Instructor : Dr. Lisa Mask
Email : lmask@ubishops.ca
Office Hours : Wednesdays from 4:30pm-6:00pm
(or by appointment)
Office
Phone
: MacKinnon, 125D
Mailbox :23
:(819) 822-9600 x 2194
COURS DESCRIPTION
This course is an introductory course to the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. The course will survey psychological research in many areas within psychology with a particular focus on basic processes underlying human behavior. Topics will include: approaches and methods of psychology, neurosciences, sensation & perception, learning, and cognitive psychology. This course is a prerequisite for all advanced courses in psychology.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Throughout the course, you will be introduced to many psychological concepts, theoretical models, scientific studies, and major sub-fields in psychology. You will gradually gain an understanding of the complexity of human behavior and its neurological substrates as well as how people perceive and think about their social world. In doing so, you will develop critical thinking that will render you a more informed consumer of psychological information and recognize the role of psychology in everyday life.
COURSE MATERIAL
The required text for this course is Myers, D. G. (2007). Psychology: First Canadian Edition
Worth Publishers: New York, NY and is available at the Bishop’s University Bookstore. A copy of this textbook is also available at the circulation desk of the John Bassett Memorial Library for a
2 hour loan.
Other course materials such as lecture slides, readings/articles, links to websites and occasional class announcements will be available on Moodle. It is your responsibility to access Moodle regularly.
The lectures and class discussions will cover AND supplement the material in the textbook.
The lecture slides will normally be available the same day of the lecture prior to class. In the event that technical or other issues arise, they will be made available as soon as possible after class. Keep in mind that the lecture slides are incomplete . They provide an overview of the concepts that will be covered in the lecture. As a courtesy to students, the lecture slides serve as a guideline to facilitate active listening and note taking in class.

COURSE EVALUATION
Course evaluations will consist of 3 exams: two mid-terms and a final exam. The exams will be based on (1) the material covered in class which includes the lectures and other potential activities, demonstrations, discussions and videos and (2) the corresponding textbook chapters.
The exams will consist of multiple-choice questions and short answer questions.
 Exam 1 (Prologue, Chapters 1, 3, 2 & 7) given on February 13 and worth 25%
 Exam 2 (Chapters 5, 6, 8) given on March 14 and worth 25%
 Exam 3 (**Cummulative**) given sometime between April 14 April 27 and worth 50%
COURSE OUTLINE
The proposed course content and dates are tentative and thus subject to minor changes.
I will do my best to respect the proposed outline but we may spend more time on certain topics due to class activities & discussions.
COURSE CONTENT
Psychology: History, systems, methods, and interactions
An overview of history and systems of psychology (Prologue)
Methods of psychology (chapter 1)
TENTATIVE DATES
January 11
January 16 & 18
January 23 & 25 Nature-Nurture debate in psychology (chapter 3)
Neurosciences
Neuroscience and behavior (chapter 2)
States of consciousness (chapter 7)
EXAM 1 (25%)
Sensation, Perception, and Learning
Sensation (chapter 5)
Perception (chapter 6)
January 30 & February 1
February 6 & 8
February 13
February 15 & 20
February 22 & 27
February 29 & March 12 Learning (chapter 8)
READING WEEK (NO CLASSES)
EXAM 2 (25%)
Cognitive psychology
Memory (chapter 9)
Intelligence (chapter 11)
Thinking and language (chapter 10)
March 5 & 7
March 14
March 19 & 21
March 26 & 28
April 2 & 4
EXAM 3 **Cumulative***(50%) April 14-April 27
COURSE POLICIES
(1) ATTENDANCE
As stated in the Bishop’s 2011-2012 University Calendar, class attendance is mandatory. When in class, be in class.
Please turn off your cell phones and avoid engaging in behaviors that distract you and others from listening and learning (e.g., texting, chatting, playing computer games, visiting websites that are irrelevant to the course material). These distracting behaviors will not be tolerated. If you are unable to attend a lecture, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with a classmate to obtain the lecture notes.

(2) MISSED EXAMS
If you are unable to write the exams on the specified dates due to exceptional circumstances you must notify me within 48 hours of the scheduled exam to make alternate arrangements. Failure to do so will result in a grade of 0 for the missed exam. Reasons such as illness, serious accidents or a death in the family will be accepted while reasons such as travel, work and errors made while reading the schedule will not be accepted. In order to write the missed exam, you must provide me with a supporting document justifying your absence (e.g., medical certificate, death certificate, etc…) within 1 week of the missed exam. Again, failure to do so will result in a grade of 0 for the missed exam.
(3) ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
From the Bishop’s 2011-2012 University Calendar: “The University takes a serious view of any form of academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism; submission of work for which credit has already been received; cheating; impersonating another student; falsification or fabrication of data; acquisition of confidential materials, e.g. examination papers; misrepresentation of facts; altering transcripts or other official documents”. In the case of Plagiarism, it is defined as an
“academic dishonesty in which an individual uses the work of another without appropriate acknowledgement. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to the following practices:
• Using another’s work without acknowledgement
• Copying material without quotation marks
• Paraphrasing too closely the exact words of the originating author
• Submitting as one’s own work written in whole or in part by another individual.
• Helping another student plagiarize
• Submitting in whole or in part work for which the student has received credit in another course, unless the permission of the instructor has been obtained
• Submitting any statement of fact known to be false or providing a fabricated reference to a source.