Introduction to Psychology Syllabus
Psych 1a Section 1 – Spring 2014
Instructor: Ellen J Wright, PhD
Office Phone #: 781-736-2809
Office: Brown 128
Office Hours: Tu 9-10:30, W 9-10:30, or by appointment
Email ejwright@brandeis.edu
Class Meetings: Mon, Wed, & Thurs 11-11:50 a.m. Schwartz 106
Course website:
http://latte.brandeis.edu/
Optional PsycPortal: http://courses.bfwpub.com/schacter1e.php (textbook study resources)
Graduate Teaching Fellows (also available by appointment):
Name:
Office:
E-mail:
Yuliya Kuras
Brown 004
Office hours: M 12-1:30
Sujala Maharjan
Volen 246
Office hours: Tu 4-5:30
Ken Pitts
Brown 025
Office hours: M 1:30-3
Yile Sun
Volen 246
Office hours: Th 3:30-5
ykuras@brandeis.edu
Primary
contact for
last names:
A-D
sujmaha@brandeis.edu G-Kh
kppitts@brandeis.edu
Lar-Ro
ylesun@brandeis.edu
She-Z
Undergraduate Peer Assistants (also available by appointment):
Name
Office
Email
Kyra Borenstein
Library Green Room kyrajb@brandeis.edu
Office hours: Wed 10-11
Kyra BUGs Tutoring Academic Services
Office hours: Wed Th 1-2
Maggie Kinzel
Library Green Room maggie.kinzel@gmail.com
Office hours: Wed 12-1
Gabe Sullivan
Library Green Room gjsulliv@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Primary contact for
last names
E-F
Ki-Lan
Ru-Sh
Bugs Tutor:
Experimetrix/Research Familiarization Questions: Carrie Robertson, carrob@brandeis.edu, Office hours
by appointment
Textbook:
Schacter Psychology, 3rd Edition, MacMillan, Required
Additional packages:
Schacter Psychology (Looseleaf) MacMillan Higher 3rd Bookstore Rec
Schacter Psychology- Launchpad Access MacMillan Higher 3rd Rec
Additional readings for assignments will be posted on LATTE, as needed.
Required Accessories:
iClicker. This system will be used for interactive participation during class. Data from this system will be used to
calculate the attendance and participation portion of your grade. You must purchase the iClicker remote, bring it to
every class yourself, and participate in order to receive participation credit!!
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The iClicker should be bundled with the textbook through the bookstore. I have also asked the bookstore to order
additional remotes in case students purchase the book from other sources. According to the iClicker website, you should
follow this procedure if the remotes are unavailable (http://www.iclicker.com/ordering_iclicker/ordering_iclicker.html):
Go to your bookstore, and tell them that you need to place an order for a stand-alone iClicker remote. Give them ISBN 07167-7939-0, and tell them that the manufacturer is MPS (formerly VHPS). You will need to give your bookstore the
ISBN and the manufacturer in order for them to place the order. The bookstore will then give you an idea of cost and
next steps to obtain your iClicker. The iClicker is also sold via Amazon.com if your needs are more urgent.
Optional Accessories.
PsychPortal is Worth's online learning space that integrates the full eBook along with activities, interactive learning
objects, videos, and more. Use of this resource is optional. PsychPortal access should be included with textbooks
purchased through the bookstore. If you purchase a textbook from another source or would like to purchase only the
eBook (rather than a hard copy of the book), you can consult the following webpage for direct purchase:
www.worthpublishers.com/courses/schacter.
PsychVideos
I. Course Description: What is this course about?
Psychology 1a (Introduction to Psychology) is an introduction to what many describe as the science of the mind and
behavior, concerned with how and why organisms do what they do. In some ways, it is like a tasting menu at a fancy
restaurant – you get the opportunity to try various aspects of what is (in my humble opinion), the coolest scientific field
and see which one or ones excite you. You will get a broad overview of behavioral neurosciences, sensation and
perception, social psychology, developmental psychology, theories of personality, clinical psychology and health
psychology. Obviously, it is a prerequisite for all other psychology courses, as it gives you the opportunity to learn the
basics in each of major branches of psychology that are active today. We will be taking a topical approach, examining
many different perspectives on human behavior. To make the semester coherent, we will be emphasizing common themes
that hold the various areas of psychology together as an academic discipline. This is a course about the science of the
mind, the body, and behavior, rather than a course about ‘pop’ psychology.
II. Format and Procedures:
Classes will rely on an interactive lecture format. To learn the most in this class, you should complete the readings before
class, attend each class, and participate actively. The iClicker system is intended to help you to engage with the material
and to make it more personally relevant, features that we know aid in learning and remembering information.
III. Course Requirements:
A. Examinations: three tests, each worth 100 points. All exams will be unit tests (NO cumulative exams).
The format for each exam will include a combination of multiple choice and short-answer questions (which may
include some matching). Lecture, all in-class materials and discussions, and reading assignments will be
covered. The ONLY excuses acceptable for missing a quiz are illness (documented by a note from a physician),
funeral of close friend/relative (documented by a funeral notice or funeral bulletin), mandatory religious
obligations or other unavoidable circumstances or University activities. If one of these difficulties occurs, you
should immediately contact the office of Student Life, who will document the difficulties and take care of
notifying your professors. If you must be away at the time of an examination, you may schedule an early exam.
