PSYC 245: Abnormal Psychology
Course Overview
This course is designed to provide an introduction to a wide variety of psychological disorders and
related concepts. As you will read about in more detail from the text, we will aim to develop a
holistic, integrated understanding of contributing factors for each disorder as well as look at current
knowledge of available treatments. Overall, the two main goals of the course are to:
1. Introduce the fascinating study of abnormal behavior and familiarize students with core
concepts and current research literature in this field.
2. Develop an ability to apply information learned to evaluations of case material.
3. Help students become critical consumers of course material, as well as of the representation of
psychological disorders in the popular media, including the Internet.
To accomplish these goals, this course involves several components described below. The course draws
on multiple resources including a required text, supplementary readings (from Web sources, popular
magazines, and research articles), and discussion forums. I emphasize discussion forum participation
to increase student interaction because I believe that students can learn a great deal from sharing
their ideas about the course material and discussing those ideas with other students. There are also
(optional, but recommended!) video clips available on the CD-ROM as well as other case examples to
help you better understand these disorders.
It will be essential to pay close attention to course deadlines as you work to complete course
requirements. Although many of the deadlines occur on Sunday, there are exceptions so keep track of
deadlines in whatever way works best for you. Also, please read this course home page carefully so
you clearly understand what the course requirements are. If you have questions, ask them now!
Before you begin, review these Study Tips. Following these guidelines will help you get the most out of
this course.
Required Text
See course description for current materials.
Supplementary Readings
I will often refer you to Web pages or online articles that enhance the course material. Some of the
online articles will be posted through the electronic reserves (e-reserves) system at UNC, and others
will be available through InfoTrac (see below) or Sakai. These additional online resources will
sometimes function as tutorials on the information that is presented in the text, but more often they
will cover additional material. (Your midterm and final exams will cover the material referenced in
the “Assignments” section of the weekly course Web pages, but not those in the Additional Web
Resources, Readings, and Activities" section.) In addition, these supplementary assigned readings will
often be used as a platform for the discussion forum.
I also have included readings that might be of interest. These are different from the readings that are
listed here on our course Web site, and you are not required to read these materials. The readings are
located in the “Course Documents” section on the left sidebar. In each chapter folder, you will find a
set of PowerPoint slides that outline the chapter, as well as readings that I think you might find
interesting. I also have a folder designated for “Miscellaneous Readings” that contains materials that
might be of interest. These readings tend to be about current topics in psychological research that are
in the news or that seem especially interesting! Again, these are not required readings; however, you
are welcome to peruse these materials to find sources for the optional Student Review Project.
InfoTrac
Some of the online articles will be available through InfoTrac. You will receive a free four-month
subscription to this service—as well as instructions on how to access it—when you purchase your
textbook. If you have purchased a used textbook, you can still access InfoTrac through the UNC library
system with the links in the lessons. To search in InfoTrac, select “Expanded Academic ASAP.” The
easiest way to use InfoTrac is to request an “Advanced Search” by the document number for the
article (I will supply the document number to you), so make sure you’re under the “Advanced Search”
tab. Use the drop-down menu under “Keyword” and click on the “Document Number” option. Type in
the document number for the article in the box provided and select “Search.” InfoTrac should locate
the specific article. Click on “View” when the article has been accessed. You can then print the article
or read it online.
CD-Rom Cases
Once we reach the chapters on specific psychological disorders, useful cases are presented on the
CD-ROM. I describe these on the weekly pages in the “Additional Web Resources, Readings, and
Activities” section. Students in my on-campus course have noted that the videos I use to show
students what the disorders look like are powerful teaching tools. To provide a similar experience in
this Web course, I selected a textbook that provides cases on a CD-ROM. I will also take advantage of
“naturally occurring” cases in the media. Since it is not standard to require CD-ROM access in CCO
courses, I do not require students to view the cases or draw on them for class assignments. However, I
believe it will be very helpful for you to view as many of the CD-ROM cases as you can. You can also
use them as a good review tool. As you view the cases, try to identify specific symptoms the cases
illustrate and judge how closely the presented symptoms match the diagnostic criteria.
Discussion Forum
The discussion forums give you the opportunity to voice your opinions and respond to the opinions
offered by others on key issues related to the course. The “Class Questions” discussion forum also
provides an avenue to ask and answer other students’ questions about course logistics—e.g., how
others have successfully accessed Infotrac—as well as questions about course material not related to
the other discussion forums. One advantage of an online course is that it encourages individuals with
very different life experiences to engage in discussions relevant to the topic of study. To capitalize on
this strength, this course places heavy emphasis on your interactions within discussion forums. There
are forums on various topics and you are expected to participate in them as instructed on select lesson
pages. You are expected to share your opinions on the course material and build upon the insights of
other students. I will be monitoring the discussion forums to ensure that all comments are respectful
and on-task. If at any time you feel that someone’s comments are inappropriate, please notify me via
e-mail.
