Psychology as a Social Science

Psychology as a Social Science

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
Summer 2025
 
Psychology 1003B    Section 650
 
Psychology as a Social Science

 

 

1     Calendar Description

 

An introductory survey of the methods and findings within modern scientific psychology. This course focuses on the social aspects of human behaviour. The following topics will be covered: verbal and cognitive processes, intelligence, developmental psychology, social psychology, individual differences (intelligence and personality), and clinical psychology.

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/academics/timetables.html

 

Antirequisites: Psychology 1000, Psychology 1000W/X, Psychology 1015A/B, Psychology 1100E

Prerequisite(s): Psychology 1002A/B or Psychology 1010A/B

 

2 lecture hours; 1 tutorial 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. John Campbell

Office & Phone:          SSC 6310

Office Hours:              By Appointment

Email:                          jcampb7@uwo.ca

 

 

Time and Location of Classes: Asynchronous

 

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

 

Required Text:        Passer, M.W., Smith, R.E., Atkinson, M.L., & Mitchell, J.B., (2023).

                              Psychology: Frontiers and Applications. 8th Canadian Edition.

                              Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson.   $69-$153

 

 

4     Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

 

This course is an introductory level survey of the methods and findings related to the biological, social and methodological elements of modern scientific psychology. The goal is to provide students with an overview of various topic domains within this 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 discussing science-related topics such as research design, some neural and biological aspects of social behaviour, etc.

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:

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

Knowledge Acquisition

Identify major concepts, theories, and topics in Psychology

Reading & watching lectures, & Learning Labs

Multiple choice exam & participation

Critical Thinking

Distinguish between and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of various theories in Psychology

Reading & watching lectures, & Learning Labs

Multiple choice exam & participation, quality of lab discussion posts

Problem Solving; Inquiry and Analysis)

Apply concepts and theories from Psychology to everyday problems

Reading & watching lectures, & Learning Labs

Multiple choice exam, participation, quality of lab discussion posts

 

Communication

Ask questions about topics in Psychology

 

Online discussions & Learning Labs

 

Quality of posted/answered questions & lab discussion

Critical Thinking; Problem Solving

Interpret statistical information presented in tables or graphs

Reading & watching lectures, & Learning Labs

Multiple choice exam, participation

Knowledge Acquisition; Inquiry and Analysis

Identify common research designs used in Psychology

Reading & watching lectures, & Learning Labs

Multiple choice exam, participation

 

 

 

5     Evaluation

 

The following are the dates and materials assigned for each of the designated assessments.

 

                     Date                % of final grade           Material covered

Midterm         June 30           40%                            June 16 through June 23

Final Exam     July 28 - 31     45%                            July 7 through July 25

Labs                Weekly           15%                            June 16 through July 25

 

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

 

Policy on Missing Coursework

 

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

 

There will be TWO exams during the course and learning lab participation and lab assignments. The midterm exam (worth 40%) is scheduled for June 30th.  The makeup exam date for midterm #1 will be July 7th from 1pm – 2:30pm.  The final exam (worth 45%) will be scheduled during the July final exam period. The lab component will be worth the remaining (15%).

 The midterm exam covers chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12 and will consist of 80-85 multiple choice questions from both the text, lectures and learning labs.  Learning labs will consist of a participation mark and a report for 5 labs worth 3% each. More details will be posted in Brightspace. The final exam covers chapters 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 and consists of 100 multiple choice questions from the text, lectures and learning labs

 

Learning labs: 

There are two components to each Lab 

  1. Prep work: this will be completed individually and must be submitted on Monday prior to the release of the lecture, this is valued at 25%. 
  1. Group work: you will have a final assignment that will require you to work with your group members online.  The assignment will be released on Monday along with the lecture, and will be due the following Monday at 11:59pm.  This component is worth 75% 

  

Each student will be randomly assigned to a lab group at the beginning of the course, and it is your responsibility to collaborate with your group members to complete lab assignments every week. 

 

7     Class Schedule

 

Week

Date

Topic(s) to be covered

Reading (s)

Lab Topic (See Brightspace for Content)

1

June 16

Language & Thinking; Intelligence                 

Chapters 9 & 10

Language

2

June 23

Motivation & Emotion; Development (Childhood)

Chapters 11 & 12

Working Memory

3

June 30

Midterm Exam (40%)

1pm – 2:30pm

N/A

4

July 7

Development (Adult); Social Psychology

Chapters 13 & 14

Prisoner’s Dilemma

5

July 14

Stress; Personality

Chapters 14 & 15

Factor Analysis

6

July 21

Psychological Disorders & Treatments

Chapter 16 & 17

Diagnosis & Treatment of Psychopathology

 

 

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.

 

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.

AI Policy for Psychology:

Responsible use of AI is allowed in Psychology.  This includes using AI for brainstorming, improving grammar, or doing preliminary/background research on a topic.

 

AI is not to be used in place of critical thinking.

 

The misuse of AI undermines the academic values of this course.  Relying on AI to create full drafts or fabricate sources is prohibited.  You are ultimately responsible for any work submitted, so it is highly advised that you critically review your Generative AI output before incorporating this information into your assignments.

 

If you use AI, you must clearly explain its role in your work.  All written assignments will require an AI Usage Statement, in which you will indicate what tools you have used, what you have used them for, and (broadly) how you have modified this information.  Assignments without an AI Usage Statement will not be accepted.

 

Violations of this policy will be handled according to Western’s scholastic offense policies.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”)

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed.

 

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

 

Academic Considerations: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html

 

 

11  Other Information

 

 

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.