Introduction to Psychology
Summer 2007
Instructor: Dr. Kelly Charlton
Office: 130 Sampson
Phone: 521-6459
e-mail: kelly.charlton@uncp.edu (This is the best way to reach me)
Home Page: www.uncp.edu/home/charlton
Office Hours: Everyday immediately following class
Weather information hotline: 521-6888
Textbook: Myers, D. G. (2008). Exploring Psychology, 7th
ed. Worth Publishers:
Course Objectives
Gain knowledge and understanding about a broad
array of basic subject matter in psychology
Be able to recognize principles and theories
of psychology at work in everyday settings (and apply your knowledge to new
circumstances)
Understand how psychologists gather and
evaluate information about behavior and mental processes
To think critically about psychology
Be able to express your thoughts and views
about psychological research and theories in a variety of forums
The Purpose of a Syllabus
This
document, that you hold in your hands, is more than just kindling for your next
fire, or something to make your notebook look like one of an official college
student, it has a real and important purpose.
Generally, the purpose of a syllabus is to lay out for you, the student,
what will be expected of you in this class and what our goals are for the
semester. There are policies put in a
syllabus that are important for you to know.
For example, it contains policies about exams, assignments, make-up exams,
and cheating. What I choose to put in
your course syllabus I believe will help you be successful in the class. In general you will find that the syllabus
can provide the answers to the most obvious questions that you might have about
class (which is handy at 3am when you wonder if there is an exam the next day,
or at 4am when you wonder what the make-up policy for exams is). Keep this document, treasure this
document, call it your precious.
Course Description
This class is intended to be a survey of major principles of psychology and an introduction to scientific modes of thought about behavior. Class sessions will most often include lecture and activities designed to illustrate principles in psychology. There is no prerequisite for this class.
General Education Objectives
Because it fulfills a General Education requirement, this course will also attempt to attain the following more general objectives (from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke Catalog, 2003-3004, p. 23) in addition to the specific objectives listed above:
"The general education program has been designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamental principles and contributions of a variety of disciplines and to foster the ability to analyze and weigh evidence, exercise quantitative and scientific skills, make informed decisions, write and speak clearly, and think critically and creatively."
Within this context, Introduction to Psychology is intended to give discipline-specific knowledge and to promote achievement of the more general skills and abilities indicated above.
POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS
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Exams
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There will be five exams during the semester. The dates of each are on the course calendar. Exam 1 will be worth 50 points, Exam 2 will be worth 60 points, Exam 3 will be worth 80 points and Exams 4 and 5 will each be worth 100 points of your grade. Exams 1 & 2 comprise the smallest percentage of your grade as a way of giving you the chance to become familiar with the format of the exams. As you become more familiar with the exam format, the exams become worth a larger percentage of your final grade. Exams will consist of questions that cover both the textbook chapters indicated in the course schedule and material from lecture. You should arrive on time to take an exam, you will only be allowed the allotted class time. Thus, if you are late, you will not be given extra time after everyone else has left. |
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In class assignments
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Occasionally we will do an inclass activities. I will assign point values anywhere from 5 – 15 points for these activities. The only way you can get the points for these assignments to be in class on the day that they are given. There are no make-ups on in class assignments. The points you receive for the inclass assignments will be included in the total points possible in the class (this means that if you are here and attending class regularly you will most likely benefit from inclass activity points, if you are not attending class regularly you will not receive these points and your grade will suffer). |
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Research Participation/Journal Article
Summaries |
As you will see, psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes. How do we know what is true? As psychologists we decide what is true through observation. This observation occurs in a variety of ways, including careful observation through experiments. We will discuss the experimental methods that psychologists use in an early lecture. Since experimentation is so important to the understanding of human behavior, your involvement in the process of experimentation can contribute to your understanding of how psychologists draw conclusions about human behavior. You may be asked to complete three hours of research participation (please see handout for further information). Therefore, 30 points (10 points each), or about 6% of your final grade will come from experimental participation. For students who cannot or do not wish to participate in experiments (or if there are no experiments available to participate in), an alternative is available, namely, reading and summarizing journal articles (one article for each hour of research participation). The guidelines for completing the journal article summaries are posted on the website. Since participation in experiments and reading specific research topics are both avenues for learning about psychology, any combination of research participation and successful examination of readings will be credited to your grade. If you do not do any research participation you will need to do 3 journal article summaries. |
Grading
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Your letter grade will be assigned according to the percent of total points (exams + research/summary + inclass activities) you earn in the class: A = 93 - 100% B- = 80 - 82% D+ = 67 - 69% A- A- = 90 - 92% C+ = 77 - 79% D = 63 - 66% B+ = 87 - 89% C = 73 - 76% D- = 60 - 62% B = 83 - 86% C- = 70 - 72% F = 0 - 59% |
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Timeliness and Make-up Exams
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Here’s the deal, and read this carefully. You can take ONE make up if you missed an exam. It doesn’t matter why you missed, could be you were abducted by aliens, could be you had a bad hair day, but you get one make up. Here’s how to enable yourself to take that one make up: You must send me an email at Kelly.charlton@uncp.edu and put this information in the Subject: Make-up psy 101 - Name – Exam # (and indicate which exam you will take a make up for). You MUST put the information exactly as I have indicated (specifically it must read exactly at the beginning “Make-up psy 101”) because I will use those words to sort your email appropriately. This email must reach me by 6/20. Please sign your email with the name that I can find for you on my class roster. For example, here is a picture of what the email should look like if you were a student named Jane Doe and wanted to take a make-up for Exam 3.
