Psychology 3228A-650

Evolution and Psychology: The Science of Human Nature

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

A survey of evolutionary approaches to the study of human behavior, including evolutionary psychology.

 

Prerequisite: Psychology 1000 or Biology 1001A with a minimum grade of 60% and registration in third or fourth year.

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.

Antirequisite: Psychology 3229A/B 

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.

3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

            Instructor: Shayla Jackson

                       

            Office Hours: by appointment

           

            Email: sjacks87@uwo.ca                        

                       

            Time and Location of Classes: Content posted to OWL weekly

                                                                                   

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

            Workman and Reader (2014) Evolutionary Psychology (3rd Ed.) Cambridge University Press

 

            ISBN 978-1-107-62273-9

 

This text is required for the course. It is available at the Campus Bookstore or from other resellers. The e-text is not available to purchase through the Campus eBookstore. E-text can be purchased from Vital Source at: https://www.vitalsource.com/en-ca/products/evolutionary-psychology-lance-workman-v9781107779693

 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will examine how the process of biological evolution has shaped human behaviour. The primary objective will be to impart a deep understanding of how evolutionary processes have impacted human behaviour. This will involve distinguishing between ultimate and proximate levels of analyses and avoiding superficial rejection or acceptance of evolutionary explanations of human psychology.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Learning Outcome

Supportive Activities

Assessment Information

1

Identify and describe key concepts in evolutionary theory including natural selection, sexual selection, inclusive fitness theory, life history theory, and parental investment theory

Online lectures, weekly readings

Exams, weekly quizzes

2

Identify major historical milestones in evolutionary thought and its application to understanding human behaviou

Online lectures, weekly readings

Exams, weekly quizzes

3

Detect common fallacies that confuse our understanding of human nature

Online lectures, weekly readings

Exams, weekly quizzes

4

Classify explanations for behaviour by their level of analysis

Online lectures, weekly readings

Exams, weekly quizzes

5

Critique news articles covering evolutionary psychology

Online lectures

Assignments, oral presentation, peer presentation evaluation

6

Interpret evidence used in support of evolutionary explanations of human behaviour

Online lectures

Assignments, oral presentation, peer presentation evaluation

 

5.0     EVALUATION

       Weekly Online Quizzes (Best 10 of 12)                         5% total (0.5% each)

      

       Short Written Assignments (Best 3 of 4)                      15% total (5% each)

 

       Oral Presentation                                                       8%

      

       Peer Presentation Evaluation                                     2%

      

       Midterm Exam (multiple choice & SA)                         30%

           

       Final Exam (multiple choice, SA & LA)                          40%

 

 

Weekly quizzes will consist of 5 to 10 questions multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc) that will be based off the readings and lecture material for that week. Quizzes will be due 5 PM each Wednesday. There is a strict policy that quizzes are not accepted after the due date and missed quizzes will be given a grade of zero. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes. Only the best 10 of 12 will count towards your final grade. Quizzes are open-book and are submitted through OWL. The quizzes are designed to be completed in 10 minutes, but you will be allowed 30 minutes to complete them.

 

Assignments will typically revolve around an assigned reading and may be in either a ‘quiz’ format (multiple choice, matching and short answer), or a ‘thought paper’ format (700 word max). Information about the assignments will be posted on OWL and you will submit assignments through OWL. There is a strict policy that late assignments will not be accepted and given a grade of zero. There are no make-ups for a missed assignment. Only the best 3 of 4 assignments will count towards your final grade.

 

For the oral presentation, you will choose one of the topics discussed in class to review in more depth. You may focus your presentation around the methodology and findings of a single paper that interests you or approach your topic more broadly and incorporate findings from multiple papers. Your presentation should be 8 to 10 minutes long and be accompanied by slides. You will record the presentation of your slideshow and upload it to OWL.

 

During peer presentation evaluation, you will watch another student’s presentation and provide critical feedback on at least one aspect of their presentation you thought they did well, and one aspect you thought they could improve upon. You should also provide one substantive comment addressing the material they covered that links the idea they discussed with an aspect of the literature on the topic.

 

The midterm and final exam will be open book and based on both lecture material and assigned readings from the textbook. The midterm will be approximately 75% multiple choice and 25% short answer. The final will be approximately 50% multiple choice, 25% short-answer and 25% long-answer. The final will focus primarily on material covered in the second half of the course. Although the final is not cumulative, foundational concepts from the first half of the course do carry-over to the second half of the course.

 

 

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. 

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

            Weekly assignments                                 due each week, deadlines posted on OWL

           

            Assignments 1-4                                       see class schedule below

           

            Midterm Examination                               The midterm will be released on OWL at noon on 8  

June 2020. You will have until noon on 10 June 2020 to complete the exam but will only have 2 hours to complete the exam once it has been started.

 

            Final Examination                                   The final will be released on OWL at noon on 4    

August 2020. You will have until noon on 6 August 2020 to complete the exam but will only have 3 hours  to complete the exam once it has been started.

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

N.B. The topics and readings listed below may be subject to slight revision.  Use the OWL site for lecture topics and readings.

 

Day of class

Topic

Text Reading

Assignments

1

4-May-20

Introduction, Evolution

ch 1 all

 

2

11-May-20

Natural Selection, Human Origins

ch 2 all

ch 3 pp. 90-96

Assignment 1

due 15 May

3

18-May-20

Sexual Selection

ch. 3 all

ch. 4 pp. 86-102

 

4

25-May-20

Human Mate Choice

ch. 4 all

Assignment 2

due 29 May

5

1-June-20

Development

ch 5 all

ch 6 pp. 158-165

6

8-June-20

Midterm Examination

 

 

15-June-20

Family and Social Development

 ch 6 pp. 165-196

ch 7 all

 Assignment 3

due 19 June

7

22-June-20

Cooperation and Group Living

ch 8 all

8

29-June-20

Cognition

ch 9 all

Assignment 4

due 10 July

9

6-July-20

Language

ch 10 all

10

13-July-20

Emotion

Psychopathology

ch. 11 pp 327-336, 345-355

ch. 12 all

Oral Presentation due

11

20-July-20

Individual Differences

ch 13 all

Peer Presentation

12

27-July-20

Culture

ch 14 all

 Evaluation due

 

4-7 Aug-20

Final Examination

 


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:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. 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.