here] from your Psychology 3720F class.  I have a few questions about my research proposal and I was wondering if we could set up a Zoom meeting next week to discuss them? 

 

Sincerely,  

 

[Name] 

 

If you adhere to these guidelines, I promise to reply to all emails within 24 hours. 

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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 TEXTBOOKS 

 

Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., Schroeder, D. A., & Penner, L. A. (2006). The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behaviour, 1st Edition. New York: Psychology Press. 

 

Krahe, B. (2013). The Social Psychology of Aggression, 2nd Edition. New York: Psychology Press. 

 

4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES 

 

The objectives of this course are: 
 

To teach students about key theories, methods and findings in the scientific study of prosocial and antisocial behavior 
 

To provide students with the adequate tools to generate a research idea and to write a research proposal according to APA standards 
 

To encourage students to think critically and apply their knowledge through online discussions with their colleagues 
 

4.1  STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

 

Learning Outcome	Learning Activity	Assessment
Describe theories, research methods and findings regarding the occurrence of antisocial and prosocial behaviours.	Assigned readings and supplementary slideshows	Final exam
Apply theoretical principles and research findings to everyday examples of prosocial and antisocial behaviour.	Participating in online discussion forums    Completing random acts of kindness assignment	Online discussions forums; random act of kindness assignment
Review and evaluate past research; formulate a testable hypothesis based on this review; and design a study that would test this hypothesis.		Research proposal

 

 

5.0 EVALUATION 

 

Note: In the event of a return to a pandemic lockdown situation, there will not be any changes made to the components listed below.  

 

Grades will be based on the scale presented below. You may wish to record your grades here. 

Component     Value Grade  

Discussion forums      20% ____________ 

Random acts of Kindness Assignment 20% ____________  

Research proposal      30% _____ ___ 

Final exam      30% ____________ 

 

Discussion Forums 

 

Online discussions related to issues from two of the weekly topics will be held on OWL, within pre-assigned groups of 8-10 students. Please make sure that you have thoroughly read the discussion forum rules below (starting on page 5).  Each discussion thread will remain active for only one week, so it is your responsibility to know the deadlines for making your posts.   

 

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. 

 

A substantive posting usually will reflect on a course concept or idea and will demonstrate a critical appraisal of the material or application thereof. Generally, original postings should be about 250-300 words (replies to other students may be shorter). A posting should lead the discussion in a meaningful direction. Examples of quality posts include: 

 

• providing clear, coherent responses that directly address the topic at hand; 
• presenting explanations of concepts or methods from the textbook or lecture materials to support your points; 
• presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion; 
• sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic; 

 

Expect a variety of views to be expressed, and feel free to express your own view. Debates are encouraged, but please remember that your communications must be respectful to others. Note that the instructor will not respond to each point added to the discussion board. Instead the instructor will read and evaluate the posts on the discussion board, and might add comments when appropriate to keep students on track if the discussion has gone off topic. 

 

For each post, you will be assigned a grade out of 5 (3.5 for original post, and 1.5 for responding to another student’s post and replying to any questions asked by other students).  Grades will be assigned as follows: 

0–2.5 = Unsatisfactory Post is brief and uninformative, does not contribute any insight to the topic, the question is not answered fully. 

3-3.5 = Satisfactory Post is somewhat informative, demonstrates basic understanding of the material, but merits a more clear or further explanation. 

4-4.5 = Very Good  Post is informative, demonstrates strong understanding of the material, and contributes substantial insight. 

5 = Excellent  Post goes beyond basic requirements, demonstrates excellent critical appraisal, shows evidence of considerable reading beyond course text. 

To earn the full five points, you must demonstrate that you have given the topic serious thought, resulting in interesting observations and/or questions. You don’t have to be right (in fact frequently there won’t be a “right” answer) but you do have to demonstrate that you have thought in depth about the issue. 

 

The Discussion Forum Rules 

 

There will be two week-long periods during which a discussion forum will take place. Forum #1 will take place during the week of Sept. 27 – Oct. 4; Forum #2 during the week of Nov. 15 – 22.    

 

Rule #1:  I will always post the discussion forum topic on the Monday morning when a new unit begins. The discussion forums will be open for 7 days, from Monday morning until the following week’s Monday at 12:00 noon (EDT). 

