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Introductory Psychology - PSY 120

Spring 2008

Dr. Tom Doyle

Office: F510

Email: tom.doyle@gcccd.edu

Voice mail: 660-4211

TEXT BUNDLE:

Introduction to Psychology (8^th edition) by Plotnik/ Kouyoumdjian (2008)

bundled with PowerStudy 4.0  for Introduction to Psychology by Doyle/Plotnik (2008)

(make sure you have the correct text bundle  (section #1657) - costs are reduced in this bundle - use your own binder for the loose-leaf text)
* You can order online from the campus bookstore - see college home page.

SOME COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES

•  Compare and contrast the philosophy of different schools of psychology and their interpretation of behavior. 

•  Apply scientific methods to the exploration of human behavior. 

•  Describe basic the functions of the central nervous systems and their relationship to behavior. 

•  Explain and contrast various psychological phenomena related to sensation and perception.

•  Classify states of consciousness, including sleep, hypnosis and drug effects. 

•  Produce examples and strategies that improve the function of memory.  

•  Label and describe operant conditioning, observational learning, and classical conditioning leading to behavioral change. 

•  Discuss limitations and contrast the different theories of intelligence. 

•  Compare and contrast theories of emotions and an individuals behavior and reaction to stress.

•  Explore and define characteristics of the developmental stages from birth to adult behaviors.  

•  Discuss and elaborate on the theories of the development and the consistency of personality. 

•  Classify different mental disorders and identify possible treatments in reference to the DSM.

•  Produce explanations and predictions of social behavior using various psychological theories.

COURSE PLAN:

This course includes a variety of approaches: lectures, discussions, projected presentations, demonstrations, experiments, and videos. A multimedia CD package bundled and coordinated with the textbook will allow a whole new approach to at-home study. It is your personal responsibility to follow the course assignments closely. Exams will include information from both lecture and textbook. Lectures will compliment the text, but will also include new and different information, and some information in the textbook will not be covered in class. You will be responsible for knowing both sources well. Exam questions are constructed to encourage a true mastery of subject matter.

TESTING:

Four tests will be given throughout the course, corresponding to the four sections on the following pages (each section will last about 3 weeks - exam dates will be announced well in advance). Each test will include true-false, multiple-choice, matching and short-answer essay questions but will only cover the material within each section. Information will be taken from lecture (take good notes) and from the text (text questions will be adapted directly from the Learning Activities quizzes on the PowerStudy 2.0 CD so study these well). Each test will be graded on a percentage-correct basis (90% A, 80% B, etc.) and your final grade will the average on these four tests. All test contents and grading information is listed below:

Scantron (Multiple-Choice, Matching, True-False - 1 point each) = 50 points possible

Short-Answer Essay (4 points each) - 12 points possible

Total = 62 Points

An optional comprehensive final will be given on the day of the final.  It may be used to replace your lowest previous test score on the above tests, or if you should miss a test, it must be taken as a replacement score.  No make-up tests will be given, but realize that you are not penalized for missing or dropping one exam as long as you take the optional final as a replacement.

EXTRA CREDIT:

Book reports, research papers, interviews, web site reviews from PowerStudy, etc. can be an excellent way to expand on material of interest to you and to further personalize this course.  Any topic within psychology is fine (see text for topics) and any type of format or style is also fine. However you must include references or sources for any information. And, do not use Wikipedia as a source (as it is "open-source" and therefore not reliable. Extra-credit projects will be evaluated on their quality, effort, etc., at the end of the course, and will be used to further increase your grade beyond the testing level.  Extra-credit material will not be returned, so make an extra copy for yourself.