PSY101B: General Psychology — Fall 2009

This is an introductory course with major emphasis on basic concepts which characterize the laws of behavior. Topics include observation and measurement, learning, motivation, and important physiological, social and personality influence on normal and abnormal behavior are studied

classroom & time: Yokum 205, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11:00–11:50 am.
instructor: Dr. J. Stephen Mansfield
email: steve.mansfield@plattsburgh.edu
phone: 564-3384
office: 206a Beaumont Hall
office hours: Monday 12–1pm, Wednesday 1–2pm, Friday 12:30–1:30pm, and at other times by arrangement.

Text book

Author: Ettinger, R. H.
Title: Psychology: The Science of Behavior (3rd Edition)
Publisher: Best value textbooks (2007)

Grading

Your final grade in this class will depend on your performance in the following areas:

Exams: 60 points (6 × 10 pts each)

There will be 6 exams on the dates specified in the schedule. Each exam will consist of short-answer questions about the material covered since the previous exam.

There will be an optional final exam at the end of the semester. This final exam will have 6 sections, corresponding to the 6 exams during the semester. You can use this exam as a make-up or replacement for any of the exams that you missed or scored poorly on during the semester.

Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late for an exam will not be allowed to sit the exam.

Students who miss an exam will be allowed to sit a make-up exam only if they provide documentation of a valid reason for missing the exam (the documentation must be dated to show that the student could not take the exam at the scheduled date and time). Examples of valid reasons include illness, participation in college sports, etc. Examples of invalid reasons include needing to ride-share with another student to go home for break, oversleeping, etc. If you wish to make-up an exam please complete and submit my make-up request from (linked to from the course web site).

Homeworks: 32 points (8 × 4 pts each)

There are 9 reading/homework assignments. For each assignment you are required to read the specified chapter(s) from the textbook, and then answer a quiz on that chapter.

The quizzes consist of multiple-choice questions, and are administered via the web site for this course on Angel. The goal of these assignments is to ensure that you have read and are familiar with all the material from each chapter. You are allowed to refer to the book when you answer the quiz. In order to receive full credit (i.e., 4 pts) for the quiz you are required to score at least 70% correct. Partial credit will be awarded for quizzes in which you score more than 20% but less than 70% according to the following formula: credit = 4 × ( your score − 20) / 50. You may retake the quiz as many times as you like in order to improve your score. I will only take your highest score when I calculate your grade for that quiz.

I will ignore your poorest quiz when I calculate your final grade at the end of the semester.

Due dates for each assignment are given below. You must submit your quiz by midnight on the due date. The quizzes will not be available after the due date has passed.

	Due Date	Chapter(s)
QUIZ 1	7-Sep	Chapter 1: The origins of psychology
QUIZ 2	16-Sep	Chapter 3: The biology of behavior
QUIZ 3	30-Sep	Chapter 4: Perception
QUIZ 4	9-Oct	Chapter 6: Learning and behavior
QUIZ 5	21-Oct	Chapter 7: Memory
QUIZ 6	6-Nov	Chapters 10 and 11: Cognition and Development
QUIZ 7	13-Nov	Chapter 14: Personality
QUIZ 8	20-Nov	Chapter 17: Social Psychology
QUIZ 9	9-Dec	Chapters 15 and 16: Behavioral Disorders and Treatments

Class activities, participation and attendance: 8 points

Attendance is required at all class meetings.

Many classes include activities related to the day's learning materials. These activities will require you to hand in an activity sheet, or to sign an attendance sheet, to indicate your participation. Missing class means you will miss these important experiences, and may affect your participation-and-attendance grade

If you have a valid reason for missing class you should keep documentation to support your excuse (e.g., a doctor's note, hospital discharge sheet, funeral notice, etc.) Provided you miss no more than six classes I will trust that you have a valid documented reason, and there is no need to bring your documentation to me. Those absences will not affect your participation-and-attendance grade.

If you miss more than six classes and you have valid documented reasons for all of these absences then you should come me to explain your absences (bring your documentation with you), otherwise your participation-and-attendance grade will be reduced for each absence in excess of six.

Psychology research requirement: 2 hours

All students enrolled in PSY101 are required to EITHER: participate in research conducted by members of the Psychology Department, OR: complete alternative reading assignments. You must complete 2 hours of research and/or alternative assignments.

The requirement can be met in the following ways:

Research participation: For this option you will participate in research conducted by members of the Psychology Department. Participation is awarded in units of ½ hour or 1 hour, depending on the time commitment required by the study.; I will announce research participation opportunities when they become available throughout the semester.; Some studies require students to sign up in advance. These studies will also be announced in class, but the sign-up binder will be in Beaumont 211 (this office is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm Mondays through Fridays). If you sign up for a study and fail to attend, then your final course grade in PSY101 will be reduced by 1%. If you need to cancel a scheduled study, you must follow the cancellation instructions specified by the researcher in the sign-up binder.; The last day to complete research participation is Tuesday, November 24.
Research reading assignments: If you are ineligible, unable, or unwilling to participate in the research studies you can meet the research requirement by reading articles about research and then answering simple on-line quizzes to demonstrate that you have read and understood the material.; The materials and instructions for this option will be available via the Angel website for your PSY101 course (click on the 'PSY101 Research Alternative' folder once you have logged in to the course).; Five reading assignments are available. Reading assignments 1–4 are each equivalent to ½ hour of research. Reading assignment 5 is equivalent to 1 hour of research. You must score at least 75% on the quiz to the receive credit for that reading assignment. You will be able to retake the quiz as many times as you like if you do not score 75% (however, the questions will be different).; The last day to complete the research reading assignments is Wednesday, December 9.