Based on past experience with the discussion forums, I want to provide some guidelines regarding the
posting of personal information on the forums. Although some sharing of personal information can be
appropriate (if related to class material) and happens in classroom settings, the added anonymity of
online classes leads people to share more than they might otherwise. A general frame of reference
when deciding if something is appropriate to the forum would be: is this something I would normally
get up in a classroom and share with 25 people I do not know well? Another good rule of thumb is to
monitor your own emotional reactions to course material and take more time to consider whether the
content of a response or post is appropriate when you are having a stronger emotional reaction.
Another option would be to run any questionable content by me. I can help guide you.
One last clear and fast rule, you should never directly attack (insult/personally criticize) another
student in your post. It is important that we treat each other with respect in order to have productive
and appropriate discussions. Finally, if you ever read something in the forum that concerns you or
seems inappropriate, feel free to drop me an e-mail. I do always read the posts but e-mail will get to
me more quickly, particularly during lessons with no active forum.
The discussion forums are largely designed so that you will learn interactively with each other. I will
contribute to the discussion on a regular basis; however, it is expected that you will respond to each
other’s questions and comments. If you ever have any questions that you would like me to answer
(about anything at all), please e-mail me and I will respond as quickly as possible. Please include
“CCO PSYC 245” in the subject line of all your e-mail correspondence. I receive many e-mails
during the day and including this in the subject line will assure that I won’t accidentally overlook
your e-mail and that I will give it my prompt attention.
The caution/limits I suggested on posting your own personal information are especially true for posting
personal information about someone else. Keep in mind that it is possible that someone could figure
out the identity of that person, based on your identity and your relationship to that person. Thus, not
only could sharing their information be considered a violation of their privacy but if what you shared
had legal ramifications... well, hopefully you get the point. So, please remember to be thoughtful
and mindful of others’ rights to privacy when posting. Now, back to the course-related discussion
forum logistics.
There is a link to the forums on the left sidebar. You will click the Forums link, then choose the forum
for the current week of the course.
Your discussion forum participation will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Quality of writing: I expect a conversational style, with no major grammar or spelling errors,
and clear ideas. Concise writing is preferred—generally one paragraph per posting is sufficient.
Try not to get hung up on expressing your thoughts perfectly; posting at least twice a week is
more important than eloquent expression.
Mastery of course material: Opinions should draw on and demonstrate understanding of course
material.
Interactivity: The extent to which you respond to other students’ ideas in an appropriate and
constructive manner (even where you disagree) is important. Students who participate in
well-developed "threads" of discussion will do well in this category. It is important that you
participate and post to the forum at least twice during the assigned time frame of that
forum. In addition to posting your opinion related to the discussion topic, you can also post:
1. to pose a question related to the discussion topic (something that you didn’t understand,
something you’re curious about)
2. to respond to another student’s posting.
Again, you should plan to post to the forum at least twice during each lesson. At least one of your
posts should be in response to another student.
Your participation in discussion forums will contribute 20 percent to your grade in the course. Thus,
your participation (or lack thereof) in this area of the course can significantly raise (or lower) your
course grade. More information and tips are provided on a page called Instructions for the Discussion
Forums.
Optional Student Review Project
Some students prefer to write papers rather than have their grades solely determined by tests. For
those of you out there, you can choose to complete a brief paper called a student review project. For
this project, you will function as a reviewer of how some aspect of abnormal psychology is presented
in the media. To begin, you should look at the topics and disorders we will be covering (see the Course
Schedule or look through the text chapters) and choose a topic area that particularly interests you
(such as PTSD, family factors in depression, community treatment for schizophrenia, and so on). Then,
you’ll need to identify a specific resource related to this topic that you want to review.
Your options include:
InfoTrac article—Do a search of InfoTrac to identify articles on your topic; select and critique an
article. You will also find articles posted in Course Documents for your perusal.
Other literature and print media—Select a magazine or journal article within your area of
interest; review and critique the article.
Web resource—Search the Web to find an online resource related to your area of interest to
review and critique. There are a number of links posted in the course to give you a starting
point.
Movie—View a movie related to your area of interest; review and critique it.
Important Details
1. You must get approval from me for your general topic of interest and for the specific resource
you would like to review, particularly if you choose to review a movie. The primary reason for
this step is that I must be familiar with the resource you select in order to evaluate your review.
If I am not familiar with your selection, I will need to determine whether I have time to
read/review it myself or whether you will need to select an alternate resource. During this
approval process, I will also evaluate whether your selected resource is appropriate for the
project.
2. To do this project, you must first review these details and guidelines for the student review
project to better understand the specifics and requirements.
3. You must decide and notify me of whether you wish to complete a review project. Again, see
the details and guidelines for the student review project for more information on what’s
involved.
This project can contribute 10 percent to your grade.
Quizzes, Exams, and Grading
Quizzes
To make sure that you keep up with and understand the textbook material, you will be asked to
complete online quizzes on each chapter. You can access the quiz site from any of the lesson pages.
You will take your quizzes using an online software package called Sakai. See Course Mechanics for
more information.
The quizzes will be available until 10 pm EST of the individual due dates. You may take the quiz at any
time before then, but you must submit your answers before 10 pm on the due date. Again, pay
attention to these due dates—you are responsible for noting and adhering to the course schedule!
