Syllabus Version: 28 September 2003
(Check the course web site for updates)
Note about the authorship of this syllabus (added April 2008): Professors commonly "borrow" and re-use each other's syllabi, copying small or large sections. While most of this syllabus was originally authored by Jennifer Freyd, there are sections that are taken from other sources. Furthermore Jennifer Freyd has made her syllabi available through the internet and she has noticed that many sections of this syllabus appear on other instructors' syllabi. This document therefore should be considered shared intellectual property. If you want to use all or part of this syllabus for non-commercial and educational work, you are welcome to do so. If you do this, you should not claim authorship inaccurately or deceptively, but rather you should understand this and communicate it as a collaborative production that by now has been authored by many people. One reason for stating this fact here, a fact that may be obvious to college instructors, is that it may not be obvious to students. Teaching clarity about what does and does not constitute plagiarism is part of our duty. Clearly even in academia we have genres like the syllabus and the inherited form letter (a category that anyone in an administrative post will recognize) for which it is assumed that we attach our name to words we did not initially author. These genre of the syllabus and the form letter need to be distinguished from the authored article for which we hold ourselves and our students to such high standards of academic integrity.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-13:20; LIB 42
Lab: Wednesdays 12:00-13:20 in Lib 42
CRN 15998; 4 credits
Instructor Consent Required (see Application)
Official Course Web Site will be on Blackboard at http://blackboard.uoregon.edu/
Syllabus also posted at http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jfreyd/psy201honors/
Instructor: Professor Jennifer Freyd
Office: 301 Straub Hall
e-mail: jfreyd@dynamic.uoregon.edu
Office Hrs: Mondays 1:00-2:50 PM
Teaching Assistant: Rose Barlow
Office: 204 Straub Hall
e-mail: mbarlow@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Office Hrs: Wednesdays 12:00 noon -1:00 PM
This honors section of Psychology 201, limited to 25 students and requiring instructor permission to register, is intended for highly committed students who are eager learners and expect to thrive in a smaller, more intense and interactive classroom setting than can be offered in the large lecture format typical of Psychology 201. Students admitted to this class will either already be in an honors program (such as the Clark Honors College) or can show a high level of achievement to date, and/or a reasonable expectation that they will be in the Psychology Department's Honors Thesis program as juniors and seniors. (See http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jfreyd/psy201honors/application.html for the application form.)
Psychology 201 covers the "first half" of introductory psychology. This means you'll get an introduction to research methods in psychology and an introduction to what is known about perception, memory, learning, thinking, and cognition. How do we perceive the world? How do we learn? What do we know about human memory? Does language impact thinking? There is a lot of content to cover, so I'll lecture fairly often. We'll have a text book plus a course packet. In addition to covering content, this course emphasizes thinking critically about research and theory. We'll have in-class and on-line discussion about the ways psychologists gain knowledge, and we'll debate the significance and applicability of that knowledge. There will be tests and short essays on a weekly basis. You'll also have a chance to explore a topic in-depth through your term project, and then you will have the opportunity to share your new knowledge with the class. This course is a lot of work (and certainly more work than the usual 201), but if you are interested in human behavior and the way the mind works, I think you'll find the material fascinating.
The course requirements include doing the readings, attending class, turning in written assignments, participating in class discussion and an on-line electronic discussion, taking the quizzes, and completing a final written and oral project.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 12:00-13:20 are reserved for this course. We will meet in LIB 42 (Knight Library ground floor, the "Proctor Classroom") and your attendance is expected. Class will meet at least two times a week. We will have a class every Tuesday, and most Thursdays. About half of the Wednesdays we will meet; the other half will be reserved for required and as-needed class meetings, consultation meetings with your TA, and on-line activities. A minimum of two TA meetings must occur as noted below. In addition you are expected to participate for at least 90 minutes per week in on-line course-related activities. You may schedule this on-line time as you wish, but we recommend that you plan to use the Wednesday or Thursday time slot for this when we do not have a scheduled activity for that period. We also recommend that you check the course site on blackboard at least three times a week, as important course information may be posted by the instructor or teaching assistant.
Readings are assigned on a weekly basis. "Focus" readings are required; you will be tested on these readings in class quizzes. "Background" readings are strongly recommended; they will help you comprehend focus readings, classroom lectures, and demonstrations. For instance, some quiz questions may ask about a classroom discussion, and your answer may be improved by referring to something from the background readings. Readings are to be completed BEFORE the Tuesday class meeting for which they are assigned. There is one required text book and one required packet of readings, available for purchasing at the UO Bookstore.
