COURSE SYLLABUS

Introduction to Psychology, PSY 2012, Spring 2012

Section U01

|Professor: Maria Shpurik, Ph.D. |Class time and room: Tuesday/Thursday |
| |11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Room SIPA 125 |
|Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday |Office Phone: (305) 348-3466 |
|12:30-1:30 p.m. and 3:30-4:00 p.m. | |
|Office: DM 281A |E-mail: Use Moodle course mail ONLY! |
| |FIU e-mail: shpurikm@fiu.edu |
|Teaching Assistant (TA): Jesse Slappey |TA Email: Use Moodle course mail ONLY! |
|PSY 2012 Training and Development Center: Room DM 284, phone: 305-348-6892 |
|Office hours: Mondays 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (TA Ben) |
|Tuesdays 3.30 - 6.30 p.m. (TA Ben) |
|Wednesdays 10.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. (TA Brittany) |
|Thursdays 8.30 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. (TA Jesse) |
|Fridays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (TA Ben) |

Course Description:
This course introduces students to the major sub-fields of psychology: behavioral neuroscience, cognitive, developmental, social, personality psychology, and psychopathology. The course aims to acquaint students with the theories, methodologies, and findings of each sub-field. Important concepts are exemplified by a study of selected topics and issues within each area. The goals of the course are: to expose students to a variety of research questions that psychologists ask; to teach students the methods that psychologists use to answer those questions; and to illuminate the applications of psychological theory and research to everyday life.

Course Objectives

Students who complete this course should be able to:

1. Understand the history of psychology and the scientific method, including various research paradigms and methodologies.

2. Identify and discuss the major sub-fields of psychology: behavioral neuroscience, learning, memory, developmental, social, personality, abnormal.

3. List, explain and apply the main paradigms, theories, methodologies, and research findings of each sub-field.

4. Discuss the application of psychological theory and research to everyday life.

Required Materials:
For this course, a textbook is required and an access code is optional. The textbook is Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior, 12th Edition, by Dennis Coon and John Mitterer, published by Cengage Learning. At the FIU bookstore, the new textbook is bundled together with the access code. The ISBN for this package is 1-1110-7566-2. Access code allows students to access supplemental materials on the publisher's website that can help master the course content. Important: access code includes access to an E-BOOK, which means that you do not have to purchase the hard copy of the textbook. You can just get the code.

You can also buy the textbook and/or the access code online, at http://www.cengagebrain.com/micro/fiupsyc . This is a special link created for FIU PSY 2012 students, and materials are available there with a discount. [Option 1 = access code by itself (with access to e-book); Option 2 (best value!) = new textbook + Concept Maps + access code; Option 3 = new textbook + printed access code]

Course Requirements:

Web component of the course (via Moodle):
PSY 2012 is a hybrid course (a combination of lecture and online formats) and thus all students are REQUIRED to log into and regularly utilize Moodle for this course. Through this website, students will be able to access all course information and materials and complete required online quizzes.

Moodle Access: http://ecampus.fiu.edu
Important: Moodle should be launched ONLY using Mozilla Firefox web browser. If you use Internet Explorer, Moodle may not load and/or not display the course elements correctly. To install a FREE version of Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer, go to http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/, click on Firefox 4 free download (a green rectangle) and follow the instructions. All FIU computers have Mozilla Firefox installed.

To log in, use the same username and password that you use for PantherMail.

For login information and other questions, go to: https://ecampus.fiu.edu/student_help.php#login

Moodle Student Orientation and Resources: University Technology Services offers students free Moodle training and other resources. For more information, go to http://ecampus.fiu.edu.

If you have questions or need help with Moodle you may come to the PSY 2012 Training and Development Center, located in DM 284, during scheduled office hours.

Course Agreement:
Students must read the syllabus carefully and in its entirety, and “agree” to the Course Agreement online. This agreement verifies students’ understanding of and compliance with the terms of the course. If you do not read and agree to the Course Agreement, your access to important course elements, including required quizzes, will be blocked. Read the following documents posted on the course Homepage: “Syllabus,” “Sona Systems Instructions,” “Guidelines for Online Quizzes,” and “I>clicker Instructions.” Then, from the course Homepage, click on “Course Agreement” (a picture with a clipboard and a checkmark), read the agreement, mark “I agree,” and click “Submit assessment.” Important: after you complete the Course Agreement, you will be transferred into a special Group of students who have access to online quizzes. If you are not in the Group, you won’t have access to any quizzes. Unfortunately, at this time, the transfer of students into the Group has to be done manually by our teaching assistant (TA). That means that you will not have automatic instant access to quizzes right after completing the Course Agreement. Complete the Course Agreement as soon as you can and please be patient as our TA works very hard to transfer you into the Group.

