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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

General Psychology (Online)

PSY 1010-31I

Course: PSY 1010-31I
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: PSY
CRN: 33084

Course Description

PSY-1010 General Psychology

Course Modality: Fully Online Asynchronous
Course Dates: Aug 27 2025 - Dec 10 2025
Course Time Zone: U.S. Mountain Time (all due dates are in U.S. Mountain Time)

Instructor: Dr Justina Or, PhD, PsyD, MS, MSA
Email: justinaor@suu.edu
Office Hours: Email anytime, phone call or video meeting by appointment
Contact Policies: Canvas messaging and email are best ways to contact. I will respond to communication within 48 hours (but typically much more quickly).

Course Description
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior. This course provides a broad overview of this field of science. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Required Texts

Textbook (free online):
  • Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., Lovett, M. D., Aruguete, M., Bryant, L., Chappell, B., Dumper, K., Lacombe, A., Lazzara, J., McClain, T., Oswald, B. B., Perlmutter, M., & Thomas, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e
    • Digital: ISBN-13: 978-1-951693-23-7
    • Hardcover: ISBN-13: 978-1-975076-45-0
    • Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1-975076-44-3
A list of readings and multimedia is also provided in the Canvas classroom.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify and discuss basic concepts and research findings of psychology
  • Define and discuss human behavior and mental processes
  • Apply psychological science and principles to everyday life
  • Identify basic psychological research approaches
  • Identify ethical principles that guide psychologists in research and practice

Course Requirements

Class rules
  • Be kind because we never know the story of another person
  • Be curious to be interested in new ideas and perspectives
  • Be open-minded to think things through and examine evidence from all sides
  • Be humble to keep growing and realize that there is so much we do not know about
  • Practice teamwork because we are a learning community here with a shared goal of learning

Communication
  • Students are expected to check emails, announcements, and gradebook feedback regularly. 
  • The instructor uses announcements to communicate with the class, so it is crucial for students to check announcements. Announcements are used to communicate reminders, updates, and/or assignment feedback.
  • Students are expected to reach out to the instructor if they need help. Help your instructor help you :)
  • Develop a habit of communicating professionally, which will benefit your college experience and career. This also facilitates effective communication, which helps you receive a response more quickly.
    • Start with a relevant subject line for your email. Address the person you are emailing. Close out the email with thank you and your name.
      • Subject Line: Course Number - Module 01 Assignment
      • Hi Dr. X, Instructor X, Professor X, etc.
      • I am writing about...
      • Thank you!
      • Your name

Withdrawal

Technical Skills and Requirements 
  • Students should use a computer or laptop to engage in activities of this course. While Canvas can be accessed on mobile devices, the experience of learning activities may be less than optimal. If there are access problems (e.g., cannot view part of the assignment instructions) when using mobile devices, access problems can often be solved by switching to a standard computer and browser. 
  • Students should be able to use word processing and presentation software.
  • Students should keep their own copy of submitted work. In cases when work was not received/posted in Canvas, students should be able to resubmit them again if requested by the instructor.
  • Students should have the ability to use Canvas. Here are resources on using Canvas:
If you need technical assistance, contact the SUU IT Help Desk.

Digital information literacy, which is the ability to recognize the need for, to access, and to evaluate electronic information. It involves finding and using scholarly resources, including literature searching. Below are some helpful resources:

APA Style 7th Edition is required for properly citing and referencing information sources. Below are some helpful resources:

Academic Integrity
  • Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.
  • Plagiarism is one severe instance of scholastic dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as "presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement" (University of Oxford, n. d.). It involves the use of quotations without quotation marks, the use of quotations without indication of the source, the use of another's idea without acknowledging the source, the submission of work (any portion of such) prepared by another person, or paraphrasing another's work without acknowledging and documenting the source. When plagiarism is detected, a ZERO will be assigned automatically, and the instance will be reported to the university.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Plagiarism also includes copying the work from generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
    • Within this course, all submitted work should be written, developed, created, and/or inspired by you. For submitted work, AI use is only acceptable if it is used for basic grammar/spell checks, similar to writing tools such as Grammarly, and/or APA in-text citations/references formatting. For submitted work, if AI is used for more than what Grammarly can do and/or APA in-text citations/references formatting, it is not appropriate. If work is created by artificial intelligence (AI) it will be considered plagiarized work and a violation of SUU Policy 6.33: Academic Integrity. This could result in a failing grade to disciplinary action through the Dean of Students’ Office. AI is an evolving technology and will impact our academic, professional, and personal lives. It is important that as part of your education, you learn to critically think, create, and evaluate products/assignments.

Your participation in this course indicates your acceptance of its content, requirements, and policies as they are outlined in this syllabus.

Course Outline

Course Structure and Schedule
This is a fully online asynchronous course. The course is organized by module, with a total of 15 modules.
  • Module 01 - Getting Started and Introduction to Psychology
  • Module 02 - Psychological Research
  • Module 03 - Biopsychology
  • Module 04 - States of Consciousness 
  • Module 05 - Sensation and Perception
  • Module 06 - Learning and Memory
  • Module 07 - Thinking and Intelligence
  • Module 08 - Lifespan Development
  • Module 09 - Emotion and Motivation
  • Module 10 - Stress, Lifestyle, and Health
  • Module 11 - Personality
  • Module 12 - Social Psychology
  • Module 13 - Psychological Disorders
  • Module 14 - Therapy and Treatments
  • Module 15 - Finals 
Please refer to Course Modules or Course Summary at the bottom of this syllabus for the detailed due dates.

