Psychology 112 (Fall 2007)
Section L04, MWF 11:00-11:50, Barnard
328
General Psychology,
Part of a Learning Community along with PS 110, “Together
or alone? Community action, democracy,
and the pursuit of happiness”
Professor: Jim Conway
Office: Marcus
White Hall, Room 215
Hours: Monday 9:00-10:00, Tuesday
11:00-12:00 & 3:50-4:50, Wednesday 9:00-10:00, Thursday 11:00-12:00; and by
appointment
Phone:
E-mail: conwayj@ccsu.edu
Home page: http://www.psychology.ccsu.edu/conway
Required
Articles:
Listed at the end of the
syllabus, available through CentralPipeline and in the CCSU library reserve
room.
Suggested: World Wide Web (
Optional
Text:
Myers, D. G. (2007). Exploring Psychology (7th
edition).
General Psychology as Part of a Learning Community
This course is part of a “learning
community” and it is linked to your PS 110 class – everyone in this class is
also in your Political Science class.
Professor Moran (PS 110) and I will coordinate some activities and
topics during the semester. The learning
community is intended to foster a sense of community among students and between
students and faculty; it will also allow us to examine topics and activities
from different disciplinary perspectives.
The title of the learning community is
“Together or alone? Community action,
democracy, and the pursuit of happiness.” We will cover the traditional topics for
General Psychology (e.g., biopsychology, learning, motivation/emotion) but we
will use community involvement as a theme – we will discuss what psychological
topics tell us about community involvement, why people do it, what effects it
has on people, etc.
One important component is a required
hands-on experience in which you will work with either the Republican or
Democratic party of New Britain on local elections. This experience will play a role in Psy 112
as well as in PS 110, and will inform our discussions of the psychology of
community involvement. You will receive
a separate handout for this project.
A second component is a simulation of
public decision making regarding issues of psychology. This simulation will be a collaborative
effort across the Psy 112 and PS 110 classes.
You will receive more information during the semester.
Course Objectives
Psychology is a field in which we try to
understand the mysteries of human (and non-human) nature, asking questions such
as ‘Why do we dream?’, ‘What is that 6-month-old baby thinking?’, and ‘What
makes people commit violence against others?’.
This requires defining our concepts (e.g., what constitutes
‘thinking’?), developing theories, and testing those theories.
One purpose of the General Psychology
course is to familiarize you with the fundamental concepts and theories of
psychology, from diverse topic areas such as biopsychology, development, consciousness,
learning, memory, personality, stress, abnormal behavior, and social
behavior. This semester we will use
community involvement as an integrating theme – we will relate some topics to
causes of community involvement (e.g., biopsychology, development) and others
as outcomes of community involvement (or lack of it; e.g., psychological
disorders).
Another purpose is to help you
understand how psychologists tests theories (i.e., how do we decide what to
believe about behavior and thought processes?).
Psychology is based primarily on the scientific method; understanding
the discipline means understanding how psychologists apply the scientific approach
by taking an abstract question (e.g., “Does playing violent video games
increase aggression?”) and carrying out a scientific test. We will work on understanding the scientific
approach largely through a project discussed later.
A third purpose is to improve your
ability to think critically about psychology and about how we should use the
results of psychological research. We
will use the public decision making simulation as a way to achieve this goal.
There is no required textbook for this class. Instead we will have a series of required articles which are available through CentralPipeline and in the library’s reserve room. All readings are listed at the end of this syllabus.
Evaluation and Grading
Your grade will be based on several
components: (1) 3 exams worth 300 points, (2) a community project worth 100 points,
(3), a research project carried out in groups, leading to the public decision
making simulation, worth 50 points, and (4) several short writing assignments
worth a total of 100 points. As
described below you may earn a total of 15 extra credit points.
Community
Project.
You will work with either the Republican or Democratic party of New
Britain on local elections; you will receive a separate handout explaining this
project. Here is a brief timeline for
the project:
|
Activity |
Date |
Points |
|
1. Class
presentations in PS 110 by Republican and Democratic Parties |
1st
or 2nd week of classes |
--- |
|
2. Turn in
Learning Contract with Decision about Party |
Fri. Sept.
14 |
10 |
|
3. Do
community/democratic work |
Early Sept.
through Nov. 6 (election day) |
50 |
|
4. Essay due |
Wed. Nov. 14 |
40 |
Exams. There will be a total of three written exams
(multiple-choice questions), including a noncumulative final exam. The exams will be based on material presented
in class as well as in the assigned readings.