You have the option to mix these credits, e.g., 1½ hours of research participation and ½ hour of reading. But you must earn a total of 2 hours.

If you do not complete this requirement by Wednesday, December 9 then you will be given a grade of 'I' (incomplete) for PSY101. You will need to complete the remaining research credit by the end of the next semester in order to change the incomplete grade into the grade you earned.

Extra credit

Extra credit can be earned in the following ways:

Personal Reactions (0.25% each. Maximum 6): Write a 1-page report (approximately 300 words) that describes how the material presented in a specific class was personally relevant to you. For example: What did you learn from a class? Did the material conform to your understanding of the world, or did it challenge your beliefs or opinions ... etc.?; To submit a personal reaction for extra credit follow the 'personal reaction' link once you have logged into the course web site. Your reaction must be sent within one week of the day the class was given, and you must have been present in class on that day.
Error spotting (0.1% each.): I hold you all to a high standard for accurate spelling and correct grammar. It is only fair that I should be held to the same standard. So, if you find a spelling error or a grammar error in any class materials that I distribute to you, or post on class web pages, or in a course textbook, and you are one of the first students to report it to me, I will reward you with extra credit.; To report an error for extra credit follow the 'error report' link once you have logged into the course web site. Your error report must be sent within one week of the day the material was distributed (or referred to) in class, and you must have been present in class on that day. Additionally, your error report must itself be free of errors in order to receive extra credit.

Note: I place a cap on the maximum extra credit you can earn. At most, extra credit can only raise your grade by one grade boundary (e.g., from a D to a D+, from a C+ to a B-, ..., etc.).

Research participation: You are required to complete a total of 2 hours of research participation or alternative reading assignments. It is possible that more than 2 hours of research studies will be offered during the semester. If you complete more than 2 hours then your overage will be converted to extra credit: each extra hour will add 1% to your final grade.; Note: For each study you can EITHER participate OR do the alternative reading assignment. You cannot boost your grade by doing both. For example, if three 1-hour studies are offered during the semester then the most extra credit you can get via research is 1% (2 hours will meet the course requirement and 1 hour will be extra credit).

Grades

Your letter grade will be determined according to the following table.

Percentage	Grade
≥ 93.33	A
≥ 90.00 and < 93.33	A−
≥ 86.67 and < 90.00	B+
≥ 83.33 and < 86.67	B
≥ 80.00 and < 83.33	B−
≥ 76.67 and < 80.00	C+
≥ 73.33 and < 76.67	C
≥ 70.00 and < 73.33	C−
≥ 66.67 and < 70.00	D+
≥ 60.00 and < 66.67	D
< 60.00	E

The final application of these guidelines is subject to the discretion of the instructor.

Note that, except for the extra-credit opportunities stated in the syllabus, students will not be allowed to do any additional "extra work" to make up for poor performance in class.

Attendance

Attendance is required and will be recorded at every class. On most days there will be a sign-in sheet which will be passed around at the start of each session. If the sign-in sheet does not reach you during class you must come to me at the end of class and sign in before you leave, otherwise you will be marked as absent.

See "Class activities, participation and attendance" above for additional class attendance policies.

Communication

If you do not understand something, or you are unsure how to complete an assignment, the first thing you should do is contact me. I will help you if you ask me.
The easiest way to contact me is via the 'send comment' link on the course web site (available once you have logged in).
If you send me a message by email and you would like me to reply, please include your real name in your message. It is hard to identify students based on their email address alone (this is especially the case if you send your mail from a non-campus address).
If you leave me a phone message and you would like me to call you back, please include your name, state your phone number clearly at the start and end of your message, and suggest an appropriate time (or range of times) when I will be able to reach you.
You are responsible for all material presented and announcements made in class, whether you are in class or not.

Class web pages

I will create an individual web page for you on my course web site. Your web page will be protected by a password that you will give me at the start of the semester. Your page can be accessed from the login box on my home page: <http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/steve.mansfield>. Your page will show your grades in my class, give you access to extra credit opportunities, and allow you to retrieve the course materials that we use in class. Some class-related materials will only be made available to you via your page.

You must check your grade page at least once a week. If you are unable to access your web page for any reason you should contact me.

Academic honesty

It is expected that all students enrolled in this class support the letter and the spirit of the Academic Honesty Policy as stated in the college catalog.

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.

All cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to the college judicial board in accordance with the college's procedures for addressing suspected academic dishonesty.

Penalties for academic dishonesty

The college procedures require me to specify a sanction for the alleged violation. In my courses the sanctions will be as follows:

Assignments that are not written in the student's own words (e.g., containing passages that match with another student's work, the class textbook, or other reference material) will score zero.
Falsification of a student's signature on a sign-in sheet for attendance or class participation will result in the students receiving zero of the available credit for attendance or participation.
Students who cheat on an exam will fail the course (i.e., their final grade will be an E.)
Students who fabricate data (e.g., by 'making up' results, or reporting data that they did not collect) for a research study or lab class will fail the course (i.e., their final grade will be an E.)
Penalties for other forms of dishonest conduct will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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