Psychology 100B: Introduction to Psychology

Brown 100 : 2:00-3:00 MWF

Instructors: Drs. Mitchell Sommers and Alan Lambert

Fall 2002 Semester

Psychology may be defined as the scientific study of mind and behavior. This definition is meant to be quite broad, because many diverse topics are a part of psychology. The purpose of this course is to provide a general survey of the subject matter of psychology. For some of you this may be your only exposure to studying psychology, but for others this course will lay the groundwork for more advanced courses. It is difficult to cover the many topics of psychology in a survey course. If your curiosity is not satisfied with regard to some specific topic -- and often it will not be -- there is usually an advanced course that you can take.

By the first or second week of class, we expect to have this syllabus, and outlines for class lectures, on the web. This site will allow you to check your grades and will also contain other helpful information pertaining to the course. The URL for this site will be announced in class.

Format of the course. The three class meetings each week are usually devoted to lectures on topics listed on the course outline, but may also include demonstrations and films. Your performance will be evaluated on the basis of two tests and an optional cumulative final examination.

Textbooks. The textbook for the course is Psychology by Roediger, Capaldi, Paris, Polivy, and Herman (1996; 4th Ed.), available at the bookstore.

Attendance. You are responsible for everything presented in class, including lectures, films, remarks of guest speakers, and announcements. The class material complements the text material, but does not substitute for it. In some cases, material presented in class will overlap that in the textbook; in other cases, the lecture content will diverge from that of the text. Material covered in class forms a large part of the tests. You are expected to attend. A tentative schedule of events is listed in the course outline below. If you are unable to attend class, it is your responsibility to obtain notes from someone in class. Please note that the TA cannot provide notes for you.

Tests and Final Examination. Your knowledge will be evaluated by two tests and an optional cumulative final examination. The tests will not be given during class, but will occur in the evening to give you more time. The dates, rooms, and times are listed below. The final exam will be on December 12, 6-9 p.m. Each test will be worth 50 points and will be composed of multiple choice and short answer questions. The final exam will be worth 50 points (multiple choice and short answer).

Exam Date Time Location

Test 1	October 16	6:00 - 9 p.m.	TBA
Test 2	December 9	6:00 - 9 p.m.	TBA
Optional final exam	December 17	6:00 - 9 p.m.	TBA

THE OPTIONAL FINAL EXAMINATION

Anyone who misses one of the regularly scheduled examinations for any reason other than a University-sponsored event MUST take the final examination. There will be no make-up examinations given for reasons other than absence due to attending a University-sponsored event.

You may also elect to take the final examination to improve your score in the course. If you elect to take the final examination and your score on the final is greater than one of the two regularly scheduled exams, we will replace the lowest exam score with your score on the final exam. If your score on the final exam is lower than BOTH of the regularly scheduled exams, then we will base your final grade on the two exam scores. Note that this means that taking the final cannot hurt your grade in any way, it can only improve your score.

Missing an exam

As noted above, the only acceptable reason for missing one of the two regularly scheduled examinations is if you must attend a University-sponsored event. Because these events are planned well in advance, you must notify one of the professors or the teaching assistant NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 16. This notification must be in the form of a written note explaining which exam you must miss and the University event that you will be attending.

Research participation. As part of the requirements for this course, you are to participate in 6 hours of posted experiments (see the procedure below). This is akin to a laboratory requirement in other sciences, and serves to acquaint you with the methods and issues of contemporary psychology. Each hour of experimental participation is worth 1 point, for a total of 6 maximum points. On the first day of class, you will receive a one-page handout describing how to sign up for and participate in experiments. Every activity associated with participating in research, including checking how many experiment credits you have earned over the course of the semester, will be handled through our subject pool website. The website address will be provided on this handout.

Alternatives to research. If you would rather not earn credit through participation in research, you have the option of completing your hours of research by writing a short (1 page) paper. Each paper is worth one point and thus each paper can be used to replace one hour of your required experiments. You have the option of writing as few or as many papers as you wish. A list of approved papers for alternative assignments will be posted on the research website. Students who turn in papers on an article that is not listed as an approved topic on the website WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. All papers are due on the last day of class.

Grading. Your grade will be based on (a) 2 exams, each worth 50 points (note that one of these may be the optional final), and (b) 6 points for experiments (or papers). Thus, the maximum possible score in the course is 106.

