See Canvas for All Due Dates When School Begins
Examinations: This course will consist of three examinations (including the Final examination). The tests will all be of the same format and will come from lecture material, video clips and material covered in the text. A study guide is provided to help focus your study in preparation for the exam (but it does not cover all questions). An exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions (100 points). As you can see from the schedule, the final examination will not be comprehensive (on purpose anyway, sometimes material tends to build on itself). The tests will be administered through Canvas under Quizzes (links will also be on the home page) at the Testing Center. No power-points, supplementary material, video clips, books or outside help is allowed. However, I will allow a 3 X 5 card filled with typed or written notes (can be both sides) to be used during the exam. There is a time limit of 50 minutes which is about one minute per question. You will only be able to only see one question at a time. EXAMS CANNOT BE MADE UP (except in case of emergency or illness).
Weekly Practice Quizzes: The practice quizzes will consist of 3 (or more) multiple-choice questions from the current weeks’ material. The quizzes are open book and open note with no time limit. All questions are given at once. They are there to help you prepare for the exams in a timely fashion. The practice quizzes will not be worth any points, but you can take them as often as you would like. Incorrect answers are marked after taking them, therefore, by repetition you can deduce the correct answers.
In Class Assignments: This course will also have from 10 to 20 random in-class assignments which will be worth 7 pts each for a total of 70 - 140 points. These assignments can be made up within two days of being assigned. Afterwards, only extremely extenuating circumstances will allow for in-class assignment make-up. If in class, you can physically hand in the piece of paper or input your answers into Canvas online under the appropriate assignment. The purpose of these assignments is either to further class discussion, prepare you for tests, illustrate specific class concepts or deepen your critical thinking skills. Either I or my teaching assistant will grade these assignments.
Reflection Papers: An important aspect of any psychological concept or principle is how it relates to your own life. You will have the opportunity to do two double-spaced two-page reflection papers (maximum font 12pt). The first paper is due , and the second paper is due . Specifically, take a particular idea, concept, or psychological principle that you recently learned and explain the applicability of it to your own life. Give at least three specific examples from your life. Each paper will be worth 15 points for a total of 30 points. I or my teaching assistant will be grading on depth of thought, critical thinking, three specific examples and originality. The possible topics are many but could range from availability heuristics, functional imaging of lying, to treatment of dissociative identity disorders. It doesn’t hurt to ask me or my teaching assistant beforehand if the idea or principle would be appropriate.
Research Participation: Given that the topics we will be covering in psychology often stem directly from research studies, it is important to see how this information is collected first-hand. To meet this objective, this course requires that you participate in research occurring here in our department by signing-up through the online research system called SONA. A total of six credits is required. Each research credit will be worth 10 points for a total of 60 points.
Some of these credits are in person and some are online. I’m requiring that two of the six credits be done in-person (sign up for a day, time & place using SONA). There are specific details on Canvas describing how to sign up for these studies through SONA. Please start early as research studies get sparse towards the end of the semester (however, you can’t start until sometime after ). The credits should be completed by . Please note that you do not have to turn anything in to get the credits. SONA sends me a report of credits completed. In addition, please note that pending credits will usually count. Pending just means the researcher hasn’t entered the credits, or they are checking to make sure you showed up if it was an in-person experience.
Finally, I will offer extra credit for going over the minimum six credits. Extra credit will be worth 1 point for each credit over 6 credits. (For example, if you do 8 credits of research participation you would receive 62 points). If you choose to not participate in the research studies, an alternative assignment will be provided.
