COURSE SYLLABUS
Psychology 101
Introductory Psychology
Section 003
Spring 2013
Monday and Wednesday 10:20am-12:10 pm
E100 Vet Med
INSTRUCTOR:
Prof. Sharleen Sakai Office: 218 Giltner
Office hours: Thursdays 10:00-11:00 am & by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Sinhui Chong
E mail: chongsin@msu.edu
Office Hours: Tues 10:00 am -13:00
Office: 348 Psychology Building
Undergrad. Assistant:Halli Beauprey
E mail: beauprey@msu.edu
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Psychology seeks to understand behavior, the mind and the brain. This course will provide a basic
understanding of the areas of psychology and will introduce basic research methodologies and theories
underlying behavior. Specific topics to be covered will include: biopsychology, sensation and perception,
learning and memory, motivation, intelligence, cognition and language, social and personality theory and
mental disorders.
REQUIRED TEXT: Psychology, Second edition
Schacter, Gilbert and Wegner, 2011
Worth Publishers
ATTENDANCE AND READINGS:
It is expected that you attend each lecture. You are responsible for all information presented in class, including
any announcements and class discussions. Lectures will also include material not presented in the book. You
should prepare for each class by reading the assigned chapter prior to class. Course information, syllabus, study
guides, announcements will be posted using ANGEL. Students whose names do not appear on the official class
list for this course may not attend this class.
I Clicker PARTCIPATION POINTS:
This class will employ active learning strategies via the use of in-class questions. These questions may be used
to assess your understanding of lecture material. In addition, these questions may be used to generate discussion
during class.
You will not be graded on these questions but you must participate in the I Clicker exercises. Points will be
scaled such that:
70% or more of the I clicker questions=50 points
60-69% of I clicker questions= 38 points
50-59% of I clicker questions=25 points
Less than 50% of I clicker questions=0 points
You must REGISTER your clicker online at: www.iclicker.com
It is essential that you register your clicker within the first week of class. If you do not register your clicker,
your responses will not be associated with you and you will not receive credit for them. On the registration
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page, you will need to report your first and last name and student id. Important: in the section for student id,
you should write your msu netid including @msu.edu. Do NOT list your A-PID.
It is expected that you will attend class each day and that you will bring your clicker. If you forget your clicker
or if your batteries are dead, you cannot obtain credit for that day of class. I recommend that you keep a
spare set of batteries with you so that if your batteries should die, you will have a spare. Please understand that
in a class of over 500 students, there will be at least one person who forgets their clicker each day and the
instructor simply cannot give credit in these circumstances.
QUESTIONS AND EXAM PREPARATION: ALL E mail inquiries should be directed to
Sinhui Chong at chongsin@msu.edu or Halli Beauprey at beauprey@msu.edu
Study questions will be posted on ANGEL one week before each exam. If you genuinely understand the
questions and the answers to them, you should do very well on the exam. Do not expect us to write out e-mail
answers to study questions for you, but please do come to talk to us if you would like to discuss the study
questions. If you are trying to receive a good grade in the class, it would be wise to study the material as the
course progresses.
If you are having difficulty with the material, have questions or other concerns, you may come to office hours
or make an appointment. You are encouraged to ask questions and utilize the service of the assistants who are
available to help you learn.
There is also an online website provided by the textbook. This website includes on-line quizzes which is a good
way to assess your grasp of the material. The site is:
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/schacter2e/#t_624183____
EXAMS: There will be a total of 5 exams in this course: 4 in-term exams and a final comprehensive exam.
The four in-term exams will cover the material from lecture, videos, discussion and assigned readings since the
preceding exam. Each in-term exam consists of 50 best answer, multiple-choice questions. The exams begin
promptly at 10:20 pm. Be on time. No exam will be give if you are late and a completed exam has already
been turned in. All exams are in E100 Vet Med.
There are 4 in term exams. Three out of the 4 in term exams count toward your grade. The highest 3 in term
exam scores will be counted toward the course grade.
Exam feedback will be e mailed to you, usually within a day or two of the exam. The exams will not be returned to
you but you may look over the exam after you receive your exam feedback. You can do this at posted office hours for
the one week following the exam. You will not be able to copy down the questions. Bring your student ID.
In the case that you feel that an item is scored incorrectly, you may appeal the item by: stating in writing the
item and exam form, your answer and the relevant support, i.e. text page number or lecture. E mail this
information to Brad no later than one week following the exam.
