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Psychology
104
Introductory
Psychology
(Spring
2008, section 1)
Catalog
Course Description:
Evolution of psychology; research methods;
biological foundations of behavior, sensation, perception; nature of
consciousness, learning, and behavior; memory; cognitive development;
health psychology; theories of personality; psychological assessment
and individual
differences; psychological disorders; psychological treatments.
Participation
in research projects is required. Department recommends taking this as
foundation before any other PSYC courses. This is a GE Course (Lower
Division, Area D). Courses in this category have the broad goal of
introducing the scholarly study of human experience: culture,
ethnicity, place, time, the economy, the political community,
behavioral, emotional, and cognitive processes, and human interaction
and organization.
Instructor:
David Campbell
Office:
444 BSS
Phone:
826-3721
Office
Hours: Continuous (by e-mail) & by
appointment
E-mail:
dec1@humboldt.edu
Web
site: www.humboldt.edu/~campbell/psyc.htm
Teaching Assistant: Leah Ozeroff, lozeroff@gmail.com
Required
Text: (Be
sure to purchase the correct edition. Available at the HSU Bookstore.)
Myers, D. G. (2007). Psychology 8th ed.) packaged with PsychPortal. New York: Worth. (ISBN-10: 1-4292-1039-7)
NOTE: Most students prefer to study a hard copy of the text so purchasing a new copy of the text with the PsychPortal access code is the best choice. An alternative is to
purchase the PsychPortal access alone which includes the text as an e-book (from the bookstore or purchased online: see "Accessing PsychPortal" below).
ORIENTATION SESSION for Spring '08 semester will be held on Tuesday, Jan 22, from 6:00 to 6:50 in BSS 166. A follow-up
chat session for course-related questions will be held on PsychPortal on Friday, Jan 25, at 6:00.
Course Goals:
To explore the full range of psychology in a way that excites the student's curiosity.
To encourage development of scientific attitudes that lead the student to think critically about psychological issues.
To acquire a basic understanding of current concepts, theories, and findings relating to human behavior and mental experience.
As an Area D general education course, Psyc 104 exemplifies how the social sciences address the human experience. Research on the effects of culture,
ethnicity, and gender is described throughout the course as we explore human behavioral, emotional, and cognitive processes.
Course
Procedure:
This section of
Psych 104 is taught using the PsychPortal resources and the Angel LMS
(explained below). Since this
class is being taught via the web,
we will not be meeting as a group. You must do the assigned reading and
submit
homework assignments as you would in a traditional class. And you will
have
several exams over the course material--all completed over the
internet.
Beyond that,
much of your work in this course will be done in front of a computer
(at home,
in a campus computer lab, or at another location of your choice). You
will be
viewing demonstrations, participating in experiments, and participating
in
class discussion--all via the internet. This computer work will be
interesting,
challenging, and educational; however it will require a fair amount of
your
time. Applying the "2 for 1 rule," the general expectation is that you
should
devote 2 hours towards reading/study/homework for each hour of class
time. With
a 3-credit class, that translates to 3 hours of academic work in class
and 6
hours outside class every week. The 3 hours "saved" from in-class
activity will
be reassigned to online activities. So the expectation is that you
will
devote a total of 9 hours each week to study and activities associated
with
this course.
Grading:
Your course grade will be calculated using the following weightings:
10% Chapter Mastery Quizzes (due Friday nights at midnight)
20% Homework Assignments (due Saturday nights at midnight)
30% Midterm Exams (3 scheduled on Fridays)
10% Collaborative Term Paper (due Wednesday of finals week)
30% Final Exam (comprehensive, must be taken on Thursday of finals week)
Research Participation: Volunteering to be a subject in
departmental research projects is an excellent way to learn about
psychological research. You are expected to sign up for 2 hours of
research participation in this course. Information on specific
experiments can be found on the web at http://www.humboldt.edu/~cla18/partpool.htm
. If the available studies
are insufficient in number for all students or if you prefer not to be
a volunteer in research, an alternative assignment will be provided by
the instructor. You must contact the instructor before the last week of classes if you wish to take this option. For grading purposes, research participation will be considered
part of your homework.
Student Responsibilities: You
are expected to tackle this course in a constructive and mature manner.
Your instructor expects you to make your work in this course a high
priority, keep up with your reading, and complete all assignments on
time. (Acceptance of late assignments is decided on a case-by-case
basis.) Also, be sure to review the HSU policy on academic honesty . You need to be aware of what
constitutes cheating and plagiarism (e.g., is it OK to turn in
essentially the same paper in two classes with similar assignments, or
is it OK to make use of quizzes provided by your roommate from the same
class last semester?)
Accessing PsychPortal: PsychPortal
is a web-based set of tutorials, activities, experiments, and
demonstrations that you will be using in conjunction with your
textbook. PsychPortal is provided via the Angel learning management
system (similar to Blackboard, Moodle, and WebCT). You access this site
as follows:
1.)
Point your browser to
http://portals.bfwpub.com/psych.
Mac users will need the Firefox Browser (Mozilla.com).
2.) If you purchased a PsychPortal access code (e.g., included with a
new textbook from the HSU Bookstore), click on the link "REGISTER AN
ACTIVATION CODE." If you prefer to take the course using just
the online e-book version of our textbook, click on "PURCHASE ACCESS TO
PSYCHPORTAL."
3.) Follow the on-screen instructions
to find your course. You will start by selecting the school's state,
the
school name, then your instructor (David Campbell), course (Psyc 104),
and/or section.
4.) Enter the activation code that came with your textbook or credit card info. You will
also be asked to enter your name (use your real name as registered at HSU), email address,
choose a password, and you will be ready to go!
SCHEDULE OF
READINGS
Week
Topics NOTE: Details regarding required
activities, tests, and
homework are described on our PsychPortal course site. Homework is
always due by midnight Saturday of the week assigned. Midterm exams are always on a Friday and you must take the test on the scheduled day!
Jan 22 History of psychology;
subfields of contemporary psychology (Prologue section of your text)
Jan 28 Research methods, critical
thinking, & some statistics (Ch 1); Neuroscience &
behavior (Ch 2) (NOTE: 2
chapters covered this week)
Feb 4 Nature, nurture, & human
diversity (Ch 3)
Feb 11 Development (Ch 4);
Sensation (Ch 5)
(NOTE: 2 chapters covered this week)
Feb 18 Perception (Ch 6)
TEST #1 on Friday, February 22 (covers Prologue & Ch 1-6)
Feb 25 States of consciousness (Ch 7)
March 3 Learning (Ch 8)
March 10 Memory (Ch 9);
Thinking & language (Ch 10)
(NOTE: 2 chapters covered this week)
March 17 Spring Break!
March 24 Intelligence (Ch 11)
TEST #2 on Friday, March 28
(covers Ch 7-11)
March 31 Motivation & work (Ch 12)
April 7 Emotion (Ch 13)
April 14 Stress & health (Ch 14);
Personality (Ch 15) (NOTE:
2 chapters covered this week)
April 21 Psychological disorders (Ch 16)
TEST #3 on Friday, April 25 (Covers Ch 12-16)
April 28 Therapy (Ch 17)
May 5 Social Psychology (Ch 18)
FINAL EXAM (Covers the whole course) must be taken Thursday, May 15