Required Text: Westen, Drew (2002) Psychology: Mind, Brain, & Culture -- Third Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Required Course Packet: Course Packet for this course.
Some of the assigned readings will be available on-line. That is, you will be given a web address (URL) that leads you to the required article or web site to explore. In some cases when copyright permits readings will be available to download or print on the Blackboard site under Course Documents, Electronic Articles. On-line readings will be assigned as we go along. To find the on-line article assignment for the upcoming week, check the "Assignments" section of Blackboard. There you will find a folder called "On-line reading assignments" with details about what you should read for the next week.
Your grade will be computed by combining your scores in the following overall categories for a total of 300 points:
|
100 |
Quizzes (each quiz worth 20 points; add together best 5 of 7 quiz grades) |
|
100 |
Final Project (final poster/presentation) |
|
100 |
Participation and Written Assignments (Psych Info assignment, weekly discussion questions, participation in class and on-line) |
|
300 |
Total |
Final letter grades will be approximately determined from point totals as follows:
|
270-300 |
A |
|
240-269 |
B |
|
210-239 |
C |
|
180-209 |
D |
|
Below 180 |
F |
Based on the actual distribution of final grades, this criterion might be relaxed, but not stiffened. Pluses and minuses will be used for performance near the edge of a range.
Seven Quizzes will be given. Each quiz will be worth 20 points. Your five highest quiz scores will be added together to determine your total quiz score. Because you may drop two of your quiz grades, there will be NO MAKE-UP quizzes. The quizzes will be challenging. They will be structured to assess your knowledge of the readings and class discussions. The format will be usually be short-essay. A typical quiz may contain two multi-part questions. Typically one question will pertain to the focus readings assigned for the week in which the quiz is given. The other question will usually pertain to the previous week's readings, classroom discussion, lecture, and/or demonstrations. Sometimes a question will refer to material covered earlier in the course, or issues discussed on the on-line discussion board. If you read the background readings you are likely to write better quiz answers. You will be graded on your knowledge of the focus readings, synthesis of the ideas, and also the clarity with which you present your ideas in the examination. Long, wordy answers will not gain points. Short, succinct answers will. (Clarity of writing and legibility matter, but you will not be graded on spelling except for the professor's name.)
The final project will involve both an oral presentation and a written "poster." The project will present material you have learned and synthesized about a particular aspect of experimental psychology. In consultation with the instructor or TA, you will pick a topic fairly early in the quarter to learn more about. For instance, you might choose to learn more about dreaming and consciousness, attention and performance in highly skilled activities such as flying a jet plane, or memory for traumatic experiences. The choice of topics is huge, and we encourage you to pick a topic that truly interests you. A "poster" in university level psychology is not exactly the same thing as you may have learned to do in high school. It does involve a visual presentation and shortened text, but the point is not to show lots of photos or pretty colors (although they may be used too) but to communicate scholarly and intellectual material in a concise manner. Your posters will be modeled on professional posters shown at professional psychology conventions. You will have the opportunity to see some professional posters, so you understand what we have in mind. Also, you will meet with the TA at least twice before completing the project so as to receive feedback before it is too late. During the last week of class the posters will be shared with the rest of the class. This is a very exciting time, as we get to learn from each other. Students will display their posters and give verbal presentations about their final projects.
Each student will have the choice of either working alone on the final project or working with one other person. We encourage the teamwork approach, because working cooperatively is a challenge, and educational, in its own right. The projects will be graded on the same criteria whether produced by one or two people (thus it would really seem a good idea to work in teams!). If you decide you want to work with a partner, you may select your own partner, or you may ask the instructor to help you pair up with someone. (If there are an odd number of people wanting to work in teams we will allow one group of 3.) Project partners must make a commitment to work together by October 22. November 6 will be the last day for changing project partners or moving from a team to individual. All students will be required to turn in a one-page project work evaluation form at the end of the term. If you work on the project alone you will evaluate your own work. If you work with a partner you will also evaluate separately your and your partner's contribution and work.