FINAL EXAM: May 2 Thursday 10:00-12:00 E100 Vet Med
You must take the final exam. This is a comprehensive final exam consisting of 50 multiple choice questions.
Note that the date and time for the final exam is different from our usual class time.
PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. Consistent with this definition, the faculty,
and graduate students of the Psychology Department maintain active research programs in all areas of
psychological study.
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Students are required to earn 14 research participation credits. This amounts to a total of seven hours of
research participation where one credit is earned for every 30 minutes of your time. Details and sign up
procedures are detailed on page 6.
Deadline: Research participation should be completed by the last day of classes by 5:00 pm April 26. Credits
from participation in experiments after this time will not count.
Problems: Any inaccuracies, problems should be reported to: Leslie Baldwin, the Human Subject Pool
Secretary in Room 262, Psychology Building or email her at lbaldwin@msu.edu.
Extra credit: You may earn 3 extra research credits over and above the required 14 research credits. Each
credit is worth 3 points.
Note: It is your responsibility to sign up, participate in the experiments and to track your personal
history on the computer. Neither the instructor nor assistants in the course have a record of your research
participation until the end of the course. All questions regarding research participation should be directed to
Leslie Baldwin.
ALTERNATIVE TO RESEARCH PARTICIPATION:
You should note that experimental participation serves both the educational and research missions of our
department. However, should you conscientiously object to participation in psychology experiments, you may
write a research paper as an alternative. The paper must present a research problem including the statement of
the problem, its background and current state utilizing at least 7 sources from academic journal articles (no web
sources). The paper must be 10-13 pages (typed, double-spaced) and include proper literature citations. You
must e mail SuiHui to arrange this option and obtain approval for research paper topic no later than February
11.
GRADING: Each exam question is worth 3 points. Total possible exam points is 600 points.
Research participation credits are worth 3 points each.
Total exam points (4 )
iClicker points
Total research credit points
Total course points
Points
622-692
588-621
553-587
519-552
484-518
449-483
415-448
414 and below
=
=
=
=
600
50
42
692
% points received
90-100
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
less than 60
grade
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.0
Missed exams: There will be NO make-up exams. If you miss an exam (even if you have a very good
reason), that score will be dropped. If you miss two exams, then we will give you an opportunity to make up
one of them, but only if you speak with one of us before missing the second exam, and if you provide a note
from a doctor or other documentation of extreme circumstances (e.g. hospitalization, death of immediate
relative) that will make it impossible to take the exam. If this happens then bring it to my attention and you will
be given a make-up exam which will be in an essay format.
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Academic Honesty: 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 (http://www.vps.msu.edu/SpLife/index.htm) and/or the MSU Web site:
http://www.msu.edu.).Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor, you are expected to complete all course
assignments, including homework, lab work, quizzes, tests and exams, without assistance from any source. This
means that you may not assist anyone, receive assistance from anyone or other source including notes, texts, or
audio during an exam. Students who violate MSU rules may receive a penalty grade, including but not limited
to a failing grade on the exam or in the course. This includes using someone’s iClicker for in class activities
when those students are not in class. Note that plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and will
result in a 0.0 grade.
Accommodations for Disabilities: Students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons
with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodations. For an appointment with a counselor, call 353-9642
(voice) or 355-1393 (TTY).
Drops and Adds: The last day to add this course is the end of the first week of classes. The last day to drop this
course with no grade reported is 2/27/13. You should immediately make a copy of your amended schedule to
verify you have added or dropped this course.
Observing a Major Religious Holiday: You may make up course work missed to observe a major religious
holiday only if you make arrangements in advance with the instructor.
Commercialized Lecture Notes: Commercialization of lecture notes is NOT permitted in this course.
Disruptive
Behavior:
Article
2.3.5
of
the
Academic
Freedom
Report
(AFR)
(http://www.vps.msu.edu/SpLife/acfree.htm) for students at Michigan State University states that "The student's
behavior in the classroom shall be conducive to the teaching and learning process for all concerned." Article
2.3.10 of the AFR states that "The student has a right to scholarly relationships with faculty based on mutual
trust and civility." General Student Regulation 5.02 states that "no student shall . . . interfere with the functions
and services of the University (for example, but not limited to, classes . . .) such that the function or service is
obstructed or disrupted. Students whose conduct adversely affects the learning environment in this classroom
may be subject to disciplinary action through the Student Faculty Judiciary process.