Each exam will be worth 100 points, for a total of 300 points for the
semester. Each exam will consist of 50
multiple-choice questions. If you miss
an exam or assignment and you can document a valid excuse (e.g., sickness), you
may take a make-up exam or turn in an assignment late. If an exam is canceled for any reason (e.g.,
snow) the exam will take place during the
Short
Writing Assignments.
We will have a number of relatively short writing assignments throughout
the semester, many dealing with assigned articles. Assignments will be given out in class and
will also be posted on my web page. The
writing assignments in total will be worth 100 points. Due dates will be specified when assignments
are given, and normally due dates will be one week after the date the
assignment is given. No late assignments
will be accepted unless a valid excuse can be documented. All assignments must be typed – handwritten
assignments will not be accepted.
Research/Annotated
Bibliography.
You will work in groups to conduct research on child development issues
that will form the basis for a simulation near the end of the semester in your
Political Science 110 class. We will
meet in the library on Friday Oct. 12 to locate sources, and your group will
then produce an annotated bibliography (instructions on this will be provided)
due on Monday, Oct. 29.
Computing
grades.
Your grade will be computed by adding your exam points (out of 300) with
your communtiy project points (out of 100), your research project points (out
of 50), and your writing assignment points (out of 100), for a total possible
score of 550. Your extra credit points
(see below) will be added onto your point total. Your grade will be determined by the percentage
(e.g., 90%, 80%) out of 550. For example,
if you get 495 out of the 550 points (90%) you will receive an A-, as long as
you also complete the research requirement (see Research Requirement section).
|
Exam/Assignment |
Date |
Points |
|
|
|
|
|
Turn in
Learning Contract: |
Fri. Sept.
14 |
10 |
|
Exam 1: |
Fri. Oct. 5 |
100 |
|
Exam 2: |
Wed. Nov. 7 |
100 |
|
Turn in
essay on community work: |
Wed. Nov. 14 |
40 |
|
Annotated
bibliography for research: |
Mon. Oct. 29 |
50 |
|
Short
writing assignments: |
To Be
Announced |
100 |
|
Community
service work: |
Early Sept. – Nov. 6 |
50 |
|
Exam 3
during finals week: |
Mon. Dec. 17, |
100 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Points: |
|
550 |
There is an out-of-class research requirement for this course that may be fulfilled in one (or both) of two ways:
1.
Participation in faculty/student research projects.
2.
Writing library research papers on a topic of psychology.
This requirement is intended to broaden
your knowledge of the methods of psychology and to give you “hands on”
experience related to psychological research.
Participation in research projects requires that you use a web-based
scheduling and tracking system (you won’t get your credits if you don’t use
this system) through www.experimetrix.com/ccsu/. See the separate handout (or http://www.psychology.ccsu.edu/researchrequirement.html)for
full details.
** 4 points (“units”) of research activity are
required. If you have less than 4 points
at the end of the semester I will deduct one percentage point from your grade
for each point below 4 research units.
For example, 495 out of 550 (90%) would normally give you a grade of A-
but if you only accumulate only 3 if the required 4 research points your grade
will drop to 89%, or a B+. Note: if you
make an appointment but do not show up at the scheduled time and place, you
will be penalized one unit.
Please note that
all research papers must be completed by Tuesday, Nov. 20 at
Extra credit may be earned through research activity beyond the required 4 points. You can get a total of 15 extra points. These will be added onto your total number of points for the semester.
As stated above, the objectives of this
course include your learning and thinking about behavior. With that in mind, it is essential that any
work you hand in (including exams, papers, and other assignments) be your own
work. Papers and assignments should be
written in your own words, and demonstrate your own thinking. You may use other scholar’s words or thoughts
if you give them the appropriate credit by citation. If I suspect that what I read is not your own
work, I will talk with you about it, and may file a misconduct report. For further information about the rules
regarding cheating and plagiarism, go to the Academic Misconduct section of the
student handbook or the CCSU website (go to “Directory” and click on “Academic
Misconduct Policy”). If you have any
questions about how you can use the work of other scholars with integrity, you
may want to attend a workshop in Academic Integrity, offered by The Learning
Center.
