Dr. Launius Psy 1101 Intro to General Psychology – Online Fall 2009
Psychology 1101 - Introduction to General Psychology Syllabus
INSTRUCTOR : Dr. Margaret Launius OFFICE: 205 South Hall PHONE: 662-4391
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E-MAIL: mlaunius@mnsfld.edu
WEB PAGE: http://faculty.mansfield.edu/mlaunius
Office Hours : Wed: 12:30 - 2:30; Thurs: 1:00 - 2:00; or by appointment.
Course Description : Designed to familiarize students with the application of scientific psychology to human life. Emphasis is on "normal" behavior and its antecedents. Includes the study of broad categories of human behavior through various psychological models. 3 credits. No prerequisites.
Relevance to Curriculum:
 This course is a required core course for psychology majors and minors.
 This course has been approved for inclusion in the Social Sciences block of General Education. By the end of the course, students will understand how to research and analyze information, think critically about the course material, and be able to apply their knowledge towards solving problems related to their personal life experiences.
 For some majors, this course will be required by your department. See your program evaluation form or talk with your advisor for more information.
My Teaching Philosophy : Please follow this link to read my philosophy of teaching. We will be discussing this in the first week of the course. You can also find this information from the course web site by following the About Me link from the Course home page .
The 4 P’s of College Success:
You will find this document in your Course Binder. Please read by the end of the first week. This is a description of how to be successful in this course and your college career.
We will be discussing this in the first week of the course. You can also find this file by following this link or looking at the Course Documents page in Blackboard.
Text & Supplies: Textbook can be purchased at the Bookstore: http://www.mansfieldbookstore.com/
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Fundamentals of Psychology in Context; by Stephen M. Kosslyn and Robin S. Rosenberg. Publisher:
Allyn & Bacon. Third edition. Required
Objectives of the Course
Department Learning Outcomes: The following learning outcomes have been influenced by the recommendations of the American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs Task Force on
Educational Competencies and adapted to be related to this particular course:
Knowledge Base of Psychology
Includes the ability to identify major people, concepts and theoretical models covered in the course.
Information and Technological
Literacy
Competence in searching for, identifying, and evaluating evidence from internet resources.
Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology
The ability to think critically about important issues addressed in class.
Research Methods in Psychology
Applications of Psychology
An understanding of basic research methods in psychology.
An understanding of psychological principles as they apply to personal & social issues.

Dr. Launius Psy 1101 Intro to General Psychology – Online Fall 2009
Teaching Objectives (TO): I hope to share with you in the next 15 weeks some of the wonders and
2 variety of the field of Psychology. In addition, I hope to help you get off to a good start on your own personal academic journey. The following are the objectives for this course related to my teaching:
1. To provide you with an overview of the major areas in the field of psychology.
2. To explain the scientific method & research designs as pertains to the field of psychology.
3. To explain how to conduct successful internet searches and critically evaluate web-based resources.
4. To help you learn how to critically evaluate and think about the content of the course and related resources.
5. To provide you the opportunity to learn to identify, apply &/or appreciate how the course material relates to real world issues, problems, & personal experiences.
6. To help you develop successful study and time management skills and to provide you the opportunity to develop, reflect on and revise a personal success plan for the course.
Student Learning Objectives/Competencies(SLOC): At the completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Discuss knowledgeably the major contributors, theories and topics covered in the unit/course.
2. Explain how the scientific method works and how research adds to the body of knowledge.
3. Critically evaluate material related to the course content.
4. Identify, apply or appreciate how the week ’s learning relates to real world issues, problems, & personal experiences.
5. Develop and revise a personal course success plan and realistically evaluate your performance in the course through regular self-reflection.
Assessment Strategies: You will accomplish the SLOC’s by participating in discussions, studying course materials, completing assignments, and attending to videos. I will accomplish the Teaching
Objectives by using a variety of teaching methods including, web based resources, videos, writing assignments, & lectures, During the course you will evaluate how well I and the course meet the TO’s in your Reflection Journal posts (RJ). Throughout the course, I will evaluate how well you are accomplishing the SLOC’s using these strategies: Quizzes, Discussion posts, Critical Thinking
Assignments (CA), Unit Exams, & Reflection Journal posts (RJP).
Learning Support: The University offers a wide variety of support services including tutoring, a writing center, resources for improving your study and time management skills. Contact the Learning Center or
Ms. Lou Labuski-Brown for more information about using these resources.
Exceptionalities : For information about psychological, medical, or learning disabilities contact Mr.
William Chabala , in the Academic and Human Development department (first floor South Hall). He will help you to provide me with the appropriate letter so that I may serve your particular needs better. The
University also provides free counseling for students. Contact the Counseling Center for more information: http://www.mansfield.edu/~counslng/ .
Course Requirements
Quizzes: Each week you will take a 10-item quiz . The quizzes will be available on Blackboard for several days prior to the due date and you can take them any time before then. All quizzes are to be completed no later than 12 noon on the due date specified in the course schedule.
Quizzes submitted after 12 noon will receive a score of zero (0). The first quiz will be a practice quiz to give you an opportunity to experience the quiz format and will cover the material from the course introduction, the syllabus, and course schedule. Quizzes will be used to assess SLOC’s
1 & 2.

