PSY 2012 General Psychology
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida
And
Melissa Strompolis
Teaching Assistant

About the class
• Monday, Wednesday, &
Friday
• 10:00am – 10:50
(punctuality is important)
• Class will include
– lecture,
– discussion, and
– demonstration
• Questions are encouraged
• The syllabus is on my website:
( http://uwf.edu/smathew s/mathews.html
)
• Evaluation of learning:
– examinations
– student engagement
– writing assignments
• My email is:
– smathews@uwf.edu

Succeeding in the Class
• Attend class and be on time:
– This is an indication of your interest, motivation, and the seriousness with which you take your educational experiences;
• Be civil and courteous in class
– Talking with your neighbors, using cell phones , sleeping , or engaging in other distracting behavior is inappropriate . Those engaging in such behaviors will be asked to leave class in consideration of others.

Succeeding in the Class
• Read the chapter to be discussed prior to coming to class.
• If you choose to highlight your text, be selective.
Highlighting everything is the same as highlighting nothing.
• Attend class and take notes. Do not try to write everything I say. Note the major points with only enough detail to capture the gist.

Succeeding in the Class
• Immediately after class, quickly scan your notes.
Circle any term or phrase which you can’t link to other ideas in your notes. These are excellent points for questions during the next class session or for an email to me or our Teaching
Assistant.
• Following each chapter coverage, review the text and your notes noting overlaps and areas of disagreement. Again, these are excellent points for questions.

Succeeding in the Class
• Prior to each examination, review the text and the notes. By the time each exam occurs, you will have been exposed to the material 5 times
(initial reading, lecture, note review, note-chapter comparison, final review of chapter and notes).
• Form study pairs or groups with your colleagues in class. You can compare notes and do self testing.

Succeeding in the Class
– Cheating on examinations and plagiarizing are prohibited by both UWF policy and common ethics. Please see the UWF Student
Handbook and Catalog for policies and consequences for engaging in such actions.

Succeeding in the Class
• Take advantage of office hours for Mathews & our Teaching Assistant. We are here to help you, chat about your future, and generally support you through your UWF experience.
• Take advantage of the UWF Counseling Center,
Career Center, and Advising Center. They are here for you.

Succeeding in the Class
• For those interested in the field of psychology, there are two student organizations here at UWF that may be of interest:
– PSI CHI—students must have 15 semester hours and a 3.00 gpa in psych.
– Student Psychology Association—this is for all students, regardless of major or number of hours, who might be interested in psychology.
– Interested students can see me after class or email me.

Succeeding in the Class
• Life outside the classroom impacts performance in class. If you treat this as you would a job in the career of your choice, you will very likely succeed. That means:
– Reasonable amounts of sleep
– Reasonable nutrition
– Time management outside of class
– Reasonable recreational experiences. Hangovers are not conducive to class performance but reasonable leisure activities are.