Psychology 101

Winter 2015

Table of Contents

1. Overview: Contact Information and Course Objectives
2. Lectures and Exams
3. Grading
4. Extra Credit Research
5. Lecture Schedule
6. Make-Up Exams and Incompletes
7. Extra Help
8. Classroom and Email Etiquette

1. Overview
1. Contact Information

Professor	Jonathon D. Brown
Office	135 Guthrie Hall
Office Hours	By appointment only




Textbook

Passer, M. W., & Smith, R. E. (2011). Psychology: The science of mind and behavior (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.




TA	Office	Office Hours
Blake Pellman (Fellow)	103 Guthrie Annex 4	Mon: 1:30-2:20; Tues: 10:30-11:20
		Wed: 1:30-2:20; Fri: 11:30-12:20
Rosie Walker	103 Guthrie Annex 4	Tuesday: 1:30-2:20
		Tues: 1:30-2:20
		Thur: 1:30-2:20
Rosemary Meza	103 Guthrie Annex 4	Mon: 11:00-11:50
		Wed: 9:00-10:50




Email

intropsy@uw.edu



2. Course Objectives

This course provides students with an extensive overview of the history and current status of psychological research and application. The field of psychology is very broad and we will cover a great deal of material in a relatively short period of time. The course is appropriate for students who intend to major or minor in psychology, as well as those who simply wish to know more about psychology as part of a general liberal arts education; the course is not appropriate for those who hope to get a good grade without doing a lot of work.



2. Lectures and Exams
1. Lectures

Students are expected to attend all class meetings and to do the assigned reading in advance. Class lectures will clarify and go beyond the material covered in the text, and students will be responsible for all material covered in class.



2. Exams

Three multiple choice exams will be given. The first two exams will have 50 questions, each worth one point; the final exam, which will cover the entire course, will have 75 questions, each worth one point. You will need to purchase a mark-sense (scantron) form (available for purchase at the UW bookstore and "By George") for each exam.



3. Question Distribution

Approximately 80% of the questions on each exam will come from lecture (or a combination of lecture and textbook material), and 20% of the questions will come from the textbook alone. If you aspire only to get a "B" and believe you will answer every lecture-based question correctly, you can skim the textbook; if you aspire to receive an "A", figure that you (realistically) are not going to answer all of the lecture-based questions correctly, or want to learn as much as you can about psychology, you will need to read the assigned chapters carefully.




The following table will give you an idea of the distribution of questions. (The numbers are approximate, not exact.) Notice that you will be asked 2 questions from each chapter regarding material that will not be discussed in class. Notice, also, that only the lecture material from the first 2/3 of the class will be covered on the final exam; you do not need to reread previous chapters for the final.




	Number	Questions	Total
Midterm 1
Chapters	5	2	10
Lectures	13	3	39
Total			~49
Midterm 2
Chapters	6	2	12
Lectures	13	3	39
Total			~51
Final Exam
Chapters	4	2	8
Lectures	15	3	45
Previous Lectures	26	1	26
Total			~79



4. Time Management

This is a 5-credit course. The UW advises that you spend 3 hours each week for each course credit hour, which means you are expected to devote 15/week to this course. You are expected to attend class 5 hours/week, so that leaves 10 hours/week to study. I estimate that each chapter will take 4 hours to read (assuming you are taking notes on the material and reading carefully). There are 15 chapters and 10 weeks in the quarter, so you will need to allot 6 hours/week for reading. This leaves 4 extra hours/week for you to study and review. Many students save those hours up for the night before the exam, but research shows this is not an effective way to learn. You are better off studying 4 hours/week for 3 weeks than studying 12 hours before an exam.



3. Grading
1. Grading Rubric

Midterm 1	50
Midterm 2	50
Final Exam	75
Total	175




158-175	4.0	138-139	3.0	118-119	2.0	98-99	1.0
156-157	3.9	136-137	2.9	116-117	1.9	96-97	0.9
154-155	3.8	134-135	2.8	114-115	1.8	94-95	0.8
152-153	3.7	132-133	2.7	112-113	1.7	93 and below	0.7
150-151	3.6	130-131	2.6	110-111	1.6
148-149	3.5	128-129	2.5	108-109	1.5
146-147	3.4	126-127	2.4	106-107	1.4
144-145	3.3	124-125	2.3	104-105	1.3
142-143	3.2	122-123	2.2	102-103	1.2
140-141	3.1	120-121	2.1	100-101	1.1



2. Grading Policies



1. Exam Score Delays. If you make an error filling in your exam form, student number, name, or test version on your scantron, this will cause a delay in getting your exam score to you. You either will not be able to find your student number on the list of exam scores, or your student number will appear with no score next to it. In either case, you will need to go to one of the T.A. office hours in Guthrie Hall to find your computerized form.




