Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Abnormal Psychology (Online)

PSY 2300-31I

Course: PSY 2300-31I
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: PSY
CRN: 33766

Course Description

This course examines human behavior typically classified as “abnormal.” Diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, current theories of etiology, and contemporary treatment strategies will be reviewed. The course usually includes field visits to programs which treat persons with these diagnoses. The goal of the course is to provide students the opportunity to develop an empathic understanding of individuals with mental illnesses. This is a designated Service-Learning course. (Fall, Spring, Summer (As Needed)) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Prerequisite(s): PSY 1010 - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C- Registration Restriction(s): None

Required Texts

Psychopathology and Mental Health, 10thedition., by Thomas F. Oltmanns, Robert E. Emery, Kelsie Forbush & Susan South   ISBN-13:978013820223-1
©2025 • Pearson Publishing Company 
Invite Code: https://console.pearson.com/enrollment/xelia5

Learning Outcomes

L01-Etiology Awareness
·     Describe and evaluate biological, psychological, and social contributors to various psychological disorders.
L02-Classification Systems
·     Analyze and use contemporary classification tools (DSM-5-TR, ICD), including cross-cutting transdiagnostic models.
L03-Critical Thinking
·     Critically evaluate research claims, pseudoscience, media portrayals in psychopathology.
L04-Clinical Reasoning
·     Apply evidence-based treatment frameworks to conceptualize and recommend interventions for psychopathological presentations. 
L05-Case Analysis & Communication
·     Integrate case study findings to produce diagnostic formulations and thoughtful case presentations, mindful of cultural and individual variation.
L06-Research Methods Literacy
·     Interpret research methods and findings to support evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies.  

Course Requirements

Students will be given new course material each week.
Students should submit their assigned tasks by the end of each week.  
Assigned tasks will include quizzes, tests, homework assignments and discussion posts.

Course Outline

You will be responsible for reading the entire chapter. Below are some highlights of each chapter. The course outline is tentative and may change depending upon time constraints, school requirements, health crisis or weather issues, or if deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Note: unless otherwise specified, each task is due by the end of that designated week, specifically by each Sunday night, 11:59pm. Please take note that your Final Exam is due on a Thursday, not a Sunday.  

  • MODULE 1 | 08/27 - 08/31/25 |  Introduction to the course. Begin Chapter 1: Examples & Definitions of Psychological Disorders    |  Due by 8/31 ·  Review Syllabus, Announcements ·  Welcome Zoom ·  Buy Textbook  Due by 9/3 ·   Complete Commenced Online Attendance  
  • MODULE 1 | 2 09/01 - 09/07/25 |  Chapter 1: Review PPT-1: What is Abnormal Behavior / Changing Concepts of Mental Illness   |  Due by 9/07 ·  Discussion Post-1     (Ice Breaker)
  • MODULE 1 | 3 09/08 - 09/14/25 | Chapter 2: Causes of Abnormal Behavior  | Due by 9/14 ·  Zoom Lecture ·  Quiz 1 ·  Assignment#1 ·  Discussion Post-2  
  • MODULE 1 | 4 09/15 - 09/21/25 | Chapter 3: Treatment of Mental Disorders / Historical Treatment of Psychological Disorders   | Due by 9/21 ·  Quiz 2 ·  Assignment#2 ·  Discussion Post-3  
  • MODULE 1 | 5 09/22 - 09/28/25 | Chapter 4: Classification & Assessment of Mental Disorders /  Psychological Assessment Procedures of Abnormal Behavior   | Due by 9/28  Module 1 TEST 
  • MODULE 2 | 6 09/29 - 10/05/25 | Chapter 5: Mood Disorders  / Suicide                     | Due by 10/05 ·    Zoom Lecture ·  Discussion Post-4 ·  Quiz 3
  • MODULE 2 | 7 10/06 - 10/12/25 | Chapter 6: Anxiety Disorders & OCD   | Due by 10/12 ·  Zoom Lecture ·  Quiz 4 ·  Activity1 (note: a 2 wk extension in due date may be possible without late penalty. Contact Dr. Rossi or see details on Canvas).
  • MODULE 2 | 8 10/13 - 10/19/25 |  Chapter 7: Acute and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Dissociative and Somatic Symptom Disorders.   | Due by 10/19 ·  Discussion Post-5  View Links: ·   The Original 3 Faces of Eve- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ3fl18XQ0A ·   Voices in my Head- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syjEN3peCJw  
  •  |    10/13 & 10/14/25 | FALL BREAK |  
  •  MODULE 2 | 9 10/20 - 10/26/25 | Review Chapter 8: Stress and Physical Health (HPA Axis)  | Due by 10/26 ·  Review Sheet ·  Module 2 TEST  
  •  MODULE 3 | 10 10/27 – 11/02/25 | Chapter 9 Personality Disorders Chapter 10: Feeding & Eating Disorders | Zoom Lecture Due by 11/02 · Discussion Posts-6&7 · Quizzes 5 & 6  
  •  MODULE 3 | 11 11/03 – 11/09/25 | Chapter 12: Sexual Disorders Chapter 11: Substance Related and Addictive Disorders |  Due by 11/09 · Discussion Posts-8&9 · Module-3 TEST  
  • MODULE 4 | 12 11/10– 11/16/25 | Chapter 13: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders   | Due by 11/16 ·   Optional Zoom on Schiz ·   Quiz 7 ·  Discussion Post-10  
  •  MODULE 4 | 13 11/17 – 11/23/25 | Chapter 14: Neurocognitive Disorders | Due by 11/23 ·   Quiz 8 ·  Discussion Post-11  Note: Please double check that all of your assignments & quizzes are submitted. Contact Dr.Rossi ASAP if you need to make up any material. The official makeup date is only on 12/7. You must contact me well in advance of this date if you need to take a makeup.  
  •  |  11/24 – 11/30/25 | Thanksgiving Break Week |  No quizzes or posts this week. 
  •  MODULE 4 | 15 12/01 - 12/07/25 | Chapter 15: Intellectual Disabilities & Autism Spectrum Disorder Chapter 16: Childhood Disorders | Due by 12/07 ·   Read Ch 15 & 16 ·   Review your grades on Canvas & finalize any missing assignments with Dr. Rossi. ·   Review Study Guide for Final Exam  
  •  MAKE-UP DAY   | 12/07/25Scheduled MAKE-UP DAY  With prior approval, make-up quizzes, tests, assignments or posts will be given as soon as the instructor deems it possible, or at the latest Dec 7th, 2025. |  Due by 12/07  
  • Final Exam |  Final Exam Date Open:12/08 Close: 12/11   | Cumulative Final Exam Exam will post on Dec 8th and close on Dec 11th at 11:59pm. |   Due by 12/11    

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

*  An automatic deduction of 5points/week will be made for any late HW submissions.
*  Contact the Professor immediately if you miss a test or quiz. 
*  With prior permission from the instructor, if you have an excused absence, you may be able to take a make-up test, specifically on Dec 7th, 2025. 
*  No more than 2 items or HW tasks can be made-up during the semester.
*  Students should make every effort to submit every assignment even if late, so that they are awarded at least partial credit.

Attendance Policy

This is an asynchronous online course, thus physical attendance is not required. However, it is expected that you will spend the same amount of time that you would spend on a face-to-face course working on the material for this course.

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.