Each student must meet with the TA at least twice in advance of completing the project. The first meeting must occur on or before October 22. The second meeting must occur on or before November 13. We will provide more information about our expectations for these meetings in advance of the meetings, but roughly the point is to make sure you are making appropriate and timely progress on the final project. You may have additional appointments to discuss the final project (or anything else about the course) with the TA and/or instructor as desired.
Note: your grade on the final project will be severely lowered if it is at all late. The completed poster (and the WWW version of the final project for extra credit) is due on Tuesday, November 25 by 12:00 Noon. Classroom presentations will occur in the Hopsy Convention on December 2, 3, & 4, and attendance is required during all these classes. More details about this project will be given in class as the term progresses.
Participation is crucial in this course. Participation includes in class discussion, on-line discussion including the completion and posting of discussion questions, a library "Psych-info" assignment, and any other small assignments we may add. In general you should expect to contribute in all these ways. Furthermore, your attendance in class is expected, and approximately 90 minutes of on-line activity (reading and posting) per week is also required. There is some room for flexibility here. Some people naturally find it easier to participate in writing, others verbally. Thus, truly superb contributions in one form of participation may compensate for a lack in another. High quality additional contributions will possibly win you extra credit points
On Tuesday October 7 we will have a class held in the Edmiston classroom, 142 of Knight Library, by the library reference department. Robin Paynter, the Psychology librarian, will give a tutorial on using the electronic data base system called "PsychInfo." PsychInfo allows you to find articles published in Psychology and you will need it for this class. During the October 7class you will learn how to use PsychInfo. During the second half of class you will be given a homework assignment using PsychInfo, that you will then need to complete and return by October 16 (you will have time to work on the assignment during the workshop and may be able to finish it that day). The assignment will be graded (maximum score is 10 points).
We expect you to participate in class with constructive contributions as appropriate.
The class will be divided into 2 groups based on first letter of last name. All those students whose last name begins with A-L will be in Group 1 and all those whose last name beings with M-Z will be in Group 2. Group 1 and Group 2 will alternate weeks posting discussion questions and responding to each other's questions.
When it is your turn to post a discussion question, a thoughtful discussion "question" must be submitted to the class Blackboard discussion board (on-line) by 5 P.M. on SUNDAY before the class each week. No discussion question is due the first week, but discussion questions are due beginning with the SUNDAY of the second week and thereafter through the last week of classes. If you are not in the group posting in a given week, you are responsible for posting a RESPONSE to at least TWO of the questions by Tuesday at 5 AM each week.
Questions/comments must pertain directly to the reading assigned for that week and must show that you have actively engaged with the material. You are expected to read the questions submitted by your peers. Exam questions may be drawn from class discussion questions. Your discussion questions will be graded based on how well you integrated the readings and engaged in critical thinking. Responses should be both constructive and show critical and creative thinking ability.
Discussion questions and responses are worth up to 9 points per week. Questions or responses received after the deadlines (Sunday evening or Tuesday morning depending on your group) will receive 0 points -- because computers are sometimes unreliable I strongly recommend you complete this task ahead of the deadline. Your 8 highest grades will be used (thus you can skip one discussion question or drop the lowest grade if you do all 9).
Discussion questions are to be posted to the Blackboard CourseSite for this course. Go to the CourseSite. Click on the Communication option on the left side of the screen. Next, click on Discussion Board. You will see a list of Discussion Forums organized by week. Click on the week for which you are posting the question. To post your discussion question, click on "Start a New Thread" and enter your question. In order to receive credit, you must post your discussion question under the appropriate forum for the week it is due. Thus Week 2 discussion questions must be posted within the Week 2 Discussion forum.
To reply to a previous post, click on an existing message. At the bottom of the screen, there is a place for you to click on reply. Please keep in mind that the same level of respect and professionalism required during in-person communications in class is expected on-line.
Extra Credit can be earned in a variety of ways. If you make especially valuable contributions to class discussion, or if you make especially valuable contributions to the blackboard discussion, you may earn extra points. Or you can get extra credit for a particularly terrific project. This might include a special presentation or publishing your project on the WWW. In general, if you do something creative, special, contributive, and above-and-beyond the course requirements, you may earn extra credit.
