This course is designed to introduce many of the major topics and theories of psychology. Both historical perspectives and current research are included. Application of psychology to various aspects of everyday life, investigation of the impact of culture on psychological processes, and critical analysis of research will be emphasized. This course serves as a pre-requisite to most other Psychology courses offered through the department, which tend to offer a more in-depth analysis of specific topics introduced in this course. There are no pre-requisites for this course.

Good news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!

Visit (Links to an external site) to access your book. Then choose your preferred format under “Get the book.”

If you prefer, you can also get a print version at a very low cost (campus bookstore or from OpenStax on Amazon.com). You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended - the responsive design works seamlessly on any device. If you buy on Amazon, make sure you use the link on your book page on openstax.org so you get the official OpenStax print version. (Simple printouts sold by third parties on Amazon are not verifiable and not as high quality.)

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World:

• Explain and differentiate between the basic subfields of psychology
• Identify, describe, and apply the research methods used to collect information in psychology
• Practice using psychological terminology
• Identify, describe, and explain key ideas and studies in psychology

Intercultural Knowledge and Competence:

• Identify how psychological findings may differ depending upon one’s cultural background and environment
• Identify challenges faced by ethnic and cultural minority groups
• Identify assumptions often held by non-minority group members

Lifelong Learning:

• Connect theoretical findings with applied situations in life
• Identify subfields of psychology that are of interest to you personally
• Assess how information covered in the scope of this course has altered your beliefs on human psychology and behavior

Course-Specific Objectives and Assessments

This course is designed to increase your knowledge of how social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip you to understand yourself, others, and the roles you play in addressing the issues facing humanity. By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the major facts and theories from experimental, cognitive, biological, developmental, social, and applied psychology (e.g., know the difference between operant and classical conditioning). Achievement of this outcome will be assessed through in-class performance, exams, and quizzes.

Apply this knowledge to events and situations in their everyday life (e.g., Does my roommate really have OCD? How can I use operant conditioning to train my cat?). Achievement of this outcome will be assessed through in-class performance, homework assignments, and exams.

Be able to critically analyze and critique alternative explanations for claims about social issues and human behavior (e.g., Does this media claim that ice cream sales are associated with a rise in violent crime make sense to you?). Achievement of this outcome will be assessed through in-class activities, homework assignments, and exams.

Understand that psychology is a science and that psychologists utilize the scientific method to obtain information and knowledge about behavior and thought. Achievement of this outcome will be assessed through exposure to primary research either as a participant or by reading and summarizing empirical articles, quizzes, exams, and in-class activities/discussions.

Grading System for Final Grades

After I calculate your final numerical grade based on the weighting system above, I will convert it to a letter grade based on the chart below:

Participation

We have 35 total classes with content throughout the spring semester. Each of those days, you will have an opportunity to earn 1.56 participation points by completing a short, low-stakes assignment. Out of the 35 opportunities, I will count the highest 32 towards your final grade.

Exams

There will be five online exams throughout the spring semester. These exams will consist of multiple-choice and true/false questions. Exams will be time limited and accessed through Canvas. All exams must be started and completed in one setting and will be automatically submitted at the 75-minute time limit. The clock starts as soon as the exam is opened. Students need to study for each exam as if it were a scheduled in-class exam. The allotted 75 minutes per exam will not be sufficient time for students to look up the answers as they go. Thus, students will need to be thoroughly prepared and familiar with the relevant course information prior to each exam to do well. You should complete the assignments and exams ahead of the schedule to protect against schedule conflicts, Wi-Fi availability, and power outages. A back-up location and computer should be arranged at the time student takes each exam to account for computer or internet difficulties.

Students need to locate a private, quiet location for exams with a secure internet access and reliable computer. Be sure to have a back-up computer with internet connection at a different physical location in case anything happens with your original computer and/or location. It’s recommended that you silence and put away phones and distracting devices and submit your answers as soon as you finish the exam. If planning to be out of town or on vacation, you need to complete your exam prior to leaving. You should print out the course deadlines and have them readily available to ensure that due dates are not missed.

I will drop the lowest exam score and only count the 4 highest scores to your final grade.

Quizzes

• For each chapter, a quiz will be available online via Canvas. Quizzes are available from the beginning of the spring semester until the scheduled due date (see course schedule). These quizzes cover each chapter’s material and are meant to ensure that you read the chapter during the designated week to assist you in learning the material. Quizzes may be taken a maximum of 2 times with no time limit. The best score for each quiz will count toward your final grade. Only the 12 highest quiz scores will be counted towards your grade, though there are 15 quizzes; in other words, I will drop your 3 lowest quiz scores.

Assignments

There are 5 assignments available for you to complete throughout the spring semester. I will drop the lowest score and only count the 4 highest scores to your final grade.

