Psychology 101 (Section 201): Introductory Psychology
Summer, 2014 (Second Session)
Time: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 10:20-12:10 PM
Location: 119 Psychology Building
Instructor: Kristen J. Mills
Office: 242 Psychology Building
Office Hours: By appointment
FOR ALL COURSE E-MAILS, PLEASE USE D2L AND SEND E-MAILS TO INSTRUCTOR (FROM THE D2L
“COMMUNICATE” TAB)
Course Description:
Mind and behavior from biological, individual, and social perspectives. Scientific and professional
aspects of psychology.
Course Objectives:
 Learn about the history of psychology
 Learn about the ethics and research methods that psychologists use
 Learn about the major theories and findings from the field (and subfields) of psychology.
 Learn to think critically about conclusions made by psychologists and other social scientists.
 Apply ideas from psychology to your own life experiences.
Course Readings:
Required Text: Psychology by David Myers, 10th Edition, Worth Publishers, 2013. ISBN #: 1-4292-6178-1
Please make sure you read all assigned readings before the lecture. This will help to solidify the
information we cover during lecture. The readings are listed at the end of the syllabus. The following
website provides free resources for the text: http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers10e/#t_746145____
Class Participation:
iClicker: You will need an iClicker for class participation. These are available at the bookstores and can be
rented through ASMSU. iClickers must be registered by Monday July 7th, 2014 to get full credit. To
register your iClicker go to www.iclicker.com and follow the instructions. Please make sure when
registering your iClicker that you use your full MSU e-mail, including the @msu.edu part, as your ID. If
you do not, you will not be correctly registered for this course and will not get credit for your
participation. If you cannot read the serial number on your iClicker, you will have an opportunity to
register without it in class on 7/2 and 7/7. If you do not register your iClicker on those days, you can
bring them to office hours.
**Note: If you have someone else use your iClicker for you when you are not in class, you will lose all
class participation points for the semester.
Attendance: I will not take attendance, but you can get points for coming to class and participating.
Specifically, if you come to class and answer the iClicker questions that I pose each day, you will receive
2 points for each class. If you feel that you did not receive participation points for days you did
participate, you need to contact me within one week of the date that the points are posted on-line.
Course Notes: Please take detailed notes on the lecture material—you will be tested on it. To help you
focus on the important details (rather than writing down everything), I will provide lecture notes on
d2l.msu.edu. These lecture notes will provide a basic outline of the material I will cover. The details will
be filled in during class, and will be included on the exam.
Research Participation:
HPR Credits: An important part of your education in psychology is to learn, first hand, how psychological
research is carried out. In Psychology 101, this is accomplished through a research participation
requirement. Students in Psychology 101 are required to participate in seven hours of research credit.
This means that you will need 14 half-hour credits to complete your research participation requirement.
Each credit is worth 2 points towards your overall grade. So completing your participation requirement
is a very easy way to improve your grade in this course! You must complete your research participation
by August 8th at 5:00 PM.
Alternative Assignment: These will involve reading and writing about published psychological studies.
Details about these alternative projects will be posted on the course web site. An information sheet
describing the psychology department participant pool is available on-line (under “Content” and then
“Alternative HPR Assignment”). If you have any questions about the participant pool procedures, please
contact the coordinator: Leslie Baldwin, 262 Psychology Building, lbaldwin@msu.edu .
Course Web Sites:
D2L: The first of these sites is a home page for this class. I will provide a copy of the syllabus, along with
electronic copies of the lectures and other course material on this site. You can access the web site by
going to http://d2l.msu.edu. Once there, log in (using your MSU user id and password). When you click
on “my courses,” you should see a link to the course web site. If you do not see this link, check with the
registrar to make sure that you are registered.
HPR: To sign up for the required research studies, you will need to visit
https://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/ . There is an information sheet from the department of
psychology that explains how to sign up for research studies posted on the D2L website under Content.
Exams
Exams: There will be a total of four exams in this course. Each exam will consist of approximately 50
multiple-choice questions covering material from lectures, readings, and videos. The exams will begin at
exactly 10:20, and you will have the full class time to complete each exam. All exams will be held in the
regular class room. Each exam is worth 100 points.
