Acadia University Division of Continuing Education
Distance Education Program
Course outline package for
PSYC 1023
Introduction to Psychology:
Applied Area
Instructor
Dr. Doug Symons
Revised
November 2003
PSYC 1023: Introduction to Psychology: Applied Area
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Continuing and Distance Education
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Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 4
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................ 4
2. INSTRUCTOR............................................................................................................................ 4
3. COURSE MATERIALS ............................................................................................................... 4
4. EVALUATION ........................................................................................................................... 5
5. ASSIGNMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 5
6. ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION ..................................................................................................... 8
7. MIDTERMS AND FINAL EXAM: ............................................................................................... 8
8. STUDENT HANDBOOK ............................................................................................................. 8
9. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ............................................................................................................ 9
COURSE SYLLABUS/SCHEDULE......................................................................................... 10
RECOMMENDED SCHEDULE ..................................................................................................... 10
LECTURE 1: INTELLIGENCE…………………………………………………………………..11
LECTURE 2: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................... 13
LECTURE 3: MOTIVATION & EMOTION ................................................................................... 16
LECTURE 4: PERSONALITY ...................................................................................................... 19
LECTURE 5: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY .......................................................................................... 22
LECTURE 6: ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY................................................................................... 24
LECTURE 7: THERAPY .............................................................................................................. 27
LECTURE 8: STRESS AND HEALTH ........................................................................................... 30
ASSIGNMENT WORKSHEETS……………………………………………………………...32
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Introduction
1. Course Description
This course is intended to introduce students to the scientific examination of behaviour in applied
areas. Specific content areas include intelligence, development, factors that influence our social
behaviour, emotions, personality, mental illness, abnormal behaviour, stress, and well-being. PSYC
1013 is prerequisite to PSYC 1023.
The course is structured to provide both traditional and active learning experiences. The textbook is
a very popular introductory psychology book in North America, has significant Canadian content,
and is popular among students. Chapter readings, lecture material, and tests form the basis of the
traditional course structure. In addition, a series of active learning experience assignments have
been selected to demonstrate concepts and ideas presented within this course. Activities may
require that you have access to some household items, and occasionally you may need either a family
member or a friend to answer some simple questions or do a straightforward task. Course
assignments based on these activities will be completed and handed in for grading by the course
instructor.
2. Instructor
Dr. Doug Symons
Mail
Dr. Doug Symons
Psychology Department
Acadia University
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
CANADA
B4P 2R6
E-mail
Doug.Symons@Acadiau.ca
Fax
(902) 585-1078
Phone
(902) 585-1571
3. Course Materials
1. Textbook:
Nairne, J.S., Lindsay, D.S., Paulhaus, D.L., & Smith, M.S. (2004). Psychology: The adaptive
mind. (2nd Canadian Edition). Scarborough: Thompson/Nelson.
2. Lecture Material:
Lectures are provided with the course material. Lectures are numbered to follow the
structure of the course. Each lecture, however, only highlights a few concepts from a
chapter and does not cover all the material within readings. A copy of all slides comes with
the course materials. For the print-based version of the course, audiotapes are provided of
Dr. Symons lectures, which follow the content of the slides. For the web-based version of
the course, these lectures are posted on the course website, and consist of a powerpoint
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presentation with a narration. The narration between print- and web-based versions of the
course is identical.
Lecture material must not be copied by you or redistributed to anyone else. It is for your use
only. However, the audiotapes do not need to be returned.
4. Evaluation
10% Assignment Activities 1, 2, and 3
20% Midterm 1
10% Assignment Activities 4, 5, and 6
20% Midterm 2
40% Final Exam
100% Total
5. Assignments
Assignments encourage you to think about concepts you are reading about. It is best to complete an
assignment in conjunction with reading a particular chapter. Your assignments are found below,
and two of these have work sheets attached to the back of this course outline.
You will see that self-reflection is a component of some assignments – you will not be graded on
your openness to self reflection, but rather, the way you think through the assignment. If there is
anything you feel uncomfortable with, please skip over that part. They assignments should be able
to be answered in a page or two. It is preferred but not necessary that answers be word-processed
or typed.
Assignment 1, Intelligence: Different kinds of intelligence
Howard Gardner, in his theory of multiple intelligences, proposes nine distinct kinds of
intelligence on page 346-347 of your textbook. According to his view, it would be possible
to classify different types of “geniuses”. For this assignment, complete the assignment 1
worksheet, which is attached to the end of this course outline. In this entry, you are asked to
give an example of a famous person who fits each of seven types of intelligence. If you can
not think of a specific person by name, try to think of an occupation or kind of person that
would require someone with the specific type of intelligence label. Then answer the