 

Rule #2:  In order to give students time to reply to the posts of other members, you must make your first post no later than Thursday night – any first posts made later than this will be given a late penalty of 0.5 per day. I recommend setting aside a specific block of time each Tuesday or Wednesday to compose your post.  

 

Rule #3:  Your first post should be at least 250–300 words. You can go over this, but try your best to be concise. Subsequent posts (e.g., responding to a fellow group member’s post) do not need to be as long as this, but their quality will still be factored into your grade. 

 

Sun.	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.
	Forum opens;	Make first post	Make first post	First post due by 11:59 P.M.	Respond to other member’s post	Respond to other member’s post
Respond to other member’s post	Forum closes at noon

 

Note: If you don’t provide feedback to another group member’s post, your maximum possible grade will be 3.5 / 5.  If another student asks you a question about your original post before Sunday at 12:00 noon, you need to answer the question, or you will receive a 0.5 point penalty.  If another student does not ask you a follow-up question, you won’t be penalized. 

 

 

Random Acts of Kindness Assignment 

 

This assignment is in place of a midterm exam. Your task will be to commit a few random acts of kindness (RAKs) for other people (either someone you know, or strangers).  Given the pandemic situation, you must follow all mandated public health orders when performing the RAKs.  You could commit the same RAK for a few different people, or you might try out 3-5 different RAKs for different people.  After you have committed the RAKs, write up your experience in a 3-4 paged (double-spaced) report.   

In this report, answer the following questions:  

1. a)Which RAK(s)did you perform? (and why did you choose them, if you feel this is necessary to explain)    
2. b) Howdid youfeel as you were doing them, and afterwards? Was it difficult or awkward to commit the RAKs? Explain. 
3. c) Did you see how the recipient(s) reacted? If yes, go on to part d). If no, how did it make you feel to know that you had performed this act, without anyone knowing you did it?
4. d) How the recipient(s) reacted to your RAK(s). Were they grateful? Was anyone suspicious that you had some type of ulterior motive behind your kind act? Why do you think they reacted the way they did?
5. e) Do you think small acts of kindness can impact people/the world in a big way? How/why or why not? 
6. f) Should you act kindly towards someone that seems mean or rude? Why or why not? 
7. g) Do you think you’ll continue performing random acts of kindness (be honest!)?
8. h) Any final thoughts or opinions about the assignment?

Note: You shouldn’t tell the RAK recipient(s) that you’re only doing it for a course, as this might cheapen the perception of this act of kindness.  

The assignment should be in APA format, and when appropriate, you should make connections between your experience and the course material described in Chapter 4 & 7 (Dovidio text) and the related slideshows (Oct. 4 & 11), using proper citations where applicable. All sources cited should be listed on a reference page at the end of the assignment.  

If you're stuck for ideas as to what you might do, check out the following websites: 

https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas 

Random acts of kindness you can do while physical distancing: 

https://www.waterford.org/resources/random-acts-of-kindness-ideas/ 

 

The RAK assignment is to be submitted as a Word Document on OWL by Friday, October 22nd at 5:00 P.M. 

 

Research Proposal 

 

You are required to write a research proposal, which is worth 30% of the final grade. Aim for between 10-14 typed, double-spaced pages, excluding cover page and references (approx. 2500 words, excluding cover page & references). It is due on Monday, December 6th, at 5:00 P.M. Your goal is to propose a study (preferably an experiment) that would extend our understanding of any area in prosocial or antisocial behavior. Note that you will not actually conduct the study.  

 

I suggest that you begin by choosing a topic area that interests you (scan through your textbooks for an overview of possible topic areas). Then, to get ideas for possible studies, conduct a literature review to find out what has been done in this area. PsycINFO will provide an up-to-date listing of published studies in your chosen area, and can be accessed from the library’s website (http://www.lib.uwo.ca). Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss your preliminary ideas.  

 

The write-up of your proposal should include (1) an "Introduction", (2) a "Method" section, and (3) an "Anticipated Results and Discussion" section.  

 

As a general guide, the literature review and the description of the hypothesis/hypotheses should be 4-6 pages in length, the method should be 1-3 pages in length, and the anticipated results & discussion should be 3-4 pages. 

