GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY I
PSYC 1100 sec 20-30, Spring 2015
Lecture: MW 3:35-4:25, ITE C80
Lab: as scheduled (see reverse)
in Whetten Graduate Center (WGC) 300-B or C
Instructor: Eric Lundquist
Office: BOUS 136
Phone: 486-4084 (during office hours)
Office Hours: Mon Wed 4:40-5:40
and by appointment
E-mail: Eric.Lundquist@uconn.edu
Web Page:
http://web9.uits.uconn.edu/lundquis/psyc1100.html
REQUIRED TEXT:
1) Gleitman, H., Reisberg, D., and Gross, J. (2007). Psychology (7th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. (ISBN13: 978-0-393-97768-4)
GRADING:
Exam 1:
Exam 2:
Exam 3 (Final):
Lab:
Experiment Participation:
TOTAL:
FRIDAY 3/6/15 in seventh week of class
FRIDAY 4/10/15 in eleventh week of class
WEDNESDAY MAY 6 3:30 PM
see reverse side
see reverse side
50 points
50 points
50 points
(cumulative)
(cumulative)
50 points
5 credits required; 7 extra credits allowed
200 points
COURSE OUTLINE: Topics & readings
Introduction: The Science of Psychology (no text reading)
Neural Bases of Behavior (Ch. 3 pp. 100-111, 79-82, 86-97, 113-117; Ch. 2 pp. 46-49, 56-57, figure 2.1 p. 48 [ANS, hypothalamus];
Ch. 8 p. 302-308 [frontal lobe and memory; consciousness]
A) neural basis: reflex, nerve impulse, action potential, communication by neurotransmitters
B) brain basis: nervous system structure, localization of function, disorders, lateralization
Learning: The Changing Organism's Adaptation to the Changing World (Ch. 6 pp.195-225, 228-230); natural selection (ch. 2 pp. 4143, 44-46)
A) classical and operant conditioning: concepts, procedures, and experimental phenomena
B) biological constraints: belongingness
C) cognitive learning: contingency in classical conditioning, learned helplessness, latent learning
Memory: Preserving the Past (Ch. 7 pp. 233-268); Generic and Semantic Memory (Ch. 8 pp. 278-280)
A) types of memory: short-term/long-term, episodic/generic, explicit/implicit, declarative/procedural
B) encoding and retrieval
Sensory Processes: Experiencing the World (Ch. 4 pp. 119-124, 127-129, 136-153); note figures 4.4 & 4.5 on (sound) waves; 4.12 &
4.13 on the eye; 4.20 on lateral inhibition; 4.21 on the visible spectrum; 4.24 on cone types; 4.28 on opponent processes
in color vision
A) psychophysics
B) light and sensory mechanisms in the eye
Perception: Knowing the World (Ch. 5 pp. 155-179, 187-191)
A) empiricist approach to depth perception: Helmholtz
B) nativist approach to form perception: Gestalt Psychology
C) ecological approach: Gibson
LECTURE is in ITE C80, MW 3:35-4:25. You'd have to be crazy to miss lecture; for details take PSYC 1103.
LAB:
ATTENDANCE AT LAB SECTIONS IS MANDATORY FOR EVERY PSYC 1100 STUDENT. PSYC 1100 is a 3 credit class,
corresponding to 3 meeting hours per week; two of those hours are lecture and the third is lab. LAB GRADES COUNT FOR 25% OF
THE COURSE GRADE. This means that if you skip the lab you could score perfectly on all three exams and still only receive 150 out
of 200 points for the course. Laboratory meetings for PSYC 1100 sections 20-30 are in Whetten Graduate Center (WGC) Room 300-B
or 300-C at the times stated in the course schedule. All students should know their lab section number, meeting time, and teaching
assistant's name. LABS BEGIN MON 1/26/15.
SEC
20
21
22
23
24
DAY
TIME
Mo
8:00AM - 8:50AM
Mo
12:20PM - 1:10PM
Mo
4:40PM - 5:30PM
Tu 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Tu
2:00PM - 2:50PM
ROOM
300C
300C
300C
300C
300B
T.A.
