PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
Psychology 101: Introductory Psychology
Syllabus and Class Information
1st Summer Session 2012
Class Times:
Class Location:
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs 12:40pm – 2:30pm
Psychology Building, Room 120
Christine Kermond, Organizational Psychology
Psychology Building, Room 302
Wednesday 11:00am – 12:00pm
(Note: In addition to the time listed above, I am available by appointment – the
best way to set up a time is via e-mail. I will arrive to each class early and stay
after class to answer any questions.)
E-mail:
Required Text:
kermond@msu.edu
Psychology by David Myers, 10th Edition, Worth Publishers, 2013. ISBN
#: 978-1-4292-6178-4
(Available at the MSU Student Book Store – sbsmsu.com)
Welcome to Introduction to Psychology! I look forward to getting to know all of you and
sharing in this learning process. I am genuinely interested in each of you achieving your
personal goals for this class and will help you in whatever way I can. From your instructor (me),
you can expect: clear expectations, fairness in evaluations, respectful treatment, and assistance
in achieving your goals. In return, I expect from students (you): respectful treatment of your
peers and myself, your best effort in all classwork, and willingness to ask for help when needed.
Making this class work is a team effort involving me, you, and your classmates. I truly hope that
by the end of the class you will all have a greater understanding of Psychology as well a keen
interest in learning even more about Psychology, just like I did after taking my introduction to
psychology class!
GOALS OF THE CLASS
This class is intended to provide a broad overview of the many topics in psychology. However
given the scope of the class I will certainly provide more depth into topics in which I have more
specialized knowledge (e.g., social psychology, organizational psychology). In addition, I will
give you (as a class) the opportunity to vote for (1) a topic that you want to explore further, or (2)
an entirely new topic that we will cover before the exam.
After this class, you should be able to:
1. Know the basic origins of psychology and what psychologists do today
2. Know the basics of the research process and the many ways in which psychology is
studied
3. Critically evaluate conflicting ideas in psychology, interesting psychological
phenomenon, widely accepted “truths” in our society, and/or your own personal
beliefs
4. Define, describe and apply psychological theories to your own life and the world
around you
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
CLASS GRADING
To evaluate your progress in achieving class goals, you will be graded on the following:
1. Exams (60% of your final grade):
There will be 2 non-cumulative exams, each covering approximately half of the course
material. Each exam is worth 100 points (30% of your final grade). The format of the exams
is multiple choice (80 points) and short answer (20 points). You will be asked to recognize
and recall psychological concepts and theories as well as explain, apply and evaluate
psychology concepts and theories.
2. Assignments (30% of your final grade):
There will be 10 assignments each worth 3% of your final grade. The format of the
assignments will vary depending on the material being covered. Please type & print out the
assignments to hand in at the beginning of the class that it is due unless noted otherwise.
The assignments are intended to help you consolidate the material you have learned in
lecture and readings as well as apply your knowledge of psychology to everyday life
situations. The assignments are posted on ANGEL if you want to get started early on some
of them. I will only accept assignments in paper format, meaning I will not accept e-mail
submissions. Plan to hand it in early if you know you cannot make it to a class.
3. In-class Activities (3% of your final grade):
There will be 6 in-class activities each worth 0.5% of your final grade. These in-class
activities are intended to encourage you to come to class and engage in discussion about
the class material with your classmates. These in-class assignments are due at the end of
the lecture that it is announced. I will describe the requirements of the in-class activities
during lecture.
4. Class Notes (2% of your final grade):
In a general class such as Introduction to Psychology, it is essential to know how to take
proper notes from the textbook and during lectures. I will collect your class notes (you can
hand in your notebook, cue-cards, paper clipped sheets of papers) during the 1st and 2nd
exam and give it back to you before you leave. I am looking for completeness in your notes
(i.e., notes for every chapter, defining crucial terms and concepts in your own words,
relevant elaborations of terms and concepts, also an example for that term or concept).
Taking notes on bolded terms, important headings, and “Learning Objectives” at the
beginning of every section in the textbook is a good way to guide your notes.
5. Research Education (5% of your final grade):
Research is a scientific discipline. As such, research is an integral part of advancing the
scientific understanding of the human mind and behavior. One of the best ways to become
familiar with the research side of psychology is to participate in experiments! Therefore 14
credits research participation is required by MSU’s Psychology Department for PSY 101.
Each research credit is worth 1 point, for a total of 15 points (you will start off with 1 point).