 

(1) The Introduction should introduce your topic area (the general issue or problem). Past research that is directly relevant to your proposed study should be reviewed to show what has already been done. Then you should explain why another study is necessary (i.e., you should explain how your study will extend past research in this area). Finally, state the specific predictions of your proposed study. Note that your predictions should follow logically from the literature reviewed (e.g., "given [this set of findings] and [this set of findings] we can predict [this new finding]"). Avoid proposing an "exploratory study" where no firm predictions can be made. I strongly encourage you to contact me if you wish to discuss these issues in more detail.  

 

**It would be very helpful to read the introduction sections of several articles to get a better idea of how an introduction is supposed to flow** 

 

(2) The Method section should present details about how the study would be conducted. To facilitate the organization of this section, you should include two major sub-sections. The "Participants" subsection should include a brief description of who the participants are and where they would be obtained. The "Procedure" sub-section should include a detailed description of the procedures you would use, including (a) specific instructions that would be provided to participants, (b) how the independent variable(s) would be manipulated, and (c) how the dependent variable(s) would be measured. Except in rare circumstances, you should not include a separate "Apparatus/Materials" section that describes your measures; instead, integrate this material into the procedure sub-section. A useful rule of thumb: Your procedures should be presented in the order that they will occur (e.g., don’t mention “debriefing” before you’ve presented the independent and dependent variables). If you have any questions about this section of your proposal, please see me.  

 

(3) The Anticipated Results and Discussion section should present the anticipated results, including a Table or Figure that illustrates all of your conditions and clearly shows how the conditions are expected to differ (use hypothetical numbers for purposes of exposition). Do not include inferential statistics (e.g. Fs, ts or standard deviations). Including these statistics would make it look like you actually conducted the study (which you didn’t). Make sure that you describe the contents of any Tables/Figures in the text of your paper. Note that you do not have to explain how you would analyze the results. You should then relate your predicted findings back to the material in the Introduction and reiterate how the findings would extend past research in this area. You should also discuss “specific limitations” of your study, 6 and speculate about “directions for future research” (again, be specific).  

 

Finally, a list of "References" (which includes the sources of all material cited in your paper) should be appended. Current journal articles will provide useful examples of how to structure the various sections of your proposal. If you are majoring in psychology, you should use this opportunity to practice following the guidelines that are set forth in the APA Publication Manual (6th Edition).  

 

Additional resources with tips for writing research proposals will be posted on OWL.  

 

The deadline for submitting the research proposal (Monday, December 6th, 2021, 5:00 P.M. EST) is firm. Three marks out of 30 will be deducted if the paper is not handed in on time; the penalty will increase by 3/30 each day that the paper is late (weekends count as two days). Please note: Problems with computers will not be considered legitimate reasons for extending the deadline. You should anticipate (and avoid) these problems in advance (e.g., ensure that you maintain a backup copy of your work; regularly scan your computer for viruses; finish the paper before the deadline). In any event, papers will not be accepted after the Final Exam, which will be scheduled by the Registrar during the Final Examination Period.  

 

Recommended Schedule for completing the Research Proposal:  

 

September: Find area that interests you (skim readings; intro textbooks, etc.).  

 

October: Review past research in this area (PsycInfo). How can past research be extended? Develop outline of research proposal (Intro, Method, Anticipated R&D) Discuss ideas with me (any time).  

 

November: Write first draft (Nov. 1 - 15). Write second draft (Nov. 16 - 30); focus on writing style/organization. Submit draft to Turnitin and check for “matches” (Nov. 30). Revise and submit Final Draft by December 6th. 

 

Exam 

 

The final examination will take place during the December exam period (Dec. 10-21st), and is worth 30% of your final grade.  The exam will consist of long-answer / essay questions that draw upon your knowledge from the entire course.  

 

PLEASE NOTE:  Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations (http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2017/pg108.html), 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. 

 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages: 

 

70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses 

72% 2100-2999-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 

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components. 

 

To ensure fairness, please be aware that final grades in this course are based exclusively on students’ performance on the exams, assignments, and discussion forums noted below. None of these components may be rewritten, nor will they be reweighted in calculating final grades.  