Xiojuan Hei
Timothy Michaels
Tommy Lee
Jason Gordon
Seok Kim
SEC
25
26
27
28
29
30
DAY
TIME
We 11:15AM - 12:05PM
We
1:25PM - 2:15PM
Th
9:00AM - 9:50AM
Th
1:00PM - 1:50PM
Th
5:00PM - 5:50PM
We
2:30PM - 3:20PM
ROOM
300B
300B
300B
300B
300B
300C
T.A.
Dongshuo Wu
Janill Marquez
Lauren Long
Selin Gotkas
Andy Forceno
Andy Forceno
EXPERIMENT PARTICIPANT POOL:
There is a large amount of ongoing psychological research in the department which depends mainly upon the participation of General
Psychology students as subjects. Researchers include faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduate students. The traditional
mechanism that has been in place for several decades nationwide is to allow introductory psychology students to earn part of their
course credit through participation in experiments. Benefits to the science of Psychology are obvious; benefits to the student include
exposure to research in specific areas of Psychology, insight into the general nature of psychological research, and opportunity to earn
extra credit in this course (see details below). Information about experiments (time, place, duration, description, experimenter's name,
etc.) is posted on the Participant Pool experiment sign-up page, https://uconnpsych.sona-systems.com/, which is also where you make
appointments to participate in the studies you choose; there are instructions on the page for how to log in. Refer to
http://participantpool.psych.uconn.edu for details of participation procedures. Specific policies for PSYC 1100 sec 20-30 are as
follows:
Each 1/2 hour of experiment participation counts for 1 experiment participation credit. All experiments are at least 1 credit;
some are only 1 but some may be more depending on the amount of time required to participate. Experiments this semester run from
Tuesday February 3rd through Wednesday April 29th. All experiment participation must be completed during that time, and any credit
accounting errors must be detected and corrected absolutely no later than Friday May 1st. Credit totals will be posted on the
Participant Pool web page on Monday May 4th.
5 experimental credits (2.5 hours) are REQUIRED of each student to maintain the grade they earn for the course. These credits
count ONLY as points to be LOST from the final point total for the course, if they are not completed. For example, a student who
earns 40 points on exam 1, 40 points on exam 2, 40 points on exam 3, and 40 points in lab has a total of 160 points; with 5
experimental credits the student maintains that score, but without the 5 credits the total score would drop to 155. All 5 credits must be
earned; if only 4 credits are earned, the 5 points are still lost.
Up to 7 additional experimental credits (3.5 hours) may be earned as EXTRA CREDIT, once the required 5 credits have been
completed; this is the only form of extra credit offered in this course. These extra credits count ONLY as points to be ADDED to the
final point total for the course. For example, a student who earns 40 points on exam 1, 40 points on exam 2, 40 points on exam 3, and
40 points in lab and has completed the required 5 experimental credits has a total of 160 points; with 1 extra credit the total becomes
161, and with the maximum of 7 it becomes 167. Note that the difference between 160 points and 167 points out of 200 could be the
difference between, say, a B and a B+ as a course grade. (Actual course letter grade cutoffs will be determined before adding any extra
credits, so that no one is penalized for not earning extra credit.)
Participation in experiments is strictly voluntary. For students not wishing to participate in experiments an alternative assignment
may be arranged, requiring about the same amount of time as the 5 experimental credits and playing the same role in grade calculation
as described above for the 5 credit requirement. However, no extra credits may be earned until 5 experimental credits are completed.
Once you make an experiment appointment you MUST keep it, or cancel with at least 24 hours notice; the web page allows
cancellations only until the 24-hour point is reached! If you miss TWO appointments with less than 24 hours notice, the system will
automatically disqualify you from further participation in experiments: it won't allow you to sign up for any more experiments; you
won't earn any more extra credits; and if you are lacking your five required credits you will have to complete the alternative assignment
described above to avoid losing the associated points. (But really, keeping appointments is a fairly basic responsibility that you can
probably manage okay!)
All questions about experiment participation procedures and issues should be addressed to psychparticipantpool@uconn.edu or in
person at the Undergraduate Studies Window in the Skip Lowe Atrium of the Bousfield Psychology Building. Be sure to first consult
the web page http://participantpool.psych.uconn.edu where you'll find most questions have already been answered!