Psychology 2076A-650
The Psychology of Sex (online course)
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 explores human sexual behaviour from a psychological perspective. Topics include historical perspectives on sexual behaviour; theory and methodology in sex research; the physiology and development of sexual function; gender and sexual orientation; attraction, love and sex in relationships; sexual health; coercion; and sex work.
ANTIREQUISITE: Psychology 2075
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.
0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Corey Isaacs
Email: cisaacs3@uwo.ca
The best way to contact me is by email. Please include “Psych 2076-650” in the subject line of any email you send, and send emails only from your Western email account. I will always do my best to respond to your email within 24 hours, but during busy times it may take a little longer
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
Hyde, J. S., DeLamater, J. D., & Byers, E. S. (2018). Understanding Human Sexuality (7th Canadian Edition). Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
I always recommend that students use the assigned edition of the course textbook, as there are several changes between editions. While you may be able to use the previous (i.e., 6th Canadian) edition of this textbook without too many problems, you absolutely should not use any earlier edition of this textbook or any other textbook.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to be an introduction to the study of human sexuality. The primary focus of the course will be on psychological issues related to sexuality but biological, sociological, and cultural topics will be also included. The course will cover a broad range of topics such as theory and research on sexuality, gender, attraction, sexual behaviour and disorders, sexual coercion and assault, and sex work.
Students taking this course can expect to become more comfortable with and more knowledgeable about a wide range of sexual issues. It is also expected that students will learn to think critically about the scientific study of human sexuality and become more informed consumers of sex research.
Please note that this course will involve explicit consideration, readings, imagery, and discussion of these topics, behaviours, and experiences.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
This course provides a broad introduction to theories and findings regarding the scientific study of human sexuality. By the end of this course, successful students should have achieved the following outcomes:
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge Identify and describe the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence human sexuality |
Readings, Lectures, Discussions, Self-Tests, Optional Essay |
Exams, Online Discussions, Optional Essay |
|
Application of Knowledge Apply psychological theories and concepts to the study of human sexuality |
Readings, Lectures, Discussions, Self-Tests, Optional Essay |
Exams, Online Discussions, Optional Essay |
|
Evaluation of Knowledge Critically evaluate theories, research methods, and findings from the study of human sexuality |
Readings, Lectures, Discussions, Self-Tests, Optional Essay |
Exams, Online Discussions, Optional Essay |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge Understand the limits of research conclusions in the context of methodological practices in the field |
Readings, Lectures, Discussions, Self-Tests |
Exams, Online Discussions |
|
Written Communication Skills Communicate ideas clearly and concisely, in language accessible to intelligent non-experts |
Lectures, Discussions, Optional Essay |
Online Discussions, Optional Essay |
5.0 EVALUATION
Evaluation will consist of two multiple-choice exams, an online discussion component, and an optional essay.
5.1 EXAMS (75% in total)
There will be a midterm exam (worth 30%) and a final exam (worth 45%). The exams are multiple-choice and will cover material from the lectures and the textbook. The exams are NOT cumulative. See the Course Schedule below for the topics and readings covered on each exam.
5.2 MAKE-UP EXAMS
Tests must be written at the scheduled times unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration (e.g., medical or compassionate reasons). A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a grade of zero for the exam. Make-up exams may be in a different format from the regular exam.
5.3 ONLINE DISCUSSIONS (25%)
There will be an online discussion posted to OWL each week (11 throughout the course), and you will be required to participate in any FIVE of the discussions throughout the term to earn the 25% Online Discussions component of your course grade. You can choose to participate in six discussions, in which case your best five out of six discussion grades will be used to calculate your Online Discussions grade. If you participate in more than six discussions, your grade will be based only on the FIRST SIX—any additional discussions beyond the first six will not be graded.
The ‘Introduce Yourself!’ forum during week 1 is NOT graded, nor is the ‘Sexual Knowledge Survey’ associated with that forum.
Forum grades 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.