Written assignments must be submitted in APA format (sans title page), as specified by the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual (7th ed.). Further information about each assignment, including instructions and rubrics, will be available via Canvas.

The SUU Undergraduate Writing Center invites all students to the writing center in Braithwaite Center 101 where qualified peer tutors are ready to help with any stage of the writing process. M-Th 8-9 pm, F 8-5, and Saturday 11am-3 pm. All appointments are free, and both in-person and zoom appointments are available. To schedule, visit our website: **.

Research Experience

Given how important research is to psychology, you are required to gain experience with and exposure to psychological research. You have two options for fulfilling this requirement: the research participation option and/or research paper(s) option. Both options are designed to help you:

• learn how and why research with humans is conducted
• learn how the results are used to help understand human behavior
• see the variety of problems that can be studied with scientific methods

Research Participation: You will participate in psychological research conducted by the research teams on campus. Each 30 minutes of participation is worth 1 credit, and in-person research participation counts double. Participation will be submitted and tracked via the SONA Research Participation System. Please visit this link to learn more about the SONA Research Participation System:

Research Paper(s): You will find, read, and summarize a psychological research article from the Current Psychology journal. You can choose any article on any topic, but you must submit a 2-page summary on the article in APA format to receive credit. Each research paper submitted will be worth 1 research credit.

All assignments, quizzes, and exams are due by 11:59pm on the date indicated on the schedule.

All assignments and quizzes may be completed ahead of schedule but may NOT be completed after the due date. This means that you may complete all coursework as far in advance as you wish, however the deadlines are in place to prevent students from waiting until the last minute to complete work. The deadlines are the LAST DAY you can complete the assignment.

Missing exam policy: Exams will be available on Canvas from 7:00am-11:59pm on the scheduled exam days (see course schedule). Makeup exams will ONLY be allowed in cases of documented excuses (e.g., medical emergency). Please email me before the exam deadline (11:59pm on the date of the scheduled exam) if an emergency should arise.

Missing quiz policy: Quizzes are to be taken by the specified time/day; therefore, missed quizzes cannot be made up for non-university excused absences. If you encounter any issues using Canvas, you should contact Technical Support.

Missing assignment policy: Assignments are to be submitted by the specified time/day; therefore, missed assignments cannot be made up for non-university excused absences. For most students, it takes multiple drafts and revisions to earn a high grade, so students are recommended to begin these assignments early and not wait until the last day.

Attendance Policy: When you miss class, you miss important information. If you are absent, you are responsible for learning material covered in class. If you have an excused absence, you will be permitted to make up coursework or complete an equivalent assignment agreed upon with me.

To arrange excuses for absences that can be anticipated at the beginning of the semester, you should:

• Submit a request via email stating the dates of the anticipated absence no later than the end of the second week of the course.
• Explain the reason for absence – in some cases, documentation may be required.
• Include any request for make-up work.

To arrange excuses for absences that cannot be anticipated (e.g., legal proceedings or illnesses), you should submit a request via email stating:

• The date(s) of the absence.
• Explain the reason for absence – in some cases, documentation may be required.
• Include any request for make-up work.

Computer and Internet Access

Many assignments, announcements, and messages for this course will be provided online and therefore reliable computer and Internet access is required. If you have any concerns about the technical requirements of this course, please contact me because I can help discuss ways we can work around technical issues.

Technical Requirements

Course Communication

I will also send class announcements via Canvas and email. Finally, I will make comments on your assignments, quizzes, and exams via Canvas.

Generative LLM/AI Statement

I will not penalize you if you choose to utilize a generative large language model (LLM) system (commonly called Generative AI; e.g., ChatGPT) to help you complete your written assignments – though I warn you about the pitfalls and shortcomings associated with utilizing such systems. I will grade your assignments rigorously, and I have noticed that assignments submitted with Generative LLM/AI systems – like ChatGPT – usually perform poorly.

Student Support

The SUU 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.

Statement on Civility in the Classroom

Our university is a community of faculty, students, and staff that enjoys an expectation of cooperation, professionalism, and civility during the conduct of all forms of university business, including the conduct of student–student and student–faculty interactions in and out of the classroom. Further, the classroom is a setting in which an exchange of ideas and creative thinking should be encouraged and where intellectual growth and development are fostered. Students who disrupt this classroom mission by rude, sarcastic, threatening, abusive or obscene language, and/or behavior will be subject to appropriate sanctions according to university policy. Likewise, faculty members are expected to maintain the highest standards of professionalism in all interactions with all constituents of the university.

Changes to the syllabus

The content of this course and syllabus is subject to change at the need and discretion of the instructor. Students will be notified in class and by email of any changes to the syllabus and receive new copies of the revised syllabus.