INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology 201G

Fall 2001

Instructor: Lausanne Renfro-Fernandez

Office: Science Hall 321

Office Hours: Mon 12:30-1:30

Tues 11:00-12:00

or by appointment.

Email: crenfro@nmsu.edu

Cell phone: 621-3290

The goal of this course is to give you an introduction to a variety of different areas in psychology. The course will introduce you to concepts and terminology used in psychology, as well as provide you with some of the basic theories and principles that guide human behavior. The course should permit you to understand how psychological phenomena affect your everyday life and how psychologists go about studying behavior.

Required Text: Hockenbury & Hockenbury (2000). Discovering Psychology (2nd ed). Worth Publishers: US.

*Students must purchase six of their own blue computer answer sheets (scantrons with 184 items) and bring one to each exam, in addition to a #2 pencil and a picture ID.

Course Web Page: http://web.nmsu.edu/~crenfro/

This web page has (or will have) links to the course syllabus and reviews for exams.

Prerequisites: None

Discussion Sections (Labs): You must be signed up for one of the discussion sections that accompany this course. Your discussion section meets once per week throughout the semester, and you will receive attendance points that will be averaged into your final course grade. The labs will consist of demonstrations, discussions, and lectures. In addition, homework assignments will be assigned during lab time.

The discussion sections are:

PSY 201G 03A	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	08:30-09:20	F	SH 117
PSY 201G 03B	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	10:30-11:20	F	SH 117
PSY 201G 03C	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	11:30-12:20PM	F	SH 117
PSY 201G 03D	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	12:30-01:20PM	F	SH 117
PSY 201G 03E	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	01:30-02:20PM	F	SH 117
PSY 201G 03F	INTRDN-PSYCHOLOGY	02:30-03:20PM	F	SH 117

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

Exams: Six exams will be given. Each exam will be worth 100 points. All material discussed in class and labs (including lectures, videos, and exercises) as well as all material in assigned readings (whether covered in lecture or not) is fair game for each exam. The exams will mostly be multiple-choice with the possibility of a few fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. Exams will be passed out at the beginning of class time. Be on time for the exams. No exams will be passed out after the first completed exam is turned in. In other words, once someone finishes the exam, latecomers will not be allowed to take the exam. When you turn in your completed exam, you will show your picture ID to the TA, and sign your name and social security number on a sign-out sheet.  

Note 1: Your lowest completed exam score or an excused missed exam score will be dropped. For example, if you have made 75’s on five exams, but have an unexcused 0 for the sixth exam, one of the 75’s will be dropped and the zero will be kept. Only if the zero is excused, will it be dropped. In other words, do not blow off an exam. Take all six and drop the lowest grade.

Note 2: No makeup exams will be granted. However, sometimes exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness or a death in the immediate family, may prevent you from taking an exam. In order to be eligible to drop the missed exam grade, you MUST adhere to the following two conditions: (1) Notify me PRIOR to the exam that you cannot make it (i.e., talk to me personally, call and leave a detailed message on my voice mail, or email a detailed message) and (2) Provide official documentation of your emergency (e.g., a written medical excuse signed by a physician). There are no exceptions to these policies.

Lab Grade: An additional 150 points (23%) of your grade will be based on your work in lab. The 150 points will be comprised of short written reports, quizzes, or small projects to be completed throughout the semester, as well as attendance points earned in lab. Attendance in lab is mandatory. You will receive points for every time that you attend your lab. Lab is also the only place for you to turn in the homework assignments. Studies conducted by the students, individual projects, and other out-of-class assignments will comprise the homework portion of your grade. All assignments are due on the date and time indicated on the assignment, no exceptions. There will be no make-ups for homework assignments. If you know that you will be missing a lab, you may turn in your homework BEFORE the due date by taking your homework assignment to the psychology office (Science Hall 220), having one of the secretaries time stamp it for you, and putting the assignment in your TAs (know his or her name) mail box. A homework assignment that is turned into the TAs box, and is not time stamped will be considered late and will not be graded.

