Western University

London                   Canada

Department of Psychology

Winter 2025

Psychology 3130B    Section 001

The Psychology of Thinking

1     Calendar Description

Theoretical and empirical studies on problem solving, reasoning, concept formation, thinking and cross-cultural variations in thinking processes. 3 lecture hours; Course Weight: 0.5.

Prerequisites: Both Psychology 2801F/G (or one of Health Sciences 2801A/B, Psychology 2840F/G, Psychology 2855F/G) and Psychology 2811A/B (or one of Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, Economics 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2830A/B, Psychology 2850A/B, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, Statistical Sciences 2141A/B, Statistical Sciences 2143A/B, Statistical Sciences 2244A/B, Statistical Sciences 2858A/B, the former Social Work 2207A/B), or the former Psychology 2820E, or both the former Psychology 2800E and the former Psychology 2810, and one of Psychology 2115A/B, Psychology 2134A/B, Psychology 2135A/B.

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.

2     Course Information

Instructor:                        John Paul Minda, PhD

Phone:                             519-661-2111 ext 81689

Office Hours:                    see Brightspace

Email:                                 psych3130@uwo.ca

Teaching Assistant:       TBA

Office:                                 TBA

Office Hours:                    TBA

Email:                                 psych3130@uwo.ca

2.1 Course Operation

Lectures are inperson. See TimeTable on Student Centre for day/location. The three-hour lecture includes a short break. Slides and lecture material will be available on OWL prior to class. Lectures are live-streamed on Zoom and recorded videos are uploaded to OWL and YouTube. In-class participation is expected, but if you are sick or cannot attend class, I encourage you to watch the remote lecture.

• https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/94741042527
• Passcode: 576361

2.2 Instructor Office Hours

My weekly office hours are Tuesday from 3:00pm – 4:00pm. You can either come to my office (WIRB 5158) or join via Zoom. My office hours are for one-on-one meetings and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are coming to my office in WIRB, take the elevator to the 5th floor and use the hallway phone or email to let me know you are waiting, and I will let you in the office suite. If you have other concerns, please contact me by email at psych3130@uwo.ca. I generally reply to emails within 48 hours.

• https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/91704510150
• Passcode: 334174

2.3 TA Office Hours

For all questions related to course content, exam preparation, or scheduling, please check the relevant OWL forum or post your question there. For all other inquiries, please contact the TA by email at psych3130@uwo.ca. Please include the course number and section in the subject line of your email, along with a brief word or phrase detailing the nature of the email (e.g., 3130B 001: Midterm Exam Questions).

All email correspondence must be from your @uwo.ca email; emails from other addresses will not be responded to. The TA has weekly Zoom office hours on (TBA) and should be your first point of contact for reviewing course material after OWL forums. TA office hours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

3     Course Materials

3.1 Textbook

There is one required textbook for this course:

• Minda, J. P. (2020). The Psychology of Thinking: Reasoning, Decision-Making and Problem-Solving, 2nd Ed. SAGE, London: UK.

The course text is available in softcover and e-book formats at the university bookstore, Amazon, and elsewhere. If you do not wish to buy the text, it is available at the library on course reserve.

3.2 Course Notes

Notes and slides from each class are available on the course website (OWL). A copy of the slides will be available prior to class for review and for notetaking. Students may share their own notes on the OWL site or other note-sharing sites. Your notes are your intellectual property; you can share as much or as little as you feel comfortable.

4     Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

5     Evaluation

5.1 Quizzes

There are five online quizzes on the schedule below. Each quiz will be available on OWL right after class from 12:30pm – 10:30pm (for 10 hours) on the day on which it is scheduled. You can take the quiz any time during the posted time. Once you begin, you will have 15 minutes to complete the quiz. The quizzes are timed but not proctored, are open book, and open note. Each quiz is worth 5% of the final grade. Academic consideration will not be granted for missed quizzes. I will drop the lowest grade of the five quizzes, and the remaining four quizzes will make up 20% of the final grade. Any missed quiz will be scored a “0”. Academic consideration will not be granted for missed quizzes.

If you require or receive accommodation for extra time on course work, please connect with Accessible Education as soon as possible and let me know so that I can make accommodations. If you are accommodated with extra time, it will be added automatically to the online quiz.

5.2 Exams

There are two in-person exams in the course. Exam 1 is scheduled for Tuesday February 11 at the same time and location as the lecture (9:30am – 12:30pm, MC-110) and covers Units 1–5. The midterm is worth 40% of the final grade. Exam 2 will be scheduled by the registrar for the final exam period. Exam 2 covers the entire course (Units 6–11) and is worth 40% of the final grade.

If you require or receive accommodation for extra time on course work, please connect with Accessible Education as soon as possible and let me know so that I can make accommodations.

5.3 Makeup Exam Policy

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives.

If you are unable to take an exam as scheduled, you must obtain permission from your academic Dean via your counsellor to make up the exam. See Section 10 for information on seeking accommodations. Please note the Western Student Information Privacy Policy that instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from a student, whether in support of an application for medical grounds, or for other reasons.

All documentation required for absences that are not covered by the absence reporting policy must be submitted to your home Faculty or Affiliate Academic Counselling/Advising Office. The current policy on student absences is available here. Information on accommodation appeals and medical certificates is available here. Following receipt of approved accommodation from Academic Counselling, a makeup exam will be rescheduled to take place approximately one week after the original exam date.

5.4 Final Grade

The final grade in this class will be a combination of your grades on the quizzes (20%), Exam 1 (40%), and Exam 2 (40%). 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 is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:

The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines, (see the policy here.)

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.

5.5 Policy on Grade Rounding

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.

5.6 Exam Review

Grades will be released on OWL. Exams and quizzes may be reviewed by making an appointment with the TA during their exam review office hours (TBA). Neither the TA nor the instructor will re-grade questions or award points after the grades have been released.

6     Assessment/Evaluation Schedule

*Note: The lowest quiz grade will be dropped, you will be graded on the best 4 of 5 quizzes

7     Class Schedule

8     Academic Integrity

Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.

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.

8.1 Statement on Use of Electronic Devices

No electronic devices on any kind may be used during an exam. Laptops, smartphones, and tablet devices may be used during class and can be used for interactive activities during lecture.

8.2 Multiple Choice Exams

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.

9     Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education

View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link. Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.

If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information.  Email: aew@uwo.ca  Phone: 519 661-2147

10  Absence & Academic Consideration

View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link

Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 48 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.

Medical Absences

Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.

Nonmedical Absences

Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Religious Consideration

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.

11  Other Information

• Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
• Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
• Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html

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.

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 in writing 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 the learning sessions for this course may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers. 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.

12  Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.