The web site for this course was constructed using "BlackBoard" software. This allows the web site to be extensive and interactive. On the web site, you will find general announcements for the class, all documents for the course (including this syllabus), lecture notes, on-line discussions, links to relevant web sites, and more. We hope that this web site will be a useful tool for you in learning the material for this class, and in further exploring topics you find interesting. You can get to the course web site by going to http://blackboard.uoregon.edu. If you need help logging in or using Blackboard, see http://blackboard.uoregon.edu/local/help.html Also you can get help starting by going to the library Information Technology Center (ITC) and/or see http://libweb.uoregon.edu/kitc/faq/blackboard.html#help .
All work submitted in this course must be your own and produced exclusively for this course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly acknowledged and documented. For the consequences of academic dishonesty, refer to the Schedule of Classes published quarterly. Violations will be taken seriously and are noted on student disciplinary records. If you are in doubt regarding any aspect of these issues as they pertain to this course, please consult with the instructor before you complete any relevant requirements of the course. (Text adopted here as recommended from the UO web site regarding academic honesty at: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~conduct/). Because some students are not entirely sure what counts as academic dishonesty, we encourage you to read the discussion of plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~conduct/sai.htm .
This course includes required on-line participation. If you have restricted access to your directory information and wish to have special arrangements made for this course, please notify the instructor immediately.
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with the instructor soon. Also please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability. [Disability Services: disabsrv@darkwing.uoregon.edu, 346-1155; http://ds.uoregon.edu/ ]
Arnheim, R. (1988) Visual dynamics. American Scientist, 76(6), 585-591.
Azari, N.P. & Seitz, R.J. (2002) Brain plasticity and recovery from stroke. American Scientist, 88, 426-431.
Brown, J.L. & Pollitt, E. (1996, February). Malnutrition, poverty and intellectual development. Scientific American, 274 (2), 38-43.
Eich, E., Macaulay, D., Lowenstein, R. J., & Diehle, P. H. (1997). Memory, amnesia, and dissociative identity disorder. Psychological Science, 8, 417-422.
Finke, R.A. (1986, March) Mental imagery and the visual system. Scientific American, 254, 88-95.
Freyd, J.J. (1994). Betrayal-trauma: Traumatic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse. Ethics & Behavior, 4 (4), 307-329.
Freyd, J. J. (1998) Science in the Memory Debate. Ethics & Behavior, 8 (2), 101-113.
Harris, C.R. (1999) The Mystery of Ticklish Laughter, American Scientist, 87, (4) 344-351.
Hearst, E. (1991). Psychology and nothing. American Scientist, 79 (5), 432-443.
Hunt, E. (1995) The role of intelligence in modern society. American Scientist, 83(4), 356-368.
Jacobs, B.L,, van Praag, H., & Gage, F.H. (2002) Depression and the birth and death of brain cells. American Scientist, 88, 340-345.
Klopfer, P.H. (1996) "Mother Love" revisited: On the use of animal models. American Scientist. 84(4), 391-321.
Lewis, M. (1995). Self-conscious emotions. American Scientist, 83 (1), 68-78.
Lock, J.L. (1994). Phases in the child's development of language. American Scientist, 82 (5), 436-445.
Massaro, D. W. & Stork, D. G. (1998) Speech recognition and sensory integration, American Scientist, 86, 236-244.
Meier, R.P. (1991). Language acquisition by deaf children. American Scientist, 79 (1), 61-70.
Neisser, U. (1997) Rising scores on Intelligence Tests. American Scientist, 85, 440-447
Pennebaker, J.W. (1997) Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8,162-166.
Pepperberg, I.M. (2002) Cognitive and communicative abilities of grey parrots. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 11, 83-87.
Provine, R.R. (1996). Laughter. American Scientist, 84 (1), 38-45.
Sivers, H., Schooler, J. , Freyd, J. J. (2002) Recovered memories. In V.S. Ramachandran (Ed.) Encyclopedia of the Human Brain, Volume 4. (pp 169-184). San Diego, California and London: Academic Press.
Stein, G.J. (1988) Biological science and the roots of nazism. American Scientist, 76 (1), 50-58.
Sternberg, R. J. (1996, March). Myths, countermyths, and truths about intelligence. Educational Researcher, 25 (2), 11-16.
Teicher, M. H. (2002) Scars that won't heal: The neurobiology of child abuse. Scientific American, 68-75 (March 2002).
Wasserman, E.A. (1995). The conceptual ability of pigeons. American Scientist, 83 (3), 246-255.
