General Psychology
Dr.
Chehalis Strapp
email: strappc@wou.edu
Todd
Hall: 309
(503)838-8316
Office
Hours: Monday 2 - 4, Tuesday 2 - 3, Wednesday 12 - 1, Thursday 12 - 1,
Or by appointment
Course Description:
This
survey course
provides an overview of psychology as a science of human behavior.
Areas
covered include research methods, biological bases of behavior,
sensation &
perception, development, learning, memory, thinking & language.
Course
Objectives:
1.
Students will
understand, differentiate and apply psychological concepts
2.
Students will
critically evaluate psychological research
3.
Students will
develop critical thinking and writing skills
J
This class is fast paced and covers extensive material in psychology.
Please
feel free to come talk to me in my office, call me, or send me an email
at any
time throughout the term if you have questions or concerns.
A
student who needs
an accommodation for any type of disability, please make an appointment
to see
me during my office hours or contact the Office of Disability Services
(838-8250 v/tty) or ods@wou.edu, or
APS 405
Required Texts:
*Weiten, W. (2004).
Psychology: Themes and variations (6th ed).
Term Work Plan:
Exam 1 (Oct 21) 100 points
Exam 2 (Nov 18)
100 points
Exam 3 (Dec 9)
100
points
Projects
3 @ 25 pts
75 points
Class Participation
25 points
400 points possible
A-
= 355-376
points
C- = 259-274
points
B+ =
339-354
points
D+ = 243-258
points
B = 323-338
points
D = 227-242
points
B- = 307-322
points
D- = 211-226
points
C+ =
291-306
points
F
=
210
and below
Exams: Three 100-point exams
will be given on the dates listed in
the class schedule. Please note this exam schedule and mark your
calendars now.
We will not deviate from this schedule. Exams will be a combination of
multiple
choice and short answer questions. Exams are not cumulative. A study
guide will
be distributed approximately one week before each exam. You are
required to
bring a scantron form and blue book to each exam. If for any reason you
miss
one of the exams, you will be required to take an all essay format
makeup exam
on November 30. More information
regarding makeup exams is provided below. You will not be allowed to
drop an
exam, so please plan accordingly. Early exams will not be given.
Projects: Throughout the term you
will complete 3 projects. Projects
are writing assignments that involve applying course material to real
world
situations. Specific due dates are listed in the class schedule.
Detailed
requirements for the project provided on a separate handout.
Class Participation: Class participation is a
very important factor and will be
strongly considered in determination of final grades. It is assumed
that all
students will come to class prepared for full participation (that means
reading
completed and ready to provide responses to text material and
discussion
questions). Note that attendance is not taken in this class, but it
will be
impossible to receive full class participation points if you do not
regularly
attend class and contribute to class discussions. Approximately half of
the
class participation points will come from completion of “in class”
assignments
which are described below.
Extra Credit: You may earn up to 15
points extra credit by either
a)
participating
in research projects conducted in the psychology department or
or
b)
locating,
reading, summarizing and critiquing a psychology journal article
related to a
topic discussed in class.
You
are responsible
for turning in all extra credit during our final exam time scheduled
for
Thursday December 9. Extra will not be accepted at other times (before
or after
date). Extra credit requirements listed
in a separate handout.
Course Policies for Psychology 201
In class assignments:
As part
of your class
participation points you will complete several ungraded in class
assignments.
Since these are completed “in class” if you miss class that day, you
will be
unable to make up these points.
Handouts: Handouts will be
distributed regularly in class. If you
miss class, check with a classmate, or stop by my office to get missed
handouts.
I only bring handouts to class on the day that I plan to distribute
them.
Late assignments: Your projects are due in
class on the dates listed in the
class schedule. Projects received anytime after class will be
considered late
and subject to the following conditions: ten percent of the maximum
points will
be subtracted for each day that the assignment is late. If you know
that you
will be absent on the day that an assignment is due, turn in the
assignment
early.
Absences:
Dropping the class: Course withdrawals
require
completing the proper add/drop procedure. This includes filling out the
appropriate add/drop form, having it signed by the instructor and
filing this form
with the Registrar’s Office before the drop deadline of November 5. If
you stop
coming to class without officially “dropping” the class as described
above, you
will probably receive an F grade.