Final grades. There are four components that make up your final grade:

• an exam component (50%), • an online quiz component (20%) • an i>clicker participation component (10%) • a research component (20%)

Exams. Unit exams are intended to assess your comprehension, retention, and knowledge of the material covered in lectures and the textbook for a designated unit. There are four (4) unit exams. Each exam is comprised of 50 multiple-choice questions, worth 2 points each, for a total of 100 points per exam. The lowest of the first three exam scores will be DROPPED. Everyone MUST take the FOURTH exam and the fourth exam score is used in final grade calculations. The fourth exam is NOT cumulative. The three exam scores will make up 50% of your final grade.

Here is some crucial information regarding the exams.

• Everyone MUST take the fourth exam! • There are ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP EXAMS (for ANY reason). Note that if you miss an exam the score for that exam will be dropped. If you miss the fourth exam, you will get a “zero” on it and it WILL count toward your grade. NO EXCEPTIONS! • All students must arrive on time! Once at least one student turns in an exam and leaves, no one arriving after that will be allowed to take the exam. NO EXCEPTIONS! • You must take the exam within the course section you are registered for. You CANNOT take an exam with another section of the course (e.g., later or earlier in the day). If you do that anyway, you will NOT receive a grade on that exam. • You must bring your Panther ID (or another official ID with a photo). • You must bring a #2 pencil and an eraser. • You must take off your hat/cap. • You must turn off and not use all cell phones, beepers, PDAs, I-PODs, and other wonders of modern technology. If your cell phone rings or if you are caught using an electronic device it will be confiscated and you will lose 4 points from your exam. • You MUST NOT CHEAT! All exams will be proctored by the professor and several teaching assistants. Students caught cheating on exams are in violation of the Academic Code of Conduct and University Policy, and will be dealt with harshly.

Online Quizzes. Online quizzes are a required part of the course designed to promote more consistent study and review of course material. Once you complete the Course Agreement, you will see the quizzes within the topic/week to which they correspond, on the Homepage.

There are 7 quizzes covering 7 selected chapters from the course material. Each quiz consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and is worth 20 points. Important: two (2) lowest quiz scores will be DROPPED. The 5 remaining quiz scores make up 20% of your final grade. Chapters requiring quiz completion have been designated by the professor (see Course Calendar below). Each quiz will be open for exactly ONE week and you will have 30 minutes to take each quiz. Be sure to complete the chapter reading before attempting the quiz. You will only have 30 minutes and you will NOT have time to look up answers in the book. All quizzes open at 10 a.m. and close at 11.55 p.m. exactly one week later.

You will have TWO ATTEMPTS for taking each quiz within its one-week time window. The HIGHEST score will count toward your final grade. Quiz deadlines will be specified by your professor throughout the semester. More detailed information about the quizzes, including helpful hints and troubleshooting instructions, is provided in the document “Guidelines for Online Quizzes” posted in Moodle.

If you miss a quiz, that will be one of the ones you'll drop. There are ABSOLUTELY NO extensions of quiz deadlines! You have an entire week and two attempts for each quiz, plus you have the “cushion” of dropping two lowest quiz scores. If you miss a quiz for ANY reason, do NOT ask me to re-open it for you!

I>clickers. This semester we are going to use i>clickers in class. I>clicker is a classroom participation system that allows you to answer questions quickly and anonymously by pressing a button on a small hand-held device. It is meant to enhance your classroom experience by increasing student involvement and student-professor interaction. The main advantage of i>clickers is to stimulate class discussion by quickly getting feedback from a large number of students. I>clicker2 is a newer version of the original i>clicker. Every student must have his/her own i>clicker. You will need to purchase your i>clicker either at the FIU bookstore or somewhere else online (try googling “iclicker” to find better prices). The FIU bookstore should only be selling the NEW i>clicker2.