The tentative grading scale is listed below. Note that these percentages will be based on the highest point total achieved in the class. In other words, we have taken into account the fact that that no student is likely to obtain the total possible number of points allotted, which is 106. For example, if the highest score in the class is 95 points, the percentage estimates will be calculated on the basis of 95 points. If the highest grade in the class exceeds the next highest grade by more than 5 points, the grading categories will be based on the average of the top two scores. This latter policy is to correct for those cases in which one isolated student performs much better than the rest of the class. This rarely happens, however. Thus, your grade in this course is curved, in that it always takes into account the relative difficulty or ease of the course material as well as students’ actual performance in the class.

Grading scale:

A+ 97-100%

A 93-96%

A- 89-92%

B+ 85-88%

B 81-84%

B- 77-80%

C+ 73-76%

C 69-72%

C- 65-68%

D+ 61-64%

D 57-60%

D- 54-57%

F 53% or lower

If you are taking this class Pass-Fail you must earn a C- or better to earn a passing grade.

Grade Appeals. If you feel strongly that your grade on some test was unfair, you have the right to appeal. In such cases, write a note stating (a) what test item you are questioning and (b) your rationale for the appeal. Attach the note to your test and hand it in to Dr. Sommers or Dr. Lambert. Such appeals MUST be submitted within one week in which grades for that exam are posted.

Instructors. Dr. Sommers office is Room 417A of the Psychology Building (telephone 5-6561; email: msommers@artsci.wustl.edu). His office hours are MWF 1-2 (immediately before class). Dr. Lambert’s office is in Room 319B of the Psychology Building (telephone 935-7176; email: alambert@artsci.wustl.edu) and his office hours are Mondays and Fridays, 11 am—12 noon, or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant. You should see the teaching assistants if you have questions about the content of the course, or about your grades, or any other difficulty. They are there to help you. Please see them during office hours whenever possible, or by appointment. The TAs for the course are McKenzie Ballou (mrballou@artsci.wustl.edu; office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-4 pm) and Benjamin Harell (bmharell@artsci.wustl.edu; office hours Wednesdays and Fridays 3-4). Their office location is in room 202 of the psychology building.

Final Grades. These will be determined from the final grade distribution and will be posted as soon as we can calculate them.

COURSE OUTLINE

Below is the outline of topics in the course, including the date, the topic of the lecture, and the reading assignment. You should complete the reading assignments before the scheduled class.

First half: (Dr. Sommers)

Date	Topic	Reading Assignment
8/28	Course introduction. Approaches to Psychology	pp. 1-13
8/30	Research methods 1-Descriptive research	pp. 13-21; Appendix (A1-A20)
9/2	Labor Day – NO CLASS
9/4	Research methods 2-Experimental research	pp. 21-37
9/6	Research methods 3 – Ethics and Statistics	Appendix (A21-A27)
9/9	Biological Psychology 1 –Basic neural processing	pp. 43-52
9/11	Biological Psychology 2- Overview of nervous system	pp. 53-63
9/13	Biological Psychology 3 –Specialization and localization of function	pp. 63-82
9/16	Biological Psychology 4 –Specialization and localization of function continued	pp. 63-82
9/18	Sensation and perception 1 - Vision	pp. 87-105
9/20	Sensation and perception 2 – Audition	pp. 105-112
9/23	Sensation and perception 3 – Other sensory processes	pp. 112-126
9/25	Perception	pp. 133-168
9/27	Consciousness and attention 1 – Attention	pp. 173-190
9/30	Consciousness and attention 2 – States of arousal	pp. 190-216
10/2	Consciousness and attention continued	pp. 190-216
10/4	Conditioning and learning 1 – Classical and operant conditioning	pp. 223-236
10/7	Conditioning and learning 2 – Operant conditioning and observational learning	pp. 236 - 253
10/9	Memory 1	pp. 259- 275
10/11	Memory 2	pp. 275-300
10/14	Developmental Psychology 1	pp. 351-374
10/16	Developmental Psychology 2	pp. 374-400
10/16	EXAM 1 (6-9 PM)
10/18	Fall break

Second half (Dr. Lambert)