You will receive a review sheet (posted on Latte) that serves as a general guide. Test questions will not be
limited to this review sheet, but the short questions posed on the review sheet should help prepare you for the
short-answer questions.
B. Assignments: There will be four written assignments. Specific details will follow about the format and due
dates. These will be submitted on line and will be due by midnight the night of the class it is due. Assignments turned
in late will be docked with an 1-point penalty for each day that the assignment is late. Computer problems are no excuse.
If you need some assistance with your assignments, please plan to talk to the TAs and course assistants in advance of
the deadlines, if you have questions about the assignments. The Writing Program also offers helpful services:
http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/writing/
C. Class attendance and participation: Based on the use of iClicker devices, as explained above. iClickers are
to be used in class by you, and you alone. The attendance grade can be penalized for students who use more than one
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remote or lend theirs to a classmate in order to receive attendance credit. Issues with absence, and documentation for
athletes, see Yuliya
D. Research Participation or Role-Playing Option: There will be opportunities across the semester to
participate in Research Projects (also called Research Familiarization Requirement). Students who choose not to
participate in the Research Projects can fulfill this requirement by completing alternative writing assignments called RolePlaying options, which requires you to summarize what it would be like to be a participant in a published psychological
experiment. This part of the course will be discussed on the first day of class. All
experimetrix questions
should be referred to Carrie Robertson (aka she who must be obeyed),
carrob@brandeis.edu
IV. Evaluation: Your grade will be based on three class exams, research experience, and four written assignments (to be
provided in detail later). Your grade will be on a standard grading scale out of a total of 425 points (A > 92, A- 90-92, B+
87.5-89.5%, B 82.5-87, B- 80-82%, C+ 77.5-79.5%, C 72.5-77%, C- 70-72, D+ 67.5-69.5%, D 62.5-69, D- 60-62%)
V. Special Needs If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish
to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
VI. Academic Honesty: You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on
academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of
alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial
System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. This includes
copying a classmate’s paper, using your phone or iPad/tablet to look up answers during the exam or any other
form of cheating. If you have any questions about my expectations, please ask.
VII. Personal Reactions To Topics
Sometimes material covered in a Psychology class can bring up personal feelings and reactions that you may
not know how to handle. In these cases, please feel free to make use of the counseling services available on
campus at the Psychological Counseling Center, located in the Mailman House at (781) 736-3730. More
information is available on their website: http://www.brandeis.edu/pcc/.
Tentative Course Schedule1
Please note, the chapter numbers vary depending on the book you are using, so please go
by the titles of the chapters
Dates
8/28
Topics
Welcome and Introduction to the course
Readings
Syllabus and supplements
9/1
9/3
9/4
Labor Day
Psychology: Evolution of a Science
Presentation of Research Participation
Requirement and Methods of Psychology
Text Chapter 1
Text Chapter 2
9/8
Methods continued
(Begin iClicker practice begins)
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Please Note:
The content on this syllabus is tentative. The instructor maintains the right to make changes to the timing of the content as
the course progresses. This need will be dictated by the interest of the class and the uncontrollable loquacity of the
instructor. We will cover as much material as we can, but I will neither go so quickly that students are lost, nor so slowly
that the lecture becomes unbearably repetitive. However, assignment and exam dates are inflexible.
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Dates
9/10
9/11
Topics
Methods (contd.)
Neuroscience and Behavior
Readings
9/15
9/17
9/18
(contd.)
(contd.)
Stress and Health
(iClicker officially begins)
Assignment 1 due
Text Chapter 14
9/22
9/23
Stress (contd).
(Brandeis Thursday) Exam 1
(chapters 1, 2, 3, 14)
9/24
9/25
Sensation & Perception.
Rosh Hashannah – no class
9/29
10/1
10/2
S&P (contd.)
Language and Thought
Consciousness (contd.)
10/6
10/8
10/9
Learning
Learning (contd.)
Sukkot – no class
Text Chapter 7
10/13
Text Chapter 6
10/15
10/16
Learning (contd.), begin Memory [Brandeis
Thursday]
Memory (contd.)
Shmni Atzeret – no class
10/20
10/22
10/23
Memory (contd.)
Emotion and Motivation
E&M (contd.)
10/27
10/29
10/30
E&M (contd.), begin Social Psychology
(contd.)
Exam 2
11/3
11/5
11/6
Social Psych (contd.)
Social Psych (contd.)
Development
11/10
11/12
11/13
Development (contd.)
Development (contd.)
Psychological Disorders & Treatment
11/17
11/19
11/20
Psych Dis & Tx (contd.)
(contd.)
(contd.)
11/24
11/26-27
Psychological Disorders (contd.)
Thanksgiving Vacation
Text Chapter 3
Text Chapter 4
Text Chapter 9
Text Chapter 5
Assignment 2 due
Text Chapter 8
Text, Chapter 13
(Chapters 4, 9, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Text Chapter 11
Assignment 3 due
Text Chapters 15, 16
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Dates
12/1
12/3
12/4
12/8
Topics
Personality
Personality (contd.)
Contd.
Last Class Wrap up
Third Exam – Exam period – 5/11-5/18
Readings
Text Chapter 12
Assignment 4 due
(chapters 11, 12, 13, 15, 16)