Introduction to Psychology   PSYC-1000(6) Class website:  www.paultrapnell.com/1000   Printable copy of syllabus:  syllabus   Printable copy of research requirement:  research requirement   Printable copy of UW Psychology Degree Programs:  UW Psychology Degree Programs     Required Textbook:  Myers and DeWall (2018): Psychology in Modules, 12th Edition.   LaunchPad (Online e-Book, Learning Curve, and Study Guides):    LaunchPad link

Test 1 ppts (for Test 1 only):    Week1-2 (part1)    Week1-2 (part2)    Week1-2 (part3)    Week3    Week4 (part1)    Week4 (part2)

2019 Fall Semester

Instructor

Dr. Trapnell
Office: 4L39
Office Hours:by appointment.

Teaching Assistant

TBA (To Be Announced)
Office: 4L42
Office Hours: by appointment

Required Text

Myers and DeWall (2018) Psychology in Modules, 12th edition

General Course Description:

This course provides an introduction to the scientific analysis of behaviour and mental activity from the biological, social, and individual perspectives. Major topics include the following: perception, motivation, learning, memory, intelligence, personality, states of consciousness, social interaction, developmental processes, hereditary and environmental influences, abnormal psychology, therapeutic methods, and procedures for collecting and summarizing data. Students are expected to participate directly or indirectly in the Department's ongoing research program. This course is a prerequisite for all other Psychology courses.

Learning Goals:

The American Psychological Association (APA) has developed a list of goals for undergraduate education in psychology, and we are using these goals as guidelines for this course. By the end of this course you may not have fully attained all five of these goals, but you should be on the right path toward achieving them.

1. Knowledge Base of Psychology: Demonstrating familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.

2. Research Methods in Psychology: Understanding and applying research methods in psychology.

3. Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology: Respecting and using critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solving problems related to behavior and mental processes.

4. Application of Psychology: Understanding and applying psychological principles to personal, social and organizational issues.

5. Values in Psychology: Valuing empirical evidence, tolerating ambiguity, acting ethically, and reflecting on other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a science.

Please note: Some adjustments may be made in the text material to be covered for each test. For example,sometimes a chapter may not be covered in class but will still be required for the exam, and/or some chapters may be reordered and possibly tested on a different dates than listed above. Announcement of changes will be made in class. If there are any changes you will know well in advance.

Class Absence

Missed material is your responsibility. You must contact others in the class about missed material when you are absent, NOT the Instructor or Teaching Assistant. Obtain contact information from four classmates who you may want to contact if you need to get missed materials.

Topic and Exam Schedule

Grade Components

6 NON-cumulative tests + Introductory Psychology Research Requirement.

(The Research Requirement is not graded. It refers to the requirement to accumulate 6 research credits before the end of the course in April. See Research Requirement below).

1. Six term tests: 100%. There are six tests across the year. The final grade is the sum of these 6 test scores. Three tests are in Term I (Dr. Trapnell). In that term, each test is worth 16.7% toward your course grade (16.7% + 16.7% + 16.7% = 50%). The remaining 3 tests are in Term II (Dr. Lall). In Term II, the first test counts for 10%, and the next two each count for 20% of your course grade (10%+20%+20% =50%). All six tests are NON-cumulative, (i.e., are based ONLY on the material since the preceding tests). Term I tests are multiple choice questions only. Term II tests *might*, or might not, include some fill-in-the-blank questions, or short-answer questions (Dr. Lall will decide that at the beginning of Term II). All tests will be based on assigned textbook chapters + any additional material from class lectures. Distribution of questions between textbook and lectures is usually something like 70% from the textbook chapters and 25-30% unique to the lectures but keep in mind that lectures overlap quite a bit with textbook information. You are responsible for taking lecture notes (or obtaining lecture notes from another class member-please see above) if a class is missed.

Please note:

1. Bring Photo-ID to all tests as well as two sharpened pencils.
2. Electronic devices (e.g. calculators, cell phones, etc.) are banned for all tests.
3. All tests are property of the Psychology Department. They must be returned to the instructor or teaching assistant following review, upon penalty of course failure.
4. We do not have a lot of extra lecture time so I will normally not hand back or go over tests during class time. To see your test, please arrange an appointment with myself or a teaching assistant

Missed Tests

Students will be allowed to write a make-up test if absent with good reason on a test date. Absences from tests will be excused for reasons relating to sickness, death in the family, or religious holidays.

