Psyc 101 – Summer 2013
Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology
Tu/Th, 1:00 – 4:40 PM
Rayzor Hall 106, Summer 2013
Kim Orsten
Office: Sewall Hall 150-A
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: kdo@rice.edu
Heather Dial
Office: Sewall Hall 121-B
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: hrd1@rice.edu
Contacting Instructors
E-mail is the easiest and fastest way. Please put “Psyc 101” or “101” in the subject line.
Required Textbook
Schacter, D., Gilber, D., & Wegner, D. (2011). Psychology. Worth Publishers (2nd ed.).
ISBN: 1-4292-3719-8 (or 978-1-4292-3719-2).
Course Description
Psychology 101 serves as the beginning course in psychology; as such, it is broad in scope. The
course will introduce students to the history of psychology, current paradigms and theories, and
research methods. We will cover neuroscience, experimental psychology, and cognition,
including sensation, perception, memory, and language. We will examine various psychological
disorders, stress and health psychology, personality and social psychology, intelligence, and
developmental psychology. Because of time limitations, none of these topics can be covered in
great depth. Guest lectures may supplement regular lectures. If there is any topic that you find
particularly interesting, please contact your instructor for optional supplemental materials.
Disabilities and Special Needs
Any student with a documented disability who needs adjustments or accommodations needs to
notify the instructor before the third day of class. All discussions will remain confidential.
Students with disabilities should also contact Disability Support Services in the Ley Student
Center.
Grading
Attendance.
We will not take attendance – it is your responsibility to show up to class and complete all
necessary assignments. That being said, it is to your benefit to come to class and you will be
graded and participation…you can’t participate if you are not present. In addition to novel
material not in the textbook, assignments will be discussed and handed out in class. In-class
assignments and quizzes are subject to make-ups only as per the make-up policy stated below.
Tardiness will not be tolerated. If you are repeatedly (i.e., more than 3 times) more than 10
minutes tardy (without prior notification to the instructors), 1 percentage point will be taken off
your final grade for the 4th and each subsequent time you are late to class.
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Psyc 101 – Summer 2013
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Readings, Assignments, and Discussion Questions.
Readings are to be completed before each class period; assigned readings are listed in the course
schedule. Explanation of and criteria for all assignments will be provided during class time; it is
the student’s responsibility to know when an assignment is due (as indicated by instructor) and
turn the assignment in on time.
Discussion questions will be due at the end of each class. Students will be required to type up 2
discussion questions or comments for each class. These should be based on the textbook
readings. These need not be terribly long, no more than 1 page total, but should be thought
provoking. One of these will be dropped from your final grade. If you miss a class without
notice, this will count as your dropped discussion question.
Examinations.
There will be three semi-cumulative exams. All exams will be administered via Owlspace. The
dates are listed in the course schedule. The final exam will take place on the last day of the
Summer III Session (July 26th). Each semi-cumulative exam will consist of a combination of
short answer questions, labeling diagrams, fill-in-the-blank questions, and matching. For each
semi-cumulative exam, previously tested material will be tested again, but to a lesser degree. The
number of questions and point values will be announced closer to each exam.
Presentation.
Each student will make a 15-20 minute presentation to the class on a topic of the student’s choice
and interest. Presentations will be made during class-time, on the date that the topic of choice is
scheduled (as per the course schedule below). Presentation topics must be approved by the
instructors. We will distribute the grading rubric before the first presentation so that you can
prepare accordingly. Please note that presentation topics must be approved by the end of the
day on June 25th. One point will be deducted from the final presentation grade for every day
that your request for approval is late.
Extra Credit: Research Participation or Article Write-up
As a part of this course, you can elect to get some “hands-on” experience with psychological
research.
 Option 1: Each (1) hour of research participation will be translated into 1 point added to
your final exam score. Available experiments will be announced in class.
 Option 2: You may elect to do a write-up of a peer-reviewed article (article must be
approved by the instructors); each article write-up will be translated into 1 point added to
your final exam score. Write-up should describe the topic investigated, the experimental
motivation, the reported results, the interpretations of the findings, and the implications
of the findings. Write-ups must receive a grade of at least 75% in order to qualify for
extra credit, and should not exceed two pages, double-spaced.
You can mix and match these options. However, you can receive a maximum of 2 extra points
on your final grade via these extra credit options. All extra credit is due by 5pm on the last day of
Summer III Session (July 26th).
Psyc 101 – Summer 2013
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Summary. Your grade in this course depends on the following:
Assignments/Discussion
Questions
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Presentation
Participation
10%
20%
20%
20%
20%
10%
Grades are assigned according to the following:
A+ 97-100
A
94-96
A- 90-93
B+
B
B-
87-89
84-86
80-83
C+ 77-79
C
74-76
C- 70-73
D+
D
DF
67-69
64-66
60-63
<59
Make-up Work and Late Policy
Notify instructors (via e-mail) of all scheduling conflicts known to the student by the third class
day. Things such as unavoidable family schedule, conflicts with other classes, planned healthrelated absences, athletic trips/commitments, or other unavoidable scheduling conflicts that
directly fall on a scheduled exam should be disclosed. If the instructors don’t receive notice of
any of these situations by the end of business on the third day of class, such scheduling conflicts
will not be eligible for make-up work. If there is an emergency (i.e., illness, etc.), the instructors
should be notified as soon as possible. Dates and times for make-up exams will be arranged as
soon as notification is provided to the instructors. Make-up exams will be scheduled per
instructor availability.
Make-up assignments will be decided on a case-by-case basis at the time that notification of
absence is received. If a student was absent on the day of an in-class assignment (without prior
notification or justifiable emergency), the student will then receive a zero (0) for that assignment,
and that assignment will not be eligible for make-up work.
Late Assignment Policy.
Assignments not handed in by the specified deadline be considered late unless approval for a late
submission is given by the instructor. For each day (24 hours) that an assignment is late, 10
points (i.e., 1 letter grade) will be deducted. If the assignment is more than 3 days late, the
assignment will be given a zero (0).
Psyc 101 – Summer 2013
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I. Course Schedule
Date
Topic
June 18
Introduction & History (Heather)
Methods (Heather)
Assignments
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
June 20
Neuroscience (Kim)
Ch. 3
June 25
Sensation and Perception (Kim)
Ch. 4
June 27
Learning (Heather)
Ch. 7
Presentation topics
DUE by 5pm
Weekend
(timed,
online)
July 2
Exam 1
Topics: Intro/Methods, Neuroscience, Sensation and
Perception, Learning
Memory (Kim)
Ch. 6
Intelligence (Kim)
Ch. 10
No Class
Language and Thought (Heather)
Ch. 9
Consciousness (Heather)
Ch. 11
Emotion and Motivation (Heather)
Ch. 8
Development (Guest Lecture - ?)
Ch. 5
Exam 2
Topics: Memory, Intelligence, Language and Thought,
Consciousness, Emotion and Motivation, Development
Social (Guest Lecture - ?)
Ch. 13
Stress and Health (Kim)
Ch. 16
July 18
Abnormal (Heather)
Ch. 14, 15
July 23
Personality and Personality Disorders (Kim)
Ch. 12
July 25
REVIEW
Any remaining presentations, etc…
Final Exam
Comprehensive
Extra Credit DUE at
5pm
July 4
July 9
July 11
Weekend
(timed,
online)
July 16
July 26