Classroom behavior: Class begins are 10:20. At that time, put away newspapers and other distractions. Turn
off cell phones, pagers and CD players, iPods etc. It is not appropriate to answer phone calls or text message
during lecture. Distracting behaviors such as instant messaging, writing e mail, social networking or playing
games is prohibited. If you arrive late or leave early, plan to sit near the back and by an aisle to minimize the
disruption to others. Please stop talking. These behaviors are disruptive and are not conducive to the learning
process. If I ask you to stop any of these behaviors more than once during the course, you will be penalized by
losing all iClicker points and any extra credit points.
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SCHEDULE
Date
1/07/13
1/09/13
1/14/13
1/16/13
Course details & Introduction
What is Psychology?
Research Methods
Neuroscience
Chapter
1
2
3
1/21/13
1/23/13
MLK day -no class
Neuroscience
3
1/28/13
1/30/13
Neuroscience/Sensation
Sensation & Perception
3/4
4
2/04/13
2/06/13
EXAM 1
Consciousness
1-4
5
2/11/13
2/13/13
Memory
Memory
6
6
2/18/13
2/20/13
Learning
Emotion and Motivation
7
8
2/25/13
2/27/13
Emotion and Motivation
EXAM 2
8
5-8
3/04-3/08/13
SPRING BREAK
3/11/13
3/13/13
Language and Thought
Language and Thought
9
9
3/18/13
3/20/13
Intelligence
Development
10
11
3/25/13
3/27/13
Development
Personality
11
12
4/01/13
4/03/13
EXAM 3
Social Psychology
9-12
13
4/08/13
4/10/13
Social Psychology
Disorders
13
14
4/15/13
4/17/13
Disorders
Treatment
14
15
4/22/13
4/24/13
Stress
EXAM 4
16
13-16
FINAL Comprehensive EXAM : May 2 Thursday 10:00am-12:00 E100 Vet Med
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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY--DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Participation in Psychological Research: Information for Students
As part of your psychology course, you are encouraged to participate in research projects conducted or supervised by the
faculty of the department. The purpose of such participation is to give you some direct experience with real experiments and
to give you a better idea of how the work of psychology is actually carried out. Participation is a course requirement for all
sections of PSY 101.
SPECIAL NOTE: Students under 18 years of age may not participate in any HPR experiments. Special options have
been created for students under 18 to meet the 14 credit participation requirement. Contact Leslie Baldwin
(lbaldwin@msu.edu) the HPR Student Coordinator, in Room 262, Psychology building if you are under 18 and want
to learn more about these options.
Steps in Research Participation: Registering as a Participating Student.
The purpose of this handout is to go over some of the things you will need to know before participating in psychological
research. The first step is registering. This, like nearly all your scheduling activities is handled through a site on the
Internet/World Wide Web. Its address is: http://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/
***If you have participated in the HPR in previous semesters you will need to create a new account. ***
You can access it using standard Web browsers (such as Netscape, Firefox or Microsoft Explorer). This will bring HPR
main page. Click on the Participant button. The first time you visit this page you must create your account. Click on the
button that says Create an account - you will be directed to the page that says Enter the Account Creation ID. This
semester your Account Creation ID is psych2013 – in the box used to enter the access code, type it just like this (in lower
case), then click on Enter. You will now see the registration page where you should provide all the requested information.
Once your account is created, you will be able to log directly into the system with your user ID and MSU e-mail address.
Please make sure you fill out all the fields in the registration form. Registrations with incomplete fields will not be able to
view the available studies.
Among other things you will be asked to select the course and section number to which you wish to have your participation
credits credited. It is CRITICAL that you select the correct course and section number. If you select an incorrect course or
section, the credits that you earn through participation will NOT be relayed to the proper instructor and will not be counted in
calculating your course grade. If you are enrolled in more than one participating class you will disperse the credits you earn
between the classes (credits cannot be shared) on the “My Schedule “page on your HPR account.
During some semesters, experimenters may want to get some background information on those participating in their
experiments. They do this by having students answer Global Questionnaires. The more of these that you fill out, the more
experiments you will be eligible to participate in. So, after registering, you should click on the Answer Global
Questionnaires button and see if any are posted.
Signing-up for research: You can sign up for experiments 24-hours a day on the Web site. To do so, get to the Student
Menu (following the procedure described above). Then, to see a list of all experiments that are currently recruiting
participants, click on the Sign up for an Experiment button and follow the indicated directions. Please make sure you
read the participant task and any restrictions for the experiment you are signing up for.
