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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 2012 – Spring 2003
Professor:
Dr. J. E. McPhee
E-mail: jmcphee@fgcu.edu
Phone: 847-332-2240
Telephone & Internet Chat “Office” Hours:
Thursday 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Friday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Other times by arrangement
Overview of Course Content:
This course is designed to provide you with an overview of key issues and current knowledge within the field of
psychology. Throughout the course, we will grapple with the empirical and theoretically diverse nature of
psychology while we attempt to understand the complexities of human behavior. Our topics will include: the
history and evolution of psychology, research methods within psychology, the biological basis of behavior,
development, learning, memory, motivation, psychological disorders and their treatment, as well as the
fundamentals of social psychology.
Required Materials:
Text:
Video:
Packet:
Exploring Psychology (5th ed.) by Myers
General Psychology Lecture Video Set (Spring 2003) by McPhee
General Psychology Class Lecture Guide (Spring 2003) by McPhee
Course Format:
Each week you will:
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Read the assigned chapter in the Myers text
Watch and take notes from the assigned video lecture using your Lecture Guide.
Take a quiz via the internet using Web-CT
Complete an assignment (described in the Lecture Guide) and email it to me for grading
Every third or fourth week you will:
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Take an on-campus exam
Pick up graded assignments and exams from previous weeks
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Communication:
Just because we are separated by over 1000 miles doesn’t mean that we can’t keep in touch and “meet” to
discuss class content, go over assignments, discuss your progress, review sample exams, etc. We will just have
to do it a little differently!
By phone:
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Call my number during office hours and I will call you right back (toll charges are taken care of)
Or email me with a request that I call you
By chat:
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I will also be in the “chat room” during my office hours and you can drop in to talk to me there!
You can also meet up with other students in the chat room at any time
By email:
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We can also talk to each other via email
I will be emailing the class frequently with suggestions, reminders, schedule updates, etc.
You are required to check your email frequently and advise me of any changes to your email address
Course Components:
Myers Text: A chapter is to be read each week as assigned (reading schedule is discussed later in syllabus)
Lecture Guide: Contains syllabus, assignment questions to be completed for grading, study questions (may be
used for studying purposes; not to be passed in for grading), lecture outline which is to be used
when taking notes from the video lecture, and sample exams from previous years.
Lecture Video: Watch a video and take notes using the lecture outline contained in the Lecture Guide. Each
video is approximately 2.5 hours (about a week’s worth of class time). Hey - when was the last
time you were able to attend a class in the comfort of your own living room?
Assignment:
Each week you will be required to complete an assignment consisting of 2 – 3 questions.
Assignment questions located at the beginning of every topic section in your Lecture Guide.
Dues dates are given later in the syllabus. Assignments are to be emailed to me for grading.
Web-CT Quiz: Each week you will be required to take a quiz over the Internet. The quiz will test your
knowledge of the Myers text chapter only.
You will be given a set amount of time to take the quiz; once that time has elapsed the
computer will end the quiz. Each quiz will be comprised of approximately 25 multiple choice
questions. You will be may take each quiz twice (if you wish). If you take it twice, the final
grade for that particular quiz will be an average of your two attempts. The questions may or
may not be similar on your second attempt as they are taken from a pool of 50 questions.
These quizzes will be "closed book". You are expected to complete these quizzes without the
use of your text, notes, or aid from any other person. You are also expected to keep the
contents of the quizzes confidential. Obviously, your fulfillment of these expectations cannot
be monitored - I can only rely on your honor and integrity.
Exam:
Every 3 – 4 weeks you will be required to take an on-campus exam. Each exam will be
approximately two hours in duration and will be comprised of essay, short-answer, and
fill-in-the-blank. It will test your knowledge of material taken from the lecture video and from
the assignments. Exam dates and locations are discussed later in the syllabus.
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Course Objectives:
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
To explore the many diverse approaches to the study of behavior and mental processes.
To become aware of the major aspects of behavior investigated by psychologists.
To understand the common terminology used by psychologists.
To become familiar with major research findings and theories of the field.
To explore the methodologies used in psychological research.
To become an informed and critical consumer of scientific information.
To recognize ways to apply psychological findings to everyday life.
To gain self-understanding and a greater understanding of others.
To gain an understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.
Grading:
There will be four exams, nine quizzes and nine assignments.
Exams will be given on campus approximately every 3 – 4 weeks and will be worth 70% of your grade. Your
three highest exam scores will each count for 20% of your final grade, and your lowest exam score will count
for 10%. Exam questions will cover video lecture material and assignment material.
Quizzes will given for each text chapter and will be worth 15% of your final grade. These quizzes will be taken
on the internet using Web-CT. They will consist of multiple choice questions from the assigned Myers text
chapter. There will be 9 quizzes in all, and your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
The assignments will comprise 15% of your overall grade and will consist of your answers to essay questions
that I will provide you with in your lecture guide. Assignment questions will cover both the Myers text and
video lecture material. There will be 9 assignments in all, and your lowest assignment grade will be dropped.
Grade Determination:
A
B
C
D
F
>90 %
80 - 89 %
70 - 79 %
60 - 69 %
< 60 %
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Class information:
1.
My class lectures on video will not cover everything in the text; not only would that be impossible, but we
wouldn't have time to review additional information that expands upon the material and help you better
understand it. So you are responsible for doing some of the text learning on your own. A good part of a
college education comes from reading texts and sources! Of course, you are always encouraged to ask
questions about text material regardless of whether it is covered in the video.