following questions:
1. Which of these people fits your own idea of an intelligent person?
2. Which (if any) do not?
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3. Are you able to consider all of these people “geniuses” in some way?
4. What kinds of daily activities do you engage in that make best use of three of these
different kinds of intelligences?
Submit the worksheet with your answers.
Assignment 2, Human Development: Developmental stages of toys
Obviously, toys are geared for children of different ages. In this assignment, will you will
provide observations of what kinds of abilities are needed to play with age-appropriate toys.
This assignment involves a field trip to a toy store, or the toy section of a department store.
Take a note pad, and make observations of which toys or games are designed for infants,
children, teens, and adults of different ages. Provide a listing of your observations (e.g.,
toys/games and their recommended age-range), and then answer the following questions:
1. What age groups did you find, and what were the characteristics of toys/games for each
of the age groups?
2. What kinds of abilities do each set of toys/games require?
3. Explain whether the toys/games seem appropriate for that stage, given what you read
about physical, intellectual, and social development?
4. Are there any toys that seemed inappropriate for the age group for which they were
designed, and if so, why?
Assignment 3, Motivation and Emotion: Monitoring eating behavior
An individual can become more aware of the situations in which he or she eats through selfmonitoring. In this assignment, you will monitor your own eating behavior by responding to
the questions on the worksheets at the end of the course outline. As a result, you might
become aware of certain patterns in your own eating behavior of which you were not
previously aware.
There are two worksheets for assignment 3, one for each day you do this monitoring task.
Fill out the forms by making a notation every time you eat something over the next two
days. The first question asks if you ate a meal or snack. If it was a meal, mark “M” in the
box, and if it was a snack, mark “S”. The remaining questions can be answered yes or no.
Use one column for each occasion when you eat something. An example of how to fill out
this sheet is in the second column. In this case, the person ate a meal, was hungry, did not
eat at a time she would normally have eaten, did find eat where others would see her, and
found the food appetizing. This assignment requires that you carry these two sheets around
with you for two days to be as accurate as possible in your recording. Use one sheet for
each day. Tabulate your results, for example, how many meals? How many snacks? Do you
typically eat when hungry or not? When alone? Then answer the following questions:
1. What patterns did you observe about your own eating habits?
2. How did your eating behavior relate to moods, hunger, and other cues associated with
eating?
3. Describe a friend or family member who would have completed these sheets in a
completely different way. How would you describe their eating?
4. Did you notice any changes in your eating from the first to second day, or do you think
your eating was affected by the fact that you were writing down what you ate?
Submit the sheets with your answers.
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Send in assignments 1, 2, and 3 in one package at the same time.
Assignment 4, Personality, Case study of a movie character
Your text defines personality as “….the distinguishing pattern of psychological
characteristics - thinking, feeling, and behaving – that differentiates individuals from others
and leads them to act consistently across situations.” (p. 480). It’s something you infer from
a person’s behavior, and is generally described in terms of traits, or overriding characteristics.
In this assignment, you need to pick a character from a movie that exhibits an extreme
personality. If you have difficulty thinking of someone, the following movies might prove
useful: Sleeping With the Enemy, Frances, As Good As It Gets, Mad Love, Sophie’s
Choice, Cabaret, Lean on Me, Psycho. You might find it easiest to actually watch an actual
movie and make notes, rather than rely on what you recall from a movie. Then answer the
following:
1. What movie and character did you choose?
2. How would you describe their personality, and what specific behaviors show this?
3. Did their personality change during the movie? Get more or less extreme?
4. How does this character help understand one of the personality models (i.e., choose
either Eysenck, “Big Five”, Freud, or some other model).
Assignment 5, Social Psychology, Fundamental attribution error
To do this assignment, immediately turn assignment 5 worksheets. Each sheet consists of
20 adjective pairs. One sheet is used to describe the self and the other sheet is used to
describe a good friend. In both cases, the description is provided by circling the adjective of
each pair that comes closest to describing the person. The instructions are contained on the
sheets. FILL OUT THE FIRST TWO WORKSHEETS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
READING ANY FURTHER.
Now count up the number of times you circled “It depends on the situation”, and answer
the following questions:
1. How many times did you circle “It depends on the situation” for you? For your friend?
2. What is the fundamental attribution error?
3. Were your responses consistent with the fundamental attribution error?
4. Two more worksheets are provided. Have a friend or family member do the same thing
you did with these two sheets. Did her or his answers also reflect a fundamental
attribution error?
Submit the sheets with your answers.
Assignment 6, Abnormal Behavior, What is abnormal?
In this assignment, you will have a chance to think about different ways of defining
abnormality. Please answer the following questions:
1. Suppose a 70-year-old entered university and started acting the same way as an 18-yearold student. Would you consider his or her behavior to be abnormal? Would students?
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2. Sit in a public place such as a mall, bus stop, or city square, and observe someone whose
behavior you might define as being abnormal.
3. High school students often call each other “weird” or “strange”. Which way of defining
abnormality do you think teenagers particularly sensitive to? Give an example.
4. Give a historical example of behavior that was once thought to be abnormal that is now
thought to be more normal than before. Can you speculate on a behavior now thought
to be abnormal that may be more normal in 100 years?
Send in assignments 4, 5, and 6 in one package at the same time.
6. Assignment Submission

