Introduction to Psychology

Spring 2000

Go back to the Course Home Page

Your comprehension of the lecture, discussion, and reading material will be assessed by four exams, each covering approximately a fourth of the material. Each exam will consist of objective and essay questions. Later exams will NOT explicitly cover the material of the earlier ones. There are no scheduled make-up exams. Absences must be approved before the examination and for medical reasons only. Please obtain permission from the Dean of students in the form of an excuse (NOT an explanation) to reschedule an exam and present it to me before the day of the exam.

There will be one term paper designed to test the depth of your knowledge of, and the ability to apply, psychological principles, theories, terminology and findings to your own life and experience. The paper must be 3-4 TYPED, double spaced pages (font Times New Roman 12 and 1-inch margins all around) and will count for 8% of your course grade. In the paper you should apply knowledge obtained in the course to help you understand something about yourself and/or your personal experience. Late papers will be graded down 10% (a whole letter grade) for each day they are late.

In the weekly discussion sessions you will have the opportunity to debate controversial issues in psychology with other members of the class. The issues we will tackle relate to basic psychological principles on which experts disagree. It will be your task to become familiar with both sides of a specific issue and to be able to defend one position logically from knowledge of the research available on the topic. You will sign up for four topics at the beginning of the semester. Participation in each of the four panels will count as eight percent of your total class grade, for a total of 32% of your total class grade coming from participation in debates. In those weeks in which you are not a member of a discussion panel you will be expected to participate in the question and answer session following each debate. Your participation as a member of the audience will amount to another eight percent of your total course grade.

I attempted to make this schedule as accurate as possible, but I have learned from experience that minor adjustments to lecture topics and reading assignments are inevitably needed during the course of the semester. I reserve the right to make such adjustments and will inform you of such changes as they become necessary.

It is my belief that learning involves more than just going to class, taking notes, reading assignments, and taking exams. I know that you are all capable of recalling information, it is my goal to help you understand it. You will be responsible for a large amount of material in this course. Assigned readings, including those from the text book, may not be covered in class but it is important that you cover this material yourself. Similarly, you are responsible for all material covered in lectures and discussions, whether or not it is also covered in the readings.

Composition of Grades