Psychology 100 Course Outline—Introduction to Psychology
Spring 2009, Tuesday & Thursday 9:35 to 11 a.m.
Charlene Melrose, Professor
Course
This course is an introduction to general psychology. It is designed to give you an understanding of basic psychological
terms, principles, and research methods used in the discipline. The diverse subfields of psychology will be differentiated,
and practical applications of psychology in the real-world will be stressed.
Course Procedures
Attendance is taken by seat number in the lecture classes; therefore, you must sit in your assigned seat or you will be
marked absent. Since attendance is taken any time during each session; you must arrive on time and stay the
entire class period to receive credit for attendance. If you arrive late or leave early, you will be marked absent. If you
leave after attendance is taken, this will be noted and you will lose your attendance credit. You can not miss more than
4 sessions, and you must be awake and not using your cell phone or MP-3 player. In conjunction with the deadlines
of the college, should you choose to withdraw, make sure you fill out a withdrawal form at the Records Office, otherwise
you will receive a grade of “F.”
In class, we major on respecting our peers and the professor by conducting ourselves in an appropriate manner. This is
a large class, yet each person’s conduct in the room contributes to the smooth running of the course. This class begins on
time and ends on time. Plan to arrive early enough to find your seat and get settled, and wait until the class is formally
ended before you start to pack up your things or get up to leave. Cell phones must be turned off during class. You are
expected to be quiet, take notes, and listen when the teacher speaks. When the teacher asks for class participation, this is
the time to raise your hand, speak up, and share your ideas.
Student Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: 1. Differentiate between various concepts, theories, and
perspectives used in psychology. 2. Describe various psychological concepts by writing about the psychological concepts
and theories presented in the course. 3. Develop effective life-skills through the use of the techniques and strategies
presented in class.
Required Textbook: Essentials of Understanding Psychology, 7thth edition, 2008, by Robert Feldman; McGraw Hill
Publishers (ISBN-13: 978-0-07-721299-5 and ISBN-10: 0-07-721299-1). . To be successful in this class you need to
read and study about 2 modules per day. The textbook is very readable, interesting, current, and excellent!!
Examinations and Grading: The class will have five, 60 question exams, and one written paper. Each test will be
worth 120 points. From the five test grades, you will be able to drop your lowest test score from tests 1 to 4,
providing that you take EACH test and have not missed more than 4 class sessions by the end of the semester. Test
5 cannot be dropped. There are no make-up exams, so if you are ill and miss an exam, that missed exam will be your
lowest test grade, and will therefore be the grade that is dropped. You need official documentation from a hospital/doctor,
courts/jury duty, or funeral home to not take a test or to have an excused absence.
To help you become successful in this class and attain strong grades, I have created review sheets, highlighting the most
important concepts in each unit of the class. These concepts are those targeted for test questions. I like test questions that
ask for understanding of principles, meanings of terms, as well as recognition of the terms when the concepts are applied.
Your final grade in the class will come from the three highest test grades for tests 1-4, Test 5, and the written
assignment. Letter grades for the individual tests and your final grade in the class: 88.30%+ =A; 76.60-88% = B; 61.5076% = C; 54.9-61% = D; 54% and less = NP or F. Grades will not be curved any lower than this published distribution,
and since students have the privilege of dropping their lowest test score of Tests 1 – 4 (truly generous compared to my
choosing to give a few, meager extra credit points), no extra credit assignments are offered. Please know that the written
assignment is required for each student.
Regulations for taking exams: Arrive for the tests on time. Please bring a #2 sharpened pencil and a red (half page
size) Scantron. Tardy students will be locked out until the test booklets are passed out and counted. Late students will
lose time to do the exam. Be sure you know your OCC 8-digit student I.D. number, as it must be written on your
Scantron. We will not be able to tell you what your ID number is on exam day. Your OCC photo I.D card is required
on test day! You are not allowed to leave the Science Hall during the exam period. You must return your exam booklet
before leaving the Science Hall. You may not talk to any student for any reason during an exam.
Any student found to be cheating on exams is subject to being expelled from Orange Coast College. The following
constitutes cheating: Theft of exams, looking at another student’s test, talking with another student during an exam, the
possession or use of a cheat sheet, or use of a dictionary or any electronic aid during an exam.
This class is offered for a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) or CR/NCR. If you want a credit in the class, rather than a letter
grade, you must quickly fill out a Credit Option Form in the Records Office. In order to receive a credit you must earn
a grade of C or better. When you receive the “credit option” for the class, you receive the unit credit for the class, but this
option does not affect your grade-point average (GPA).
Additional Information
Inquiries concerning large-group test scores and attendance should be directed to the course assistants in the Lecture
Hall (office in the entry area). Questions relating to reviewing past tests are to be directed to Chris Bednarski in the
Psychology Office in C & L, Room 119, 714-432-5797. I am available for subject matter discussions before or after
class. Email is my preferred and fastest form of communication (cmelrose@occ.cccd.edu). Although I have an OCC
website, the Blackboard (access through MyOCC) for our class will give you the supporting information (calendar, course
outline, review sheets, gradebook, interesting websites). Also go to Blackboard to access MyPodcast lectures. Apple
ITunes is required. The textbook’s supporting website at: www.mhhe.com/feldmaness7 . My office is Forum #7; my
best office hours for members of this class to drop by are Monday/Wednesday, 9:45-10: 45 a.m.
Structure of the Course and Assignments
Section One:
History of Psychology
Work of Psychologist
Research Methods
Learning Approaches
Memory
Text: Chapters 1, 5, 6
Test: Tues. Feb. 24th
Section Two:
Neurons
Nervous System
Brain
Senses
Perceptual Organization
Sleep and Dreams
Drug Use
Text: Chapters 2, 3, 4
Test: Tues. March 17th
Section Three:
Development
Prenatal Years to Adulthood
Thinking
Language
Intelligence
Text: Chapters 9, 7
Test: Tues. April 14th
Section Four:
Motivated Behaviors
Emotional Experiences
Personality Approaches
Personality Assessment
Social Psychology
Attitudes & their Influences
Prejudice
Text: Chapters 8. 10. 14
Test 4: Thurs. May 7th
Section Five:
Stress and Coping
Health Psychology
Normal vs. Abnormal
Psychological Disorders
Therapeutic Treatments
Text: Chapters 11, 12, 13
Test: Thurs. May 28th
PAPER REQUIREMENTS: DUE: Tues. May 12th
This is a one-page, double-spaced, typed, writing
assignment, presented in 12 font. Two-page papers will
not be accepted. If all segments are addressed, you can
receive up to 50 points. No email or late submissions.
a. Which section of the class did you most
enjoy or find most intriguing? Name the
section and topics as titled in the lecture or
text.
b. Why did you choose that section and its
topics?
c. Which area of psychology will you most
follow and continue to pay attention to in the
future?
d. Why does the above mentioned area merit
being followed in terms of current, possible
new developments?
e. Which section of the course most related to
your life, and why?
In the above required points that need to be addressed,
do not answer with the same section/ topic area.
Make sure the answers to questions a, c, and e don’t
target exactly the same topics. So technically,
Question A could target 1 topic, Question C a different
topic, and Question E could target yet another area.