Canceling appointments: Experimenters have invested a great deal of time and money in preparing an experiment.
This goes to waste if you fail to keep your appointment. In such cases, you can cancel your appointment 24 hrs prior to
the start time by clicking on the button marked View/Modify My Schedule at the Student Menu on the Web site and
following the instructions for canceling an appointment. (You need to know the name of the experiment and the
date/time you signed up for.) If it is after the 24 hour deadline you need to e-mail the HPR student coordinator
Leslie Baldwin, (lbaldwin@msu.edu ).
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If you lost the appointment time and place: Sometimes, people mislay the date-time-location information for an
experiment they've signed up for. If this happens to you and you ever need to check on your appointments (where you're
supposed to be and when), you can always click on the button marked View/Modify my Schedule at the Web site to get this
information. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by writing down all the information and keeping it in a safe place.
Reporting for a research appointment: Be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the experiment on time, (Arriving
10 minutes before the experiment is to begin is suggested) If you are late, you could find the experiment in progress and
the door locked. On rare occasions, an experimenter may not make his/her appointment with you because of unusual
circumstances (e.g., a car breakdown, a personal emergency). If this happens contact Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student
coordinator in Room 262, Psychology Building or email her at: lbaldwin@msu.edu to report it (email is preferred).
Rights of Students Participating in Psychology Research
Participation must be voluntary/optional activities. First, it is Department, University, and Federal policy that no student
be compelled in any way to participate in research. If you participate in research, it must be done voluntarily. Therefore,
even in classes where research participation is required, students must be offered one or more alternative activities to meet
their requirement. If you want to avail yourself of such an alternative activity, you may get information from your professor.
Note that on rare occasions there are more people interested in participating in experiments than there are openings in the
experiments. If this occurs this semester, additional alternative activities will be provided later in the semester.
Participation should be educational. Second, participating in research should be a learning experience for you. You have
a right to obtain information about the experiments in which you serve as a participant. You are entitled to have your
questions about the experiment answered. Also, at least five minutes of every experimental session must be devoted to
teaching you something about the experiment. You are entitled to receive a written summary of the experiment, including the
name and phone number of the person in charge of the experiment, whom you may contact if you have additional questions.
The right to discontinue participation: Third, the Department of Psychology is highly concerned that no study be
conducted that would in any way be harmful to you. Even so, it is possible that in rare cases you will feel uncomfortable
about participating in a study for which you have volunteered. Just remember, you always have the right to leave any
experiment. You don't have to explain or justify why you want to leave, and you can never be penalized for leaving.
The right to receive earned credits: Finally, if you do what you're supposed to do (sign up properly, show up at the right
place at the right time, etc.), you have a right to receive the credit you've earned. So, for example, even if an experimenter
has an equipment breakdown, you're still entitled to receive credit for the time you've spent in the study. However, do not
sign up for the same study twice. Please remember that credit values are based on the time it takes to complete a study,
(1 credit equal to 30 minutes) and not the study itself. Credits are not automatically awarded and it may take
researchers a few days to collect their data and record attendance. The HPR does not penalize participants for
missing studies but we do appreciate being notified if you cannot make your session.
Participants are NOT penalized for No Shows or if they cancel an appointment.
Reporting problems: If you ever encounter some problem or feel that your rights have been violated, we want to know
about it. Problems you have will be handled by Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student coordinator, email address
lbaldwin@msu.edu or come to Room 262 Psychology Building. They will be investigated and appropriate action will be
taken. You will need to know the name of the experiment and the date/time you signed up for.
Conclusions: We want to emphasize that negative experiences are very rare; most students who serve as participants in
research at Michigan State find their participation interesting and enjoyable. When you serve as a participant in
psychological research you're benefiting personally by learning more about what the science of psychology is really about,
but you're also benefiting many others. Others like the psychologists who are working to get a better understanding of
interesting and important behavioral questions. Others like people who will benefit when that knowledge is ultimately
applied to everyday human problems like loneliness, depression, divorce, and self development. And others like future
generations of students. Who knows? Perhaps the research you participate in this semester will be featured in future
psychology textbooks, just as some of the experiments you'll study this semester had their data supplied by previous
generations of MSU students. We hope and expect that you'll put as much in and get as much out of research participation as
they did.
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