INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 101, Section 101, Summer 2015
Tuesday – Thursday, 12:40 - 2:30; 119 Psychology Building
Instructor
David Johnson
Email: john3598@msu.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30-3:30 and by appointment; 244B Psychology Building
I. COURSE OVERVIEW
This course provides an introduction to the science of psychology. In this course you will
learn:
• About the science of psychology: What are the kinds of questions psychologists ask and what
have they discovered?
• The research methods that psychologists use: How do psychologists go about answering
questions about the human mind?
• How to think like a psychological scientist: To use the methods of psychology to think
critically about your world.
II. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
David Myers, Psychology, 10th Ed. If you have a different book, return it and get this
one. Please make sure you read all assigned readings immediately after the corresponding
lecture.
There is a website associated with the required textbook. I strongly encourage visiting
this website regularly. The site has chapter objectives, learning activities, and quizzes for you to
test your knowledge. You can access the website at http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers10e/
III. EMAIL & CONTACT
To contact me, send an email to john3598@msu.edu. I will typically respond within 24
hours. However, if you send an email after 5:00pm or on a weekend I may not respond until the
next business day. In addition, I will not respond if you write to ask a question that could have
been answered by attending class or reading this syllabus. Please take care in writing your
emails; treat them as professional correspondence.
If you are having difficulties with the material or would like to talk about the course for
any reason, please come to my office hours or email for an appointment. Although my office
hours are limited I am willing to meet with you at other times as long as you schedule an
appointment with me. I cannot stress this enough: do not wait until the last minute to seek help. I
cannot do anything to help you if you wait until the day before a quiz to come to office hours.
IV. LECTURES
I have tried to create a set of instructive and engaging lectures, with in-class
demonstrations and audio-visual support. During lecture, I use slides to display figures, graphs,
and summaries of main points. Let me emphasize that I create slides to facilitate the lecture and
not to present the bulk of the material. You must take detailed notes during lecture! To help you
focus on the important details, I will post handouts from my lectures on Desire2Learn after class.
These handouts are not meant to replace detailed notes; they simply provide a basic outline of the
material. You will not succeed in this class if you rely solely on the handouts for your notes.
V. ATTENDANCE
I will not force you to attend my class. That said, as a psychologist I recognize the power
of incentives in motivating behavior (and how de-motivating a beautiful summer day can be).
Furthermore, it is clear that the more lectures you attend the more you will learn, and as an
educator I have the responsibility of designing this course to maximize learning. Thus, I will take
attendance at random intervals throughout the semester. As a reward for those who routinely
attend class, I will use your attendance when determining your final grade if you are within one
percentage point of the next highest grade.
If you miss a lecture, first borrow one of your classmate’s notes. If the material is still
unclear, then schedule a meeting with me. I will not repeat the entire lecture for you. My
responsibility is to help you understand aspects of the lecture that you do not understand, after
you have made an attempt to understand the lecture with a classmate.
VI. EVALUATION
A. Philosophy. Your evaluation in this course will be based primarily upon (1) your
ability to master the facts and findings of the science of psychology, and (2) how successfully
you are able to apply the approaches to and methods of the science. An understanding of the
scientific process of psychological research will be the most valuable thing you can take away
from this course. Long after you have forgotten the findings that have been established by
psychologists, you may still be able to use what you know about the psychological approach to
contemplate the behavior of those around you, as well as your own.
B. Quizzes. Given the compressed nature of this course, instead of exams I will
administer regular quizzes on the material you have learned in the past several classes. The
quizzes will not be cumulative. Each quiz will be worth 50 points, and will consist of multiple
choice and true/false questions. There will be six quizzes in total, and only your top five (out of
six) quizzes will count toward your final grade.
C. Application Assignments. Three times during the semester you will turn in a 3-page
(maximum), double-spaced report of your efforts to apply a concept learned in this course to any
aspect of your life or the world. Specific instructions will be given closer to the deadline of the
assignment, but generally papers should include a detailed description of the
concept/theory/technique you have chosen and a description of your attempted application.
Each assignment will be graded as check plus (+15 points), check (+10 points), or check
minus (+5 points). You should upload your assignment to the relevant dropbox on Desire2Learn.
It is your responsibility to check that the assignment has been uploaded properly. You can turn in
any assignment before the deadline, and you can write on any topic covered during the semester
prior to (but not after) that deadline. There is no required specific format (e.g., MLA, APA, etc.)
but it should simply be written in a professional manner.
