INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY PSYC 1010 6.0 Section D
Course Instructor
Dr. Susan Murtha
217 BSB
Office Hours: Email smurtha@yorku.ca to make an appointment
Class notes: www.psych.yorku.ca/smurtha click on courses on left hand side, click on your course, then
select the notes that you wish to download and print.
Teaching Assistants (T.A) : Table to be completed early September
Students whose last names Contact the following T.A. by
Or by appointment
begin with the letters…
email*
-for help or to review tests
Jill Shuster
Time:
Rm.
Lila Hakim
Time:
Rm.
Paula McLaughlin
Time:
Rm.
Veronica Kazoleas
Time:
Rm:
Longena Ng
Time:
Rm:
* when emailing your TA or course director it is helpful to put Intro 1010 in your subject heading, you
may expect to receive a reply within 48 hours, if you do not, try again.
* you may also leave a phone message for the T.A’s by calling 736-5115, press 1, but it can take up to a
week for the TA to pick up the message, so the quickest way to get a response is via email.
Secretary
Zehra Bandhu,
284 BSB
phone number: 736-5115 ext 66232
Required Text Book
Weitan W., McCann, D., (2007). Psychology Themes & Variations (First Canadian edition). NY:
Brooks/Cole
Class Format
Lectures are designed to stimulate your interest in the field of psychology. Not all the information
presented in the text will be covered in class. Unless otherwise stipulated by me, you are responsible for
covering the text in its entirety. In addition, some of the lectures will present information that is not in
the text. Questions pertaining to such information will appear on the exams, and it is in your best interest
to borrow notes from a classmate if you happen to miss a class. Films/videos and/or class
demonstrations will be shown from time to time during classes and questions derived from such material
also may appear on exams.
Class notes:
I will make available a small text version of many lectures. Some lectures will be given by guest
speakers –these may not have notes available for them. Please check out www.psych.yorku.ca/smurtha,
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click on courses, then click on your course, then select the notes you wish to print. Note: these will not
replace showing up for lectures, they serve as an outline and give the basic information for each lecture
but are devoid of figures, diagrams, and most importantly details.
Evaluation
You will be given four exams in total. You must have your student ID with you in order to write
any test. The exams are worth 25%, 20%, 26%, 26% (values change depending on the number or
difficulty of the chapters to be assessed). Refer to the course outline to see when the exams are and the
value of each. This term there will be two exams, the first exam will be given in October and the second
will be given in November (see outline). During the winter term there will be two exams. The structure
of the exams will be largely multiple choice questions, with some short answer questions.
Approximately 80-90% of the exam will be multiple choice and based on the textbook, the remaining
10-20% will be based on material presented in class, usually tested through short answer questions. You
will need a pencil to fill in the computerized answer sheets, remember to bring a pencil when you come
to write an exam. You will notice that the tests add up to 97%, the other 3% is obtained by participating
in the URPP (see below).
Undergraduate Research Participation Pool (URPP)
You will be participating in psychological research for 3% of your grade (1% for each hour of
participation) or by writing a short review of a paper (further explanation of this will be given at the first
day of class). Obtaining this 3% of your grade may be done any time between September and March.
See the URPP website at yorku.sona-systems.com to log on and sign up for experiments. If you have any
further questions regarding the URPP you may contact them by email at URPP@yorku.ca or by dropping
in and seeing them during their posted office hours in Rm. 014 BSB.
Grading
Percentage
90-100
80-89
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
40-49
0-39
Letter Grade
A+
A
B+
B
C+
C
minimum grade
D+
D
E
F
Minimum grade requirement for taking other Psychology courses
The regulation states that students must obtain a minimum grade of C (4.0) in AS/SC/PSYC
1010 6.0 to be permitted to pursue a degree in Psychology as well as to take courses for which PSYC
1010 6.0 is a prerequisite. This regulation applies to students wishing to take Psychology courses in the
Faculty of Health, Arts and Science and Engineering. The regulation applies to students who entered the
University in Fall/Winter 1996 or after. If you fail to obtain the C and wish to continue a major or minor
in Psychology, you will have to retake the course and try to get the C.
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Guidelines for Missed tests and Exams
1) The student must contact my secretary in person or by telephone within 48 hours of the test
or examination. If you do not speak to her directly, you must leave a message at extension 66232 and
clearly state the following:
-your name (it helps to spell your last name)
-your student number,
-course and section
-phone number(s) at which you can be reached
-time best to call you back
My secretary, Zehra will collect your information and pass it on to the TA in charge of the makeup test.
It is your responsibility (not my secretary nor my TA’s) to follow up on this. If you do not hear
back from Zehra or the TA within a few days, contact them again, if that fails, contact me.
2) If you cannot contact Zehra during this 48 hour period, subsequent documentation accounting
for the delay must be provided.
