Middlesex Community College

Course Syllabus

Course Title: Psychology 111:  General Psychology

Semester:   Spring 2008

Instructor: Professor Patricia J. Sawyer

Credit Hours:   3

Department:   Social Science

Course No:   1278

Course Prerequisite:   English 101 Placement

Course Location:   Distance Learning

Meeting Time (days/hours):   Online 24/7

Scope of Course:   The major principles and theories of psychology including perception, learning, the biological basis of behavior, motivation and emotion.

Textbook:

Essentials of Understanding Psychology, Feldman, Robert, Seventh Edition, 2008. McGraw-Hill Publishers,

ISBN:  9780073405490

Office Hours:

• Monday – OSHS Extension    5:30pm – 6:00pm
• Online 24/7
• By Appointment        

Office Telephone:   (860) 343-5813  

Email: psawyer@mxcc.commnet.edu

There is internal email built into the course.  Please use that email. Use the above email address in an emergency only.

Attendance Policy:   You are required to log on a minimum of three days weekly and perform tasks and assignments according to the syllabus.  Each late assignment will lose one letter grade for each day the assignment is late beginning on the first day after the deadline.

Credit will not be given for late postings.  All Discussion Board postings must be completed by Saturday 3:00pm.

Class Cancellation Policy:   Non Applicable

Evaluation: 

1.  Five Multiple Choice Examinations                                             50%

There will be 5 multiple choice exams. You will have three hours to complete each exam. The exam will be available for one week. You must take the exam anytime you want during the 7 days the exam is available. Exams cannot be made up after the 7 days. You are to log on anytime during the release times stated for each exam and complete it. Grades will be available in the grade book.

Exam 1 (Ch’s 1 – 3) will be available: 2/9/08 10:00pm – 2/16/08 11:00pm.

Exam 2 (Ch’s 4 – 6) will be available: 3/1/08 10:00pm – 3/8/08 11:00pm.

Exam 3 (Ch’s 7 – 9) will be available: 3/22/08 10:00pm – 4/5/08 11:00pm.

Exam 4 (Ch’s 10 – 12) will be available: 4/12/08 10:00pm – 4/19/08 11:00pm.

Exam 5 (Ch’s 13 - 15) will be available: 5/3/08 10:00pm – 5/10/08 11:00pm.

2.  Research Paper                                                    20%

You are to write a 10 page double spaced research paper on a topic related to General Psychology.  You are to use a minimum of four references.  Only two can be the internet unless they are online textbooks and journals.  Your sources cannot be older than 10 years.  Included in your research paper must be a bibliography and footnote page (APA format).  Research papers without documentation will not be accepted.  Use correct grammar, punctuation and full sentences.  Put your best effort into it as this will count for a good part of your final grade. 

Your research paper is Due: Friday, April 4, 2008  6:00pm.

All work is to be submitted to my email address built within the WebCT course.

3.  Weekly Discussion Board Participation              30%

In order to receive full credit for the discussion board, you must log on a minimum of three days weekly and respond to the current question as well as interact with your classmates.  You must respond to at least three other postings in order to receive full credit.  You will be graded on how completely you answer the assigned discussion question and by the quality of responses to the other postings.  Your use of critical thinking skills, conducting research on the discussion board question and applying knowledge from your readings will be assessed.  No credit will be given should you log on after one week.  You will have one week to conduct research and post. The discussion board closes at 3:00pm each Saturday.  No postings will be accepted after 3:00pm.

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Understand the terminology, theories and concepts of general psychology.

2. Compare and contrast the major psychological theories and their application to behavior.

3. Apply the major psychological concepts to human behavior in general and to his or her own behavior in particular.

Learning Outcomes:  Upon completion of each chapter the students’ performance will be satisfactory when they are able to:

Chapter One:             Introduction to Psychology

• Understand the past, present and the future of psychology
• Understand how research is conducted in psychology
• Gain a knowledge of what trends currently shape psychology

Chapter Two: Neuroscience and Behavior

• Understand the basic elements of behavior
• Understand the nervous system and the endocrine system
• Understand the functions of the brain
• Understand the sex and cultural differences of the brain

Chapter Three:          Sensation and Sensation

• Understand how we sense the world around us
• Understand the five senses
• Understand perceptual organization in constructing our view of the world

Chapter Four: States of Consciousness

• Understand the stages of sleep
• Understand the importance of dreams
• Understand hypnosis and meditation
• Understand the impact of drug use: the highs and lows of consciousness
• Understand what environmental factors are important for social development

Chapter Five: Learning

• Understand classical conditioning and how it explains behavior
• Describe different types of learning processes – classical conditioning

and operant conditioning

• Understand learning across all cultural and racial groups

Chapter Six:               Memory

• Understand the foundations of memory
• Understand how we recall long-term memories
• Gain an understanding of forgetting: when memory fails

