Syllabus for PSYC 115, General Psychology
Augustana College, Spring 2005

• Course basics
• Course requirements
  • Grading breakdown
  • Course policies
• Course schedule
• Assignment instructions
  • Instructions for research participation
    • Research report form
  • Instructions for question email essays
  • Book carrying lab instructions
• Other materials
  • Lecture materials
  • Focus Questions

Texts Gray (2002). Psychology (4th edition): text and study guide. Worth.

Course overview

Psychology is the scientific study of (mostly) human thought and behavior. It connects intellectually and historically to a wide variety of disciplines in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. In this course, we will review major theories in the sub-areas of psychology, and some of the evidence that supports these theories. You will see that psychologists use a wide variety of observational and experimental methods to gather this evidence. At the end of this course, you should be able to exhibit (1) knowledge of major theories in psychology, (2) facility in evaluating those theories in light of empirical evidence, and (3) appreciation of the power of scientific investigation into human behavior.

Course requirements

Class attendance

Students should attend class every session to take part in class discussions and to listen to lectures. Attendance will be recorded every class session, although attendance per se is not included in final course grade calculations. Students should also attend to class; to this end, please turn off cell phones and pagers when class is in session. Also, readings should be completed by the first day that they are assigned.

Question email essays

For each of the 14 reading assignments from the textbook (i.e. each chapter or set of pages specified in the course schedule, below), students should submit three questions in a brief email essay. Email essays must be sent to martin_dennis@augie.edu by 9:00 a.m. on the first day that the reading is due. Five sets of these question essays will be arbitrarily selected for grading after each is submitted. See the Instructions for Question Essays for details on writing and submitting these assignments.

Examinations

Three section exams throughout the term will test knowledge of psychological theories and evidence, and facility in applying that knowledge to novel situations. Each test will generally have multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. Exam questions will cover material from both lectures and the readings, although many of the items will stem from the Focus Questions in the textbook.

Laboratory assignments

Four assignments will provide students with the opportunity to collect and analyze data, illustrating a range of research techniques used in psychology. The data collection for two of the lab assignments will be performed during regularly scheduled class sessions. These sessions will be the only opportunity to collect the data on which the assignments depend, so missing class on these days is STRONGLY discouraged. The dates of the in-class laboratory exercises are listed below.

Research participation

Students are required to participate in one psychological research session taking place at Augustana College. These sessions will last up to one hour, and will consist of one or more separate psychology studies. To get credit for research participation, students must turn in a completed Participant Report Form, signed by the student researcher. Students who do not wish to participate in research will have an alternative assignment available. See the Instructions for Research Participation for more details.

Extra-credit opportunities

Students have an opportunity to earn extra-credit points by attending the Augustana Symposium on the afternoon of April 16. (Students presenting at the Symposium may also receive extra-credit, of course.) The Symposium typically offers several sessions of presentations of Augustana student research, with four or five presentations in each session. The Symposium also includes an evening keynote address.

Grading breakdown

At the end of the course, a final grade will be computed using the following breakdown.

Out of 200 points included in the final course grade, letter grades will be assigned according to the following schedule:

Course policies

Policy on written work

All written assignments must follow the usual rules of grammar, word usage, spelling, and punctuation. Papers with too many such errors will be returned ungraded to the student. The corrected paper should then be returned to the professor by the next class session; it will receive a late grade. Late revisions, or papers that still contain errors, will receive a zero. If you have any questions about the technical issues in good writing, please consult a general style manual or a tutor in the Writing Center (HUM 220). On an unrelated point: When turning in written work of two or more pages, please make sure to staple (not crinkle or clip) those pages together. Lost pages will not be the responsibility of the instructor.

General policies

There are two types of assignments not turned in by the due date: missed assignments (without the instructor’s prior approval) and delayed assignments (with approval). Missed assignments will receive a zero. Prior approval for delayed assignments will be given only for documented medical or family emergencies. In the case of sudden illness, leave a message in my office or send me an email. Those students involved in recognized school activities should let me know personally which days will be missed as soon as they know, so that alternative plans can be made. Delayed assignments must be made up as soon as possible after the due date. Unfinished assignments at the end of the term will receive a zero, unless the student has contacted the instructor beforehand to arrange an Incomplete (as per the college catalog).

Academic dishonesty (e.g. cheating on exams or quizzes, plagiarism) runs contrary to standards of scholarship; it will not be tolerated. Penalties for incidents of academic dishonesty will follow the guidelines listed in the Augustana College General Catalog.

If there is a student in the class who has a need for academic accommodations due to a disability, please discuss this need with the instructor as soon as possible. When reasonable accommodation requires a change in evaluation procedures, alternate procedures will evaluate students according to the same criteria used for the rest of the class. Accommodations will be made in consultation with Susan Bies in the Disabilities Office (MC 140).

Schedule of readings, topics, and assignments