All make-up exams will take place during the final exam
period (if you need to take one you’ll take it after exam 5) Any student
failing to take a regularly scheduled make-up exam will receive a score of
zero on that test. In the rare
instance that documented and extreme circumstances require you to miss more
than one exam, you must speak to me before
missing the second exam. Late extra credit assignments will not be accepted.
There are no make-ups on in class assignments. Though there are no make-ups on in class activities, I will add to everyone’s inclass total one score that represents the average of the point value given to all the activities assigned during the semester to reduce the penalty for missing one. |
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Extra Credit
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You may do the extra credit to obtain up to 2 total percentage points to be added to your final percentage. For example, if your final percentage in the class is a 89.45%, (a "B") and you completed 2 extra credit projects, each worth 1/2%, each your 89.45% would become 90.45% (an "A"). To earn this extra credit you may do a “Psychology Portfolio.” To complete the portfolio you will need to find examples of course concepts in magazine articles, cartoons, advertisements, etc. You’ll need to provide the example and a typed explanation of why it fits a course concept (including the concept definition). You must find ten *good* examples and use no more than two from any chapter. Your portfolio is due June 26. |
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Word to the wise: You should keep a copy of anything you turn in, if it turns up missing you will be saved a lot of work. Additionally, you need to keep everything I had back to you. Put it safely in a binder or folder. If there is a discrepancy between the grade I have recorded for an assignment and the grade you believe you have received for an assignment, the only way to solve the discrepancy is to have the original assignment (with the assigned grade on it). |
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Class Participation and Attendance |
Participation in a class is often the key to really learning and understanding the material. You should be active in your education and I'll try to provide many different opportunities for you to express yourself and think about the material in a variety of ways. I also welcome any questions or relevant comments you would like to make during class. Because I believe that being in class is essential for your success and because UNCP guidelines require it I will keep attendance records. Your exams will be based on both your readings and material presented in lecture, so attendance is also beneficial as well as required. |
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Class Courtesy/Appropriate behavior for
the college classroom |
Common courtesy and manners are not a lost art, I’m sure of it! Please be respectful of your fellow students and myself. Respect can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, among them: 1. Arriving on time and staying until the end (Everyone is occasionally late or has to leave early once in a while, that’s cool. However, if you need to leave early, it is a courtesy to inform me of this at the beginning of class) 2. Keeping comments relevant to the course content being discussed for the day. 3. Not talking loudly during class. Constantly talking to a neighbor is disruptive to everyone around you. 4. Not reading non-class stuff during class. This means that if you choose to attend class you should be listening, taking notes, and participating . . . . not reading the newspaper. 5.
Turn off all cell phones or beepers and
keep them safely tucked away (this means
no text messaging or bluetooths). The world will not get sucked into a black
hole if you don’t return a text message in 10 seconds flat. If it does, blame me (of course it’ll be a
moot point because we’ll all have been sucked into the black oblivion). If you have a
circumstance that requires you keep your phone or beeper on, please discuss
it with me before class. 6. Don’t pack up early, I really try to remain mindful of the time. |
Americans with Disabilities Act |
Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak directly to Disability Support Services and the instructor, as early in the semester (preferably within the first class week) as possible. All discussion will remain confidential. Sometimes note takers are needed to assist students with
disabilities. Students who are
interested in serving as paid note takers in any course should contact the
Office for ADA Services as soon as possible.
The syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Mary Helen Walker,
Disability Support Services, DF Lowry Building, 521-6695. |
Fringe Benefits |
I consider materials placed on the web to be fringe benefits, those benefits that I provide to you to help you be successful in the class. I will post study guides and crossword puzzles on the web. You should use these as study aids. If there are technical difficulties with the page, please notify me as soon as possible. If you are relying on the web page for any materials you need for the exam you must notify me of a problem 5 days prior to an exam. In other words, DON’T rely on the web page to get the study guide the night before an exam, you may find a problem and there will be no way for you to get the study guide before the exam. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to get any resources you need prior to the exam. |
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Emailing Assignments
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More and more people ask if they may email me their assignments, so much so that we need some policy on it. If you would like to email me an assignment please send it to Kelly.charlton@uncp.edu. Put “Assignment psy 101” and then the name of the assignment in the subject of the email. You MUST put those exact words that you see in quotes in the subject because I will be using them to filter your assignment to an appropriate folder. Attach your properly formatted assignment (when I open it and print it and it should look like you would like it to look if you handed it to me in hard copy) in one Word, or WordPerfect document. You must sign your email with a name I can find on my class roster (I have no way to know who babyblue2345@yahoo.com, bigdaddy2349@hotmail.com, or lipsofgold1954@aol.com are, for example). I will reply (so, you should send it from an account that I can reply to, i.e., I can’t reply to “labpc”) to each email I receive that is sent in the proper format. If you don’t get a reply from me within a few days, it is up to you to follow up on whether or not the assignment was received.might consider checking to see that you put “Assignment psy 101:” in the subject line. If you feel that you need to resend me your assignment, please forward the orginially sent email (that way I can see when the document was first sent). Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make sure that I receive an assignment sent via email. |
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Academic Honesty
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Bottom line message here . . . DON'T CHEAT. Academic
honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must
be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably
acquired, developed, and presented.
Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest
whether or not the effort is successful. "Students have the
responsibility to know and observe the UNCP Academic Honor Code. This
code forbids cheating, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, fabrication, or
falsification of information, and complicity in academic dishonesty. Any
special requirements or permission regarding academic honesty in this course
will be provided to the students in writing at the beginning of the course,
and are binding on the students. Academic evaluations in this course include
a judgement that the student's work is free from
academic dishonesty of any type; and grades in this course therefore should
be and will be adversely affected by academic dishonesty. Students who
violate the code can be dismissed from the University. The normal penalty for
a first offense is an F in the course. Students are expected to report cases
of academic dishonesty to the instructor." What is academic
dishonesty? 1.
Cheating: "Intentionally using or attempting
to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other
devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized
communication (oral and/or written) or receipt of such information during an
academic exercise." For example, you will
not use a note card during an exam, you will not look at another student's
work during an exam, and you will not ask another student for an answer
during an exam. 2. PLAGIARISM: "Intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source)." This means that all the writing you do in the class must be your original ideas and words unless you use a proper citation. Though the internet may seem to provide you with a wealth of information, resist the temptation to copy information from the internet and present it in a paper as your own work. If I find it I will follow the honor code with regard to the violation. (Quoted
sections taken from the Academic Honor Code, http://www.uncp.edu/catalog/2003/pdf/acad_pol.pdf,
pgs 49-51) No matter how pressured you feel to get an assignment done, resorting to academic dishonesty is simply not worth the risk. If you have any doubt about whether a behavior will be considered a violation of the academic honor code, please come and see me. |
Grade Progress Sheet
You may record your scores on this sheet as your exams, papers, and extra credit assignments are returned to you. Keeping track of your scores will enable you to assess your progress in the course. You may calculate your current progress in class by adding up the points on the exams and assignments you've completed and dividing that total by the sum of the possible scores for those exams and assignments, this number is the percent of the points you have earned to that point (remember, you must continue to complete assignments or the number of possible points will increase, but your earned points will not increase). Extra credit is assigned with percentage points, so you will add the percentage points you have earned to your calculated percent in the class. Lets look at an example, imagine that at the end of the semester, you have earned 45 points on exam 1, 52 points on exam 2, 73 points on exam 3, 40 points on exam 4 and 70 points on exam 5, you did all three journal article summaries, and you earned 25 out of 40 in class activity points (we won’t know how many points total for in class activities until the end, the point values will vary) and you have completed the extra credit assignment and earned 1 percentage point on it. You will add your earned points, 45+52+74+40 +70+30+25 = 336, and the possible points for those assignments, 50+60+80+100+100+40+30 =460. You then take your total points and divide by the total possible points 336/460 = .7304, or 73.04% . If you then add your 1 percentage point, then you know that you have 74.04% in the class at the point in which you are doing the calculation
Your Score Possible Score
Exam 1 __________________ 50
Exam 2 __________________ 60
Exam 3 __________________ 80
Exam 4 __________________ 100
Exam 5 __________________ 100
Article summaries/
Research participation __________________ 30
In Class Activities __________________ ?? _______
Total Points ______________
Your Percentage =
= _________________
Extra Credit __________________
Total Percentage = your percentage +extra credit total (2% max.) = __________________
Begin
reading 