Dr. Launius Psy 1101 Intro to General Psychology – Online Fall 2009 3
Unit Exams: There will be 4 exams covering the assigned readings and in-class material covered prior to the exam. Exams will consist of objective items and be worth 30 points. Carefully and frequently reviewing the Unit Learning Objectives will help you prepare for these exams. Exams will be used to assess SLOC’s 1 & 2.
Critical Thinking Activities (CTA): You will engage in a variety of activities designed to help you think critically about the course material. These activities can be found on the Blackboard
Assignments page. These activities will be worth 10 points. The total number of CTA points you can earn is 30. The CTAs will be used by me as artifacts for the purpose of assessing the
General Education program. These assignments will be used to assess SLOC’s 3, & 4.
Reflection Journal: You will find a link to a Reflection Journal on the left side of the course page. This activity is designed to help you be successful in the course. You will post 3 reflections during the semester according to a schedule that will be developed after the Add/Drop period.
Specific instructions about the posts are on the journal page. I will be commenting to your posts and providing feedback and suggestions to help you earn the grade you want to earn. This assignment will be used to assess SLOC’s 3, 4, & 5.
Course Management & Policies
Contacting Me: The best way to contact me is by email (mlaunius@mnsfld.edu). I check my email everyday and am more likely to respond immediately to an email than a phone message. Due to privacy and security issues, University policy requires faculty and students to use their Mansfield University email account to send messages to each other and I will not typically respond to emails sent using other accounts such as hotmail, yahoo, etc. You can easily access your MU email account from any computer by going to the University web site.
Office hours : As I am working only half-time this semester, I have 3 hours per week scheduled for working with students rather than the typical 5 hours. These hours are identified on page 1 of this syllabus and outside my office door. If these hours do not work with your schedule, I will be happy to arrange other times if you send me an email with some times/days that work for you. The purpose of office hours is to be available to students outside of class. You may use this time to get to know me better, introduce yourself to me, discuss your course performance or grade, discuss the Psychology
Minor, ask anything about the course or the discipline of psychology, etc. Just about anything you want to talk about is fine with me. If you want to spend more than 5-10 minutes together (e.g. helping study for an exam or work on an assignment), please make an appointment by signing up on the sheet outside my office door. Otherwise, just stop by anytime during office hours!
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to submit original work. Where resources and sources of information are used, credit must be given to the original source. Incidents of plagiarism or cheating will be forwarded to the Dean of Arts and Sciences for disciplinary action.
The Psychology Department has adopted an Honor Code , and you are expected to be familiar with it. Additional information concerning academic honesty can be found in the Password .
Extra Credit: Extra credit means extra work and students who are having difficulty completing the required course work seldom have the time to complete additional course work. In my 20+ years of college teaching experience I have determined that students who consistently do poorly on exams, exams, and written assignments are not devoting adequate time and effort to their academic responsibilities. Therefore, I will not entertain requests for extra credit assignments.
You are expected to plan and organize your time so that you are able to complete your assignments in a timely manner and study effectively during the semester so as to do as well as possible on your exams and exams. There are numerous resources available in the Learning Resource Center (South Hall) to help you learn time management and study skills, improve your writing, and master the course content.

Dr. Launius Psy 1101 Intro to General Psychology – Online Fall 2009 4
Please contact me immediately if you are having difficulty in the course . I am here to help you be successful in this course and am happy to mentor you throughout the semester – however, you must take responsibility for your performance by contacting me during the course and utilizing the resources available to you.
Grade Book: You can track your performance in the course throughout the semester. Your grades for the assessments used in the course can be found on Blackboard. Click on the link Tools (left side of page) and then My Grades .
GRADE POINT BREAKDOWN
Quizzes (12 x 10)
Exams (4 x 30)
120
120
Critical Thinking Assignments (3 x 10) 30
Reflection Journal (3 x 10) 30
Total
GRADE SCALE:
A 100 - 93% B + 89 - 87%
300
(40%)
(40%)
(10%)
(10%)
(100%)
C + 79 - 77%
A - 92 - 90% B
B - 82 - 80%
86 - 83% C
C -
76 - 73%
72 - 70%
D + 69 - 67%
D 66 - 63%
D - 62 - 60%
F 59% >