Psychology 101 - Fall 2015
W. Jeffrey Wilson
Department of Psychological Science
Albion College
Contact Information
Dr. W. Jeffrey Wilson
OFFICE: Olin 322
OFFICE HOURS: M,W 8:00–9:00 AM; R 11–Noon
& by appointment
Office phone: 629-0393
Home phone: 269-789-9169
wjwilson@albion.edu
campus.albion.edu/wjwilson
Books
• Comer, R., & Gould, E. (2013). Psychology Around Us,
2nd ed. Wiley: Hoboken, NJ.
Table 1
Topics & Reading List
Topic
History
Methods
Brain & Behavior
Sensation & Perception
Consciousness
Learning
Memory
Intelligence
Gender
Personality
Course Description
Course is housed in a Social Science department and satisfies the Modeling mode. Class meets M,T,W, & F from
10:30–11:20 in Olin 217.
Covers the principal areas of psychology. Participation in
faculty-supervised experiments required. Psychology 101 is
a prerequisite for all other psychology courses.
In Introduction to Psychology, we will examine many aspects of the science of psychology, the study of behavior.
Psychologists are concerned with issues ranging from the
activity of individual brain cells through the actions of individual people to the interactions of people in groups. We
will look into all of these areas, and more. We will also examine the methods employed by psychologists in conducting
research on behavior, and the specific experiments that have
enhanced our understanding of behavior. By the end of the
semester, you will have a basic understanding of many of the
topics of interest to psychologists. You might then decide to
take more advanced courses in any specific areas of interest.
Course Objectives
At the conclusion of the course, the student will be able
Psychopathology
Social Psychology
11:30AM – 1:30PM
Chapter
1
2
4
Sept. 18
5
6
Oct. 5
7
8
Oct. 21
10
11: 405–417
13
Nov. 11
15 (16)
14
Tuesday,12/8
Week
1
2
3–4
Test 1
5
6–7
Test 2
8-9
9–10
Test 3
11
12
12–13
Test 4
14
15
Test 5
Grading
Exams
Your grade in the course will be based in part on five
scheduled examinations. The exams will consist of multiple choice items, fill-in-the-blanks, identification and short
answer essay questions, and will be non-cumulative; that is,
each exam will cover explicitly only the material presented in
the readings and in lecture since the preceding exam. However, the mastery of later material will often require an understanding of material covered earlier in the semester, so
please do not assume that because an exam has occurred the
previous material is unimportant. Exams will comprise 74%
of the course grade: your lowest exam score will count for
10%, and the remaining exams will each count for 16%.
to:
• describe the major schools of thought that have contributed to our modern understanding of psychology.
• explain the research methodology used to understand
behavior and mental processes.
• discuss how behavior and the mind are approached by
the major areas of psychology.
• appreciate the importance of an empirical approach to
the study of behavior and mental processes.
Make-Up Exams
I understand that the unexpected does happen, and that
sometimes attendance at exams is not possible. Therefore,
you may make-up ONE exam this semester, if you let me
know why this is necessary within 24 hours of the original
exam date. The make-up exam will consist entirely of shortanswer essay questions, and must be taken within one week
2
W. JEFFREY WILSON
of the missed exam. You may not make-up more than one
exam, so additional missed exams will receive a grade of 0.
Psychology in the News(feed)
Every day I encounter items in the media (TV, newspapers, radio, social media, etc.) that are related to the topics
covered by psychology. Some are direct: discussions of new
scientific findings about behavior or the brain. Others are indirect: items about events in the news or the arts with direct
relevance to topics we cover (e.g., Caitlyn Jenner’s transformation from male to female [and now that I have mentioned
Jenner as an example you may not use any item related to
her for this assignment]). You will start noting these items as
you begin your study of psychology. Over the course of the
semester turn in four examples that you encounter. Do this
by emailing me:
1. an accurate link to the item that you are discussing (or
turn in a hard copy if it does not exist in the interwebs) [1
pt.],
2. a brief (i.e., one paragraph) statement about how this
relates to a topic within psychology. Refer to a page from
our text or the content of a specific lecture to make the link
between the item and course content [2 pts.],
3. with correct spelling and grammar [1 pt.].
Each of these is worth 4% of the course grade; together the
four will account for 16% of the grade. These assignments
must be turned in progressively throughout the semester: by
the time of each test you must have turned in at least that
many of the newsfeed items. For example, by Test 1 (Week
4 or so) you must have turned in at least one item; by Test 2
you must turn in a second item. You may turn items in early,
but you lose the credit for items not turned in on time (turn in
nothing until right before Test 4, then turn in four items, and
you will get credit for only one of them, because three were
supposed to have been turned in before Test 3).
Research Requirement
Psychology is not a passive, static discipline. Psychologists continue to add to our knowledge of behavior by conducting research, and that research requires subjects. In order
that you become familiar with this active aspect of psychology, PSY 101 students are required to participate in research
projects during the course of the semester. Each project lasts
from 15 min to 1 hr; you are required to take part in a total
of 6 hr of research. This research participation accounts for
6% of the course grade: each hour served is worth 1%. To
receive credit, you must do the following:
1. Sign up for an experiment of interest to you. Sign-up
sheets are posted on the bulletin board outside of the classroom.
2. Show up at the assigned time and place to serve as a
subject. Note that there are penalties for failing to show up
for a study for which you signed up. They include losing the
“participation points” for that study, and therefore having to
do an additional study to make up for the missed one.