D. Extra Credit. At least one time in the semester I will bring in a guest speaker who is
an expert in some area of psychology. You can earn extra credit by listening attentively to the
speaker and writing a 2-page (maximum) double-spaced summary of something you learned from
their presentation. Rather than reporting everything that they told you, in this assignment you
should explain one or two points they made that were particularly interesting to you. Summaries
will be graded on a credit/no-credit basis and are due the class after the presentation. Each
summary is worth an extra 5 points added to your final grade.
E. Research Participation. An important part of your education in psychology is to
learn—first hand—how psychological research is carried out. This is accomplished through a
research participation requirement. All students in Psychology 101 are required to participate in
seven hours of research credit. You will receive 1 credit for every 30 minutes of research
participation, and you must accumulate 14 credits (7 hours) to complete your research
participation requirement. Each credit is worth 2 points towards your overall grade. Please see
the documentation at the end of this syllabus for information on the research requirement! All
research credits must be completed by July 2nd, 5:00pm.
If you would like to complete an alternative assignment instead of research participation,
you must inform me before June 4th. After June 4th, you will no longer have the option of
doing the alternative assignment (and if you do not wish to do the research participation, you will
receive 0/30 for that component). You must do one or the other; you cannot complete 1/2
research participation and 1/2 alternative assignment.
F. Calculating Your Final Grade. This course is based on 295 points. It is your
responsibility to keep track of your grade. However, these charts may help you do so.
To get this
grade:
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.0
You need this
percent:
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
65%
60%
<60%
Which is this
many points:
265.5
250.75
236
221.25
206.5
191.75
177
<177
Assignment:
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
Quiz 4
Quiz 5
Application 1
Application 2
Application 3
Total Points:
Grade:
Total:
/50
/50
/50
/50
/50
/15
/15
/15
/295
Percentages will be rounded to the nearest whole number. I will not make adjustments to
your grade (outside of the extra credit listed here) merely because you are close to the next
grade. I will never under any circumstances, change your grade for any reason other than an
error in calculation on my part, nor will I give you any special, unique-to-you assignments so
you can get a grade higher than the one you earned. Please do not ask.
VII. ACCOMMODATIONS
Students who need accommodations during class or exams should see me immediately.
VIII. MAKE-UP QUIZZES
No makeup quizzes will be given unless you have a valid, documented excuse (e.g., a
note from the dean, a note from your doctor recommending that you not attend class). Any notes
must explicitly state that “This student was unable to take the quiz on (date) because ________.”
If you cannot get a note or if your excuse involves something personal that you want to keep
private, you must get a note from the Dean. You must notify me that you have a valid excuse
by the end of the day of the exam or you will not be allowed to take the makeup quiz.
If you cannot take a quiz because of a university-scheduled event, a religious holiday, or
some other acceptable event that you could have foreseen, you must notify me a week prior to
the quiz. (See http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/excuses.html for acceptable non-emergency
absences.) If you do not notify me a week before, you will not be allowed to take the makeup
quiz. I will schedule one makeup time for each of the quizzes. If you cannot make this time, you
will not be able to take the makeup quiz. If you miss an exam or cannot take the makeup quiz,
remember that only five out of the six quizzes will be counted towards your final grade.
IX. ACADEMIC HONESTY
The following is the academic honesty statement from the Office of the Ombudsman; all
students are required to adhere to this statement:
Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report states that, "The student shares with the faculty the
responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional standards." In addition,
the Psychology department adheres to the policies on academic honesty as specified in General Student
Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades; the all-University Policy on Integrity of
Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00, Examinations. (See Spartan Life: Student Handbook and
Resource Guide and/or the MSU Web site: www.msu.edu.) Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor,
you are expected to complete all course assignments, including homework, lab work, quizzes, tests and
exams, without assistance from any source. You are expected to develop original work for this course;
therefore, you may not submit course work you completed for another course to satisfy the requirements for
this course. Also, you are not authorized to use the www.allmsu.com Web site to complete any course work
in PSY 235. Students who violate MSU rules may receive a penalty grade, including--but not limited to--a
failing grade on the assignment or in the course. Contact your instructor if you are unsure about the
appropriateness of your course work. (See also http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/honestylinks.html)
If you break the academic honesty agreement in any way, you will receive a 0.0 for the course.
There are no exceptions.
X. OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT.
I take my responsibilities to you and your education very seriously, and I expect you to
do so as well. Taking this course constitutes a social contract between you and I, which means
that we both have responsibilities and obligations:
As the teacher, I promise to devote my full attention and capabilities to our class. I will
plan and deliver all my lectures to the best of my abilities. I am dedicated to providing you with
an engaging learning experience. I will make decisions about this course based on what I think is
the optimal learning environment for you, the student. I will never do my job in a half- hearted
way.
As the student, you promise to attend lectures and be an engaged member of the
audience. This includes turning off your phones and not browsing social media websites while in
class. You will take the course as seriously as I take it, and you will do your best to learn the
material and understand its importance. You promise never to complain about the course if you
are not holding up your end of this contract.
XI. COURSE CALENDAR
This calendar is subject to change. Check D2L for the most up to date calendar.
Date
Day
Topic
5/18
5/19
5/20
5/21
M
Tu
W
Th
Introduction to Psychology
Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
The Biology of the Mind
The Biology of the Mind
5/25
5/26
5/27
5/28
M
Tu
W
Th
NO CLASS: Memorial Day
Nature, Nurture, and Human Biology
Nature, Nurture, and Human Biology
Nature, Nurture, and Human Biology
6/01
6/02
6/03
6/04
M
Tu
W
Th
Sensation and Perception
Sensation and Perception
Learning
Learning
6/08
6/09
6/10
6/11
M
Tu
W
Th
Memory
Memory
Thinking and Language
Guest Lecture: TBD
6/15
6/16
6/17
6/18
M
Tu
W
Th
Developing Through the Lifespan
Developing Through the Lifespan
Intelligence
Motivation
6/22
6/23
6/24
6/25
M
Tu
W
Th
Emotions, Stress, & Health
Emotions, Stress, & Health
Social Psychology
Social Psychology
6/29
6/30
7/01
7/02
7/02
M
Tu
W
Th
Th
Personality Psychology
Psychology Disorders
Therapy
Wrap Up to Psychology
All research credits due by 5:00pm
Assignment
Reading
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Quiz 1
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Application 1
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
Application 2
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Quiz 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Quiz 5
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Application 3
Quiz 6
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY--DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Participation in Psychological Research: Information for Students
As part of your psychology course, you are encouraged to participate in research projects conducted or
supervised by the faculty of the department. The purpose of such participation is to give you some direct
experience with real experiments and to give you a better idea of how the work of psychology is actually
carried out. Participation is a course requirement for all sections of PSY 101.
SPECIAL NOTE: Students under 18 years of age may not participate in any HPR experiments.
Special options have been created for students under 18 to meet the 14-credit participation
requirement **
Steps in Research Participation: Registering as a Participating Student.
The purpose of this handout is to go over some of the things you will need to know before participating in
psychological research. The first step is registering. This, like nearly all your scheduling activities is handled
through a site on the Internet/World Wide Web. Its address is: http://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/
**If you have participated in the HPR in previous semesters you will need to create a new account. **
You can access it using standard Web browsers (such as Netscape, Firefox or Microsoft Explorer). This
will bring HPR main page. Click on the Participant button. The first time you visit this page you must
create your account. Click on the button that says Create an account - you will be directed to the page that
says Enter the Account Creation ID. This semester your Account Creation ID is psych2015 – in the box
used to enter the access code, type it just like this (in lower case), then click on Enter. You will now see the
registration page where you should provide all the requested information. Once your account is created, you
will be able to log directly into the system with your user ID and MSU e-mail address. Please make sure
you fill out all the fields in the registration form. Registrations with incomplete fields will not be able to
view the available studies.
Among other things you will be asked to select the course and section number to which you wish to have
your participation credits credited. It is CRITICAL that you select the correct course and section number.
If you select an incorrect course or section, the credits that you earn through participation will NOT be
relayed to the proper instructor and will not be counted in calculating your course grade. If you are
enrolled in more than one participating class you will disperse the credits you earn between the
classes (credits cannot be shared) on the “My Schedule “page on your HPR account.
During some semesters, experimenters may want to get some background information on those participating
in their experiments. They do this by having students answer Global Questionnaires. The more of these that
you fill out, the more experiments you will be eligible to participate in. After registering, you should click
on the Answer Global Questionnaires button and see if any are posted.
Signing up for research: You can sign up for experiments 24-hours a day on the Web site. To do so, get to
the Student Menu (following the procedure described above). Then, to see a list of all experiments that are
currently recruiting participants, click on the Sign up for an Experiment button and follow the indicated
directions. Please make sure you read the participant task and any restrictions for the experiment you
are signing up for.
