Psychology 1000-001
Introduction to Psychology(Summer Evening online)
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
An introductory survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The following topics will be covered: history and methodology, biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning and motivation, verbal and cognitive processes, developmental psychology, social psychology, individual differences (intelligence and personality), and clinical psychology.
Antirequisite: Psychology 1100E
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.
1.0 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Laura Fazakas-deHoog, Ph.D., C. Psych
Office and Phone Number: SSC 7302; 519-317-7025
Office Hours: Thursdays 7:00 p.m. online discussion through forum
Email: llfazakas@hotmail.com OR lfazakas@uwo.ca
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
Passer, M.W., Smith, R.E., Atkinson, M.L., Mitchell, J. B., & Muir, D.W. (2017). Psychology: Frontiers and Applications. Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is an introductory level survey of the methods and findings of modern scientific psychology. The goal is to provide students with an overview of various topic domains within the realm of psychology. As such, students will be exposed to diverse theoretical viewpoints and various methods and procedures for the scientific investigation of psychological issues. Note: Modern psychology is scientific in nature. Consequently, we will spend a lot of time covering science-related topics such as research design, research findings, neural functioning, sensory mechanisms, etc.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Each chapter in the text covers a major interest area in psychology. By the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
o Identify the major concepts, theories and topics in Psychology
o Distinguish between and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of various theories in Psychology
o Apply concepts and theories from Psychology to everyday problems
o Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs
o Ask questions about topics in Psychology
o Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological problems
o Identify common research designs used in Psychology
Learning Outcomes, Activities, and Assessment
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Identify major concepts, theories, & topics in Psychology |
Reading and covering lecture slides |
Powerpoint assignment |
|
Distinguish between & identify the relative strengths & weaknesses of various theories of Psychology |
Reading and covering lecture slides |
Forum discussions |
|
Apply theories & concepts from Psychology to everyday problems |
Reading and covering lecture slides |
Forum discussions |
|
Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs
Apply DSM criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological symptoms
Identify common research designs used in Psychology |
Reading and covering lecture slides
Reading and covering lecture slides
Reading and covering lecture slides
|
Multiple choice exam
Multiple choice exam
Multiple choice exam |
5.0 EVALUATION
There will one exam during the course. The exam is non-cumulative and consists of multiple-choice questions covering the material in the textbook as well as in the lecture.
Powerpoint assignment – (Ch. 1-6) 35%
Forum Discussions (Ch. 7 - 12) 35%
Final Exam (Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17) 30%
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
There will one exam during the course. The exam is non-cumulative and consists of multiple-choice questions covering the material in the textbook as well as in the lecture.
Powerpoint assignment – (Ch. 1-6) Friday June 12, 2020
Forum Discussions (Ch. 7 - 12) Friday July 10, 2020
Final Exam (Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17) TBA
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Topics will be covered in the following order during the year. Approximate dates are given so that you can keep up with the readings. Ideally, you should do the required readings for the week indicated. Please note that there is a fairly heavy reading load in this course. Thus, it is important for you to keep up with the readings.
LECTURE (Week of) CHAPTER TOPIC
Monday May 04 1 Introduction/History of Psychology
Monday May 11 2/Appendix Methodology/Data Analysis/Statistics
Monday May 18 3 Brain/Nervous System/Neurophysiology
Monday May 25 4 Genetics & Evolution
Monday June 01 5 Sensation/Perception
Monday June 08 6/7 Consciousness/Learning
Monday June 15 8 Memory
Monday June 22 9/10 Language and Thinking/intelligence
Monday June 29 11 Motivation & Emotion
Monday July 06 12 Development (Lifespan Development)
Monday July 13 13 Behavior in a Social Context
Monday July 20 14/15 Personality/ Stress and Health
Monday July 27 16/17 Psychological Disorders/Treatment
FINAL EXAM (Date TBA)
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.