2. Appeal Procedure. Students can view their exam during a TA's office hours. If your answer to an exam question is marked as being incorrect but you believe it is correct, you may contest the question by writing an appeal. The written appeal must be based on material presented in the book or in lecture (indicating chapter, page, line and specific quote); it cannot be based on your personal opinion or experience. Appeals for Exams 1 and 2 must be sent to one of the T.A.s or the T.A. Fellow (or placed in their mail box); appeals for the Final Exam will need to be arranged during the next quarter, as we will not be able to post scores in time to accommodate such requests before grades are due. Note: No corrections will be made for instances in which you have mistakenly bubbled in the wrong answer, so be very careful filling out your mark-sense form.



4. Extra Research Credit

Introductory psychology students are eligible to participate in psychological research for extra credit. This is an excellent way to experience scientific psychology first-hand, and to give you some cushion points in case you don't perform as well as you'd like on the exams. You earn .1 of a grade point for every 2 hours of experimental credit you receive, with the understanding that you can earn no more than .3 grade points. More information about this program is available by clicking the link on the course website or by clicking this link: Extra Credit Research.



5. Lecture Schedule

Week	Date	Chapter	Lecture Topic
01	Monday, January 05	01	Introduction
	Tuesday, January 06		History
	Wednesday, January 07	02	Science
	Thursday, January 08	04	Brain 1
	Friday, January 09		Brain 2
02	Monday, January 12		Brain 3
	Tuesday, January 13		Brain 4
	Wednesday, January 14		Brain 5
	Thursday, January 15		Brain 6
	Friday, January 16	03 (65-76; 79-93)	Genes 1
03	Monday, January 19	MLK day
	Tuesday, January 20	03 (65-76; 79-93)	Genes 2
	Wednesday, January 21		Sensation
	Thursday, January 22	05 (129-136; 154-172)	Perception
	Friday, January 23		Review
04	Monday, January 26	Midterm 1
	Tuesday, January 27	11	Motivation
	Wednesday, January 28		Emotion
	Thursday, January 29	07	Learning 1
	Friday, January 30		Learning 2
05	Monday, February 02		Learning 3
	Tuesday, February 03	08	Memory 1
	Wednesday, February 04		Memory 2
	Thursday, February 05	09 (pp. 311-331)	Cognitive 1
	Friday, February 06		Cognitive 2
06	Monday, February 09	10 (& pp. 76-78)	Intelligence
	Tuesday, February 10	12 (pp. 414-447)	Develop 1
	Wednesday, February 11		Develop 2
	Thursday, February 12	Chapter 9 (pp. 292-311)	Language
	Friday, February 13		TBA
07	Monday, February 16	President's Day
	Tuesday, February 17	Midterm 2
	Wednesday, February 18	13	Personality
	Thursday, February 19		Freud 1
	Friday, February 20		Freud 2
08	Monday, February 23	Chapter 12 (pp. 447-455)	Identity
	Tuesday, February 24	17	Social 1
	Wednesday, February 25		Social 2
	Thursday, February 26		Social 3
	Friday, February 27		TBA
09	Monday, March 02		Social 4
	Tuesday, March 03	15	Clinical 1
	Wednesday, March 04		Clinical 2
	Thursday, March 05		Clinical 3
	Friday, March 06	16	Therapy 1
10	Monday, March 09		TBA
	Tuesday, March 10		Therapy 2
	Wednesday, March 11		Review 1
	Thursday, March 12		Review 2
	Friday, March 13	Final Review	Review 3
11	Thursday, March 19	Final: 8:30-10:20



6. Make-Up Exams and Incompletes



1. Make-Up Exams. If you are facing a unique circumstance (e.g., serious illness, family emergency) that you think may impair your ability to perform well on an exam, see one of us as soon as the situation arises so that we can discuss whether a make-up or Incomplete will be granted. Do not wait until after you have taken an exam to tell us that your score was low because of some unique circumstance. Once you take an exam, that score counts no matter what. If you are under duress and feel you cannot perform up to your potential, you must receive permission AHEAD OF TIME to reschedule the exam. Be advised, however, that requests to delay taking an exam will rarely be granted. Exceptions to this rule are made only in dire, unavoidable circumstances (e.g., serious illness or emergency) that are fully documented (e.g., with official correspondence from physicians and/or Deans). On the extremely rare occasions that they are offered, make-up exams are essay exams, and are graded by Professor Brown.

2. Early Exams. Early exams will be given only in the case of student athletic travel (see below) or with approval by the Dean of Arts and Sciences. General, non-university affiliated travel and/or schedule conflicts are not legitimate reasons for taking an exam early.