3. Collect a sticker from the researcher, and place it on
your sticker page.
4. It is your responsibility to retain the sticker page until I
request it from you at the end of the semester. Lost stickers
represent lost research credit.
Research Alternative. Students who, for ethical or moral
reasons, object to participation in research can complete alternate assignments that entail summarizing current research
in psychology. Our library subscribes to numerous psychological journals. The student should find an article of interest
in a current issue of a journal and then write a summary of
that article. The summary should contain information about
the hypothesis being tested, the independent and dependent
variables (if the study is an experiment), the methods used,
the results, and the conclusions. The student should also find
at least one earlier article addressing a similar question, and
indicate how the current article’s conclusions relate to the
findings of the earlier article. Photocopies of both articles
must be provided with the paper. The paper must be typed
or printed, double-spaced, and must include a Reference section in which the articles discussed are listed. Each such paper will count as equivalent to 1 hr of research participation.
Note that this option is available to those students who are
opposed to serving as subjects on ethical or moral grounds,
and may not be used in place of research participation by
students who simply failed to sign up for sufficient research
participation. A student with ethical or moral objections must
notify me of these objections in writing by the end of Week 3
of the semester.
First Assignment
In Class 1 you will receive (received?) an assigment related to finding information about the course. This must be
turned in at the start of the next class, and is worth 4% of the
course grade.
Course Grade
Your course grade will be based on a weighted mean of
your grades on the exams, newsfeed items, and research participation: Grade = (.10 x Lowest Exam) + (.16 x Sum of
Other Exams) + (.16 x Newsfeed Items) + (.06 x Research
Credit) + (.04 x First Assigment) thus your worst exam is
worth 10%, the other exams 16%, newsfeed items 16%, the
research participation 6% of your grade, and the first assigment 4%. The course grade is then determined as follows:
Wghtd Ave
Grade
Wghtd Ave
Grade
90–100
4.0
70–73.33
2.0
86.67–89.99
3.7
66.67–69.99
1.7
83.33–86.66
3.3
63.33–66.66
1.3
80–83.33
3.0
60–63.33
1.0
76.67–79.99
2.7
< 60
0
73.33–76.66
2.3
Disability Statement
If you have a disability and may require accommodations
or modifications in class instruction or course-related activities, please contact the Learning Support Center (LSC) staff
3
PSYCHOLOGY 101 - FALL 2015
who can arrange for reasonable accommodations for students
who provide documentation of their disability/condition. If
you are presently registered with the LSC and have requested
accommodations through the LSC for this semester, please
plan to meet with me as early as possible to discuss the best
way to implement these accommodations in this class. The
LSC is located on the third floor of the Seeley Mudd library
or call 517-629-0825.
Attendance
Attendance at class is expected. As you will learn from
the first exam, material presented in lecture is important, and
material presented in lecture will not always appear in the
readings. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find
out what you missed, both in terms of lecture material and
announcements about exams, assignments, etc.
Albion College policy on attendance: “Regular attendance
in all classes is expected. Every absence from class is inevitably a loss — usually one which can never be made up.
A student has the responsibility to inform his or her faculty
member, whenever possible in advance, of an absence due
to serious or prolonged illness, and verification of absences
due to emergency reasons, may be obtained from the Office
of Residential Life.”
for others to learn.
6. You do not have to be in class if there is somewhere
that you would rather be. I am here to help you learn, and
you and your classmates are here to learn. If your behavior
interferes with this I will ask you to leave.
Academic Integrity
Albion College policy, endorsed by you professor: “As an
academic community, Albion College is firmly committed to
honor and integrity in the pursuit of knowledge. Therefore,
as a member of this academic community, each student acknowledges responsibility for his or her actions and commits
to the highest standards of integrity. In doing so, each student
makes a covenant with the college not to engage in any form
of academic dishonesty, fraud, cheating, or theft. ”
Academic Skills Center
THE ACADEMIC SKILLS CENTER, located in the Seeley Mudd Building of the Library, supports student success
at Albion College through the Learning Support Center, the
Quantitative Skills Center, and the Writing Center. The ASC
also coordinates academic peer tutoring services and educational technologies for enhancing student learning. For information, visit the ASC website at http://www.albion.edu/asc.
Courtesy
Please realize that you are not the only person in the classroom. You and your classmates are here to learn, and there
are ways of behaving that will facilitate this (and ways that
will interfere). Please keep these suggestions in mind:
1. Arrive on time. If you arrive late please enter quietly
and take a seat near the door.
2. Plan to remain attentive and seated until I dismiss you.
If you know that you will have to leave early sit near the door
and leave quietly.
3. Cell phones should be off or silent during class, and out
of sight.
4. Texting, emailing, or playing games takes your attention away from the material that you are learning. You may
use computers for note-taking if you like, but they should be
off-line during class.
5. Talking (even quietly) with people near you distracts
them and others nearby. Don’t interfere with the opportunity
My Absences
Twice during the semester I will attend scientific meetings (with Albion student colleagues who will be presenting
our research), causing me to miss class. I will attend the
Pavlovian Society meeting in Portland, OR, from 9/17–9/21,
and the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago, IL,
from 10/17–10/21. I will make arrangements for classes to
be covered during these absences.
A Final Note
If you are having difficulties with the course, or just want
to talk in more detail about the material that we are covering,
please see me during my office hours. If you cannot be here
during those hours make an appointment with me or just stop
by the office. I am on campus nearly every day, often including weekends, and will find time to meet with you.