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INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY (PSY 101, Section 730)
Instructor: Katherine Corker
E-mail : corkerka@msu.edu (Please put Psy101 in the subject line)
Required Text
Psychology, by David G. Myers, 8th edition, 2007, Worth Publishers, ISBN: 0-7167-6428-8. The
textbook is available at the Student Book Store (http://sbsmsu.com, 417 East Grand River Avenue,
East Lansing, MI 48823, 517-351-4210) and at Amazon.com.
Course Description
Welcome to Psychology 101: Introductory Psychology Online, Summer Session A, 2009. The entire
course is online (i.e., there are no face-to-face meetings; all exams are taken online). The course
consists of online materials corresponding to the 18 chapters in the textbook, Psychology, by David
Myer. Specifically, for each chapter the following online materials (links) are available:
Objectives
Narrative Summary
Overview (PowerPoint Presentation)
Practice Quiz (multiple choice)
Practice Essay Questions
Review
Web Links
In addition, many chapters have additional PowerPoint Presentations that focus on one or more
topics in that Chapter.
It is STRONGLY recommended that you use ALL of the online materials, in addition to reading the
chapters in the textbook. By taking the practice quizzes, you will get feedback about your
understanding of course material. Quiz questions are drawn from the same pool of questions that is
used to construct the exams and final exam (although the practice quizzes do NOT contain the same
questions as the exams and final exam). Using all of the online materials AND reading the textbook
chapters carefully (and twice, if possible) is the best way to prepare for the 4 online Exams and the
comprehensive online Final Exam.
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to provide a basic understanding of what psychology is all about, and
how psychologists go about the business of studying human behavior. The course provides an
overview of topics in all areas of psychology, including biological, cognitive, social, developmental
and personality psychology. For example, we will consider such topics as genes and behavior,
human intelligence, attitudes, social development and mental disorders. We hope the course will
stimulate your interest in psychology, and that you will pursue this interest in advanced courses in the
discipline.
Virtual Office Hours
Office hours will be held on ANGEL in the course Chat Room, every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00
PM (or by appointment).
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Exams
Tentative Schedule
The course begins on May 18 and ends July 2. There are 4 Exams and a comprehensive Final
Exam, scheduled as follows (times are Eastern Standard Time (EST)):
Exam 1: Prologue and Chapters 1 to 4
To be completed between 7 AM (EST) May 27 and 10 PM (EST) May 29.
Exam 2: Chapters 5 to 8
To be completed between 7 AM (EST) June 6 and 10 PM (EST) June 8.
Exam 3: Chapters 9 to 13
To be completed between 7 AM (EST) June 16 and 10 PM (EST) June 18.
Exam 4: Chapters 14 to 18
To be completed between 7 AM (EST) June 26 and 10 PM (EST) June 28.
Final Exam: Chapters 1 to 18
To be completed between 7 AM (EST) July 1 and 10 PM (EST) July 2.
Assessment Method
The exam method used in the Department of Psychology is one that enhances exam security during
online testing. It is called “Single-question, no backtrack”. In this type of exam only one question is
delivered at a time. A student makes a decision about that question, answers the question and
submits it. Then the next question is presented. It is not possible to go back to previous questions
and change answers that you already submitted. Instructors can ask questions knowing that a
question “gives away” the answer to a previous question. Of course, this could never happen on a
regular paper-and-pencil test.
This method requires a different strategy for test taking. You may have learned to answer all the
questions that you know and then go back to the others. This strategy is not possible in a “singlequestion, no backtrack” testing method. In order to familiarize you with the assessment method used
in this course, I created a “single-question, no backtrack” practice quiz about the course syllabus. The
quiz is available at ANGEL on the UNITS page. If “single-question, no backtrack” is a method with
which you will be comfortable then this online PSY 101 class is probably a good fit for your
assessment style.
IMPORTANT:
a. Exams 1, 2, 3 and 4 each contain 50 multiple-choice questions, randomly selected from a larger
pool of questions. Thus, no two students will receive the same exam. The Final Exam contains
100 questions, randomly selected from a larger pool of questions. Thus, no two students will
receive the same final exam.
b. Exam questions are presented one at a time. Once you choose an answer on an exam, you
CANNOT go back to change your answer.
c. Upon exam submission, you will receive feedback about your overall score in the exam but NOT
detailed feedback about the correct answers for each of the exam questions. Such detailed
feedback is provided only for practice quizzes (so I encourage you to take advantage of practice
quizzes). Exams, once taken, are NOT available again.
d. You will have 50 minutes to complete each of Exams 1 through 4, and 95 minutes to complete
the Final Exam.