If you need course adaptations or
accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical
information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the
building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as
possible.
Tentative Reading and Lecture Outline
Week:
Sept. 4-7 Introduction to course
Community
participation: Trends and consequences
Thinking
Critically about Psychology
Required Article
(distributed in class): Putnam (2000)
Sept. 10-14 Thinking
Critically about Psychology (Continued)
Social behavior
Required Article: Bartholow and Anderson
(2002)
Sept. 17-21 Social behavior (continued)
Required Article: Haney, Banks, &
Zimbardo (1973)
Sept. 24-28 Biology and Behavior
Required
Article: Nash (2007)
Oct. 1-5 States of Consciousness
Exam
1: Friday Oct. 5
Oct. 8-12 Developmental Psychology
Required Articles: Excerpts from Evans
(2004) and Schweinart (2004)
Kozol (1988)
Oct. 15-19 Learning and Conditioning
Oct. 22-26 Learning and Conditioning
(Continued)
Human Memory
Required Article: Brandt
(1995)
Oct. 29-Nov. 2 Human Memory (Continued)
Cognitive Psychology/Intuitive Thinking
Required
Articles: Loftus (2003), Myers (2002),
and Myers (2006)
Annotated Bibliography due: Monday
Oct. 29
Nov. 5-9 Positive Psychology
Required
Articles: Kohn (1999), Sax & Astin (1997)
Exam 2: Wednesday Nov. 7
Nov. 12-16 Personality
Essay on Communtiy Work due:
Wednesday Nov. 14
Nov. 19-20 Stress and Health
Tuesday Nov. 20 at
Nov. 26-30 Psychological Disorders/Abnormal
Psychology
Required Article: Rosenhan (1973)
Dec. 3-7 Psycholotherapy
Required
Article: Carey (2006)
Monday Dec. 3 at
Dec. 10-13 Review
– Psychology and Community Involvement
Presentations
and Review
**
Last Day of Classes: Thursday December 13 **
Exam
3 during finals week: Monday, Dec. 17, 11:00 a.m.
List of Required
Articles
Below is a list of the original sources
for which you will be responsible. With
the exception of Freud (1909) and Watson and Raynor (1920), which will be
distributed in class, all sources are available in hardcopy in the CCSU library
reserve room, on line through CentralPipeline, and in some cases on line from
other sources.
Community
Involvement:
Putnam, R.
(2000). Bowling alone: Living alone and liking it. Presentation to the Commonwealth Club of
California.
Thinking
Critically About Psychology:
Bartholow, B.
D., & Anderson, C. A. (2002).
Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior: Potential sex
differences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 283-290.
Social behavior:
Haney, Banks,
& Zimbardo (1973) A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.
Biopsychology:
Nash, J. M.
(2007, January). The gift of
mimicry. Time, 169 (5), 108-113.
Developmental
Psychology
Evans, G. W.
(2004). The environment of childhood
poverty. American Psychologist, 59, 77-92.
[Excerpts]
Kozol, J.
(1988). Rachel and her children: Homeless families in America.
Schweinart, L. J. (2004). The
High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40: Summary, conclusions, and
frequently asked questions.
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. Retrieved
States of
Consciousness:
Nash,
M. R., Benham, G., & Hamada, K. (2005). The truth and the hype of hypnosis. Scientific American Mind, 16(2), 46-53.
Learning through
Conditioning:
Brandt, R
(1995). Punished by rewards? A conversation
with Alfie Kohn. Educational Leadership, 53, 13-16.
Memory:
Loftus, E. F.
(2003). Make-believe memories. American
Psychologist, 58 , 867-873.
Intuitive Thinking:
Myers, D. G.
(2002). The power of coincidence. Originally published in E-Skeptic. Available at
www.davidmyers.org/Brix?pagID=91.
Myers, D. G.
(2006). Intuition or intellect?
Positive
Psychology:
Kohn, A.
(1999). In pursuit of affluence, at a
high price.
Sax, L. J.,
& Astin, A. W. (1997). The benefits
of service: Evidence from undergraduates.
Educational Record, 78 (3-4),
25-32.
Psychological
Disorders/Psychotherapy:
Rosenhan, D. L.
(1973). On being sane in insane places. Science,
179, 250-258.
Carey, B.
(2006). Parenting as therapy for child's
mental disorders: Troubled children/Doses of reality. New
York Times, Dec 22.