Middlesex Community College

Course Syllabus

 

 

Course Title:   Psychology 111:  General Psychology

 

Semester:   Spring 2007 Online  

 

Instructor:   Professor Patricia J. Sawyer

 

Credit Hours:   3

 

Department:   Social Science

 

Course No:   1260

 

Course Prerequisite:   English 101 Placement

 

Course Location:   Distance Learning – Online  

 

Meeting Time (days/hours):   Distance Learning 24/7.  Since this is a distance learning course, you are required to log on a minimum of three days weekly at your convenience to complete assignments and participate in the discussion board.

 

Scope of Course:   The major principles and theories of psychology including perception, learning, the biological basis of behavior, motivation and emotion.

 

Textbook:    

Psychology, Lefton, Lester & Brannon, Linda, Ninth Edition, 2006, Allyn & Bacon Publishers.  ISBN: 0-205-41813-9

 

Office Hours:  

 

Monday – OSHS Extension Site  5:00pm – 6:00pm

and by Appointment  

 

Office Telephone:   (860) 343-5813  

 

Email:   psawyer@mxcc.commnet.edu        

There is internal email built into the course.  Please use that email. Use the above email address in an emergency only.

 

Attendance Policy:   You are required to log on a minimum of three days weekly and perform tasks and assignments according to the syllabus.  Each late assignment will lose one letter grade for each day the assignment is late beginning on the first day after the deadline.

Credit will not be given for late postings.  All Discussion Board postings must be completed by Saturday 3:00pm.

 

Class Cancellation Policy:   Non Applicable

 

Evaluation (term paper, discussion board, mid-term and final exam and percentages towards final grade):

 

 

1.  Two Examinations                                     50%

Mid-Term Examination – Ch’s 1-9 Due: Friday, March 9, 2007 6:00pm  (25%)

Final Examination – Ch’s 10 – 18 Due: Friday, May 11, 2007 6:00pm   (25%)

Examinations will be essay questions which will be posted on the discussion board one week prior to due date.

 

2.  Research Paper                                             20%

You are to write a 10 page double spaced research paper on a topic related to General Psychology.  You are to use a minimum of four references.  Only two can be the internet unless they are online textbooks and journals.  Your sources cannot be older than 10 years.  Included in your research paper must be a bibliography and footnote page (use MLA or APA format).  Research papers without documentation will not be accepted.  Use correct grammar, punctuation and full sentences.  Put your best effort into it as this counts for a good part of your final grade. 

Your research paper is Due: Friday, March 30, 2007  6:00pm.

 

3.  Weekly Discussion Board Participation                30%

In order to receive full credit for the discussion board, you must log on a minimum of three days weekly and respond to the current question as well as interact with your classmates.  You must respond to at least three other postings in order to receive full credit.  You will be graded on how completely you answer the assigned discussion question and by the quality of responses to the other postings.  Your use of critical thinking skills, conducting research on the discussion board question and applying knowledge from your readings will be assessed.  No credit will be given should you log on after one week.  You will have one week to conduct research and post. The discussion board closes at 3:00pm each Saturday.  No postings will be accepted after 3:00pm.

 

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

 

  1. Understand the terminology, theories and concepts of general psychology.

 

  1. Compare and contrast the major psychological theories and their application to behavior.

 

  1. Apply the major psychological concepts to human behavior in general and to his or her own behavior in particular.

 

  1. To understand the importance of human diversity in psychology.

 

Learning Outcomes:  Upon completion of each chapter the students’ performance will be satisfactory when they are able to:

 

Chapter One:             What is Psychology?

  • Understand how accurate is the image of psychology
  • Understand how psychology began
  • Gain a knowledge of what trends currently shape psychology

 

Chapter Two:             The Science of Psychology

  • Understand what makes psychology a science
  • Understand what research methods psychologists use
  • Understand how psychologists evaluate their research findings
  • Understand what ethical principles guide psychology research.
  • Understand the importance when conducting experiments/research to include

participants that are representative of all races, cultures and ethnic groups.

 

Chapter Three:          Neuroscience:  The Brain and Behavior

  • Understand how the nervous system is organized
  • Understand how the brain functions
  • Understand genetic factors influence behavior
  • Understand human diversity and the brain in both sexes and cultural

Differences in behavior.

 

Chapter Four:             Child Development

  • Understand the central issues of development
  • Understand physical development
  • Understand thought development
  • Understand Social and emotional Development
  • Understand what environmental factors are important for social development
  • Explain what impact personality and cultural development (such as race, ethnicity

and social class) has on human development

 

Chapter Five:             Adolescence and Adulthood

  • Understand how adolescents bridge the gap to adulthood
  • Understand physical changes in adolescence and adulthood
  • Understand the rites of passage around the world in ethnic, racial and religious groups

 

Chapter Six:               Sensation and Perception

  • Understand how stimulation and perception are linked
  • Understand how we see the world
  • Understand how we perceive form and substance
  • Understand how we perceive sounds
  • Understand which senses are the least understood
  • Understand the relationship between touch and pain
  • Understand how we keep our balance
  • Understand the particular culture in which we are raised

has clear consequences for how we perceive the world

 

Chapter Seven:          Consciousness

  • Be able to define consciousness
  • Understand what happens when we sleep
  • Know what dreams are and what they mean
  • Understand how drugs alter consciousness
  • Understand the cross-cultural routes to altered states of consciousness

 

Chapter Eight:            Learning

  • Understand classical conditioning and how it explains behavior
  • Describe different types of learning processes – classical conditioning

and operant conditioning

  • Understand learning across all cultural and racial groups

 

