Psychology 2301 General Psychology
Summer
Instructor: Dr. Debbie Horn
Office: Arts and Sciences 202, Brenham Campus
Office hours: By
appointment only. I can meet with you on either the Brenham campus or
Email address: Please use the email module in the course room
Phone: 979-830-4245 (I will check messages periodically)
Course Description: This is an introductory course presenting elementary principles of human behavior, development, and mental process. Course material includes an overview of psychology, psychological research basics, biological bases of behavior, perception, learning, cognition, emotion, motivation, individual development, psychological disorders, methods of treatment, and an introduction to social psychology. Prerequisites: Appropriate score on the THEA test or alternative test or completion of READ 0306 with a grade of 'C' or better. Credit: Three semester hours. This is a Core Course in the 42-Hour Core of Blinn College. As such, students will develop proficiency in the appropriate Intellectual Competencies, Exemplary Educational Objectives, and Perspectives. The URL for the Blinn College Core Curriculum web site is http://www.blinn.edu/corecurriculum.
Learning Outcomes: Successful completers of this course will be able to (a) discuss the goals of psychology, (b) assess the use of scientific method in Psychology, (c) Evaluate the central features of major psychological theories, (d) summarize basic psychological terms and concepts, (e) utilize key psychological terms and concepts in real life examples, (f) characterize the work of leading contributors to the field of psychology, (g) discuss how psychological, biological, and social, factors can effect behavior and mental processes, (h) demonstrate the ability to use critical thinking skills to analyze research and reports of human behavior, (i) assess real-life situations that may require professional psychological help and compare various treatment options, and (j) differentiate the various parts of the nervous system and summarize their role in behavior.
Textbook: Lilienfeld, S.O.,
You should activate your Blinn email account within the next couple of days. Instructions can be found at http://www.blinn.edu/acadtech/studentemail.
Suggested Class Calendar with recommended due dates:
Day
1: Ch 1.
Science and Pseudoscience, Assignment 1
Day 2: Ch 2. Research Methods, Assignment 2
Day 3: Ch 3. Biological Psychology, Assignment 3
Day 4: Ch 4. Sensation and Perception, Assignment 4
Day
5: Ch 5. Consciousness, Assignment 5
Day 6: Exam I (Chs
1-5);
Day
7: Ch 6.
Learning, Assignment 6
Day 8: Ch 7. Memory, Assignment 7
Day
9: Ch 8. Language, Thinking, and Reasoning,
Assignment 8
Day10: Ch 9. Intelligence,
Assignment 9
Day11: Ch
10. Human Development, Assignment 10
Day12: Exam II (Chs 6 –10)
Day13: Ch 11. Emotion
and Motivation, Assignment 11
Day14: Ch
12. Stress, Coping, and Health, Assignment 12
Day15: Ch 13. Social
Psychology, Assignment 13
Day16: Ch
14. Personality, Assignment 14
Day17: Ch
15. Psychological Disorders, Assignment 15
Day18: Ch 16. Psychological and Biological Treatments, Assignment 16
Day19: Exam III (Chs 11-16); Assignment A
Day20: Final (Chs 1-16)
Blinn College Civility Statement: Members of the Blinn College community, which includes faculty, staff and students, are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all aspects of campus life. Blinn College holds all members accountable for their actions and words. Therefore, all members should commit themselves to behave in a manner that recognizes personal respect and demonstrates concern for the personal dignity, rights, and freedoms of every member of the College community, including respect for College property and the physical and intellectual property of others.
Civility Notification Statement: If a student is asked to leave the class because of uncivil behavior (such as inappropriate behavior on a discussion board), the student may not return to that class until he or she arranges a conference with the instructor; it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for this conference.
Course Requirements: Exam I = 100 points Grades:
Exam III = 100 points 600 to 674 = B
Assignments 1 through 16 = 160 points 525 to 599 = C
Assignment A = 90 points 450 to 524 = D
Attendance Assignments = 100 points 000 to 449 = F
Final Exam = 100 points
Exams: Exams will cover assigned readings. Exams I, II, and III may consist of multiple choice. The final exam will be a comprehensive examination consisting of all multiple choice items. Exams must be completed by the designated time. There are no make-up exams. After you have completed the required assignments for an exam, you may take that exam. You have only one attempt. In order to maintain test security, you may only see the answers to your exams in my office.