Incompletes: I do not give
incompletes (I)
grades as a way for a student to avoid an F grade. To be eligible for
an
incomplete in this class you must be passing the class but lack one
essential
requirement, such as missing one exam or one project.
In addition, I must find your reason for
requesting an incomplete acceptable (An illness or death in the family
would
probably be acceptable, whereas a trip to
Exams & Makeup
Exams: If
for any reason
you are unable to take Exam1 or Exam 2 on the dates listed in the class
schedule, you will be required to take a makeup exam on Tuesday
November 30
between 12-3 pm at Dr. Strapp’s office (Todd 309). Note that the format
of
makeup exams is all essay and you must bring a blue book to the exam.
Early
exams will not be given. In the event that a student has 3 final exams
scheduled on the same day, the student will be eligible to take the
final exam
on another date agreed upon in advance by the professor and student. If
this
situation applies to you, please see me as soon as possible.
Fabrication &
plagiarism: According to the WOU
Code of Student Responsibility Section 574-31-030(1) the following
pertains to
academic dishonesty:
Fabrication:
unauthorized falsification and or/invention of any information or
citation in
any academic exercise.
Plagiarism:
representing without giving credit the words, data, or ideas of another
person
as one’s own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting,
in whole
or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of
another,
including but not limited to the product of commercial vendors who sell
or
distribute such materials, and the appropriation and/or use of
electronic data
of another person or persons as one’s own, or using such data without
giving
proper credit for it.
Any
student who is caught fabricating or plagiarizing will receive a 0 on
the
assignment and his/her name will be turned over to the Coordinator of
Campus
Judicial Affairs.
Cheating
on exams:
You are responsible
for your own work on exams. Do not discuss exam questions with other
students
who have not taken the exam. If you hear other students discussing exam
questions, please let me know immediately. Cheating on exams is not
permitted
and will result in a zero on the exam. In addition, your name will be
submitted
to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs.
Sept
28
Welcome to Psy 201
Defining Psy
& Areas of Study
Chap
1
Sept
30
History & Themes of
Psychology
Oct 5
Improving
your Grades
Intro to
Psychological Research
Chap
2
Terms &
Scientific Method
Oct 7
Experiment
& Nonexperimental Methods
Critical
Evaluation of Research
Ethics of
Psychological Research
Oct
12
Introduction to
Physiology
Chap
3
Communication
through Neurons
Divisions of
Nervous System
Oct
14
Central Nervous System:
The Brain
Oct
19
Project #1 Due
The Brain Continued
Peripheral
Nervous System
Endocrine
System
Oct
21
Exam #1
Chapters 1-3
Oct
26
Sensation &
Perception
Chap
4
Thresholds,
Signal Detection
Subliminal
Perception
Oct
28
Return & Review
Exam #1
Visual
Perception, Color Vision
Optical
Illusions
Nov
2
Auditory Perception
Chemical
& Other Senses
Introduction
to Learning
Chap
6
Nov
4
Classical Conditioning
Acquisition,
Extinction, Generalization
Operant
Conditioning
Nov
9
Introduction to Memory
Chap 7
Memory:
Encoding, Storage, Retrieval
Nov
11
NO CLASS; VETERAN’S DAY
Nov
16
Project #2 Due
Retrieval & Why we forget
Multiple
Memory Systems
Physiology
of Memory
Nov
18
Exam #2
Chapters 4, 6-7
Nov
22
Human Development
Chap 11
Prenatal
Development & Early Childhood
Temperament
& Attachment
Nov
25
NO CLASS; THANKSGIVING
Nov
30
Return & Review Exam
2
Cognitive &
Moral Development
Adolescence
& Adulthood
Dec
4
What is Language?
Chap 8
Language
Development
Problem
Solving & Decision Making
Finals Week
Dec
6
Project #3 Due to Todd
309 (or strappc@wou.edu) by 4:00 pm
Dec
9 (Thursday) EXTRA
CREDIT DUE
Exam #3
Chapters 11 & 8
Course Changes.The instructor reserves
the right to make any necessary
changes to the syllabus (i.e., schedule changes, exam changes) during
the
course of the class. Every attempt will be made to provide students
with
adequate advance notice of impending changes to the syllabus. It is the
student’s responsibility, however, to be aware of any changes made.