Syllabus for PSYC386
Course Title:
Instructor:
Michael Liebhaber, PhD
Email: Michael.liebhaber@faculty.umuc.edu
or mjl@znet.com
Class website: www.mjliebhaber.com/psyc354
Assistance:
This is a Hybrid class. If you experience trouble accessing any online information, please
let me know as soon as possible. You are responsible and may loose points if you cannot access
the correct online materials.
This course moves quickly so please carefully review the class schedule and assignments. Make sure they fit
with your time commitments, work schedule, etc. Attendance is mandatory. If your schedule will not permit you
to attend every class or may require you to arrive late or leave early you may want to consider another time or
format (e.g., online).
Course Materials:
• Texbook: Culture and Psychology, International Edition, 5th Ed., David Matsumoto, Linda Juang, 2013
o Student Site: http://www.wadsworth.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=9781111344948&discipline_n
umber=24&template=AISE
Course Description:
Course Outcomes: After completing this course, you should be able to:
• understand issues surrounding research and assessment of diverse populations.
• become familiar with the major ethnic groups, their values, and psychological issues.
• become more aware of their own and others’ perceptions of ethnic groups and how they play a role in social
behavior.
Course Introduction:
Understanding how culture shapes and influences lives and how to behave in multicultural contexts is
rapidly becoming a required set of skills to function in the work place and in the community. The purpose
of this course is to provide you with a better appreciation of the ways in which culture affects all aspects of
our behavior, and to increase your awareness of the many variations in human behavior in other cultures.
Topics covered in the class include how cultures are defined in terms of dimensions and values and the
interaction and influence of culture on parenting, gender, self identity, conformity and acculturation, and
physical and mental health.
Grading Information and Criteria: Assignments are designed to help you better process the material. Your grade
will be based on projects, participation, and extra credit.
o Weekly Chapter Summary – 120 points (20 points each). Students will summarize a part of the weekly
readings in a one-page report. Students will post a comment on the readings on Webtycho and present their
summaries in the next class session. Details will be announced in class.
o Cultural Autobiography – 50 points. This 2-3 page paper will describe the student’s cultural roots and
heritage, considering ethnic, racial, gender, socioeconomic, and religious/spiritual experiences. The student
will describe the impact that background variables have had on her / his own values and worldview, as well
as how these impact the way the student views and relates to others and their values systems. Students will
take information from their own personal experiences, cultural dimensions and values surveys, the
textbook, and other resources provided by the instructor. Details will be announced in class.
o Culture Comparison Paper - 50 points. A 2-3 page paper that describes and compares three cultures.
Students will use the information from their Cultural Autobiography and compare it to the Dimensions and
Values from two other cultures. Students will also incorporate information from the textbook and other
resources provided by the instructor. Students will present a summary of their report in class. Details will
be announced in class.
o
Personal Interest Paper - 200 points. A 6-8 page paper on one of the substantive topics from the class
(e.g., well-being, immigration, gender, identity, religion, etc.). Compare these topics for the student’s own
culture and at least one other culture. Six scholarly sources of information are required (textbook included).
Students will present a summary of their report in the final class. Details will be announced in class.
o
Grading Scale:
A = 90-100% Outstanding scholarship
B = 80-89% Good scholarship
C = 70-79% Satisfactory scholarship
D = 60-69% Marginal scholarship
F = below 60% Failure
Course Schedule
Note -- The contents of this syllabus and assignments may be altered as needed. It is your responsibility to
stay informed about any changes announced in class.
