Transcript
1 PSY 1101-Section D – Spring 2017 General Psychology Class Meetings : MWF 10:05-10:55, Weber SST III 2 Prerequisite: None Instructor: Paul Verhaeghen, Ph.D. Office: 126 Coon Building E-mail:
[email protected] (email is my preferred mode of communication) Office hours: 1-2 pm Monday, or by appointment (make your appointment preferably by email) Teaching Assistant: Emily Lustig Office: G-17 Coon Email:
[email protected] Office hours: 12-1 pn Tuesday, or by appointment Textbook (not required): Schacter, D., Gilbert, D. T., Wegner, D. M., & Nock. M. K. (2014). Psychology (3 rd ed.). Macmillan. Note on the textbook: Textbooks for General Psych – including this one -- are bloated affairs. It’s impossible to cover all that is in the textbook and, paradoxically, textbooks also don’t necessarily cover everything an instructor might want to teach. Time permitting, there will likely be excursions into topics not covered in the book (e.g., eyewitness testimony, subliminal perception, free will). I consider the textbook a guideline for my teaching. For the tests, only the material covered in class (at the level of detail it is covered in the class) is relevant. A pared-down version of the PowerPoint presentations will be posted on T-Square, topic by topic as we finish it . Do note that you learn better if you extract the information yourself – taking notes in class may be a worthwhile endeavor. T-Square: The class will be internet-enabled (T-Square). T-Square will be used for announcements, uploads, but most importantly for its Forum, in which you will post your biweekly class diaries (see below). Don’t forget that whatever you post on the discussion board can be seen by everyone else in the class, not just by the instructor… If you want to contact me personally, contact me by email. Course description: This course is meant to provide a survey of concepts, theories and research in psychology – the science that studies human behavior. We will cover a broad range of topics: methodology, biological bases of behavior, learning, memory, thinking, intelligence, development, decision making, personality, and social cognition. I try to adapt the pace 2 of the class to the students; we might cover fewer topics than advertised, or we might go off on (hopefully interesting) tangents. Course requirements and organization: Evaluation of course performance is based on (a-b-c) three examinations , (d) one term paper , and (e) a set of class diaries . The examinations count for 25% of the grade each, the term paper for 13%, the class diaries for 12%. Exams cover the readings and the topics discussed in class up from the previous exam on (or from the start of the class, for Exam 1). Exams are not cumulative. The exam is constructed such that anyone who goes to class and takes notes should be able to do well. The level at which you should study is the level at which we covered the materials in class. Exams will consist of 35 multiple-choice questions (17.5 percentage points total) as well as one short take-home essay question (7.5 percentage points). The essay question will be distributed in the class immediately preceding the exam, and it will also be posted on T-Square the day before the exam. You can hand in your answer to the essay question at the end of the exam or you can email them to me before that time. Handing in/emailing the answer to the essay question late, but on the day of the exam, will automatically result in a deduction of 2.5 points. No answers to essay question will be accepted after the day of the exam. The last exam is not a final exam, that is, it is not cumulative – it’s just the third exam. You can bring a letter-size ( 8 ! in 11 in) crib sheet to the exam. It can be printed or handwritten or photocopied, but its total surface area should not exceed that of both sides of a letter-size sheet of paper (e.g., no folding flaps and other such ingenuities). You will hand in the crib sheet at the end of the exam. The purpose of the crib sheet is (a) to take away some of the anxiety associated with testing, and (b) to help you study for the exam (often the act of making the crib sheet makes the crib sheet itself superfluous). The term paper is intended to give you the opportunity to reflect critically on existing research, given the knowledge about research methods and psychological theories you have acquired in class. Your summary will be about 1000-1500 words. It will consist of an integrative summary of two (or more) research articles in the field of psychology not covered in class. Acceptable research articles are articles published in research journals (e.g., Psychological Science , Journal of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology , etc.; review articles and articles in popular magazines, such as Scientific American or Psychology Today are not acceptable), using the experimental or the correlational method, and investigating the behavior of a number of research subjects. If you have any doubts as to whether the articles you want to use are acceptable, please talk to me as soon as possible. The articles should be published in the last five years, that is, between 2012 and 2017. Four types of summaries are acceptable: 1. An ‘ update paper’, in which you present some of the recent literature on a topic covered in the textbook or one of the additional readings. For instance: What is the latest on the intelligence debate? Any new insights on models of consciousness? 2. An ‘ application paper’, in which you present an application of a topic covered in class. How does the study of attention relate to performance of 3 aircraft pilots? Are engineers good decision makers? 3. An ‘ oversight paper’, in which you cover material that you thought could or should be part of the course, but was neglected. Is extra-sensory perception a possibility? Is there a psychology of humor? 