3. Incompletes. Incompletes will be granted only if students experience extraordinary difficulties beyond their control, and have received permission for an incomplete no later than the start of the 8th week of the quarter. Incompletes will NOT be given out at the end of the quarter simply as a way to "take the course over again" in the case of a bad grade in the course. If your grade isn't what you need or want, come to office hours during the quarter and the T.A.s and I will try to assist you and help you learn the material. Don't wait until it's too late.

4. Student Athletic Travel. If you need to miss an exam due to UW-related athletic travel, you will need to make arrangements to take the exam while you are away. Your coach needs to vouch for you and supervise the exam. This responsible party should contact us via email at least one week prior to the exam and provide a fax number where the exam can be sent. You are required to take the exam and return the answers via fax no later than the time and date the exam will be given in Seattle. Your coach must fax your answers back to the UW Psychology office (206.685.3157) before 1:30 p.m. PST on the day of the exam. No late exam answers will be accepted.




7. Extra Help


1. Lecture Outlines

An outline of the day's lecture will be posted on the website, no later than noon (and usually the night before) the day of the lecture. These slides are in outline form and will provide a structure to the day's lecture. I suggest printing these notes and bringing them to class. Doing so will organize your thoughts during lecture, allowing you to understand and absorb the material as it is presented rather than having to jot down every word I say. Of course, you should also make clarifying comments on your copy of the lecture slides as needed.



2. Audio (Podcasting) Recordings of Lectures

Lectures will be "podcasted" (i.e. audio recorded) and available online at http://www.css.washington.edu/course/PSYCH101B. Podcasts are useful if you miss a lecture or want to listen to lecture material again. However, they are not a substitute for regularly attending class. There will also be a link to the podcasts from the course home page. Any student who wishes to may use his/her own audio recorder to record lectures for personal use. NOTE: Stuff happens, and some days the audio recording gremlins may cause podcasting equipment to malfunction. In that event, you'll need to get lecture notes from a classmate. Finally, throughout the quarter I will be showing segments of videotapes during lecture. You will need to be in class to see these. For several reasons we cannot arrange "individual showings" for students who miss a film or videotape.



3. Disability

If you have a disability that we should know about, please contact us immediately and we will make the necessary arrangements.



4. Exam Reviews

We will schedule review sessions before each exam. Time and dates will be posted on the course website and announced in class.



5. Study Skill Courses

If you need additional help with the material or suggested study techniques, see one of us during office hours. We can discuss your approach to studying and make suggestions.




A structured program of improving study skills may be offered by the University Counseling Center at 401 Schmitz Hall (phone number 543-1240). There usually is a fee for this program. If you are interested, contact the Center as soon as possible.

You can find advice on how to develop good study skills in your textbook. See:

• How to Enhance Your Academic Performance (pp. 26-27);
• Using Operant Principles to Modify Your Behavior (pp. 236-237);
• Improving Memory and Academic Learning (pp. 288-290);
• Recognizing What You Do and Don't Know, including the Research Close-Up feature (pp. 324-325);


8. Etiquette

UW Policy: Establishing Expectations for Student Conduct

"To establish an atmosphere where students can learn and have that learning assessed equitably, instructors may forbid conduct that distracts other students and/or interferes with their ability to teach, including such things as:

• use of cell phones, pagers, music or video players
• loud talking or whispering
• eating and drinking

When students violate the rules that have been established to promote learning, you may ask them to stop their disruptive behavior or leave the class. (From the Student Conduct Code, WAC 478-120-020 (5): An instructor has the authority to exclude a student from any class session in which the student is disorderly or disruptive.)"



1. Classroom Behavior

I expect you to behave while you are in class. This means that cell phones must be turned off during class time, and sleeping, eating (in any way other than discreetly), and resting your feet on the desk in front of you are forbidden. Anyone who violates these rules will be asked to leave.



2. Email

We are available to answer emails during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm). All emails must be sent to the course email account: intropsy@uw.edu. If you send us an email, you must use correct grammar and punctuation, without typographical errors. Otherwise, we will not reply or acknowledge receipt. Emails must also begin with a salutation that doesn't include the word "Hey" and end with your name and student number.



3. Laptop Policy

The last row of the room is prioritized for laptop users. All laptop users must sit in the last row unless it is full, in which case the next-to the-last row also will be opened to laptop use. No laptop use is permitted in any other row (unless you can verify with a doctor's note that your eyesight requires that you use a laptop and sit in a closer row).



4. Classroom Atmosphere

Finally, to establish a class atmosphere in which you can ask questions and in which I can have discussions with the class and perform demonstrations, I ask that if you come to class, please come to learn. If you want to chat with classmates, read the newspaper, eat or drink, etc., then please go elsewhere. These behaviors distract your classmates. If a classmate asks me a question during lecture, please show her or him respect by not starting to talk. Remember, no one is taking attendance or making you come to class. In sum, come to class because you want to, and because you wish to learn about psychology. For my part, I will do my very best to make lectures informative and interesting. Thanks.