You may sign up for these experiments through the HPR system
http://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/. See page 9 to 11 for complete details about the
process of participating in research experiments at MSU. You may earn research credits up
to June 28th, 2012 5:00pm. I suggest that you get your credits done early (it is easier to do
a study or two a day than several studies last minute). Avoid the end-of-semester rush,
when there may be more students wanting to participate in research projects with a very
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
limited research experiment schedule. If you are under 18, please contact Leslie Balwin
(lbaldwin@msu.edu). If for some reason, you are unable or unwilling to participate in
research, please talk to me before Thursday May 18th, 2012.
6. Bonus Credit (2 % of your final grade):
You will have the opportunity to hand in 2 extra credit assignments each worth 1% of your
final grade, for a maximum final grade of 100%. You may hand in the bonus assignments
anytime during the semester.
a. Complete the rest of the sleep journal from Assignment 5 (06/06 to 06/28). Write 3
paragraphs (~1-2 pages double spaced) of what you have learned doing this sleep
journal activity. Apply what you have learned. See the last page of the sleep log for
details.
b. Bring in 1 cartoon or video clip (either draw it yourself or find it on the internet) of a
psychological phenomenon. Write 1 paragraph defining the phenomenon and explain
how the psychological phenomenon applies to the clip. Note the web link where you
found the clip. Note: the cartoon or video clip has to be a clip that was not shown in
class, used from your assignment, or from the textbook.
GRADES
Class Component
Exam #1
Exam #2
Assignments
In Class Activities
Class Notes
Research Participation
Points Possible (% Possible)
100 (30%)
100 (30%)
100 (30%)
30 (3%)
20 (2%)
15 (5%)
TOTAL:
365 (100%)
Extra Credit: +20 (+2%) (maximum 100% total)
Grading Scale:
90 – 100%
85 – 89%
80 – 84%
75 – 79%
70 – 74%
65 – 69%
60 – 64%
0 – 59%
= 4.0
= 3.5
= 3.0
= 2.5
= 2.0
= 1.5
= 1.0
= 0 (Fail)
ALL GRADES ARE
FINAL – DO NOT ASK
IF I WILL ADJUST
YOUR GRADE!
If your grade is 89.5%, I will round up to 90.0%.
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
Exam Policies:
Please come early on exam days and prepared with pencils, eraser and student ID. Once the
exam begins, there will be no talking, leaving the room, or other disruptions.
There will be no makeup exams without a documented scheduled conflict, such as religious
holiday or required participation in a university-sanctioned event. In case of scheduled conflict
on an exam date, you must submit documentation at least a week in advance of exam day.
Absence from an exam for any other reason – including minor illnesses, family obligations, job
interviews, and other unexpected events – will results in a grade of 0 for that exam.
Class Policies:
My major concern is that no student disrupts the learning of other students. Article 2.3.5 o the
Academic Freedom Report (AFR) for students at Michigan State University states: “The
student’s behavior in the classroom shall be conducive to the teaching and learning process for
all concerned.” Please be respectful of your peers and of me. Refrain from engaging in
disruptive behaviors such as chatting, texting, using the laptop for purposes other than taking
notes, eating loudly, sleeping (loudly). These activities distract the class and don’t help you
either. If I find distracting laptop use to be a reoccurring issue, I may require that the class be
free of laptops and other tablet devices.
Attendance:
There are no official attendance grades, but coming to class is crucial to doing well in this
course. Attending each lecture will help you complete the assignments as well as receive inclass activity grades. My notes do not repeat my lectures word-for-word, so it will be difficult to
study off of just lecture slides if you did not come to lecture.
E-mail Response Policy & E-mail Etiquette:
I will respond to all e-mails within 24 hours on weekdays and within 48 hours on weekends. It is
essential to practice proper e-mail etiquette especially early in your education and career. When
sending emails, please include the following: (1) an appropriate subject line (e.g., PSYC 101—
reason for e-mail), (2) Address the recipient (e.g., Hi Christine), (3) state your question in a full
sentence (e.g., Today in lecture you mentioned!, I was wondering about!), and finally (4) End
off the e-mail with your name (e.g., Best/Thanks/Sincerely, Jane Doe).
