Psychology 3990G 001 FW24
Special Topics in Psychology: Use Disorders-Origins and Treatment
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/Winter 2024
Psychology 3990G Section 001
Special Topics in Psychology--Use Disorders: Origins and Treatment
1 Calendar Description
This course will cover information on factors involved in the development of use disorders (substance use disorder, gambling, and other potential behavior use disorders) and some approaches to the treatment of these disorders.
Antirequisites: Not Applicable
Prerequisite(s): 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.
3 lecture hours; Course Weight: 0.5
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: Dr. Riley Hinson
Phone Number: 519-661-2111 ext 84649
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: hinson@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: see Student Timetable
For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.
3 Course Materials
No required textbook. Readings for each week will be posted to Brightspace.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The purpose of the course is to provide students exposure to both the scholarly literature and research related to many aspects of addiction.
By the end of the course the successful student should be able to:
- Memorize, describe and apply main concepts and principles related to drug use and addiction
- Locate and critically evaluate scholarly material related to real world challenges faced by those with drug use problems and those providing help to such individuals
- Communicate scientific information in oral and written forms.
- Critique information presented in scientific and popular media related to drug use and drug addiction
Learning Outcome
|
Learning Activities |
How Assessed |
Knowledge and Understanding |
||
1. Depth & Breadth of Knowledge Memorize (M), describe (D) and apply (A) main concepts and principles related to drug use and addiction |
Reading Class discussion Guest lectures
|
Oral Presentations of current news Contribution to Class Discussion (DA) Essay Questions on Tests |
Abilities |
||
2. Knowledge and Application of Methodologies |
Reading of literature |
Oral/written reports |
3. Communication Skills Communicate scientific information in oral and written forms. |
Classroom activity |
Contribution to class activity and Paper |
5 Evaluation
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
- Topic Paper. 36 Points In consultation with the course instructor you will write a paper on a topic related to the origins and/or treatment of use disorders. The paper must be at least 2500 words excluding the reference list (this would be about 10 pages of double-spaced, 12 cpi font, 1 inch margin). It must include a reference list of at least 10 references, although more will probably actually be used. The Topic Paper is due no later than the last day of class. It will be submitted to TurnItin.
- There will be a Final Exam worth 20 Points. You will be randomly assigned one essay style question based on all the lecture material covered during the entire term.
- “In the News” discussion articles. 36 Points At some point during the term each student must locate an article/report/video/etc. “in the news” related to use disorders. The article must be approved by the instructor. You will provide a link to the article that will be posted on Brightspace. You will write a minimum 1 page discussion of some issue raised by the article. This is not a summary of the article since it can be read, rather it is a discussion of issues raised by the topic of the article. (Example: A few years ago an article was published about someone suing the Ontario government for its requirement that a person with an alcohol use disorder had to be 6 months sober in order to receive a liver transplant. There are many possible issues related to this—it stigmatizes those with AUD’s, a similar requirement is not in place for tobacco smokers needing lung transplants, etc.). You will post a link to the article and your discussion paper in the Course Forum on Brightspace. Every other student must also provide comments on the article or the issue that the submitting student highlighted or some other issue that they think of. The comments are not intended to be a simple reiteration of what was in the article or what might have been said by other commenters. The comments will be graded on a scale from 0.0 to 3.0 in terms of thoughtfulness and relevance: 0—Very good submission; 2.0—Good submission; 1.0—Meets minimal acceptability; 0—No submission or unacceptable. These must be submitted within 4 24-hour periods (including weekends) of the target article being posted. At the end of term each student will have 1 submitted “In the News” article and 1 page discussion paper, and comments on other students “In the News” articles. This component is worth 36 Points. Six of the points will be based on your article and the one page discussion you provide. The remaining 30 marks are allotted to your comments on other students “In the News” articles. Students must post comments on at least 10 of the ITN’s. You may post on as many as your wish. The best 10 will be used for calculating your 30 points for this component. Students will be randomly assigned a due date for their ITN. Approximately 4 students will be assigned to submit their ITN each week. The first set of ITN’s will be posted by 23:55 hours on Monday, January 27, and comments would be due no later than 23:55 hours on Friday, January 31. A new set of ITN’s will be posted every Monday by 23:55 hours, with the comments due no later than 23:55 hours of the Friday of that week.
- Attendance/Participation. 8 POINTS Attendance will be taken at every class. The % of attended classes (must arrive on time and must not leave early) will be used to determine the number of marks earned in a very straightforward manner (% of class attended for full class time x 8).
Policy on Missing Coursework
- If you are excused by Academic Counselling from writing the Final Exam, you will be given a make up.
- If you do not submit an “In the News” article and one-page paper, or if you fail to provide a comment on submitted “In the News” articles within the 4 24-hour limit, those marks will be lost.
- The Topic Paper must be submitted by the due date. Unless you are excused the following late penalties will apply: Each 24 hour late period will result in a loss of 10% of the available marks, i.e., 3.6 marks lost per 24 hour late period. For example, if the due time is 23:00 hours on a particular day, and you submit any time form 23:01 hours on that day up to 22:59 hours the next day, that incurs a 10% or 3.6 mark loss.
There is no make up of attendance/participation marks. If you are excused by Academic Counselling from some classes, then the % of attended class will be based on all other classes.
Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, 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 Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
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
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.
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.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Topic Paper |
36% |
Final Exam |
20% |
In the News component |
36% |
Attendance and Participation |
8% |
7 Class Schedule
Jan 6 Introduction to Class
Jan 13 Overview of Drugs and Use Disorders in DRM V
Jan 20 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Jan 27 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Feb 3 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Feb 10 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Feb 17 Reading Week
Feb 24 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Mar 3 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Mar 10 Factors related to the development of SUD’s
Mar 17 Treatment of SUD’s
Mar 24 Treatment of SUD’s
Mar 31 Treatment of SUD’s
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.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
You will be able to use your laptop during the Final Exam
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. 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.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
Exam Proctoring Software
Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote
Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
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 all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 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.
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.