The assignments may be mailed, faxed or saved as computer files and e-mailed as
attachments. Please remember to put your name, student number, course number, and
assignment number on the assignment and keep a copy in the event the original is lost

If you are using mail service, please include stamped, self-addressed envelopes for
the return of your assignments.
7. Midterms and Final Exam:
The midterms will consist of multiple-choice questions designed to assess your comprehension
of the material covered in the textbook, video-lectures, and assignment activities. The midterms
will each have 50 multiple-choice questions: 15 to 20 questions from each of three chapters.
You will have 60 minutes to complete these. The final exam will have 100 multiple-choice
questions that test material from the entire course. There will be 17 questions from the two new
chapters (Ch. 15& 16), and 11 questions from each of the six chapters that have already been
tested on the midterms. You will have three hours to complete this. Each of the midterms and
the final exam are administered by the proctor for the course, or contact continuing education to
write your tests on campus. The midterm grades but not the tests will be mailed back to you.
The final exam will not be returned. Note: You must get 50% on the final exam in order to
pass this course.
Your proctor should be an educational consultant at a hospital, a representative of a university/
college registrar’s office, a law enforcement officer, teacher, or clergy-person. Work colleagues,
friends, and relatives are unacceptable proctors. If you are having trouble arranging a proctor or
need to discuss whether someone would be appropriate, contact the Distance and Continuing
Education Office at 1-800-565-6568 or by e-mail at continuing.education@acadiau.ca.
8. Student Handbook
You are responsible for becoming familiar with the contents of the Student Handbook. It contains
important information about scheduling examinations, applying for extensions, withdrawing from
your course, ordering books, and computer and library services available to you. If you have
questions about the policies outlined in the handbook, contact the Division of Continuing and
Distance Education.
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Continuing and Distance Education
Division of Continuing and Distance
Education
Willett House, Acadia University
38 Crowell Drive
Wolfville, N.S.
B4P 2R6
CANADA
Fax: 902-585-1068
Email: continuing.education@acadiau.ca
Web: http://conted.acadiau.ca or
www.auo.ca
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm
(Atlantic Time)
Local Phone: 902-585-1434
Toll Free: 1-800-565-6568
9. Academic Integrity
Academic integrity demands responsible use of the work of other scholars. It is compromised by
such practices as plagiarism and cheating.

Cheating is the copying or the use of unauthorized aids or the intentional falsification or
invention of information in any academic exercise or the presentation of a single work in
more than one course without the permission of the instructors involved.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another as one's own. While it may
be argued that few ideas are original, instructors expect students to acknowledge the sources
of ideas and expressions that they use in essays. To represent them as self-created is
dishonest and academically reprehensible.

One may quote or paraphrase other writers if they have stated an idea strikingly, as evidence
to support one's arguments or conclusions, or as a point against which to argue, but such
borrowing should be used sparingly and always indicated in a footnote. The aim of
scholarship is to develop one's own ideas and research and only by trying to develop one's
own thoughts and arguments will one mature academically.

To provide adequate documentation is not only an indication of academic honesty, but also
a courtesy enabling the instructor to consult sources with ease. Failure to do so constitutes
plagiarism.

Furthermore, a student who knowingly helps another to commit an act of academic
dishonesty is equally guilty. A student who is uncertain whether or not a course of action
might constitute plagiarism or cheating should seek in advance the advice of the instructor
involved. Penalties are levied in relation to the degree of infraction of academic honesty.
They range from requiring the student to re-do the piece of work, through failure on that
piece of work, to failure in the course, and to dismissal from the university.
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Course Syllabus/Schedule
You have 6 months to this 3 credit-hour course. You may set your own schedule, but if you intend
to complete the course in less than 3 months, you should let me know. You may not be able to
finish the course in a short period of time.
Please do not leave all of your course work until a few weeks before your completion date. Although
I will make every effort to accommodate your schedule within reason, I need time to grade
assignments and mark exams, and am not able to do so on short notice.
Recommended Schedule
Topic
Chapter
Lecture
Assignment
Intelligence
9
1
1
Human Development
10
2
2
Motivation and Emotion
11
3
3
Mail in Assignments 1, 2, and 3 in one package at same time.
Midterm 1
(Covers Chapters 9, 10, and 11; Assignments 1, 2, and 3)
Personality
12
4
4
Social Psychology
13
5
5
Abnormal Psychology
14
6
6
Mail in Assignments 4, 5, and 6 in one package at the same time.
Midterm 2
(Covers Chapters 12, 13, and 14;
Therapy
15
7
Stress and Health
16
8
Final Exam
(Covers Chapters 9 to 16 listed above)
Contact me if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoy the course!!
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