Academic Integrity
All students are responsible for knowing and following the university policy on academic integrity
and plagiarism. Article 2.III.B.2 of the Academic Freedom Report states: “The student shares
with the faculty the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and
professional standards.” In addition, the College of Social Sciences adheres to the policies on
academic honesty specified in General Student Regulation 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and
Grades; the all-University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00,
Examinations. Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor, you are expected to complete all
course assignments, including exams, without assistance from any source. You are expected to
develop original work for this course; therefore, you may not submit course work you completed
for another course to satisfy the requirements for this course. Also, you are not authorized to
use the www.allmsu.com web site to complete any course work in this course. Students who
violate MSU academic integrity rules may receive a penalty grade, including, but not
limited to, a failing grade on the assignment, on the exam or in the course.
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
All assignments in this class should be your own. If you have questions as to whether
something you write for this class is plagiarism, ask! I understand how confusing some of the
plagiarism rules can be; however, it is your responsibility to learn these rules and abide by them.
Commercialization of Course Materials:
Selling or otherwise profiting from course materials, including copies of slides and your course
notes, is prohibited.
Students with Special Needs:
Students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to
establish reasonable accommodations. For more information, call 884-7273 (voice), 355-1293
(TTY), or visit http://rcpd.msu.edu. If you require accommodations for exams, please notify me
as soon as possible. It is also your responsibility to reserve a spot for each exam at the RCPD
office.
Academic Assistance:
This is a university and you are expected to produce college level work. If you have any trouble
with assignments or the material covered in class, please make an appointment to speak with
me. Additionally, the university has resources to assist students, such as the Campus Tutorial
Center, the Campus Writing Center, Adult Student Services, and more. A lot is expected of you,
but the university wants to help you to produce your best work.
KEY LEARNING CONCEPTS
Key learning concepts are ideas from each chapter that if understood will help you achieve
one of the five class objectives above. The exams, assignments, and in-class activities are
based on these concepts.
I will provide you a list of “essential concepts & terms” and “important (but not essential)
concepts & terms” for every chapter covered.
• Essential Concepts & Terms are specific concepts that will be tested on via the exams.
Knowledge of these concepts can help you be more successful in the class. These
concepts are fundamental and critical concepts for becoming a successful Psychology
student and professional! All assignment content is essential to know.
• Important (but not essential) Concepts & Terms also provide key learning concepts.
While these concepts are important to know for being successful in this class and as a
Psychology student and professional, you will not be tested on them for exams. Note,
not all chapters will have these concepts.
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
How to Do Well in this Class
Everyone has different strategies for achieving their goals in a course, and what works for some
may not work for others. Based on my experience, observation of others and scientific evidence
here are some general tips that seem to help most people:
1. Attend Class. Attending class well help elaborate on information from the text, as well as
introduce you to new information. Being in the classroom and actively listening and taking
notes is the best way to do well in a course. Also, for in-class activity days, attending is the
only way to get your in-class activity points.
2. Read the Text: As it is a shortened semester in the summer, I tried to make the readings
manageable. You will typically have around 80 pages of text to read a week, along with 2
short assignments and experimental hours. If you do a little every day, this will be a very
manageable workload. Starting early is always better. Try reading 10 pages a day at first,
with one or two experiments per week. This will be much easier than trying to read 80
pages on Sunday night and doing 7 hours worth of experiments the last week! Spaced
studying is much better than mass studying!
3. Take Notes: It is good practice to capture the things you learn in your own notes rather than
merely highlighting the textbook in intentions of going back and rereading it. As we will learn
in the memory chapter, processing information in multiple ways, reading it, writing it, hearing
it, talking about it, applying it will help you learn most effectively!
4. Office Hours: Come visit me! I am here to answer your questions and give you feedback.
It’s always better to ask for help early in the semester than to wait until the last week, when
there’s not much I can do to help you turn around your grade in the course
5. Participate: There will be times when I ask you to discuss topics with your classmates or
take part in an activity. These experiences will add to your knowledge by giving you handson experience with psychological concepts. Participating will help you and your classmates
do better on assignments and exams. Completing the research education component of the
course will give you a better sense of what psychology researchers at MSU are studying
and how they are studying it! If after you complete an experiment and want to know more
about the study or how you can help in the lab, just ask the experimenter afterwards! They
are open to (fully) debriefing you about the study and maybe even keen on gaining a new
research assistant! Finally, make some psychology friends, either in this class, the online
class, psychology-enthusiasts, or people who have taken psychology before. The best way
to really learn something is to practice it and incorporate it into everyday life. The deeper
you process material, the more likely it is to stick. Don’t be afraid to geek-out and throw in a
psychological phenomenon when explaining something to your friends and family.
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
Class Schedule
DAY
DAT
E
TOPICS
READINGS
ASSIGNMENTS &
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
5/14
5/15
5/16
5/17
Introduction to Class
How to Study Psychology?
