Psychology 1010

Introductory Psychology

Fall 2009

ONLINE

 

Professor’s Name: Dr. Lauren Fowler

Professor’s e-mail: lfowler@weber.edu OR Through WebCT mail tool

**(This is BY FAR the best way to contact me!)

Office Hours:  By appointment; Weekly Chat Sessions

Office Location: SS 368

Web Site:  http://online.weber.edu (or student portal login);  http://faculty.weber.edu/lfowler

 

I.  Required Materials

      A.  Textbook:    Myers, D. G. (2006).  Exploring Psychology, 6th Ed.  Worth Publishers:  New York.

                        **The study guide that comes packaged with the new version is OPTIONAL.  If you purchase your book from the bookstore, the

                        book plus the study guide is actually cheaper than a new book alone.  You may purchase EITHER one.  The 5th or 7th edition would

                        be sufficient, too, but the page numbers will be different (and the 7th is a lot more expensive!).

B.     Computer access for WebCT class site

C.     A desire to learn and ENJOY the class!

 

II.  Course Grade

                 No exams or homework assignments can be made up after the last day of

                 classes.  There are no exceptions to this rule!

 

      A.  Examinations

1.      Five exams will be taken during the course of this semester.  Each exam is non-comprehensive and constitutes 16% of your final grade.

 

2.     A comprehensive final exam will be taken between Dec 4th – Dec 8th.  No final may be taken after Tuesday, Dec 8th.  The final exam is comprehensive and is worth 16% of your final grade.  The final is taken just as you take every other exam (through a proctor or a WSU testing center).

 

3.     Your lowest exam grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.  If you have an A after the 5th exam, you do not need to complete the comprehensive final, unless you would like to!

 

4.      All exams will be taken using Chi Tester, at a WSU testing center.  If you live more than 50 miles from a WSU testing center, you may contact WSU online to set up a proctor for your exams.  NO MAKEUP EXAMS ARE GIVEN.  If you miss an exam, you will receive a zero for that exam. 

 

      B.  Make-up Examinations/Missing Exams

      No exams may be made up, so please make sure you take each exam.  If you

know of a conflict with the exam schedule, you may take ANY exam early.  However, no exam may be taken late.  Please schedule your time wisely!  You may drop your lowest exam score, so if you DO miss an exam, that will be your dropped grade.  If you miss more than one exam then only one exam grade will be dropped.  If you wish to take an exam one day early, please email Dr. Fowler through WebCT to get permission to take the exam early.

         **REMEMBER, NO EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN AFTER THE END DATE FOR

             THAT EXAM, SO YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THE EXAM

             PERIODS!!  DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO TAKE AN

             EXAM!!!

 

    C.  Homework

                     Five homework assignments will be given during the semester. See class outline for due dates of homework assignments.  All five homework assignments are worth a total of 20% of your final grade (which is more than an exam grade!!!).  Homework is due by midnight on the due date.  NO HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT MAY BE TURNED IN LATE!  You will turn your homework assignments in using WebCT.  You may turn in your homework assignments at any point in the semester up to the due date.  You have two weeks for the first assignment and two weeks for the second assignment.  After that, assignments are due weekly.  You may NOT turn in your assignments late, so schedule your time wisely.  Plan to turn your assignment in by the day prior to the due date, just in case you have any problems with computer connections.  The lowest homework assignment grade will be dropped, which means that if you miss one homework assignment that grade will be dropped.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of planning to turn in your assignment at LEAST one day prior to the due date!!  PLEASE READ THE HOW TO TURN IN YOUR HOMEWORK FILE IN WEBCT, WHICH IS FOUND IN THE HOW TO SURVIVE THIS COURSE FOLDER.

 

 

    D.  Grading Scale

             The course grade will be assigned according to the scale indicated

                     below:

                    

                     Numeric Score                                      Letter Grade

                          90-100                                                      A

                          87-89                                                        B+

                          83-86                                                        B

                          80-82                                                        B-

                          77-79                                                        C+

                          73-76                                                        C

                          70-72                                                        C-

                          67-69                                                        D+

                          60-66                                                        D

                          Below 60                                                   E

 

III.  Course Outline

            Chapters                Assignment                          Date              

                      1 & Appendix A*           Homework #1                               September 9th  

                       

                                                            Exam #1                                 September 9th – 12th  

                    

 

                       2, 5                               Homework #2                             September 30th 