 

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course. 

 

5.1 POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK 

 

Make-Up Exams:  The final exam must be written on the scheduled date unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration.  Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, internet access issues (if exam is on-line), and religious holidays, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate, which will be verified by the Office of the Dean). If your absence is approved, a makeup final exam will be written in January.  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. 

 

To receive extensions for any of the required course assignments (the random act of kindness assignment, the research proposal, and the discussion forums), you must either use a self-reported absence (for which you will be granted a 48-hour extension), or provide appropriate documentation to your academic counselling office.  

 

6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE 

 

	Date	Value
Final Exam	Dec. 10-21	30%

 

 

7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE 

 

Week of	Topic	Read
Sept. 13	An Introduction to Prosocial Behaviour	Dovidio, Chapter 1
Sept. 20	The Origins of Prosocial Behaviour	Dovidio, Chapter 2
Sept. 27	The Context: When Will People Help?  Discussion Forum #1 active from Sept. 27 – Oct. 4 @ 12:00 P.M.	Dovidio, Chapter 3
Oct. 4	Why Do People Help?	Dovidio, Chapter 4
Oct. 11	Being The Helper and Being Helped: Causes and Consequences	Dovidio, Chapter 7
Oct. 18	Defining and Measuring Aggression	Krahe, Chapter 1
Oct. 22	*RAK assignment due at 5:00 P.M.
Oct. 25	Theories of Aggression	Krahe, Chapter 2
Nov. 1	No class –   READING WEEK
Nov. 8	Development of Aggression and Individual Differences	Krahe, Chapter 3
Nov. 15	Situational Elicitation of Aggressive Behaviour  Discussion Forum #2 active from Nov. 15 – Nov. 22 @ 12:00 P.M.	Krahe, Chapter 4
Nov. 22	Media Violence and Aggression	Krahe, Chapter 5
Nov. 29	Aggression Between Social Groups	Krahe, Chapter 9
Dec. 6	*Research proposal due @ 5:00 P.M.
Dec 10-21 (TBA)	FINAL EXAM

 

 

8.0 LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. 

 

With this, we respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation, as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service. 

 

 

9.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES 

 

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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 will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating. 

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.  

 

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

 

10.0 POLICY ON THE USE OF EXAM PROCTORING SOFTWARE 

 

When examinations and tests cannot be given in person (e.g., in courses coded as Distance Studies; in the event of a lockdown order), they may be conducted using either a monitoring platform such as Zoom or a remote proctoring service, such as Proctorio. If Zoom is used for exam invigilation, you will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes, and share your screen with the invigilator if asked to do so at any time during the exam. The exam session using Zoom will not be recorded.* 

If a remote proctoring service is used, the service will require you to provide personal information (including some biometric data). The session will be recorded. The instructor will alert you to the use of this software as close as possible to the start of the term, however, in the event that in-person exams are unexpectedly canceled, you may only be given notice of the use of a proctoring service a short time in advance. More information about remote proctoring is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines. Please ensure you are familiar with any proctoring service’s technical requirements before the exam. Additional guidance is available at the following link: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf 

 

* Please note that Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination. See this link for technical requirements: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us   

 

11.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES 

 

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 

 

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:  

1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours); 

1. 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;  

1. 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 must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It 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 

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term. 

 

12.0 CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RETURN TO LOCKDOWN: IN-PERSON & BLENDED CLASSES 

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence or any other event that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor. 

 

13.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE 

 

In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette: 

• please “arrive” to class on time 
• please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet) 
• please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material 
• to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise 
• In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak 

• In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable 
• Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting 

 

The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following: 

• If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question. 

• Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking. 
• Self-identify when speaking. 
• Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise). 

 

General considerations of “netiquette”: 

• Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course. 
• Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing. 
• Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate. 
• Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately. 

 

Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct. 

 

14.0 OTHER INFORMATION 

 

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

 

Student Development Services: 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 

- 2021-2022 Calendar References 

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf 

Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca). 

 

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent. 

 

Policy on the Recording of Synchronous Sessions: Some or all of the remote learning sessions for this course (if scheduled) may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings. Participants in this course are not permitted to privately record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the student has the prior written permission of the instructor.