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e. Note that Exams will appear on the UNITS page during the time period scheduled for taking them
(just indicated, above).
f. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS. You must take each exam within the dates and times that it
is scheduled.
Course Requirements
There are 2 major course requirements, described below:
(1) 4 Exams and a Final Exam, as described in the Assessment Method and Grading Policy. All
exams are CLOSED BOOK and CLOSED LECTURE NOTES. You may NOT visit other online course
sites while taking an exam. Such visits will be recorded by the Angel courseware system and will
result in a penalty grade of zero. You may NOT use your own lecture notes while taking an exam.
Doing so is considered cheating and will result in a penalty grade of zero.
The following directions will appear on each exam:
READ THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT. NOTE THE
SECTIONS IN YELLOW. There are 50 multiple-choice questions in this exam and you have 50
minutes to complete the questions. If you begin the exam shortly before the closing time you may
not have all 50 minutes. The questions will be presented one question at a time. ANGEL
automatically submits your exam when 50 minutes is up or when the designated closing time is
reached. Make sure you click SAVE ANSWERS on a regular basis to save your answers during
the exam. The exam questions are closed book. You may not consult with any other individuals
or share the questions with others. See the syllabus for complete details regarding academic
integrity.
The quiz questions progress in a forward manner. When you have answered a question click on
NEXT QUESTION. Once you go to the next question then you cannot return to a previous
question. You must close other browser windows. Choose the best answer for each of the 50
questions. Each question is worth 2 points. Remember, you have 50 minutes to complete the
exam.
Similar instructions will be displayed for the Final Exam. They will, however, describe an exam that is
100 questions and that lasts for 95 minutes.
(2) Research Participation. You are required to participate in online psychological research studies
through the psychology department’s Human Participation in Research (HPR) pool. Studies MUST be
online studies hosted at the Human Participation in Research (HPR) pool from the MSU Psychology
Department. Students receive one HPR credit for every 30 minutes spent in research.
The research participation requirement for this course is 10 HPR credits (approximately 5 hours of
research participation). Research participation must be completed no later than 5 pm (EST) on June
30, 2009.
Instructions for registering as a participating student in the HPR Subject Pool are posted on ANGEL.
If you have questions or problems with the Subject Pool, please contact the HPR Subject Pool
Secretary, Leslie Baldwin at lbaldwin@msu.edu.
If you wish not to participate in research, you may choose to complete an alternative assignment. The
alternative assignment for this course is a 5-page research review paper (on a topic of your choosing
relevant to psychology). Please contact the instructor with your choice of topic and for more details.
The research review paper must be in APA style and contain at least 5 relevant citations. It must be
submitted no later than 5 pm (EST) on June 30, 2009.
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Grading Policy
All of the online exams consist of multiple-choice questions. You may enter an exam ONLY ONCE.
Once you have entered an exam you must submit your answers. The course system will
automatically SAVE your answers every 5 minutes.
Course grades will be computed as follows:
Research Participation, 10 HPR Credits, 5 points/credit = 50 points.
(students who choose not to participate in research may write an 5-page research review
article; see above and contact the instructor for more details.)
Four Exams, 50 questions/exam, 2 points/question = 400 points.
Final Exam, 100 questions, 1 point/question = 100 points.
Maximum # of course points = 550
Range
450-500
425-449
400-424
375-399
350-374
325-349
300-324
less than 300
Percent
90-100%
85-89%
80-84%
75-79%
70-74%
65-69%
60-64%
Grade
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.0
- NO notes, books, or other material may be used while taking an exam.
- Obtaining or sharing exam information from or with other students is considered cheating.
- Collaborating on exams with other students is considered cheating.
Extra Credit
You can earn up to 25 points of extra credit by participating in online studies (above and beyond the
required 10 HPR credits), but you must participate before 5 PM (EST) June 30, 2009. Studies are
worth 5 extra credit points for each HPR credit – so you can participate in up to 15 HPR credits total
for the course (10 required HPR credits + 5 extra HPR credits). Studies MUST be online studies
hosted at the Human Participation in Research (HPR) pool from the MSU Psychology Department.
Availability of studies, however, cannot be guaranteed. Instructions for registering as a participating
student in the HPR Subject Pool are posted on ANGEL. If you have questions or problems with the
Subject Pool, please contact the HPR Subject Pool Secretary, Leslie Baldwin at lbaldwin@msu.edu.