When you have submitted the quiz, you can view your grades in the Student Gradebook section.
You will be graded on a pass-fail basis for each quiz and can take these quizzes open book (it will be
good practice for the exams to write down the answers you think are correct without looking at your
book, and then check any answer you are unsure of before submitting the quiz). Credit for 60 percent
or more of the questions is considered passing. Cumulatively, the quizzes will contribute 10 percent to
your course grade.
Exams
There will be a midterm exam and final exam, together accounting for 70 percent of your grade in the
course if you do not complete a student review project and 60 percent of your grade if you do. The
exams are weighted so that whichever exam you perform better on will receive more weight in the
calculation of your final grade. The exams will cover material from the textbook, course Web pages,
discussion forums, and assigned supplementary readings, and will be composed of multiple-choice,
fill-in-the blank, listing, and short-answer/essay questions. Unlike the quizzes, exams are to be
taken closed book. You are not to look at your text, the class Web pages, or any other material,
using only your memory and understanding of course material.
On exam day, the test will be made available at 12 am. You will have 90 minutes to complete the
midterm and two hours to complete the final exam (once you enter the exam site, you must submit
the exam within the allotted time). Your exam must be submitted before 11:30 pm on the exam day.
Very Important Notes
The exams will only be active on exam days.
Once you click on the exam link, you will have started the exam. Do not enter the exam site
until you are ready to take the test. You have 90 minutes to complete the midterm and two
hours to complete and submit the final exam—no longer! Set a timer! It is a violation of the
Honor Code to exceed the allotted time for the exam.
Be certain to follow the instructions that appear on the exam carefully.
You have only one opportunity to take the midterm and final exams.
Grading
If you choose to complete a student review paper, your grade will be based on the following
percentages:
Quizzes
10%
Student Review
Discussion Forum
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
10%
20%
25% or 35%*
25% or 35%*
If you do not choose to complete a student review paper, your grade will be based on the following
percentages:
Quizzes
Discussion Forum
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
10%
20%
30% or 40%*
30% or 40%*
*The midterm and final exam will be weighted such that the exam you perform best on is weighted
10% more than the other exam.
If any of the required course elements are neglected, it is very difficult to achieve a passing grade
for the course. For example, if a student passes all quizzes and exams but does not participate in
the discussion forums, it will be difficult for that student to pass the course.
Grade reports will not be e-mailed or mailed. You can access your grades in the “Gradebook” section.
Because your midterm and final exams include essay questions, your grade will be incomplete until I
have time to grade everyone’s essays.
Academic Policies
By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable
Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net-etiquette, and privacy protection.
As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities
that may include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful
of the rights and protection of other participants under the UNC-Chapel Hill Information Security
Policies when participating in online classes.
When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, such as
Google or YouTube, please note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the
University’s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy
protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting content
to sites not managed by UNC-Chapel Hill.
When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class discussions, please be
mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer
due to the possible presence of malware on such sites.
Honor Code
Remember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University’s Honor Code, which
states that “It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating,
or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic
personnel acting in an official capacity.”
All graded academic work must include a pledge comprised of the following: “No unauthorized
assistance has been received or given in the completion of this work.”
An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism. If you are uncertain about what constitutes
plagiarism, familiarize yourself with this plagiarism tutorial, courtesy of UNC Libraries.
A Final Note
Students in abnormal psychology courses sometimes experience “medical student syndrome” where
they start to worry that they have some (or all!) of the disorders they are studying. In most cases,
these fears are unjustified. However, if you find that the course material does hit close to home and
suspect this goes beyond “medical student syndrome,” discussing it with a professional may be
helpful.
If you are an enrolled UNC-Chapel Hill student, Counseling and Wellness Services (966-3658) is
available at no charge to discuss your concerns to determine how best to meet your needs. This
service is strictly confidential.
If you are not a UNC-Chapel Hill student, and you have a clinical concern, you are advised to
seek assistance with an appropriate professional in your area. The American Psychological
Association answers questions on choosing a therapist, and provides nationwide contact
information. You can also call the APA at 1-800-964-2000.
Another resource is the North Carolina Psychological Association’s Psychologist Locator Service:
1004 Dresser Court, Suite 106
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: (919) 872-1005
Fax: (919) 872-0805
E-mail: ncpa@interpath.com
Course Outline
Lesson 1: Introduction
Lesson 2: The Integrative Approach
Lesson 3: Assessment, Diagnosis, and the Scientific Study of Abnormal Behavior
Lesson 4: Anxiety Disorders
Lesson 5: Mood Disorders
Lesson 6: Eating and Sleep Disorders
Lesson 7: Physical Disorders and Health Psychology
Lesson 8: Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders
Lesson 9: Midterm Exam
Lesson 10: Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders
Lesson 11: Schizophrenia
Lesson 12: Personality Disorders
Lesson 13: Substance-Use Disorders
Lesson 14: Developmental Disorders
Lesson 15: Cognitive Disorders
© The University of North Carolina
Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.