Social Psychology
Social Psychology
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
In-class Activity 1
Assignment 1 Due
Monday
5/21
Personality 32
Chapter 13
Assignment 2 Due
In-class Activity 2
Tuesday
Wednesday
5/22
5/23
Biology of the Mind 35
Biology of the Mind 35
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Thursday
5/24
Nature & Nurture 32
Chapter 4
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
5/28
5/29
5/30
5/31
NO CLASS – Memorial Day
Developing Through the Lifespan
Thinking & Language
Thinking & Language
Chapter 5
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Monday
6/4
Sleep, Consciousness & Hypnosis
Chapter 3
Tuesday
6/5
EXAM 1 (material covered 5/14-5/31)
Wednesday
Thursday
6/6
6/7
Vision
Other Senses
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
6/11
6/12
6/13
6/14
Memory
Learning
Intelligence
Motivation
Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Monday
6/18
Organizational Psychology
Chapter 11
Tuesday
6/19
Emotions, Stress, & Health
Chapter 12
Wednesday
Thursday
6/20
6/21
Emotions, Stress, & Health
Psychological Disorder
Chapter 12
Chapter 15
Monday
6/25
Psychological Disorder
Chapter 15
Tuesday
6/26
Therapy
Chapter 16
Wednesday
6/27
Thursday
6/28
Bonus Material -- Review for Exam
EXAM 2 (material covered 6/4-6/26)
Deadline for Research Participation
Kermond
Assignment 3 Due
In-class Activity 3
Relax! Take a break
In-class Activity 4
Assignment 4 Due
Assignment 5 Due
HAND IN NOTES
Assignment 6 Due
In-class Activity 5
Assignment 7 Due
Assignment 8 Due
Assignment 9 Due
Assignment 10 Due
In-class Activity 6
Bonus Assignment Due
HAND IN NOTES
Enjoy your summer
8
PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
MICHIGAN STATE
Syllabus & Class Info
UNIVERSITY--DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Participation in Psychological Research: Information for Students
As part of your psychology course, you are encouraged to participate in research projects conducted or
supervised by the faculty of the department. The purpose of such participation is to give you some direct
experience with real experiments and to give you a better idea of how the work of psychology is actually
carried out. Participation is a course requirement for all sections of PSY 101.
SPECIAL NOTE: Students under 18 years of age may not participate in any HPR experiments.
Special options have been created for students under 18 to meet the 14 credit participation. Contact
Leslie Baldwin (lbaldwin@msu.edu) the HPR Student Coordinator, in Room 262, Psychology
building if you are under 18 and want to learn more about these options.
Steps in Research Participation: Registering as a Participating Student.
The purpose of this handout is to go over some of the things you will need to know before participating in
psychological research. The first step is registering. This, like nearly all your scheduling activities is handled
through a site on the Internet/World Wide Web. Its address is: http://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/
***If you have participated in the HPR in previous semesters you will need to create a new account.
***
You can access it using standard Web browsers (such as Netscape, Firefox or Microsoft Explorer). This
will bring HPR main page. Click on the Participant button. The first time you visit this page you must
create your account. Click on the button that says Create an account - you will be directed to the page that
says Enter the Account Creation ID. This semester your Account Creation ID is psych2012 – in the box
used to enter the access code, type it just like this (in lower case), then click on Enter. You will now see the
registration page where you should provide all the requested information. Once your account is created, you
will be able to log directly into the system with your user ID and MSU e-mail address. Please make sure
you fill out all the fields in the registration form. Registrations with incompleted fields will not be able to
view the available studies.
Among other things you will be asked to select the course and section number to which you wish to have
your participation credits credited. It is CRITICAL that you select the correct course and section number.
If you select an incorrect course or section, the credits that you earn through participation will NOT be
relayed to the proper instructor and will not be counted in calculating your course grade. If you are enrolled
in more than one participating class you will disperse the credits you earn between the classes (credits
cannot be shared) on the “My Schedule “page on your HPR account.
During some semesters, experimenters may want to get some background information on those participating
in their experiments. They do this by having students answer Global Questionnaires. The more of these that
you fill out, the more experiments you will be eligible to participate in. So, after registering, you should
click on the Answer Global Questionnaires button and see if any are posted.
Signing-up for research: You can sign up for experiments 24-hours a day on the Web site. To do so, get to
the Student Menu (following the procedure described above). Then, to see a list of all experiments that are
currently recruiting participants, click on the Sign up for an Experiment button and follow the indicated
directions. Please make sure you read the participant task and any restrictions for the experiment you
are signing up for.