Winson, J. (1990, November). The meaning of dreams. Scientific American, 263 (5), 86-96.
Focus Reading: Provine (1996); Westen Chapter. 1
Background Reading: Harris (1999)
September 30: First class! Meet in LIB 42 for class
October 1: No lab meeting this week. Work on-line.
October 2: Meet in LIB 42 for class. Visit the course site on Blackboard by this date.
Focus Reading: Klopfer (1996); Westen Chapter 2; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Stein (1988)
Discussion Questions for Week 2 must be posted by Group 1 on Sunday October 5 at 5 PM. Group 2 must post responses by Tuesday October 7 at 5 AM..
October 7: Meet in the Edmiston classroom, 142 of Knight Library, by the reference department.
October 8: Meet in LIB 42 for class
October 9: Meet in LIB 42 for class
Focus Reading: Teicher (2002); Westen Chapter 3; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Azari & Seitz (2002); Jacobs, Praag, & Gage (2002)
Discussion Questions for Week 3 must be posted by Group 2 on Sunday October 12 at 5 PM. Group 1 must post responses by Tuesday October 14 at 5 AM.
October 14: Meet in LIB 42 for class! Quiz 1
October 15: No lab meeting this week; meet with TA or work on-line
October 16: Meet in LIB 42 for class! Psych Info assignment due
Focus Reading: Finke (1986); Westen Chapter 4; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Arnheim (1998); Massaro & Stork (1998)
Discussion Questions for Week 4 must be posted by Group 1 on Sunday October 19 at 5 PM. Group 2 must post responses by Tuesday October 21 at 5AM.
October 21: Meet in LIB 42 for class. Quiz 2
October 22: Meet in LIB 42 for class! Project Partners must indicate commitment to work together by this date; Today is the deadline for TA Project Meeting Number 1.
October 23: No class today. Work on-line.
Focus Reading: Hearst (1991); Westen Chapter 5; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Wasserman (1995); Pepperberg (2002)
Discussion Questions for Week 5 must be posted by Group 2 on Sunday October 26 at 5 PM. Group 1 must post responses by Tuesday October 28 at 5 AM.
October 28: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Quiz 3
October 29: Meet in LIB 42 today for class.
October 30: No class this day -- work on-line.
Focus Reading: Freyd (1994); Westen Chapter 6; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Eich et al (1997); Freyd (1998); Sivers, Schooler, & Freyd (2002)
Discussion Questions for Week 6 must be posted by Group 1 on Sunday November 2 at 5 PM. Group 2 must post responses by Tuesday November 4 at 5 AM.
November 4: Meet in LIB 42 today for class.Quiz 4
November 5: No lab meeting this week; meet with TA or work on-line
November 6: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Last day for changing project partner commitments.
Focus Reading: Pennebaker (1997); Westen Chapter 7; AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Meier (1991); Lock (1994)
Discussion Questions for Week 7 must be posted by Group 2 on Sunday November 9 at 5 PM. Group 1 must post responses by Tuesday November 11 at 5 AM.
November 11: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Quiz 5
November 12: No lab meeting this week; meet with TA or work on-line
November 13: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Deadline for TA Project Meeting Number 2
Focus Reading: Brown & Pollit (1996, February); Sternberg (1996, March); AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Westen Chapter 8; Neisser (1997); Hunt (1995)
Discussion Questions for Week 8 must be posted by Group 1 on Sunday November 16 at 5 PM. Group 2 must post responses by Tuesday November 18 at 5 AM.
November 18: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Quiz 6
November 19: No lab meeting this week; meet with TA or work on-line
November 20: Meet in LIB 42 today for class.
Focus Reading:: Westen Chapter 9; Winson (1990, November); AND on-line reading to be assigned
Background Reading: Lewis (1995)
Discussion Questions for Week 9 must be posted by Group 2 on Sunday November 23 at 5 PM. Group 1 must post responses by Tuesday November 24 at 5 AM.
November 25: Meet in LIB 42 today for class. Quiz 7; Posters DUE
November 26: No lab meeting this week; meet with TA or work on-line
November 27: NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break
Focus Reading: No Reading; No discussion questions required
December 2: Hopsy Convention in LIB 42!
December 3: Hopsy Convention in LIB 42!
December 4: Hopsy Convention in LIB 42!; Project Evaluations (of self and partner) due by 5:00 PM.