Week 1 - Introduction
Read before class
• Chapters 1, 2 (What is Culture? / Research Methods)
During the week:
• Read: Chapter 15 (Organizations ) and Handout (The culture theory jungle: Divergence and
convergence in models of national culture)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 2 – Describing Cultures
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
During the week:
• Read: Chapters 3, 4, 6 (Enculturation / Developmental Processes / Gender)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 3 – Becoming part of the culture
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
During the week:
• Read: Chapters 5, 9 (Cognition / Language & Communication)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Cultural Autobiography
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 4 – Thinking and communicating
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
• Turn in and discuss your Cultural Autobiography
During the week:
• Read: Chapters 7, 8, 10 (Health / Emotions / Personality)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 5 – Physical and mental Health
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
During the week:
• Read: Chapters 11, 12 (Abnormal Psychology / Treatment)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Culture Comparison Paper
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 6 – Abnormal Behavior and its treatment
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
• Turn in and discuss your Culture Comparison Paper
During the week:
• Read: Chapters 13, 14 (Social behavior parts 1 & 2)
• Write: Assigned part of Weekly Chapter Summary
• Post: Webtycho comment
Week 7 - Identity and Social Behavior
This class:
• Present your part of the Weekly Chapter Summary
• Turn in and discuss your Culture Comparison Paper
During the week:
• Write: Personal Interest Paper
Week 8 – Final Presentations
This class:
• Turn in and discuss your Personal Interest Paper
Project Descriptions: For descriptions, see the Grading Information and Criteria section.
Other Information:
o
Attendance: Commitment to on-time, regular attendance is one of the responsibilities you agreed to when
you enrolled in this class. Attendance is mandatory at all class meetings and in WebTycho conferences to
get full credit for weekly activities. I will not make exceptions to make-up or late policy without prior
arrangements. Arriving more than 30 minutes late or leaving more than 30 minutes early counts as an
absence. Each student is allowed two (2) unexcused absences for this course. A student’s grade will be
reduced by 10% for each class missed after that as follows: 3 absences = -10%, 4 absences = -20%, 5
absences = -30%, 6 absences = -40%, 7 absences = -50%.
Students who miss a single class for a medical reason, religious observances, participation in University
activities at the request of university authorities, bad weather, or other compelling circumstances are not
required to provide documentation, but students who are absent more than once may be responsible for
providing various forms of documentation, depending on the nature of the absence. Last minute changes to
work and child care schedules, pre-scheduled medical appointments, transportation problems, etc., while
unfortunate, are not emergencies.
o
Incomplete: A grade of incomplete can be given if the student has an unforeseeable situation/emergency
AND the student requests it in advance AND the student has done all work except for the last exam and last
two weekly activities. A student will have one term to make up the incomplete assignments.
o
Exam Make Up: NO make-up exams.
o
Late Projects: Five (5) points per week will be taken off projects that are turned in past the deadline.
o
Late Extra Credit: NO late extra credit.
o
Drop / Withdraw from class: If you want to drop or withdraw from this class, you must initiate the
drop/withdraw process. You will NOT be dropped automatically if you stop coming to class. Failure to file
an official withdrawal may result in a failing grade. Please be aware of the new withdrawal policy for
hybrid classes effective Spring Session 2: Withdrawal dates for hybrid courses fall on the Friday before the
final week of class.
o
UMUC's policies regarding students with disabilities: It is UMUC policy to provide, on a flexible and
individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have documented disability conditions
(e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, or systemic) that may affect their ability to participate
in course activities or to meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact
Susan Schaeffer, Director of Disability Services, for a confidential discussion of their individual need for
academic accommodations. Susan Schaeffer can be reached at sschaeffer@umuc.edu.
o
Weather: For current updates on road conditions during inclement weather and other weather information
resources call 480-COLD or 06371-47-2653, or go to one of these sites:
www.ramstein.af.mil/weatherinfo.asp / facebook.com/RamsteinOfficial /
facebook.com/army.kaiserslautern. During RoadCon Red and Black, AFN TV will post crawl messages on
the bottom of the screen.
o
UMUC Academic Policies: For UMUC policies on Academic Integrity, Student Conduct, Grades of
Incomplete, Withdrawals, Grade Appeals, Non-discrimination, Services to Disabled Students, Services to
Veterans, and other policies relevant to studying with UMUC, please see the UMUC Online Policy
Manual.
Faculty Bio
Michael J. Liebhaber, PhD, MFA
Michael is currently Collegiate Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland University College in
Europe. He received his Master’s in Psychology and Doctorate in Child Language from The University of Kansas.
He was a MacArthur Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Research in Language at the University of
California, San Diego and has since worked for a number of university and private research organizations and
published research on expert systems, language development, decision-making, and interface design.