Date	Topic	Reading Assignment
M 10/21	Intelligence I	451-461
W 10/23	Intelligence II	462-473
F 10/25	Intelligence III	473-491
M 10/28	Motivation and emotion I	493-509
W 10/30	Motivation and emotion II	509-522
F 11/1	Motivation and emotion III	522-531
M 11/4	Personality I	565-586
W 11/6	Personality II	586-590
F 11/8	Personality III	590-608
M 11/11	Social I	709-733
W 11/13	Social II	733-744
F 11/15	Social III	745-755
M 11/18	Psychopathology I	611-624
W 11/20	Psychopathology II	624-642
F 11/22	Psychopathology III	642-656
M 11/25	Therapy I	659-676
W-F 11/27-11/29	Thanksgiving break—no class
M 12/2	Therapy II	676-698
W 12/4	Therapy III	698-707
F 12/6	Recent advances in pharmacological therapies	Supplemental
M 12/9	In class-review for Exam II* Exam II: (6-9 pm)
T 12/17	OPTIONAL FINAL EXAM (6-9 PM)

*This review is for material covered on Exam II only; review date for optional final exam TBA; session will be led jointly by Drs. Sommers and Lambert

Commonsense etiquette during class

This course is based on a simple principle of mutual respect and politeness. Just as it is important for your instructor to act in a courteous and respectful way toward you, it is equally important for you to extend the same courtesy to your fellow students and also, the instructor. Empirical research shows that the following behaviors are judged to be equally disruptive to students and faculty:

a. Students talking with their neighbor after the instructor has begun lecturing. Students rate this as extremely annoying because it interferes with their ability to take notes. It is also distracting to your instructor and will inevitably prevent him or her from presenting the class material. Dr. Sommers and Dr. Lambert will not repeat portions of their lecture that could not be heard because of others talking or because of other similar disruptions (see below). Thus, when you talk to your neighbor you may well be hurting the grades of others around you (and your grade, too!). Thus, once the instructor steps to the podium, as a courtesy to your fellow students and to your instructor, this is a signal to stop talking with your neighbor.

b. Coming in late. Class starts promptly at 7 minutes after the hour. If you come to class late, please select a seat in the back row; do not clamber over other students to find your usual “favorite” seat.

c. Ringing/beeping/using cell phones and pagers. Please turn off all phones and beepers before class begins.

In order to make the classroom experience enjoyable for all, students are expected to comply with the above commonsense guidelines.

How to participate in experiments for credit

in the Department of Psychology

As part of this course, you may earn credit by participating in one or more experiments being offered by the Department of Psychology. Read your syllabus carefully for information on how this credit factors into your final grade. The purpose of this memo is to provide a brief summary of how to get started participating in research.

Nearly all aspects of this participation, including registration as a user, signing up for experiments, and making sure that your instructor is notified of the points you have earned, is handled by our website. The website can be accessed at: http://experimetrix.com/wu/ You can also access the site through the Department of Psychology website, at http://psych.wustl.edu and clicking on “research participation site”.

The website is very easy to use and is largely self-explanatory. Just a few things to keep in mind:

1. When you first access the site, make sure that you click on “read me” and read the subject pool guidelines. This is important even if you have used the pool before, because some minor procedures may have changed since you last used it. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that he or she is aware of and follows all guidelines. Failure to do so may mean a loss of credit.

2. New users should click on NEW USERS to get started. Students who have used this website before can use the same logon and password that they have used in past semesters. If you have forgotten your logon or password, the website allows you to have this information sent to you again via email.

3. After logging in, you are ready to start scheduling yourself for experiments.

4. Please keep track of your appointments and make sure that you show up on time. If you must cancel, then it is necessary for you to do so no later than 4 hours before the scheduled time. If you fail to show up for a study without canceling on time, or if you show up more than 10 minutes late, this will result in a penalty. Please see the guidelines listed under READ ME for more details.

5. The last date to participate in experiments is on the last day of class (Arts and Sciences schedule). DO NOT DELAY completing your hours! There may be far fewer opportunities later in the semester and in fact if you wait too long you may not be able to earn any credit at all. If you are a new user and/or need a new password, it is strongly advised that you register within the first month of the semester to avoid last-minute complications.

Finally: earning credit by participating in research is OPTIONAL. In particular, if you would rather earn your credit in ways other than doing research, every instructor in the psychology department provides his or her students with alternative ways of earning credit (e.g. by writing a short paper, etc.). See your instructor and/or your syllabus for further information about these options.

Questions? Specific questions about using the website may be directed toward the webmaster, at PsychE@artsci.wustl.edu. More general questions about the subject pool may be sent to Alan Lambert, subject pool chair, at alambert@artsci.wustl.edu