                        --omit 156-164 from Ch. 5

 

                                                            Exam #2                                 Sept 30th – Oct 3rd 

 

                                                                                   

                      7, 8                                Homework #3                             October 21st              

                        

 

                                                            Exam #3                                 October 21st - 24th   

 

                                                                       

                    4, 6, 15                            Homework #4                            November 11th

                        --pg. 98-109 from Ch. 4

                              --omit 204-208 from Ch. 6

                              --pg. 538-554 from Ch. 15

 

                                                            Exam #4                                November 11th – 14th 

 

 

                                                                       

                                                            RPCs Due                                November 20th

 

                     13, 14                             **Homework #5                     November 25th     

 

                                                            Exam #5                                 Nov. 25th – Dec. 1st    

 

 

                     Comprehensive Final                                                      December 4th – 8th 

 

*Appendix A is at the end of your book.

**All homework assignments are due on Wednesdays at Midnight.  All Exams (except #5) run Wednesday through Saturday.  Exam #5 has a very different schedule (due to Thanksgiving), so please make note of that in your calendars.  Exam #5 runs Wednesday, November 25th through Tuesday, December 1st.

 

 

 

IV.  Additional Information

 

      A.  Grade Appeals

                     If, after receiving an exam back, you think a mistake has

                     been made in the grading of your exam, please email (through WebCT) your

                     concern and provide specific support for your claim.  For example, if you feel a

                     different answer was better than the one indicated as the correct answer,

                     you may list information from the text or from the web site which indicates a

                     better answer.  Written and SUPPORTED claims are the only ones which will

                     be considered.  Also, know that I curve every assignment by 3% points,

                     because I realize that there could be minor errors or problems in any

                     assignment.

 

B. Plagiarism/Cheating

      Whenever you try to pass off someone’s work that is not your own, that

         is cheating.  If you cheat on ANY assignment (even extra credit!), you will

         receive a grade of E (Failing) for the course.   Please refer to the following

         web site for a complete listing of infringements that

         constitute cheating.  http://documents.weber.edu/ppm/6-22.htm.

         Plagiarism is when you represent someone else’s ideas or words as your own. 

For a very detailed description of plagiarism, please go to the web site and review the PLAGIARISM description.  You are responsible for knowing what constitutes plagiarism.  ANY plagiarism (even unintentional) will result in a failing grade in the course.

 

D.   Students with Disabilities

    Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability

      must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room

      181 of the Student Service Center.  SSD can also arrange to provide

      course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if

                  necessary.

 

G.  Students’ Rights and Responsibilities

          Please refer to the following web site for a complete listing of all WSU

                student rights and responsibilities. 

                              http://documents.weber.edu/ppm/6-22.htm

 

V.  Course Objectives

 

A.       To learn about ‘human nature’ from the perspective of the discipline of scientific psychology.

 

B.        To introduce students interested in majoring in Psychology to the field, its

       different specializations and sub-areas, and methods of learning and using

       Psychology in different settings.  Specifically, this class covers the general

       topics of: The biological basis of behavior, learning, motivation, sensation,

       perception, memory, thought, knowledge, language, social psychology,

       consciousness, research methods and statistics, personality, and psychological

       disorders and their treatments.

 

C.        To integrate theories and research with real-life applications so as to make

       the study of Psychology both interesting and meaningful to the students.

 

D.       To encourage students to prepare themselves for the real-life application

       of their degree if they major in Psychology by educating them about

             different careers in psychology, graduate school in psychology, and

             applications of psychology in other careers. 

 

E.        To appreciate that all behavior is the result of a complex interaction between

        genetic, biological, cognitive, environmental, and social-cultural factors.

 

VI.  Grade Record

                     Please keep a record of the grades you receive on each exam.  This will help insure that you are always aware of your academic progress in this class.

 

                     Homework #1                 ______

   

             Exam #1                      ______

 

             Homework #2                 ______

            

             Exam #2                      ______

                                                                                   

                     Homework #3                 ______

 

             Exam #3                      ______

 

             Homework #4                 ______             

 

             Exam #4                      ______

                                     

             Homework #5                 ______

 

             Exam #5                      ______

                                                            

                     Each exam is worth 16% of your final grade, and all homework assignments combined are worth 20% of your final grade. 

 

**The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary. By continuing in the course after reading the syllabus, you are indicating that you accept the terms of the syllabus.