4. A ‘ look-back-in-anger paper’, in which you reflect on some topic or research finding that caught your critical eye. Maybe you disagree with my view on brainstorming. Or maybe you think consciousness is more than an epiphenomenon. Or maybe you think the risks of driving and talking on the phone are overrated. One way to proceed is to search the PsycInfo database on the Web through the library for any topic you wish to explore. Find two abstracts that interest you and retrieve the articles. Another way is to browse the indexes of some of the major journals in the field (e.g., Journal of Experimental Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science... ), and find two articles that interest you. The articles you choose can obviously be related to each other. For instance, results from the first may have spurred the research reported in the second, or they may be from a series of studies run from the same research lab. Many journals require multiple experiments per article. In that case, pick the most important of those experiments (usually either the first or the last) for inclusion in your paper. In your paper, briefly summarize each of the studies separately according to this schema: introduction to the topic, rationale for the study, methods, results, conclusions, and implications. In the introduction, rationale and implications sections, briefly refer to relevant text and class materials. Discuss the similarities and differences between the findings or conclusions of the studies or conflicts with what was covered in class in a general conclusion. Aim your paper at a hypothetical classmate, that is, someone who knows the basics of psychology, but has probably not read these articles. Be careful in your wording and in the presentation of ideas - sloppy packaging can kill good products. Therefore, you will not only be judged on integrative qualities, but also on clarity of presentation. It goes without saying that your paper has to be srcinal. If you use somebody else’s thoughts, cite that person. Not doing so is to commit plagiarism. The paper is due on the final day of classes, April 25. Earlier is fine too. You are also expected to write a biweekly class diary and post it on T-Square (under the ‘Forums’ tab). A diary entry is 100 words or so (more is always welcome), and it consists of any kind of comment or questions you might have about that week or the upcoming week’s class, something you read or heard that is pertinent, etc. (you can attach files or snippets). Weeks are counted from Sunday, midnight to Sunday, midnight. Late entries will not be accepted as counting for the previous week. I will accept a maximum of 7 entries (i.e., you can give yourself a week or two off). (Multiple entries within one week, though welcome, will count as one.) If your GTID# ends in an odd number, post during an odd-numbered week (week 1, week 3, and so on); if it ends in an even number, post during an even-numbered week (week 2, week 4, and so on). People make mistakes. Once you have posted, you can still edit or delete your post. Do consider that all other class members can read your posts. Be civil. (And be smart. And have fun.) Be aware that the T-Square software isn’t the most ergonomic around; what looks like a send or save button isn’t always that and replies can be tricky. Ctrl-C or command-C your entry before you hit those buttons. 4 Each of your diary entries will be scored on a total of 2 percentage points for your final grade; I will accept up to 7 entries, thus yielding a total maximum of 14 points (out of 12 – 2 free points!). Typically, I just count (2 points for each valid diary entry), but I reserve the right to give a preparation a lower score if it is not up to snuff; in that case, the TA or I will email you. The goal of the diary is not to keep you busy, but to help the class. That is, it helps to move things along more smoothly if I have some idea of where you have problems or what criticisms you have. It helps prepare you for discussions, and maybe you can find something useful in other people’s comments. By policy of the Department, you are required to participate in 4 hours of Psychology experiment s. The idea is that exposure to research is essential to gaining a better understanding of how the study of human behavior is actually done. To participate in experiments, you will need to sign up on the Web-based Psychology Subject Pool Manager (through the SONA website: gatech-psych.sona-systems.com). More instructions are in the pdf in the Resources tab on T-Square. Find a study that suits your interests and your time schedule. Sign up for the experiment, and make a note of the date, time, and location of the experiment. If you fail to show up for a study or show up late, you will not receive credit. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance. If the experimenter fails to show let me know. After your participation, the experimenter will assign you credit. However, it is your responsibility to log on to the web before the cutoff date at the end of classes and assign your credits to this class. The system is set up to allow the possibility of multiple Psychology classes eligible for extra credit; you must formally assign your extra credits to this course. Faculty and students of the School of Psychology perform all of the experiments. Each experiment is approved by the Institutional Review Board and thus meets strict ethical guidelines for the testing of human subjects. At the beginning of the experiment, the experimenter will describe the experiment. You have the option of withdrawing from any experiment that makes you uncomfortable at any time during the experiment. Note that by policy of the Department, after two unexcused missed appointments during the semester, you will no longer be able to sign up for studies. Showing up late may constitute a missed appointment if the researcher is not able to accommodate you in the remaining time. Unsuccessful completion of all research credits will result in up to a letter grade reduction toward the final grade in the course, proportional to the total number of required credits (i.e., a 10 percentage point cut). For instance, successfully completing 3 out of 4 required credits will result in a loss of 1/4 of your total letter grade. Alternatively, you can submit (email is fine) a reading report , one for each hour of experiment participation credit. Log on to the library and find an article from 2011-2016 from one of the journals listed at the end of the syllabus. The article may be on any topic of psychology that interests you. The article must be a report on a research study (i.e., not a review article). Read the article and complete a one-page, single-spaced report (12- point font) that contains the following information: ã Complete reference – authors, year, article title, journal, volume, page numbers ã Purpose of the article – the nature of the problem being studied ã Overview of methodology used – how the problem was investigated ã Report of general results and conclusions – what the author(s) found