Discussions will be graded for the quality and content of your contributions. Quality posts may include:
- providing additional information to the discussion
- elaborating on previous comments from others
- presenting explanations of concepts or methods to help fellow students
- presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion
- sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic
- providing a URL and explanation for a topic you researched on the Internet
For each discussion, you will be assigned a grade out of 4 based on your discussion posts. Grades will be assigned as follows:
0 = Incomplete (no posting, question not answered)
1 = Unsatisfactory (minimal contribution, few if any responses to other students)
2 = Satisfactory (discussion topic addressed, minimal contribution to discussion)
3 = Excellent (posting meets all criteria, provides a valuable contribution to discussion)
4 = Outstanding (posting(s) go beyond basic requirements, present additional information from outside the textbook, and interact well with the other students)
-1 = Penalty for not posting a question prior to the deadline of midnight on Tuesday.
Each discussion will be open for seven days, from 12:05 am on Sunday until 11:55 pm the following Saturday. You will be required to post at least one question to your group (before midnight on Tuesday) about the previous week's topic as a starting point for discussion. You will also be required to respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts before 11:55 pm on Saturday. Once the discussion closes, no more posts can be made. Please post early in the week to avoid last-minute problems, and always back up your work (screenshots of your forum posts are ideal), as “technical difficulties” is NOT an acceptable excuse for missing a discussion deadline.
5.4 OPTIONAL ESSAY (5%, TAKEN FROM LOWEST EXAM GRADE)
You have the OPTION of submitting a 5-page essay, due by midnight on July 31, 2020. If you choose to submit an essay, the weight of your lowest (midterm or final) exam grade will be reduced by 5%, and that 5% portion of your course grade will be based on your essay. If you choose NOT to submit an essay, this component will have NO impact on your course grade. See the Assignments page on OWL for details.
You may write your essay on any sexuality-related topic, but it MUST include: (i) a description of a real-world example of some topic/behaviour related to the course or textbook material, and (ii) an examination of that real-world example that uses one or more theories or perspectives from our course or textbook. The objective is to give you an opportunity to do some research/reading beyond the textbook, and to apply what you’ve learned in the course to a specific, real-world example.
As an example of an applicable essay topic, you might examine/critique an STI public awareness campaign though the lens of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model and/or the theory of planned behaviour. What is the goal of the campaign? Does it seem to be based on any research evidence or relevant scientific theory? How effective do you think the campaign may be, given what you’ve learned about sexual health behaviour? Could it be improved? How?
5.5 IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT GRADES
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
Midterm Exam (lessons 1 – 4) Saturday, June 6, 2020
Final Exam (lessons 5 – 11) TBA (Final Exam Period)
Online Discussions Open Sunday – Saturday each week
Optional Essay due by midnight on Friday, July 31, 2020
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
WEEK |
DATES |
READING |
TOPIC |
|
Week 1 |
May 3 – 9 |
Chapter 1 |
Sexuality in Perspective |
|
Week 2 |
May 10 - 16 |
Chapter 2 |
Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality |
|
Week 3 |
May 17 - 23 |
Chapter 3 |
Sex Research |
|
Week 4 |
May 24 - 30 |
Chapter 13 |
Gender & Sexuality |
|
Week 5 |
May 31 – June 5 |
----- |
NO CLASSES |
|
Saturday, June 6 |
MIDTERM EXAM (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 13) |
||
|
Week 6 |
June 7 - 13 |
Chapter 14 |
Sexual Orientation & Identity |
|
Week 7 |
June 14 - 20 |
Chapter 9 |
Sexual Response & Techniques |
|
Week 8 |
June 21 - 27 |
Chapter 12 |
Attraction, Love, & Communication |
|
Week 9 |
June 28 – July 4 |
Chapter 15 |
Variations in Sexual Behaviour |
|
Week 10 |
July 5 - 11 |
Chapter 18 |
Sexual Disorders & Therapies |
|
Week 11 |
July 12 - 18 |
Chapter 16 |
Sexual Coercion |
|
Week 12 |
July 19 - 25 |
Chapter 17 |
Sex for Sale |
|
Week 13 |
July 26 - 31 |
----- |
NO READING THIS WEEK |
|
TBD (August 4-7) |
FINAL EXAM (Chapters 9, 12, 14-18) |
||
Note: Changes to the above schedule will be announced on the OWL course website. Students are responsible for being aware of announcements made in class and on OWL.
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.