Canceling appointments: Experimenters have invested a great deal of time and money in preparing
an experiment. This goes to waste if you fail to keep your appointment. In such cases, you can cancel
your appointment 24 hours prior to the start time by clicking on the button marked View/Modify My
Schedule at the Student Menu on the Web site and following the instructions for canceling an
appointment. (You need to know the name of the experiment and the date/time you signed up
for.) If it is after the 24 hour deadline you need to e-mail the HPR student coordinator, Leslie
Baldwin, (lbaldwin@msu.edu ).
If you lost the appointment time and place: Sometimes, people mislay the date-time-location information
for an experiment they've signed up for. If this happens to you and you ever need to check on your
appointments (where you're supposed to be and when), you can always click on the button marked
View/Modify my Schedule at the Web site to get this information. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by
writing down all the information and keeping it in a safe place.
Reporting for a research appointment: Be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the experiment on
time, (Arriving 15 minutes before the experiment is to begin is suggested) If you are late, you could find
the experiment in progress and the door locked. On rare occasions, an experimenter may not make his/her
appointment with you because of unusual circumstances (e.g., a car breakdown, a personal emergency). If
this happens contact Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student coordinator in Room 262, Psychology Building or
email her at: lbaldwin@msu.edu to report it (email is preferred).
Rights of Students Participating in Psychology Research
Participation must be voluntary/optional activities. First, it is Department, University, and Federal
policy that no student be compelled in any way to participate in research. If you participate in research, it
must be done voluntarily. Therefore, even in classes where research participation is required, students must
be offered one or more alternative activities to meet their requirement. If you want to avail yourself of such
an alternative activity, you may get information from your professor. Note that on rare occasions there are
more people interested in participating in experiments than there are openings in the experiments. If this
occurs this semester, additional alternative activities will be provided later in the semester.
Participation should be educational. Second, participating in research should be a learning experience for
you. You have a right to obtain information about the experiments in which you serve as a participant. You
are entitled to have your questions about the experiment answered. Also, at least five minutes of every
experimental session must be devoted to teaching you something about the experiment. You are entitled to
receive a written summary of the experiment, including the name and phone number of the person in charge
of the experiment, whom you may contact if you have additional questions.
The right to discontinue participation: Third, the Department of Psychology is highly concerned that no
study be conducted that would in any way be harmful to you. Even so, it is possible that in rare cases you
will feel uncomfortable about participating in a study for which you have volunteered. Just remember, you
always have the right to leave any experiment. You don't have to explain or justify why you want to leave,
and you can never be penalized for leaving.
The right to receive earned credits: Finally, if you do what you're supposed to do (sign up properly, show
up at the right place at the right time, etc.), you have a right to receive credit for any time actually spent
participating in a study. So, for example, even if an experimenter has an equipment breakdown, you're still
entitled to receive credit for the time you've spent in the study. However, do not sign up for the same study
twice.
Please remember that credit values are based on the time it takes to complete a study, (1 credit equal
to 30 minutes) and not the study itself. Credits are not automatically awarded and it may take
researchers a few days to collect their data and record attendance. The HPR does not penalize
participants for missing studies but we do appreciate being notified if you cannot make your session.
Participants are NOT penalized for No Shows or if they cancel an appointment.
Reporting problems: If you ever encounter some problem or feel that your rights have been violated, we
want to know about it. Problems you have will be handled by Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student coordinator,
email address lbaldwin@msu.edu or come to Room 262 Psychology Building. They will be investigated
and appropriate action will be taken. You will need to know the name of the experiment and the
date/time you signed up for.
Conclusions: We want to emphasize that negative experiences are very rare; most students who serve as
participants in research at Michigan State find their participation interesting and enjoyable. When you serve
as a participant in psychological research you're benefiting personally by learning more about what the
science of psychology is really about, but you're also benefiting many others. Others like the psychologists
who are working to get a better understanding of interesting and important behavioral questions. Others like
people who will benefit when that knowledge is ultimately applied to everyday human problems like
loneliness, depression, divorce, and self development. And others like future generations of students. Who
knows? Perhaps the research you participate in this semester will be featured in future psychology
textbooks, just as some of the experiments you'll study this semester had their data supplied by previous
generations of MSU students. We hope and expect that you'll put as much in and get as much out of
research participation as they did.
** Contact Leslie Baldwin (lbaldwin@msu.edu) the HPR Student Coordinator, if you are under 18
and want to learn more about these options.