Chapter Seven:          Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

• Understand what cognitive psychology is and how we form concepts and solve problems
• Understand how we reason and make decisions
• Know what artificial intelligence reveals about cognition
• Understand what is the structure of language and how we acquire it

• Understand the origins and history of psychological testing
• Know what is intelligence
• Understand how psychologists develop tests
• Understand how biological and environmental factors contribute to intelligence
• Understand the impact of having an exceptional IQ
• Understand how certain racial groups are evaluated and why a bias exists

Chapter Eight:            Motivation and Emotion

• Define motivation and emotion
• Understand how motivation and emotion affect behavior

Chapter Nine:            Development

• Understand nature, nurture and prenatal development
• Understand physical development throughout the life span
• Understand thought development throughout the life span
• Understand social and emotional development throughout the life span
• Understand what environmental factors are important for social development
• Explain what impact personality and cultural development (such as race, ethnicity

and social class) has on human development

• Understand the rites of passage around the world in ethnic, racial and religious groups

Chapter Ten:              Personality

• Define what is personality
• Define what is the psychodynamic approach to personality
• Understand the Trait and Type theories of personality
• Understand the humanistic approach to personality
• Understand the cognitive approach to personality
• Understand how psychologists assess personality

Chapter Eleven:         Health Psychology: Stress, Coping and Well-Being

• Define stress
• Understand how people cope with stress
• Define health psychology
• Understand how race, culture, social class and ethnic group affects stress

and physical health

• Understand the psychological aspects of illness and well-being
• Gain an understanding of how to promote health and wellness

Chapter Twelve:        Psychological Disorders

• Define abnormal psychology
• Gain an understanding of the major psychological disorders
• Identify which gender, race, culture and ethnic group(s) are more prone

to suffer from psychological disorders

Chapter Thirteen:      Therapy

• Gain an understanding of the different types of psychotherapy: psychodynamic, behavioral

Cognitive, humanistic, interpersonal, and group approaches to treatment

• Understand what humanistic therapies emphasize
• Gain an understanding of biomedical therapy – biological approaches to treatment
• Identify why social class, race and ethnicity influences how and if one is to

receive treatment

Chapter Fourteen:     Social Psychology

• Understand attitudes and social cognition

• Understand how people influence one another
• Understand the elements and consequences of prejudice and discrimination
• Identify the positive and negative aspects of social behavior

Competence/Assessment

Competence will be demonstrated in each chapter:

• By critiquing weekly assigned readings
• Examinations
• Discussion Board participation

Hints:
1. Don't fall behind- the most important factor for achieving success in this course is to follow the schedule closely, and complete your assignments correctly and on time.
2. Share your opinions - the Discussion Board is largely based on your application to the
psychological principals you will learn. While the actual principles and theories are based on research, your answers to the questions are based on your personal application to these principles and theories.
3. Ask questions - if you are having trouble understanding any parts of this course, let me know as soon as possible. I will gladly answer any questions you have about the course materials, lessons, resources and the assignments. So if you have a question, please ask!                                                                4. Technical questions - If you have technical questions please contact one of the following:

CTDLC help desk at 1-866-462-8352. CTDLC email: support@ctdlc.org

Distance Learning Support Staff at Middlesex Community College:

Erin Mason, Educational Specialist 860-343-5822. Email: emason@mxcc.commnet.edu OR
Dr. Yi Guan-Raczkowski, Director of Distance Learning – 860-343-5783. Email: yguan@mxcc.commnet.edu

Unfortunately I cannot assist you with technical difficulties. You need to contact the above personnel. You will be able to access this course through any computer with an internet connection. If you do not have a computer or your computer is not operational or your internet provider is down please use the college computers (we have several for student use) located in the Library in Chapman Hall or the Computer Lab located in Wheaton Hall. You can also use any local library computer in the United States and world free of charge.

5. Please put your name on all assignments (on the assignment as well as in the subject line of the email).

ADA Accommodation Statement:

“Students with physical or learning disabilities who may require accommodations are

encouraged to contact the counseling office.  After disclosing the nature of the disability,

students are urged to discuss their needs with individual instructors.  This should be

done at the beginning of each semester.  Instructors, in conjunction with appropriate

college officials, will provide assistance and/or accommodations to those students who

have completed this process.”

Academic Ethics and Classroom Behavior:

“At Middlesex Community College we expect the highest standards of academic honesty. 

Academic dishonesty is prohibited in accordance with the Board of Trustees’ Proscribed

Conduct Policy in Section 5.2.1 of the Board of Trustees’ Policy Manual.  This policy

prohibits cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration on assignments,

unauthorized access to examinations or course materials, plagiarism, and other

proscribed activities.  Plagiarism is defined as the use of another’s idea(s) or phrase(s)

and representing that/those idea(s) as your own, either intentionally or unintentionally.”