Grades: The final course grade will be based on the number of points earned by each student:

Exam 1 100 pts A = 585-650 pts

Exam 2 100 pts B = 520-584 pts

Exam 3 100 pts C = 455-519 pts

Exam 4 100 pts D = 390-454 pts

Exam 5 100 pts F = 389 pts or below

Lab Grade 150 pts

Total 650 pts

Experimental Requirement: You MUST earn four hours of research credit. This can be done by participating in approximately four hours of experiments conducted by Psychology Department faculty and graduate students or by writing summaries of four empirical journal articles in psychology. See the attachment at the end of the syllabus for further details.

Extra-Credit: Extra-credit will not be available in this course. Often students who are not performing well in a class look to extra-credit to "save" their grades and spend a great deal of time performing extra-credit activities. This time is better spent preparing for exams. The additional points students may achieve on an exam will increase their grade much more than hours of extra-credit.

Academic Misconduct: If you are caught cheating, plagiarizing, or committing any other form of academic misconduct, you will fail the course, and further action may be taken following the Student Code of Conduct in the NMSU Student Handbook.

Disenrollment Policy: The instructor reserves the right to disenroll students who disrupt class, fail to respect others’ confidentiality and privacy, or create an unsafe learning and working environment for others.

Withdrawals: The instructor and TAs will not disenroll you for lack of attendance. It is your responsibility to withdraw from the class. The last day to withdraw with a “W” on your transcript is October 17, 2001. Before that date, you should meet with your TA to determine your current grade in the class and decide whether or not to drop the class. Remember, having “W” on your transcript is better than having “F.”

Incompletes: University policy dictates that a student may be given an incomplete ONLY if he or she has passed the first half of the course, and is precluded from successful completion of the course by a documented illness or family crisis. Keep in mind that the instructor decides what constitutes “precluded from successful completion.” If something arises in your life that interferes with your ability to do your best in this class, let me know about it as soon as possible. DO NOT WAIT until the end of the semester or after finals week. There is little that can be done at that point.

Students with Disabilities: If you have or believe you have a disability and would benefit from any accommodations, you may wish to self-identify by contacting the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in Garcia Annex, room 102 (phone: 646-6840). If you have already registered, please make sure that your instructor receives a copy of the accommodation memorandum from SSD within the first two weeks of classes. It is your responsibility to inform either your instructor or SSD representative in a timely manner if services/accommodations provided are not meeting your needs.

If you have a condition that may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency or that may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or the coordinator of SSD. General questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can be addressed to the ADA Coordinator at 646-3333.

Tentative Class Schedule

Dates	Units	Chpts
8/27-9/12	Psychology and General Information
	Introduction and Research Methods	1
	Critical Thinking	Handouts
Sept 03	Labor Day – No Class
Sept 12	Exam 1
9/17-10/1	Psychology and Yourself
	Lifespan Development	9
	The Biological Foundations of Behavior	2
Oct 01	Exam 2
10/3-10/17	Psychology and Your Body
	Sensation and Perception	3
	Consciousness and Its Variations	4
Oct 17	Exam 3
10/22-10/31	Psychology and Your Mind
	Intelligence	7
	Memory	6
Oct 31	Exam 4
11/5-11-19	Psychology and Your Environment
	Learning	5
	Social Psychology	11
Nov 19	Exam 5
Nov 21	Thanksgiving Holiday
11/26-12/10	Psychology and Your Mental Health
	Motivation and Emotion	8
	Psychological Disorders	13
	Therapies	14
Dec 10	Exam 6 (10:30-12:30)

*** The last day to drop with a “W” is Wednesday, October 17.

EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY REQUIREMENT: PSY 201

The facts, principles, and theories you will study in Psy 201 are based on a variety of lab and field research methods. To understand Psychology, you must understand its methods. Psy 201 students are required to demonstrate experience with experimental methods used in psychology by earning 4 RESEARCH CREDITS. These credits can be earned in either of two ways: (1) students can participate in Psychology Department research studies, and/or (2) write brief (2-3 page) papers describing a research method used in a research article published in an accepted psychology journal. Each acceptable paper that is written is worth 1 RESEARCH CREDIT. Each hour of experimental participation is worth 1 RESEARCH CREDIT. You may choose to fulfill the 4 research credit requirement by writing papers, participating in research or any combination of the two, as long as the total credits equal at least 4 research credits.