Holidays & Breaks
We may have several holidays and breaks during this semester. Shorter holiday(s) and break(s) will not affect the structure and schedule of the course, whereas longer holiday(s) and break(s) may affect the structure and schedule of the course. Please refer to the course schedule above, the module page, and the due dates at the bottom of the syllabus for details. Students may but are not expected to participate in the online classroom on holidays and breaks. The instructor will be off on holidays and breaks.

Methods of Assessing Learning Progress
  • Online discussions and participation
  • Assignments
  • Quizzes
  • Exams

Grading Scale and Policies
  • Grading is typically completed within 10 days from the due date (with the due day being day 0).
  • It is essential for students to review both the rubric grading and qualitative, personalized feedback provided by the instructor.
  • Grade challenges from students should happen within 5 days from when a grade is assigned (with the day when the grade is assigned being day 0).

 Grading Scale
A | 100 % | to 94.0%
A- | < 94.0 % | to 90.0%
B+ | < 90.0 % | to 87.0%
B | < 87.0 % | to 84.0%
B- | < 84.0 % | to 80.0%
C+ | < 80.0 % | to 77.0%
C | < 77.0 % | to 74.0%
C- | < 74.0 % | to 70.0%
D+ | < 70.0 % | to 67.0%
D | < 67.0 % | to 64.0%
D- | < 64.0 % | to 60.0%
F | < 60.0 % | to 0.0%

Assignment-Point Distribution
  • Assignment (30% of total grade) 
    • Module 04 - 20 points
    • Module 06 - 20 points
    • Module 09 - 20 points
    • Module 11-12 - 35 points
    • Research Participation Requirement - 6 points
  • Discussion (30% of total grade)
    • Modules 01-13 - each 20 points 
  • Quizzes (15% of total grade)
    • Module 01 - 5 points
    • Module 04 - 15 points
    • Module 06 - 15 points
    • Module 10 - 15 points
    • Module 14 - 15 points
  • Exam (25% of total grade) 
    • Module 07 - 50 points
    • Module 15 - 50 points

Assignments: There will be 4 assignments as formative assessments throughout the course. These assignments offer opportunities for exploration, application, and reflection, often through videos, articles, or experiential activities. They may take place in a written or multimedia format. Some assignments are done individually. Some assignments are done collaboratively. Collaborative group assignments cannot be completed individually and therefore cannot be made up. 
Discussions: There will be 13 discussions as formative assessments throughout the course. They take place each module. Students will post an initial post to address the discussion prompt and post several reply posts to interact with others. Interaction should be done in a kind, respectful, and constructive manner. All discussion posts should reflect an understanding of the module's materials. Initial discussion posts should fully address all parts of the discussion prompt. Reply posts should be substantive, which means they are thoughtful and further the discussion in a meaningful way. They may share personal experiences, ask for clarification, provide additional information, interpret ideas, offer constructive content-related feedback, suggest ways of thinking about the topic, and/or end with follow-up questions. Non-substantive posts will not be counted toward credit even if they meet the minimum word requirement. Any unkind, rude, or irrelevant posts will not be graded and/or tolerated.
Quizzes and Exams: In addition to a syllabus quiz, there will be 4 quizzes and 2 exams as summative assessments throughout the course, made up of multiple-choice questions. All quizzes and exams will be counted toward students' grade. Missed quizzes and exams cannot be made up.

All due dates can be located at the end of this syllabus and in the modules page.

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Work is expected to be submitted on time, as this is not a self-paced course. However, life happens, so every student is entitled to two no-question-ask passes for the entire semester.
  • Each no-question-ask pass grants a penalty-free three-day extension.
  • Each pass can be applied to one module's worth of work if needed. 
  • If work is submitted after the penalty-free three-day extension, a late penalty (10% deduction of the assignment full score per day) will apply; submission will not be accepted if it is turned in 7 days after the three-day extension. 
  • To use the no-question-ask passes, students must communicate with the instructor prior to each module's end date.
    • If circumstances prevent students from notifying the instructor to use these passes prior to each module's end date, students should communicate with the instructor within 36 hours from each module's end date. 
  • Exams, collaborative group assignment, and discussion replies cannot be made up (even when the no-question-ask passes are used).
  • Once the two passes are used up, any additional late submission will be subjected to a late penalty (10% deduction of the assignment full score per day). Late submission will not be accepted if it is turned in 7 days after the original due date.
  • Late work is not accepted after the course closes. The grade of Incomplete is only granted if a majority of work has been completed and there are unforeseen emergencies (e.g., severe health conditions requiring hospitalization, death of a close loved ones, etc.). Documentation may be required.
    • Forgetting a deadline, social events, and professional or leisure travel are examples of reasons that are not acceptable to request an Incomplete.
  • If students have conditions that will require them to use more time for academic work regularly, they will contact SUU's disability office to establish reasonable accommodations (their contact information can be found in this syllabus).

Attendance Policy

Attendance is required in this course. It is measured by participation in online discussions in each module. When there are concerns about the student's attendance, the instructor will reach out the SUU's student success coaches to work with the student. 

Course Fees

Content for this section will be provided by the instructor.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.