“(Board of Trustees’ Policy 5.2.1)

General Psychology 111

Class Schedule

Spring 2008

Week 1           Introduction to Psychology                            Chapter 1

1/22 – 1/26

Week 2           Neuroscience and Behavior                          Chapter 2

1/27 – 2/2

Week 3           Sensation and Perception                              Chapter 3

2/3 – 2/9                     

Week 4           States of Consciousness                                Chapter 4

2/10 – 2/16

Week 5           Learning                                                         Chapter 5

2/17 – 2/23                 

Week 6           Memory                                                          Chapter 6

2/24 – 3/1

Week 7           Thinking, Language, and Intelligence          Chapter 7

3/2 – 3/8    

Week 8           Motivation and Emotion                                Chapter 8

3/9 – 3/15                   

Week 9           Development                                                  Chapter 9

3/16 – 3/22                 

Week 10         MxCC Spring Break

3/23 – 3/29

Week 11         Personality                                                     Chapter 10

3/30 – 4/5       

Week 12         Health Psychology                                         Chapter 11

4/6 – 4/12                                                      

Week 13         Psychological Disorders                                Chapter 12

4/13 – 4/19                 

Week 14         Treatment of Psychological Disorders         Chapter 13

4/20 – 4/26                 

Week 15         Social Psychology                                          Chapter 14

4/27 – 5/3

Week 16         Final Exam    

5/4 – 5/10

PSYCHOLOGY 111:  GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

CRN:  1278

Distance Learning - Online

Spring 2008

Patricia Sawyer, Instructor

This course is important because it will strengthen the student’s critical thinking skills and help them make the connection between psychology and everyday life.  It will provide the student with a better understanding of why people behave the way they do, why psychologists conduct research, and be cognizant of the theories that guide research.  The student will become acquainted with the breadth of the field of psychology and will obtain the core competencies as stated below, as well as a wealth on knowledge that will excite the student’s curiosity and increase their understanding of people’s behavior.  The core competencies will provide the tools that will maximize the student’s ability to learn and retain the subject matter of psychology.

Middlesex Community College

Core Competencies

1) Communication Skills:  Communication skills include reading, writing, speaking and research.  We expect our graduates will have good critical reading skills so that they can discriminate between primary and secondary sources and between more and less important ideas in what they read.  We expect our students to write and speak clear, correct expository English to communicate their ideas as well as to frame sensible arguments to support their points of view in an intelligent, thoughtful and civilized way. Communication is an interactive process through which there is an exchange of verbal and/or nonverbal information.

2)  Conceptual Skills / Critical Thinking Skills:  Conceptual skills refer to organized, responsive and critical thought.  Many educators and philosophers define critical thinking as skillful, responsible, reflective thinking that facilitates good judgment because it:  a) relies upon criteria developed or assessed, b) is self-correcting, and c) is sensitive to context.  Critical thinkers can distinguish between fact, inference, and opinion; construct worthwhile questions; arrive at and justify conclusions; prioritize ideas; apply strategies for dealing with error, improbability and ambiguity; value, and access information including that derived from textbooks, lectures and electronic media; give and accept criticism constructively.

3)  Quantitative Reasoning:  Quantitative reasoning helps us learn about reality by applying measurement, mathematics, data collection and evaluation to the study of specific problems. Quantitative reasoning involves several skills or abilities: 1) to describe research problems or questions in terms of numerical, symbolic, and visual representation; 2) to solve problems by collecting and analyzing data, formulating alternative theories, and making reasonable conclusions based upon a body of evidence; 3) to communicate and critique quantitative arguments.

4)  Technological Literacy: Technological literacy requires us to understand the potential and limitations of technology and to identify and effectively use the appropriate technology to achieve a desired outcome.

5)  Information Literacy:  Information literacy encompasses skills that enable individuals to determine when information is needed, efficiently access information, critically evaluate information and its sources, apply legal and ethical standards in using information, and appropriately apply information to one’s needs.

6)  Aesthetic Perspective:  The most elusive area in a well rounded education is that of aesthetics. Students should be aware of aesthetics both in daily life and in the context of their academic studies. Aesthetics encompasses forms of personal expression both in the natural world and in the world of man-made things (buildings, objects of art, etc.). In addition, aesthetics can be seen in more abstract, universal constructs such as the symmetry of an equation or the balanced physical structure of an atom. Students should be able to analyze and formulate opinions about the principles of design behind these formal and expressive structures.

7)  Understanding of Diversity:  Diversity means difference.  People may be different with respect to their ethnicity, race, culture, religion or national origin.  Or these differences may be social and personal such as class, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or appearance.  We hope our graduates are able to recognize and appreciate these and other differences. Psychology embraces a global perspective in presenting issues of diversity concerning cultural awareness, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and age.

8)  Values, ethics, and responsible citizenship:  Psychology will help the student to recognize and analyze ethical issues, make and defend ethical decisions, demonstrate ethical behavior and social responsibility by engaging in community, social, civic, or cultural service.

These core competencies are important personally, academically, and professionally.  The learning outcomes, as stated in the syllabus are covered in this course.