2.
Read the assigned material before watching the lecture video. One function of human memory is that we
tend to remember things much easier when we have some sort of mental framework to guide us. Reading
the material ahead of time gives you that all important mental framework so that when I mention a
concept, you already have a place to "hang" the information.
3.
Exam questions will come from the video lecture and the assignments. Although many items will test your
knowledge of facts or definitions, a large number will also assess your understanding of the material by
asking you to apply the concepts we cover in the lecture to real-life examples. Being able to recognize how
to apply class concepts to examples requires more than rote memorization – it requires you to achieve a
higher level of understanding.
4.
The class homepage provides many useful pieces of information and you should make it a practice to visit
it every week and when you are studying for an exam. It contains:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
5.
The course syllabus
Assignment answers (posted after the due date)
A link to the publisher’s website which contains summaries, flashcards, quizzes, etc.
Exam answers (posted after exams are graded)
Information about psychology (career, graduate school information, etc.)
I welcome the opportunity to assist you in your academic endeavors. I strongly urge you to take advantage
of my office hours either via phone or by internet chat with any questions or problems you may encounter
throughout the semester. Simply put -- I am here to help you succeed.
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Important Notes:
1) Exam make-ups and quiz make-ups will only be granted in cases of religious observances, documented
medical illness and documented official school activities. If you miss an exam or quiz for any other reason,
it will be counted as zero. If you are too ill to take an exam and wish to receive a make-up exam, you must:
a) Obtain medical documentation of your illness. Note: Physicians may not provide a medical excuse for
an exam unless you visit them on day of the exam.
b) Contact me by phone or email on or before the day of the exam. At this point I will confirm that you
have obtained medical documentation of your illness and we will schedule a make-up appointment for
the next day on which you do not have a documented medical illness. Your make-up exam must be
taken within one week of the original exam date, unless medical documentation indicates otherwise.
c)
Your make-up exam will be comprised entirely of essay questions similar to those in the study
question sheets.
2) All Web-CT quizzes are to be taken by 5:00 pm on the assigned due date. The due time and date is
enforced by the computer. It will not allow you to access the quiz after the due time has passed.
3) All assignments will be due at 5:00 pm on the assigned due date. All assignments are to be typed and
double-spaced (please include your name and topic). Assignments may be submitted in one of two ways:
a) Emailed to me as a regular email message
b) Emailed to me as an attachment file - Microsoft Word only.
On the subject line of your email please indicate the assignment topic (for example, Introduction; Biology,
Development, etc.)
After the due date, answers to the assignments will be posted on the homepage. Assignments submitted
after 5:00 pm will be given a 25% penalty. Assignments will not be accepted after the answers have been
posted to the homepage under any circumstances. This includes sending it to the wrong email address,
failures in transmission, etc. Please do not attempt to submit your assignments late but providing evidence
that you sent it before it was due.
4) The grading scale will be strictly enforced. Missing a higher grade by “only one point” does not entitle you
to receive the higher grade.
5) I do not assign any “extra credit." Please do not come to me at the end of the semester asking, “what you
can do to get a better grade.”
6) I value collaborative work with your fellow classmates and I do encourage your to study together and work
together on assignments. Note: when you work with another student on an assignment feel free to discuss
the questions and the answers with each other for preparation purposes however when it comes time to
complete the assignment, you are to answer the questions individually and separately (do not sit together
at the computer…..). And of course, no collaboration is permitted during the Web-CT quizzes.
7) You are expected to be fully aware of all regulations regarding academic honesty as described in the
student handbook. Incidences of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely. All regulations governing
student conduct will be enforced in full.
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Lecture Schedule*:
TOPIC
TASK
DUE by 5:00 pm on..
Orientation
Email Dr. McPhee
Web-CT: Sample Quiz & Log-on to Chat
Friday, Jan 17th
Intro to Psychology
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 1
Email Assignment: Introduction
Friday, Jan 24th
Psychobiology
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 2
Email Assignment: Psychobiology
Friday, Jan 31st
EXAM 1
Video Material & Assignment Material on
Introduction and Psychobiology
Friday, Feb 7th
2:00 pm RH 249
Development
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 4
Email Assignment: Development
Friday, Feb 14th
Learning
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 7
Email Assignment: Learning
Friday, Feb 21st
EXAM 2
Video Material & Assignment Material on
Development and Learning
Friday, Feb 28th
2:00 pm RH 249
Memory
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 8
Email Assignment: Memory
Friday, Mar 7th
No tasks for this week
Enjoy your break!
N/A
Motivation
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 10
Email Assignment: Motivation
Friday, Mar 21st
EXAM 3
Video Material & Assignment Material on
Memory and Motivation
Friday, March 28th
2:00 pm RH 249
Disorders
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 13
Email Assignment: Disorders
Friday, April 4th
Therapy
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 14
Email Assignment: Therapy
Friday, April 11th
Social Psychology
Web-CT Quiz: Text Chapter 15
Email Assignment: Social
Friday, April 18th
EXAM 4
Video Material & Assignment Material on
Disorders, Therapy, and Social
Friday, April 25th
2:00 pm RH 249
March Break
* The schedule is tentative. I reserve the right to make any changes necessary, including topics covered,
assignment/exam content and dates. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of any changes made to this
schedule by reading email on a frequent basis.