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
Canceling appointments: Experimenters have invested a great deal of time and money in preparing
an experiment. This goes to waste if you fail to keep your appointment. In such cases, you can cancel
your appointment 24 hrs prior to the start time by clicking on the button marked View/Modify My
Schedule at the Student Menu on the Web site and following the instructions for canceling an
appointment. (You need to know the name of the experiment and the date/time you signed up
for.) If it is after the 24 hour deadline you need to e-mail the HPR student coordinator Leslie
Baldwin, (lbaldwin@msu.edu ).
If you lost the appointment time and place: Sometimes, people mislay the date-time-location information
for an experiment they've signed up for. If this happens to you and you ever need to check on your
appointments (where you're supposed to be and when), you can always click on the button marked
View/Modify my Schedule at the Web site to get this information. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by
writing down all the information and keeping it in a safe place.
Reporting for a research appointment: Be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the experiment on
time, (Arriving 10 minutes before the experiment is to begin is suggested) If you are late, you could find
the experiment in progress and the door locked. On rare occasions, an experimenter may not make his/her
appointment with you because of unusual circumstances (e.g., a car breakdown, a personal emergency). If
this happens contact Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student coordinator in Room 262, Psychology Building or
email her at: lbaldwin@msu.edu to report it (email is preferred).
Rights of Students Participating in Psychology Research
Participation must be voluntary/optional activities. First, it is Department, University, and Federal
policy that no student be compelled in any way to participate in research. If you participate in research, it
must be done voluntarily. Therefore, even in classes where research participation is required, students must
be offered one or more alternative activities to meet their requirement. If you want to avail yourself of such
an alternative activity, you may get information from your professor. Note that on rare occasions there are
more people interested in participating in experiments than there are openings in the experiments. If this
occurs this semester, additional alternative activities will be provided later in the semester.
Participation should be educational. Second, participating in research should be a learning experience for
you. You have a right to obtain information about the experiments in which you serve as a participant. You
are entitled to have your questions about the experiment answered. Also, at least five minutes of every
experimental session must be devoted to teaching you something about the experiment. You are entitled to
receive a written summary of the experiment, including the name and phone number of the person in charge
of the experiment, whom you may contact if you have additional questions.
The right to discontinue participation: Third, the Department of Psychology is highly concerned that no
study be conducted that would in any way be harmful to you. Even so, it is possible that in rare cases you
will feel uncomfortable about participating in a study for which you have volunteered. Just remember, you
always have the right to leave any experiment. You don't have to explain or justify why you want to leave,
and you can never be penalized for leaving.
The right to receive earned credits: Finally, if you do what you're supposed to do (sign up properly, show
up at the right place at the right time, etc.), you have a right to receive the credit you've earned. So, for
example, even if an experimenter has an equipment breakdown, you're still entitled to receive credit for the
time you've spent in the study. However, do not sign up for the same study twice. Please remember that
credit values are based on the time it takes to complete a study, (1 credit equal to 30 minutes) and not
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PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
1st Summer Session 2012
Syllabus & Class Info
the study itself. Credits are not automatically awarded and it may take researchers a few days to
collect their data and record attendance. The HPR does not penalize participants for missing studies
but we do appreciate being notified if you cannot make your session.
Participants are NOT penalized for No Shows or if they cancel an appointment.
Reporting problems: If you ever encounter some problem or feel that your rights have been violated, we
want to know about it. Problems you have will be handled by Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student coordinator,
email address lbaldwin@msu.edu or come to Room 262 Psychology Building. They will be investigated
and appropriate action will be taken. You will need to know the name of the experiment and the
date/time you signed up for.
Conclusions: We want to emphasize that negative experiences are very rare; most students who serve as
participants in research at Michigan State find their participation interesting and enjoyable. When you serve
as a participant in psychological research you're benefiting personally by learning more about what the
science of psychology is really about, but you're also benefiting many others. Others like the psychologists
who are working to get a better understanding of interesting and important behavioral questions. Others like
people who will benefit when that knowledge is ultimately applied to everyday human problems like
loneliness, depression, divorce, and self development. And others like future generations of students. Who
knows? Perhaps the research you participate in this semester will be featured in future psychology
textbooks, just as some of the experiments you'll study this semester had their data supplied by previous
generations of MSU students. We hope and expect that you'll put as much in and get as much out of
research participation as they did.
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