Chapter Nine:            Memory

  • Understand when memory begins
  • Know the different types of memory:  Sensory, Short-term and Long-term memory
  • Know what influences memory retrieval
  • Understand what causes people to forget
  • Understand the cross-cultural differences in memory

 

Chapter Ten:              Cognitive Psychology

  • Understand what cognitive psychology is and how we form concepts and solve problems
  • Understand how we reason and make decisions
  • Know what artificial intelligence reveals about cognition
  • Understand what is the structure of language and how we acquire it

 

Chapter Eleven:         Intelligence

  • Understand the origins and history of psychological testing
  • Know what is intelligence
  • Understand how psychologists develop tests
  • Understand how biological and environmental factors contribute to intelligence
  • Understand the impact of having an exceptional IQ
  • Understand how certain racial groups are evaluated and why a bias exists
  • Understand the influence of genetics and environment on nature, nurture and IQ

 

Chapter Twelve:        Motivation and Emotion

  • Define motivation and emotion
  • Understand how motivation and emotion affect behavior

 

Chapter Thirteen:      Personality and Its Assessment

  • Define what is personality
  • Define what is the psychodynamic approach to personality
  • Understand the Trait and Type theories of personality
  • Understand the humanistic approach to personality
  • Understand the cognitive approach to personality
  • Understand how psychologists assess personality

 

Chapter Fourteen:     Social Psychology

  • Understand what is the social self
  • Understand how attitudes are related to behavior
  • Understand how people relate to each other
  • Understand the effects of identifying with a group
  • Understand how others affect the individual
  • Understand and appreciate the cross-cultural differences

in each other

 

Chapter Fifteen:         Stress and Health Psychology

  • Define stress
  • Understand how people cope with stress
  • Define health psychology
  • Understand how race, culture, social class and ethnic group affects stress

and physical health

 

Chapter Sixteen:        Psychological Disorders

  • Define abnormal psychology
  • Define and understand anxiety disorders
  • Define and understand mood disorders
  • Define and understand dissociative disorders
  • Define and understand schizophrenia
  • Understand what are personality disorders
  • Identify which gender, race, culture and ethnic group(s) are more prone

to suffer from psychological disorders

 

Chapter Seventeen:   Therapy

  • Understand what is psychotherapy
  • Understand how psychodynamic therapies work
  • Understand what humanistic therapies emphasize
  • Understand why cognitive therapy is so popular
  • Understand group therapy
  • Identify why social class, race and ethnicity influences how and if one

receives treatment

 

Chapter Eighteen:      Psychology in Action

  • Understand how behavior is affected by the work environment
  • Understand how human factors affect performance
  • Understand how psychology and the law work together
  • Understand the goals of sport psychology
  • Understand the concept of diversity and its impact on the work environment

 

 

Competence/Assessment

 

Competence will be demonstrated in each chapter:

  • By critiquing weekly assigned readings
  • By written examination
  • By research paper
  • By weekly discussion board

 

 

ADA Accommodation Statement:

“Students with physical or learning disabilities who may require accommodations are

encouraged to contact the counseling office.  After disclosing the nature of the disability,

students are urged to discuss their needs with individual instructors.  This should be

done at the beginning of each semester.  Instructors, in conjunction with appropriate

college officials, will provide assistance and/or accommodations to those students who

have completed this process.”

 

Academic Ethics and Classroom Behavior:

“At Middlesex Community College we expect the highest standards of academic honesty. 

Academic dishonesty is prohibited in accordance with the Board of Trustees’ Proscribed

Conduct Policy in Section 5.2.1 of the Board of Trustees’ Policy Manual.  This policy

prohibits cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration on assignments,

unauthorized access to examinations or course materials, plagiarism, and other

proscribed activities.  Plagiarism is defined as the use of another’s idea(s) or phrase(s)

and representing that/those idea(s) as your own, either intentionally or unintentionally.”

“(Board of Trustees’ Policy 5.2.1)

 

 

General Psychology 111

Class Schedule

Spring 2007

 

Week 1           What Is Psychology?                                     Chapter 1

1/22

 

Week 2           The Science of Psychology                            Chapter 2

1/28                 Neuroscience: The Brain & Behavior          Chapter 3

 

Week 3           Child Development                                        Chapter 4

2/4                   Adolescence and Adulthood                          Chapter 5

 

Week 4           Sensation and Perception                              Chapter 6

2/11

 

Week 5           Consciousness                                                Chapter 7

2/18

 

Week 6           Learning                                                         Chapter 8

2/25

 

Week 7           Memory                                                          Chapter 9

3/4                   MID-TERM EXAM DUE – FRIDAY 3/9/07  6:00PM

 

 

Week 8           Cognitive Psychology                                    Chapter 10

3/11                 Intelligence                                                     Chapter 11

 

3/18 – 3/24/07   Spring Break – No Class

 

Week 9           Motivation and Emotion                                Chapter 12

3/25                 RESEARCH PAPER DUE – FRIDAY 3/30/07  6:00pm

 

 

Week 10         Personality and Its Assessment                    Chapter 13

4/1

 

Week 11         Social Psychology                                          Chapter 14

4/8                                                     

 

Week 12         Stress and Health Psychology                       Chapter 15

4/15                

 

Week 13         Psychological Disorders                                Chapter 16

4/22                 Therapy                                                          Chapter 17

 

Week 14         Psychology in Action                                      Chapter 18

4/29

 

Week 15         FINAL EXAMINATION DUE – FRIDAY 5/11/07  6:00PM        

5/6