Academic Integrity
Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report states that "The student shares with the faculty the
responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional standards." In
addition, the Department of Psychology adheres to the policies on academic honesty as specified in
General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades; the all-University Policy on
Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00, Examinations. (See Spartan Life: Student
Handbook and Resource Guide and/or the MSU Web site: http://www.msu.edu.)
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Therefore, unless authorized by the instructor, you are expected to complete all course assignments
without assistance from any source other than the course Web site, textbook, and ancillary materials
you may have chosen to purchase from the publisher when you purchased the textbook (e.g., access
to the publishers website).
You MAY NOT use any student-based websites for completing the work in Psych 101 online. These
sites are known to faculty members who are updated about their contents on a regular basis by
honest students and others concerned with academic integrity. Students who violate MSU rules may
receive a penalty grade of ZERO, applied either to a specific assignment/exam or to the entire
course, the decision to be made by the instructor. In addition, a letter describing the transgression
will be sent to the Dean of you college and the Dean of the Social Science College.
For more information about permitted and forbidden activities see the very useful web site prepared
by the MSU Ombudsman, http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/. When in doubt, contact the course
instructor BEFORE engaging in the activity.
Every student is held responsible for knowing the academic integrity policy at MSU. The policy can
be found at http://www.vps.msu.edu/SpLife/rule32.htm. Here are some examples of academic
dishonesty:
• Having another student provide academic assistance or coaching during an online quiz or test.
• Having another person take a quiz or test for you.
• Copying questions or answers from your online quiz or test and sharing them with another
student.
• Copying questions or answers from your online quiz or test and posting them on a website for
others to view.
• Getting questions and/or answers from students who have already taken an exam or quiz you are
scheduled to take.
• Collaborating with other students on projects or assignments without your instructor's permission.
Please be aware that ANGEL tracks all student login information. For example, it tracks when you
have logged into ANGEL and when you have logged out. It also tracks when you begin your quiz and
when your quiz is submitted. This is helpful for the instructors because it allows us to resolve issues if
there is a problem with the ANGEL system in terms of logging on and/or gaining access to the various
sections of the site. Tracking can also help us resolve disputes about exams and assignments,
particularly those that are timed. ANGEL tracking also can reveal academic misconduct.
Commercialization of any material in this course is not permitted.
ANGEL Recommendations and Requirements:
Please follow the following suggestions to prevent problems during your participation in this ANGEL
course:
1. Use a recommended browser.
2. Clear your cache and cookies before starting an exam.
3. Have ANGEL open only to the exam browser. If you have the course open in a second browser
then you may have guest status in the exam browser and be logged in with their NETID in the other.
Your exam can end up with blank sections even after you enter data or it can skip questions.
ANGEL Supported Browsers: Especially Important at Exam Times!
When taking the exam it is important to use a Browser that gets along well with ANGEL! Even if you
use Safari or Opera for much of your everyday activity when it comes to a timed situation, such as an
exam, then there are browsers that ANGEL has been tested on and with which it is highly compatible.
Sometimes students think that Safari has been working fine since the first day of class but then
discover that there are problems during the exam! It is best to play it safe and use a supported
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browser. You can see a list of these browsers by looking at the Question Mark over by the Guide at
the left of your course. That is where you find answers to other Help Questions about ANGEL, too.
Overall the best browser to use is Firefox 3.0 +.
Recommended Browsers
Windows:
Firefox 3.0 + (Highly Recommended),
Internet Explorer 7.0 +
Macintosh:
Firefox 3.0 + (Highly Recommended)
UNIX/Linux:
Firefox 1.5 +
If you are not sure about what browser you are using or don't understand how to get Firefox
remember that we have a great Help Desk! Just call 355-2345 or 1-800-500-1554. They are just as
happy to help you prevent a problem as they are to help you in the middle of one.
Please let the Help Desk know if you have any questions.
Note that if you are accidentally disconnected before submitting a completed exam you must e-mail
(not phone) the course instructor IMMEDIATELY. The instructor will attempt to respond within 48
hours, informing you about whether or not you may re-enter the exam to complete it.
Note that only in RARE instances will such permission be granted.
The best way to avoid technical problems while taking the course exams is to use a FAST Internet
connection (e.g., cable modem, DSL) and a reliable computer. Always plan on completing an exam
BEFORE you enter it.
GETTING HELP
Questions about course content:
Instructor: Katherine Corker, corkerka@msu.edu
Questions about HPR Subject Pool website:
HRP Secretary: Leslie Baldwin, lbaldwin@msu.edu
Questions about technical aspects of the course:
ANGEL Technical support:
1-800-500-1554.
Local Help Line: (517) 355-2345.
Use of this system is governed by MSU's Acceptable Use Policy.