PSY101-B GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Spring 2008, Wednesdays, 6:00 P.M.-8:45 P.M., Hawkins Hall, Rm. 153C

Instructor: Joseph J. Janetti

Phone #: 564-3382, EMAIL: joseph.janetti@plattsburgh.edu

Office Hours and Location: By appointment (gladly), Beaumont Hall, Rm. 210

COURSE DESCRIPTION

        The broad objective of the course is to familiarize students with the major concepts and issues of the various and diverse subfields in psychology. More specific objectives include the development of students' ability to: describe the major perspectives used by psychologists; demonstrate factual knowledge of psychology's major subfields; and explain how psychological researchers gain knowledge and make discoveries through the application of scientific methods. The major subfields covered include: biological bases of behavior, sensation, perception, consciousness, learning, memory, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, human development, personality, health psychology, psychological disorders, psychotherapy, and social behavior.

        If you plan to take psychology courses that are more advanced, this course will prepare you for further study. Whether this course is an elective or requirement, you are likely to find much of the material useful at work and in your personal life. An important aim of this course is to give you the solid foundation of the field's knowledge base and the critical thinking skills necessary for dealing with psychological issues.

        Finally, this course will stimulate you to wrestle with new ideas and evaluate assumptions in light of the evidence available. I encourage you to exercise reflective thinking, look for new connections between ideas, and to defend your position on various topics.

REQUIRED TEXT

         Weiten, W. (2008) Psychology: Themes and Variations. Briefer Version (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:    Thomson Wadsworth.

ATTENDANCE

        Regular attendance is expected and strongly encouraged. Given the high frequency of student evaluation in the form of class participation, quizzes and exams, absences from class will most likely have a negative impact on your grade. It is also important to recognize that a single class will cover a relatively sizeable amount of course content since this class meets only once per week. Therefore, missing a class will result in a lack of exposure to a number of important concepts and issues which you will be responsible to know. It is recommended that you team up with at least one other student so that you will have the ability to learn what was covered in class should you miss a class. Please note that it is not necessary to inform me of your absence. Therefore, please do not email, phone, or submit notes to me to explain why you were absent. I realize that missing a class may be unavoidable due to circumstances such as illness or emergency. Finally,  I expect that you will arrive on time for class. Late arrivals are disrespectful and disruptive to the class. You must arrive within the first 10 minutes of class in order to take the mid-term and final exam in this course.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

        Expect to be called upon each week to answer questions during class time. I will keep track of the number of times you provide a correct response. You will be permitted to use any notes that you wish to bring to class, but you will not be permitted to use your textbook during class. Each week I will call on students at random to answer questions about the assigned reading. At the end of the semester, students with a higher number of correct answers will earn higher class participation grades. Also, students are encouraged to ask questions, seek clarification, and offer their reactions to the concepts and issues presented.     

STUDENT EVALUATION

        For this course, there will be five unit quizzes, a mid-term exam, a final exam, and a class participation grade. The course outline section (see below) lists the dates and the relevant chapters of each quiz and exam. Each unit quiz will contain 25 multiple-choice questions and will be administered after the class lecture. Quizzes will begin no later than 8:20 PM and end at 8:45 PM. The mid-term exam and the final exam will each contain 80 multiple-choice questions and will be administered at 6:00 PM on the dates assigned. Students are responsible for bringing their Banner ID#, and #2 pencils with erasers to all quizzes and exams.

Make-ups: Only in rare instances will make-ups be arranged for the mid-term or final exam. Only those students who give advance notice and a valid reason for their absence will be allowed to take a make-up exam. Failure to give proper advance notification will result in a grade of zero for the missed exam. Of course, there may be circumstances which make advance notice impossible, but I expect that such events would reflect truly extraordinary circumstances. Make-ups will not be given for any missed unit quizzes, but students may use their mid-term score to count for one missed quiz pertaining to Chapters 1-7. Similarly, students may use their final exam score to count for one missed quiz pertaining to Chapters 8-15. No other substitutions will be permitted.

GRADING

        Grades will be assigned based on the average of the five unit quizzes (50%), mid-term exam (20%), final exam (20%), and class participation (10%). Letter grades will be derived from numerical averages and will be based on the following conversions:

PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH REQUIREMENT: 2 Hours of Research Participation

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

        According to the college, the Student Academic Honesty Policy is as follows:       

"Academic honesty is essential to the intellectual health of the university and the ideals of education. SUNY Plattsburgh expects students to be honest and to conduct themselves with integrity in all aspects of their relationship with the college (e.g., application, transfer evaluation, academic progress review, and credit and non-credit bearing experiences, including regular course work, independent studies, internships, practica, student teaching, and interactions with faculty, staff, and students). Academic dishonesty adversely affects the educational function of the college and undermines the integrity of its programs.

Dishonest conduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, forgery, and alteration of records, along with any lying, deceit, bribery, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of influencing a grade or for any other academic gain. Action against a student determined to have violated the academic honesty policy can range from a reduction of the grade on an assignment, through failure of a course, to suspension or even dismissal from the academic program, the department, or the college. A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be afforded due process through the College Judicial System. (See Procedures for Addressing Suspected Academic Dishonesty.)"

            Please note that any student found guilty of academic dishonesty will receive a zero on the exam or quiz. Accordingly, I will file a "Faculty Report of Suspected Academic Dishonesty" with the College Judicial Affairs Office which will become part of the student's permanent record.

ELECTRONIC MAIL POLICY

        In an effort to facilitate communications between administrative/academic offices and campus constituents, as well as faculty and students, the College has adopted a policy (See http://www.plattsburgh.edu/policies/technology/email.php) that makes the use of Plattsburgh's electronic mail system an official mode of communication. This will allow campus offices and faculty to share important information more quickly and directly. I will often send you important course information via email. Therefore, it will be to your benefit, as well as your responsibility, to check your Plattsburgh e-mail account regularly. If you choose to use another email system (e.g., Hotmail or Yahoo) to communicate with me, you must include PSY101B as part of your subject heading so that I can avoid treating your message as "spam" and marking it for deletion.

COURSE OUTLINE

N.B. I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus, if necessary. I will give advance notice of any change via an announcement in class or email.