Make-up Policy: Occasionally, students need to miss an exam or quiz for a legitimate reason (e.g.,
personal emergency, death in the family, etc.). I will allow a make-up exam at an alternative time only if
I deem the reason for the missed exam or quiz as appropriate and unavoidable. You must also provide
supporting documentation.
Accommodations: Students who require any accommodations during class or during exams should see
me as soon as possible. It is especially important that accommodations for exams be made long before
the exam has taken place.
Grading
Your grade is a direct reflection of the number of points you earn via iClicker (32 points), HPR
participation (28 points), and exams (400 points) in this course. Your total points (i.e., the actual points
you get from iClicker, HPR, and exams) will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Scores cannot be
“on the border,” they are one grade or the next. There will be no adjustments because your score is
close to the cutoff.
Your grade will be calculated in the following way:
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.0
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
65%
60%
<60%
414 of 460
391 of 460
368 of 460
345 of 460
322 of 460
299 of 460
276 of 460
<276
UNIVERSITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES:
1. 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, College of Social Science 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 and/or the MSU Web site: 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. You are
expected to develop original work for this course; therefore, you may not submit course work you
completed for another course to satisfy the requirements for this course. Also, you are not authorized to
use the www.allmsu.com Web site to complete any course work in PSY 101. Students who violate MSU
academic integrity rules may receive a penalty grade, including a failing grade on the assignment or in
the course. Contact your instructor if you are unsure about the appropriateness of your course work.
(See also http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/dishonestyFAQ.html )
2. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (from the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
(RCPD):
Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs,
services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by
contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD or on the web at
rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a
verified individual services accommodation ("RISA") form. Please present this form to me at the start of
the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date (test, project, etc.). Requests received
after this date will be honored whenever possible.
3. 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 a 100 percent refund and no grade reported is 7/11/14. The last day to drop this
course with no refund and no grade reported is 7/23/14. You should immediately make a copy of your
amended schedule to verify you have added or dropped this course.
4. Commercialized Lecture Notes: Commercialization of lecture notes and university-provided course
materials is not permitted in this course.**
5. Attendance: Students whose names do not appear on the official class list for this course may not
attend this class. Students who fail to attend the first four class sessions or class by the fifth day of the
semester, whichever occurs first, may be dropped from the course.
6. Disruptive Behavior: Article 2.3.5 of the Academic Freedom Report (AFR) for students at Michigan
State University states: "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: "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.
**Note: The Code of Teaching Responsibility requires instructors who permit students to commercialize
their class lecture notes to include a statement in their course syllabi that gives such permission. Absent
such permission, students may not do so.
Integrity of Scholarship and Grades
At its February 24, 2009 meeting, Academic Council approved a motion from the University Committee
on Academic Policy to revise the policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades. This policy is located in
the Academic Programs catalog at
https://www.reg.msu.edu/AcademicPrograms/Text.asp?Section=112#s534.
Course schedule
This schedule is tentative and subject to change
Week
Date
Topic
Assigned Readings
1
6/30
Chapter 1
7/1
Thinking Critically with Psychological
Science
The Biology of Mind
7/2
The Biology of Mind
Chapter 2
7/3
Consciousness and the Two-Track Mind
Chapter 3
7/7
Exam 1
No Readings
7/8
Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity
Chapter 4
7/9
Developing Through the Life Span
Chapter 5
7/10
Sensation and Perception
Chapter 6
7/14
Exam 2
No Readings
7/15
Learning
Chapter 7
7/16
Learning
Chapter 7
7/17
Memory
Chapter 8
7/21
Memory
Chapter 8
7/22
Thinking and Language
Chapter 9
7/23
Thinking and Language
Chapter 9
7/24
Intelligence
Chapter 10
7/28
Intelligence
Chapter 10
7/29
In Class Review Session
No Readings
7/30
Exam 3
No Readings
7/31
No Readings
8/4
Community Psychology
Guest Lecture: Jennifer Lawlor
Social Psychology
8/5
Social Psychology
Chapter 14
8/6
Psychological Disorders
Chapter 15
8/7
Psychological Disorders
Chapter 15
8/11
Movie: A Beautiful Mind
No Readings
8/12
Emotion, Stress, and Health
Chapter 12
8/13
In Class Review Session
No Readings
8/14
Exam 4
No Readings
2
3
4
5
6
7
Chapter 2
Chapter 14