All students are expected to fulfill the research requirement requirement by accumulating SIX credits worth of research credit. Failure to accumulate 6 credits by the end of the course in April would result in your final grade being dropped one letter grade (e.g., from an A- to a B+). See attached sheets at the end of the downloadable course syllabus pdf (link is near the top of this page) or this document: Research Requirement (downloadable PDF)

Unofficial Cut-Offs for Letter Grades

Please note carefully that the cutoffs provided below are are tentative guidelines that the course instructor will follow, but unofficial grades based on these tentative guidelines below do not necessarily correspond to the official final grades awarded by the University administration. The Registrar retains the right to modify grading cutoffs in cases involving unreasonably lenient (or difficult) exams, exceptionally skewed grade distributions, and other unusual circumstances. In most cases offical final grades correspond quite closely to the unofficial grades based on the cutoffs provided below. Please be advised that this is not always, or necessarily, the case, however. The following should therefore be interpreted as unofficial cutoffs, not absolutely final official grading cutoffs for this course.

Important Information

1. The above grades may be changed in either direction. Use these examples as a rough guide only. In addition, examples assume that subject pool requirements, including any imposed penalties, have been met.
2. The final date for withdrawals without academic penalty from this course is Friday, February 14th. NOTE: You must formally withdraw from a course. If you simply stop going to classes, you may receive an "F" on your transcript and loss of tuition credit. If you are considering withdrawing from this course, I encourage you to talk to me in case I can help in anyway.
3. You have rights and responsibilities outlined in Section VII of the Calendar concerning information on appeals (p.52) and academic misconduct (p.50).   Please consult your University Calendar   http://uwinnipeg.ca/academics/calendar/index.html   for more information.
4. You may be requested to show picture ID during any exam. Please be sure to bring your Library Card or Driver's License to each exam.
5. Disability Services and Resource Centre: Students with documented disabilities requiring academic accommodations for lectures or tests (e. g., access to volunteer note-takers, private space) are encouraged to contact the Coordinator of Disability Services at 786-9771, or go to http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/services-accessibility. All information about disability is confidential. If you are seeking academic accommodations, please discussion the situation with me the first week of classes or within one week of making arrangements with DS.
6. Counselling and Career Services: For career or academic guidelines, for personal problems, for STUDY SKILLS and note-taking, anxiety, etc., take advantage of the range of free counseling services to get the help you need to survive and succeed in university. Check out the Counselling homepage at http://ccs.uwinnipeg.ca.
   
   NOTE: If you feel that you have a medical or personal problem that is interfering with your work, you should contact me, Disability Services or Counselling Services as soon as possible. Problems may be documented and possible arrangements to assist you can be discussed at the time of occurrence rather than on a retroactive basis. In general, retroactive requests for grade revisions on medical or compassionate grounds will not be considered.
7. Academic Misconduct: Students are responsible for understanding the nature of and avoiding the occurrence of academic offenses. There is a section in the General Calendar on academic misconduct dealing with regulations on student discipline and grade appeals.
8. Classroom Etiquette: Unauthorized talking-in-class and other seemingly minor disruptions (e.g., students arriving late or leaving early) have a negative impact on the class environment (ranging from being somewhat annoying to the rest of us to being downright rude and offensive). Attendance is voluntary. If you attend I expect you to be attentive and polite to others. Do not sit near others who seem to always want to communicate with you or amuse you through words, whispers, or smiles. You are expected to change your seat next class, if necessary. Resist being an accessory no matter how innocent it seems. If you must leave class early, please sit near the door. (Otherwise, early departures can be quite disruptive, no matter how carefully you try to arrange your exit.)
9. Email Policy: I strongly prefer to interact with students in person but you are welcome to communicate with me by e-mail. However, e-mail should be used only to provide me with information or to ask a question that requires a brief response. For more lengthy discussions, you should raise questions during class or office hours. Should you decide to email me, please do so this way: First Term (Dr. Trapnell) use: .
10. Office hours and appointments: If you have questions about the course material, would like to discuss issues related to the course in more detail, or would like to see your tests, you are always welcome to drop by my office or make an appointment to meet with me or a teaching assistant. I will not use office hours to go over course material you missed without a valid reason for missing class.
11. Instructor’s expectations: I expect you all to work hard and learn a great deal from this course. I also expect to be challenged by what you already know, or wish to know. I do not approach the courses I teach from a position of absolute authority and total knowledge. The field of psychology is so vast and ever changing that we must strive to keep up with the latest findings, while putting everything into the framework of our basic knowledge.
12. I want to remind you that this course should be taken seriously. I understand that many of you have second jobs (because university is a job!), families, and other personal obligations. However, this is no excuse to minimize the importance of this class or your university education. For those of you who have outside obligations, you must learn time management skills and how to plan accordingly. Through my experience, I have learned that planning ahead is the best tool that can be used throughout a university education and in the professional world. You must understand how to follow guidelines and complete work by deadlines.

TERM 2: Dr. Lall's Topic and Exam Schedule