3) Appropriate documentation verifying the circumstances for the missed test or examination
must be provided at the time of the make-up test to the TA. Failure to provide appropriate
documentation will result in a grade of F on the missed test.
What is appropriate documentation?
a) medical circumstances – tests/exams missed due to medical circumstances must be supported by an
attending physicians statement or a statement by a psychologist or counselor. The statement must include
the following:
i)the full name, mailing address, telephone number of the physician.
ii) state the nature of the illness and its duration (i.e., specific dates covered), and
iii) an indication of whether the illness and/or medication prescribed would have seriously
affected the students ability to study and perform over the period in question.
NOTE: the physician's office may be contacted to verify that the forms were completed by the physician.
b) non-medical circumstances – tests/exams missed due to non-medical circumstances must be
supported by appropriate documentation, i.e., death certificates, obituary notice, automobile accident
reports, airline/bus ticket/receipt for emergency travel (with date of booking on ticket), etc.
Airline/train/bus ticket/receipts for emergency travel must indicate destination, departure, and return
dates.
4) The manner in which the missed test (which has been legitimately documented) is handled
will be at the discretion of the course director.
i) In the case of a make-up test/exam, the student must be prepared to write the week following the
missed test. Although the content to be examined will be the same, the format may or may not follow
that of the original test/exam. You must check with my secretary for the time and place of the make-up.
A conflict in another course during the time of the make-up is not an acceptable reason for missing the
make-up (unless there is an examination in the other course at that time).
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ii) In the rare case in which no make-up opportunity is provided, the grade component will be prorated,
i.e., will be distributed across other evaluative components of the course.
-if you miss the make-up (again supported by appropriate documentation), then the prorating
option may be applied at my discretion. Only extremely unusual circumstances would warrant a second
chance at a make-up.
To summarize, if you miss an exam because of a documented medical illness or emergency,
leave an articulate detailed message with my secretary Zehra Bandhu at ext 66232 within 48 hours of the
test (i.e AS SOON AS POSSIBLE). It is your responsibility to find out when, where and the time that
the make-up test will take place. You must bring your documentation and give it to the TA at the time of
the make-up.
Cheating/Plagiarism/Impersonation
The University does not look favorably on cheating of any kind and the penalties for doing so are
very harsh. Become familiar with the rules and regulations regarding cheating/plagiarism. You can find
them listed at the back of the course calendar.
In summary, you can avoid problems by following some simple rules.
a) Don’t copy from friends or neighbors and don’t let friends or neighbors copy from you.
b) If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of what you are doing -- ASK.
c) do your own work and present your own ideas in your own words. Do no merely repeat or reword
whole sections from other sources.
Bad Weather
Classes will be held unless York University is officially closed. If the University closes on the
day of a scheduled test, the test will be held during the next class meeting. Otherwise tests will be held
as scheduled. If you think the university may be closed due to bad weather, call the university “weather
emergency” number 736-5600, the main switchboard at 736-2100, or you may find out more information
on the York U home page www.yorku.ca.
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Lecture/Test Schedule:
Expected Date
Lecture Topic & Associated Chapter
September 12
Introduction to the course, review course outline, lecture on how to
improve academic performance (Chapter 1)
September 19
History of psychology (Chapter 1)
September 26
Research Methods & Statistics (Chapter 2 & Appendix B)
October 3
Biological Basis of Behavior 1(Chapter 3)
October 10
Biological Basis of Behavior II (Chapter 3)
October 17
Exam-A (25%)(Chapters, 1, 2, 3, Appendix B)
October 24
Sensation & Perception (Chapter 4)
October 31
Consciousness/Sleeping/Dreaming (Chapter 5)
November 7
Learning I (Chapter 6)
November 14
Learning & Memory (Chapter 6 & 7)
November 21
Memory continued (Chapter 7)
November 28
Exam-B (20%) (Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and Chap. 2 and Appendix B)
December 6-20 Fall Exams: note your section has no exam during this scheduled time
period.
January 9
Language and Thought (Chapter 8)
January 16
Intelligence & Testing(Chapter 9)
January 23
Motivation and Emotion(Chapter 10)
January 30
Development (Chapter 11)
Note: Feb 2nd is the last day to drop from the course without receiving a grade. If you
don’t know your grade speak to your TA.
February 6
Development Continued (Chapter 11)
February 13
Reading week (no classes)
February 20
Exam-C (26%) (Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and Chap. 2 and Appendix
B)
February 27
Personality (Chapter 12)
March 6
Stress Coping and Health (Chapter 13)
March 13
Mental Disorders (Chapter 14)
March 20
Therapy (Chapter 15)
March 27
Social Psychology I (Chapter 16)
April 3
Social Psychology II (Chapter 16)
Exam-D (26%) (Chapters, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) will be written during the final/winter
exam time period (i.e. sometime between April 11-30th). Stay tuned to the York U.
website for current students to find out when this exam will take place.
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