Course Syllabus
Introduction to Psychology
Fall 2022 (sections: 102, 103, 105, 106)
Who is my professor?
My name is Dr. Josh Foster and I'll be your professor for this course. Feel free to email
me at foster@southalabama.edu if you have any questions about the course or just
want to talk about psychology. You can also visit my website (Links to an external site.).
It contains lots of information about my research, publications, laboratory, students I've
worked with, etc. Please don't hesitate to contact me. I enjoy talking to students!
Email policy: Please make sure any emails you send me contain your full name, Jag
number, and course (PSY 120). Try to be as clear and precise as possible and make
your questions specific. This will help me give you timely feedback.
What am I going to get from this course?
Besides course credit and a grade, you're going to get an overview of psychology’s
major themes. You'll learn about a bunch of psychological theories and the research
that supports them (or doesn't). My hope is that by the end of the semester you'll be
familiar enough with psychology to discuss it intelligently and apply its concepts to your
life. More specifically, this course surveys the basic theories, concepts, principles, and
research in the field of psychology and has two objectives:
1) Serve as a foundation course for psychology majors and prepare majors for
advanced coursework in psychology.
2) Serve as a general education and elective course for students majoring in other
fields.
Additionally, this course is designed to facilitate critical thinking and quantitative
reasoning skills as they relate to social science. By the end of the course, students
should be able to evaluate claims using social scientific knowledge.
What do I have to buy for this course?
The only thing you have to buy for this course is the textbook. More information about
the book can be on the textbook information page.
What do I have to do in this course?
This course is broken into 7 modules. Each module covers a broad topic in psychology,
like emotion or psychological disorders, and consists of a chapter from your textbook, a
set of lectures, and a set of optional videos. The textbook chapter and lectures are
required and you will be tested on them. The optional videos are...well...optional,
meaning that you will not be specifically tested on them, although some of them might
help you understand the material that you will be tested on. We will cover a module
about once every 2 weeks. The precise dates and topics of the modules are located in
the course calendar.
Quizzes and Exams
The majority of the points in this class will be earned by taking reading quizzes and
exams. They are explained in more detail below, but basically, reading quizzes cover
the reading material and exams focus mostly on lecture material. Reading quizzes will
be administered online using the quizzes function. Exams will be administered in class.
Reading quizzes. At some point prior to the end of each module (it's up to you, when),
you need to take a reading quiz that (as the name implies) covers material from the
module's textbook chapter. The deadlines to complete each reading quiz are on
the course calendar. Reading quizzes are 20 (multiple-choice) questions long and you
have 20 minutes to take them. You get 2 chances to take each quiz and only your
highest score counts. Each quiz will be different because the questions are randomly
selected from a much larger pool of questions. You must take module quizzes on your
own. Use of notes, books, other students, the internet, etc. is strictly forbidden. If you
violate this policy, you will receive a grade of F for the course and be reported to the
university for academic misconduct.
Exams. You will take 3 exams during the semester. Reading and lecture material may
appear on the exams, although lecture material will be *much* more heavily
emphasized. Unlike the reading quizzes, the exams cover more than one module. The
1st exam covers modules 1 and 2, the 2nd exam covers modules 3 and 4, and the 3rd
exam covers modules 5, 6, and 7. The first 2 exams will be about 50 questions long and
the 3rd exam will be about 75 questions long. You'll get 75 minutes to take the first 2
exams and 120 minutes to take the 3rd exam. Unlike the quizzes, exams can only be
taken once and are given on specific dates (see course calendar for dates). If you take
the exams at home (see below for at-home testing requirements), you can take them
any time during the day of the exam.
Use of notes, books, other students, the internet, etc. is strictly forbidden. If you violate
this policy, you will receive a grade of F for the course and be reported to the university
for academic misconduct. You can take exams at home or in the classroom. If you
decide to take them at home, to ensure the integrity of exams, you will take them using
the Respondus lockdown browser and webcam monitoring (see below for more details,
including a link to install the browser). Make sure that your internet connection is stable
and that your webcam is working before taking the quiz. If you cannot use the lockdown
browser and webcam, or if you choose not to use it, you have the option of taking
exams in the classroom at their normally scheduled meeting times.
To help you prepare for the exams, I have prepared a study guide that contains lists of
topics most likely to appear on them. You can access the study guide here.
Participation
In addition to quizzes and exams, you will participate in some course-related activities.
Each of these is worth a certain amount of points and as long as you do them and meet
a minimum standard of quality, you will get all the points. Participation points are an
excellent way to improve your overall grade in the course. Make sure you do them!
Paper writing assignment. You will watch a video that describes several ways that
science can go wrong and several ways to address these problems. Then you will write
a 250-500 word paper that discusses the topic. See assignment for specific writing
prompt and instructions. The paper is due on the date listed on the course calendar.
Subject pool. You must complete the subject pool requirement, which requires you to
participate in psychological research being conducted at the university and/or read and
summarize articles describing psychological research. You'll earn points by registering
for the subject pool by the deadline and by participating in research studies and/or
summarizing research articles for credit. See the subject pool information page for more
information.
The GAPS. The psychology department does an assessment of student learning called
The GAPS each semester. It's basically a test of general knowledge in psychology.
You'll take the GAPS twice--once at the beginning of the semester and again at the end-and it should take 20-30 minutes each time. It's required that you take the GAPS to
pass the course (it's a departmental requirement), but you'll also get points for doing
them. See the GAPS information page for more information.
LockDown Browser + Webcam requirement
This course requires the use of LockDown Browser and a webcam for online exams.
The webcam can be the type that's built into your computer or one that plugs in with a
USB cable.
Watch this brief video (Links to an external site.) to get a basic understanding of
LockDown Browser and the webcam feature.
Download Instructions
Download and install LockDown Browser from this link (Links to an external site.).
IMPORTANT: The LockDown browser is available for PC and MAC at the link above. If you are using an iPad
although fair warning, it does not get good reviews and many users complain that it's glitchy and freezes/crashes
the browser is not compatible with Chrome devices (e.g., Chromebooks). If you cannot use the LockDown brow
of taking quizzes at the Psychology Department testing lab. Please email me (your professor) immediately if you
arrange appointments to take quizzes at the testing lab.
Once Installed