Project (Presentation, Research Paper, or AI project (100 pts.) You may choose whether to prepare a presentation (you are not actually presenting it), a research paper on a psychological disorder or an AI project on a psychological disorder. Either option can earn you up to 100 points. Either option is due before or on
Presentation: You may choose to prepare one presentation using power-point (.ppt or .pptx) or other presentation software on a relevant topic in psychology (100 pts). One of the most effective ways to learn something is to prepare a meaningful presentation. The presentation will be on an individual basis. Choose a topic that is relevant to psychology. Be very specific with your subject. For example, you could choose PTSD in children or dissociative disorders etc. Please be creative, don’t hesitate to use personal experience as well. The minimum number of slides should be 20. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me beforehand. Please turn the presentation on or before . Submit the presentation using Canvas. Please make your last slide a works cited, references or bibliography slide detailing where your information is coming from (not as concerned about images). Please format your references in APA style (or MLA if you are more familiar with that style). You can find an example of an excellent presentation in Canvas under “Helpful Documents”. If you are using an Apple product, please use save as to save as a .ppt, .pptx, or .pdf. My computer cannot read .key files.
I will grade the presentation as follows:
Organization (20 pts) Exhibits a structure that is clear and consistently observable, skillfully encoded and uses proper conventions. Grammar and spelling are accurate.
Research (psychological studies - 30 pts) Results of studies and/or case studies show thorough understanding of psychological content
Supported statements (10 pts) Demonstrates proper and skillful use of a variety of high-quality sources.
Good use of illustrations, pictures, and/or video clips (20 pts) The product is clear, effective and compelling, with no distracting errors.
Creativity (20 pts) Clearly expresses a unique idea and/or perspective. Personal experience is present.
Research Paper: You may choose to do a research paper. The paper must be seven pages minimum (9 pages maximum). It is due on or before This research paper should be on a psychological disorder of your choice. Specific disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder are better choices than broad categories like depression. Results of research studies should be included. For the psychological disorder chosen, make sure to include the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The etiology is the cause and development of the disorder. The diagnosis is the identifying symptoms that distinguish it from other psychological disorders. The treatment is possible psychological therapies that are successful and/or medications/surgeries. The prognosis is the forecasted outcome or result of this disorder over a period of time (what is the typical course of the disorder, for example). Please include at least one page of reflection as well. For example, what significance does this psychological disorder have for you personally? What effect does it have on your life or someone you know personally? What connections do you see relating this disorder to behavior? You may also include historical aspects of the disorder’s discovery if space permits. Don’t be afraid to include personal experience or experience of others and/or case studies if appropriate. Please make your last page a works cited, references or bibliography slide detailing where your information is coming from. Don’t forget to cite information within the text. Please format your references in APA style (or MLA if you are more familiar with that style). If you are using an Apple product, please use save as to save as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. My computer cannot read .pages files.
I will grade the research paper as follows:
Organization (20 pts) Exhibits a structure that is clear and consistently observable, skillfully encoded and uses proper conventions. Grammar and spelling are accurate. At least seven pages are present, and APA or MLA style is followed (12pt. font maximum).
Research (psychological studies - 30 pts) Results of studies and/or case studies show thorough understanding of psychological content
Reflection (10 pts) The depth of the reflection will be judged, as well as how thoroughly the questions posed in the instructions are answered.
Etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis (30 pts) All four aspects of the psychological disorder are clearly and effectively explained.
Creativity (10 pts) Clearly expresses a unique idea and/or perspective. Personal experience is present.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) Analysis Option: (100 pts). The purpose of this assignment is two-fold. First, sometimes it is difficult to gain empathy for someone with a psychological disorder if we focus entirely on symptoms and treatment. Second, perhaps AI can help generate fictional scenarios to help us better understand the difficulties surrounding abnormal behavior. This assignment will try to utilize AI in a beneficial manner for those purposes along with an analysis provided by you on what is successful or unsuccessful in this AI generated material. You will be asking AI to detail a week in the life of a fictional person with a specific profession, age, and psychological disorder (found in DSM 5). The AI response should be at least one page (and no more than three pages). You will be doing this exercise three times (with different ages, professions, and psychological disorders). Feel free to ask more detailed questions to improve your AI scenarios (that is why I’m having you do it three times). When you get your results, take time to examine them and then do a two-to-five-page analysis answering the following specific questions based on class material. This analysis covers all three scenarios.
Question 1: Is the detail given realistic? Could more details be present?
Question 2: What are the strengths of these results (what is good about the scenarios)?
Question 3: What are the weaknesses of these results (what doesn’t seem to work)?