Assignments: You will also be required to complete various assignments throughout the course. Assignments must be completed in the order in which they are assigned. These assignments consist of outlining each chapter, among other assignments. Failure to use proper outlining techniques will result in a lower grade. Proper outlining techniques utilize Roman numerals, the alphabet, and Arabic numbers. The outlines must be of sufficient detail that they may be used for study materials in preparation for exams. The chapter outlines must be typed and submitted in the assignment module by cutting and pasting them. I do not accept attachments.
You may complete the course at your own pace, but you must log in every class day. There will be an attendance assignment available to you every day. Failure to do so may result in your being dropped from the course. If you complete the course requirements before the final day of class, you must still sign in every day. All Exams (I, II, and III) and assignments must be completed by 5:00 pm on the last day of classes as scheduled. The Final Exam must be completed on the final exams day by 5:00 pm. There will be no exceptions to these deadlines, and you cannot receive an incomplete. If you prefer to distribute you work evenly throughout the semester, you should use the recommended due dates.
Assignment A: You may select one of the two options below:
Option 1. For the first page of this option, reflect on your opinion, feelings, thoughts, etc., on people who are older than 70 years of age. Then watch the motion picture, "Young @ Heart" (this is not the movie with Doris Day.) For the remaining two pages, describe the older people you viewed on this film. Also reflect on whether your opinion, feelings, thoughts, etc., have changed.
Option 2. For the first page of this option, reflect on your opinion, feelings, thoughts, etc., on people who are older than 70 years of age. Then find an individual who is older than 70 and spend an hour or two getting to know that person. Ask them about their life, what advice would they give a young person today, what do they like best about their life currently. For the remaining two pages, describe the answers your interviewee gave you. Also reflect on whether your opinion, feelings, thoughts, etc., about older individuals have changed. PLEASE NOTE: Be respectful, do not ask personal questions, do not ask questions about health, etc. Thank the individual for his or her help with your assignment.
When writing this assignment, your page should be set with one inch margins, double-spaced, and use Times New Roman with a pitch of 12. The only heading it should have is whether you selected Option 1 or Option 2 to complete. Your completed assignment should be a minimum of 3 pages.
Attendance policy: The College District believes that class attendance is essential for student success; therefore, students are required to promptly and regularly attend all their classes. Without full participation and regular class attendance, students shall find themselves at a severe disadvantage for achieving success in college. The Blinn handbook states: “If a student has one week’s worth of unexcused absences during the semester, he/she will be sent an e-mail by the College requiring the student to contact his/her instructor and schedule a conference immediately to discuss his/her attendance issues. Should the student accumulates two weeks worth of unexcused absences, he/she may be administratively withdrawn from class. Also, we recognize four excused absences: Blinn approved activity, ISD approved activity, military service and religious holy days.” For this class, class participation shall constitute at least ten percent of the final course grade. If you should decide to drop this class, you must initiate the drop. However, if you miss a substantial number of classes, I reserve the right to drop you from the course.
In this course, you will need to sign in every class day at some point during that 24 hour period.
Scholastic
dishonesty (from the student handbook): It is the responsibility of
instructors to maintain scholastic integrity at
Makeup Examinations (from the student handbook):
In this class, all examinations and assignments must be completed by the due dates stated above. No incompletes will be given. No extra credit work is given. It is very important that you complete assignments, prepare for tests, and complete work on time. I reserve the right to change class rules as it becomes necessary. However, class requirements, assignments, and grading policies will not change.
ADA: Information regarding procedures for documenting disabilities can be obtained from the Counseling Office. Reasonable accommodations will be made for documented disabilities. Students must present documentation as soon as possible for the instructor to arrange accommodation.
Unacceptable behavior in this class:
Threats to faculty or other students
Using profanity
Initiating arguments with faculty or other classmates