Start LockDown Browser

Log into to Canvas

Navigate to the exam
Note: You won't be able to access an exam that requires LockDown Browser with a
standard web browser. If this is tried, an error message will indicate that the test
requires the use of LockDown Browser. Simply start LockDown Browser and navigate
back to the exam to continue.
Guidelines
When taking an online exam, follow these guidelines:

Ensure you're in a location where you won't be interrupted

Turn off all other devices (e.g. tablets, phones, second computers) and place
them outside of your reach

Before starting the test, know how much time is available for it, and also that
you've allotted sufficient time to complete it

Clear your desk or workspace of all external materials not permitted - books,
papers, other devices

Remain at your computer for the duration of the test

If the computer, Wi-Fi, or location is different than what was used previously
with the "Webcam Check" and "System & Network Check" in LockDown
Browser, run the checks again prior to the exam

To produce a good webcam video, do the following:
o
Avoid wearing baseball caps or hats with brims
o
Ensure your computer or device is on a firm surface (a desk or
table). Do NOT have the computer on your lap, a bed, or other
surface where the device (or you) are likely to move
o
If using a built-in webcam, avoid readjusting the tilt of the screen
after the webcam setup is complete
o
Take the exam in a well-lit room, but avoid backlighting (such as
sitting with your back to a window)

Remember that LockDown Browser will prevent you from accessing other
websites or applications; you will be unable to exit the test until all questions
are completed and submitted
Getting Help
Several resources are available if you encounter problems with LockDown Browser:

The Windows and Mac versions of LockDown Browser have a "Help Center"
button located on the toolbar. Use the "System & Network Check" to
troubleshoot issues. If an exam requires you to use a webcam, also run the
"Webcam Check" from this area

24/7/365 Live Chat Support is also available from the Help Center, or from
within the "it's not working" troubleshooter.

Respondus has a Knowledge Base available from support.respondus.com.
Select "LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor" as the product to view
helpful articles.

If you're still unable to resolve a technical issue with LockDown Browser, go
to Respondus technical support (Links to an external site.) and select "Submit
a Ticket". Provide detailed information about your problem and what steps
you took to resolve it.
Grading system
Your grade in the class will be based on the sum of the seven reading quizzes, three exams,
subject pool registration and credits, participation in one of the three Social Science events,
and completion of both administrations of the GAPS.

o




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Reading quizzes count 20 points each (140 points total).
Exams count 50 points for the first two and 75 points for
the third (175 points total).
Paper writing assignment counts 20 points.
The subject pool counts 5 points for registering by the
deadline and 40 points from credits earned (45 points
total).
The GAPS counts 10 points for each administration (20
points total).
Thus, you can earn a total of 400 points in the course and the letter grade you earn will be
based on the following scale:
A 360-400
B 320-359
C 280-319
D 240-279
F 0-239
Course policies
Quiz/exam feedback policy. No feedback will be given regarding which questions you
got right or wrong. The only feedback that will be given will be the score on the
quiz/exam. The primary purpose of this policy is to try to limit question-sharing amongst
students. Unfortunately, some students screen capture questions and answers and
share them with other students. This makes it incredibly difficult to run a course that has
integrity and is fair to all students (this kind of cheating is extremely unfair to the vast
majority of honest students). If you would like to see what you got right or wrong, I will
be happy to make an appointment with you to review your quizzes/exams.
Missed quizzes/exams. Reading quizzes can be taken anytime, so no makeups will be
given (or should be necessary). Exam makeups will only be given in the case of
unforeseen emergencies. Make certain that you mark the exam dates on your schedule
so that you do not forget about them!
What is the policy on cheating? All work in this course is expected to be your own.
You are welcome to study with other students and use the internet to help prepare for
quizzes/exams. But you CANNOT use notes, books, work with other students, or use
the internet during quizzes/exams. The penalty for academic dishonesty of any kind
during this course is a grade of F for the entire course. I have, sadly, had to enforce this
policy a few times before. It is heartbreaking for students (and me) every time I have to
do it. Please don't make me do it.
Disability statement. If you require accommodations for any reason, please contact
me immediately with the appropriate documentation from Disability Services (DS).
Because this course is online and asynchronous, it seems like most accommodations
would be unnecessary (e.g., you can take the quizzes/exams anywhere you want). The
one accommodation that might come up is extra-time for quizzes/exams. I'm happy to
make this accommodation. Just show me the documentation from DS and I will enable
extra-time.
Additional Academic Course PoliciesLinks to an external site.