Experiment Participation: Descriptions of research projects sponsored by the Psychology Department are posted on the experiment status board and on the cover of the experiment folders located in the Experiment Sign-up area (southwest area of the lobby of Science Hall). Read the experiment description and limitations. If you qualify as a participant, e.g., "left handed females only, male/female with 20/20 vision", etc., select a time on the sign-up sheet to participate in that experiment. The sheets have perforated reminder slips for students to take with them at that time. These reminder slips have information about the day, date, time, experimenter's name, experiment NUMBER, location, and amount of credit allowed. TEAR AND TAKE THIS REMINDER, as the sign-up sheets will be removed before your appointment. The psychology office does NOT keep these records. Please refer to the Experiment Status Board in the sign up area. Your signature constitutes your informed consent to serve as experimental subject in the experiment based on the information provided on the sign-up sheets. Your signature also is a promise that you will appear to serve as a subject in that experiment at the stated location, date, and time. PLEASE, do not sign up for a friend. When you appear for your appointment, an experimenter will explain what you are to do. After your participation, the experimenter will give you a complete account of the experiment methodology and answer any questions you have. S/he will also give you an Experiment credit slip for that experiment. Be sure to fill in your name on each and keep them in a safe place. Your credit slips will be turned in to your instructor at the semester's end. You have the right to terminate your participation in the experiment at any time after you have appeared for your appointment. All experiments posted in the Experiment Board have been approved by a University Ethics Committee. Each experiment is supervised by a faculty member, and in no case is information on individual performance revealed to anyone other than the experimenter and the faculty supervisor. In general, our interest is an average taken across a number of participants, not in individual performance.

Failure to show for experiment participation at the promised date and time increases your Experimental Methodology Requirement by ONE HOUR of experiment participation or by one research methods paper. You will be docked 1 hour if you do not show for an experiment. You may call 646-6211 to cancel your experiment appointment up to within one hour prior to your scheduled time. You must be able to give your experiment number and time in your message in order to cancel. (1) Leaving only your name and the room number or, (2) removing your name from the sign-up sheet is no guarantee of cancellation.

Research Methods Paper. Your TA will be able to suggest a format for the research papers, and will be able to suggest acceptable psychology journals.

Failure to complete the Experimental Methodology Requirement. If a student fails to complete the methodology requirement (4 research credits) the letter grade earned through examination and quizzes will be lowered according to the following schedule:

Student Completed	Grade is Lowered
0 - 1 credits	one full level (e.g. C to D)
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 credits	2/3 of one level (e.g. C to D+)
3 - 3 1/2 credits	1/3 of one level (e.g. C to C-)

Suggested "Approach To" and "Form of" the Research Methods Paper

Here are the details about the research methods paper option to fulfill the experimental methodology requirement for Psychology 201.

1. Read an article from a psychology journal. It does not have to be a recent article. Suggested titles are such journals as:

American Journal of Psychology
American Psychologist
Applied Ergonomics
British Journal of Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Human Factors
International Journal of Social Psychology
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Journal of Experimental Psychology
Journal of Psychology
Journal of Research in Personality
Learning and Motivation
Perceptual and Motor Skills
Personality and Social Psychology
Psychological Reports
Psychophysiology
Psychology of Women Quarterly
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

or any other experimental psychology publication. Try to avoid Psychology Today, because it is a popular magazine and not a journal.

2. Write a 2 - 3 page review of the article with the following format:

I. Citation (Title of Article, Author, Name of Journal, Volume Number and Page, Year)

II. The statement of the problem (What is the experimental hypothesis and how did it come about?)

III. Method used to test hypothesis

A. Subjects (kind and number)

B. Different treatments

C. Independent variables

D. Dependent variables

E. Data analysis

IV. Results and Conclusion about the Original Hypothesis

V. Your Comments or Criticisms - especially, how can this research be applied?