Question 4: Are there stereotypes, misconceptions, or inaccuracies present and if so, what are they?
Question 5: Do the results give you greater empathy for individuals with the disorder? Why or why not?
If you don’t already have an account, make one to utilize AI. For example, you can make a free account to utilize AI using ChatGPT by going on their website and creating the free account. They usually require your name and birthdate. An example of a possible question to ask AI is, “Detail a week in the life of a 40-yr old engineer with obsessive-compulsive disorder”. Of course, you should change the age, psychological disorder, profession etc. Feel free to add more details to the question to improve the output such as “include sample conversations in the scenario” etc. Please include the question that you asked for all three scenarios. Finally, make sure that you include a good summary or concluding paragraph.
The documents you submit to Canvas should be double-spaced and 12 pt. font. Please submit the three AI generated scenarios, questions asked to AI to get the scenarios, and your 2–5-page analysis. Please turn in the AI assignment on or before If you are using an Apple product, please use save as to save as a .docx or .pdf. My computer cannot read .pages files.
I will grade the AI analysis as follows:
AI material (30 pts) Three detailed weekly scenarios of fictionalized individuals coping with specific psychological disorders is presented
Questions (10 pts) Detailed, appropriate and creative questions asked to improve output
Organization (20 pts) Exhibits a structure that is clear and consistently observable, skillfully encoded and uses proper conventions. Grammar and spelling are accurate.
AI analysis (30 pts) All five questions are answered thoroughly in analyzing the AI output.
Conclusion (10 pts) A good concluding paragraph is present
Grading: This is the performance standards that I will use.
A = 94-100%
A- = 90-93%
B+= 87-89%
B = 83-86%
B- = 80-82%
C+= 77-79%
C = 73-76%
C- = 70-72%
D+= 67-69%
D = 63-66%
D- = 60-62%
F = below 60%
Note: A UW will be given if two or more tests are missing, or one exam in combination with the presentation or research paper project is missing.
Point Totals:
Attendance Survey 3 points
Reflection Paper 1 15 points
First Exam 100 points
Presentation, Research Paper or AI analysis 100 points
Second Exam: 100 points
Reflection Paper 2 15 points
Research Participation 60 points
In-Class Assignments (every week) 70-140 points
Final Exam: 100 points
Total points possible 563 - 633 points
Notice: I and my TAs will strive to grade all work in a timely manner (at worst 3 weeks).
Artificial Intelligence: AI can be a useful tool. It is especially useful for generating ideas on a topic or citing specific information. In fact, I have one project option where you use AI to see if it is helpful in generating empathy for psychological disorders. However, I do not want you to use AI to generate content solely for the purpose of completing assignments without any effort put forth on your part. AI does have weaknesses such as making up references, being inaccurate, wording content at graduate college Ivy-League level etc. AI is especially bad at trying to relate experiences such as asked for in reflection papers.
The Southern Utah University Psychology Department values our students irrespective of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, religion, nationality, capabilities, or disabilities. Our faculty and staff are committed to the intellectual, physical, and emotional health of all members of the campus community. Should anyone experience problems or issues with depression, anxiety, grief, discrimination, alienation or marginalization, helplessness or hopelessness, or thoughts of suicide, we implore you to seek us out. Our commitment is to listen, and help you find the resources you need.
https://www.suu.edu/caps/pdf/crisis-resources.pdf SUU Land Acknowledgement: SUU wishes to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities of this region as original possessors, stewards, and inhabitants of this Too’veep (land), and recognize that the University is situated on the traditional homelands of the Nung’wu (Southern Paiute People). We recognize that these lands have deeply rooted spiritual, cultural, and historical significance to the Southern Paiutes. We offer gratitude for the land itself, for the collaborative and resilient nature of the Southern Paiute people, and for the continuous opportunity to study, learn, work, and build community on their homelands here today. Consistent with the University's ongoing commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, SUU works towards building meaningful relationships with Native Nations and Indigenous communities through academic pursuits, partnerships, historical recognitions, community service, and student success efforts.