If you already have an i>clicker (either original or i>clicker2), you can use it in this class. If you purchased an i>clicker for another class or have one from a previous semester, feel free to use it in this class. You can borrow someone else’s i>clicker or even share your i>clicker with another student during this semester as long as your are enrolled in different courses or different sections of the same course. Just be sure to register it for yourself for this class, as described in “I>clicker Instructions.” You cannot share an i>clicker with another student enrolled in THIS class.

Even if you already have the original i>clicker you may want to purchase an i>clicker2. If you purchase i>clicker2, you may be eligible for a rebate for your old i>clicker. Please click here to get the rebate form and instructions: http://www.iclicker.com/customers/education/FloridaInternationalUniversityTradeIn/
This rebate is offered by the i>clicker manufacturer and may not be available after this semester. It is likely that more and more FIU courses will utilize i>clicker2 in the future, so it may be a wise investment to purchase one now, while you may be able to get some money back for your old one.

If you do not yet have an i>clicker, purchase i>clicker2.

Registering your i>clicker. Please do NOT register your i>clicker until you read “I>clicker Instructions” document posted on the Moodle homepage. In the meantime, you can successfully use the i>clicker in class without registering it. Your responses will be recorded and you will see your participation record in Moodle after your i>clicker is properly registered. Again, do NOT register your i>clicker until you read “I>clicker Instructions,” posted on Moodle.

I>clicker participation. You will be using your i>clicker to answer questions I present in class. These questions will be a combination of “knowledge” and “opinion” questions and you will NOT be graded on whether your answer is correct.

During any given class, you need to answer at least 75% of presented questions in a timely fashion to get credit for that day. Please remember that you do not need to answer “correctly” to get credit. Note: if you come in late and/or leave early, you may not get credit for participating that day, even if you answered some of the questions. To earn the 10% i>clicker participation portion of your final grade, you must answer at least 75% of questions in at least 10 classes. Please read more detailed information about using i>clicker correctly in “I>clicker Instructions.”

I>clicker rule #1. The most important rule is: you MUST NOT use anybody else’s i>clicker. I will be conducting random checks of the i>clickers. If you are caught “clicking in” for someone else, this will be considered an instance of cheating and thus a violation of FIU’s Code of Academic Integrity. Consequences of such violations are discussed below. In addition to possible disciplinary actions, the i>clickers will be permanently confiscated from you (the person “clicking in” for someone else) and from the person for whom you are “clicking in.”

Be sure to read detailed instructions about i>clickers in “I>clicker Instructions,” posted on Moodle.

Research Experience. Students in PSY 2012 courses are required to participate in scientific research being conducted in the Psychology Department. This research component is designed to give students practical experience with psychological research. To fulfill this component, each student must participate in 4 credits of experiments. Each credit is roughly equal to 1 hour of participation time and is worth 25 points (5% of your grade). Successful completion of the 4 research credits will make up 20% of your final grade.

In order to fulfill this component of your course requirement you must become familiar with the SONA SYSTEMS web site (http://fiu.sona-systems.com) where you will go to sign up for experiments and monitor your research credits. Be sure to read more detailed information about this research participation in the “Sona Systems Instructions” document posted on Moodle.

The DEADLINE for Sona Systems participation is the Friday of the last week of classes, April 20th, 2012. ALL research participation must be completed by that date.

Alternative research option: If for some reason you do not want to or cannot participate in research you may fulfill the research component by completing alternative assignments designated by your professor. If you choose to complete an alternative research assignment, you MUST inform the professor IN WRITING by Thursday, March 8th. Only students who have done this will be allowed to complete the alternate assignment(s). There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule.

Extra Credit (can boost your grade by up to 10%). Extra credit opportunities are available for those who wish to boost their grade. For extra credit, you may participate in 1 or 2 more experiments. Each extra hour of participation will earn you 25 points or 5% that will be applied to your final grade (up to a 10% increase in your final percent average if you obtain two extra experiment credits). Important: the MAXIMUM extra credit you can get is 10% of the final grade. Even if you complete more that six Sona credits in total, only six will count for your grade. If for some reason you cannot or do not wish to participate in experiments, you MUST inform the professor IN WRITING by Thursday, March 8th. An alternative extra credit assignment will then be provided for you by the professor.

Another option for extra credit is additional use of i>clickers. Ten sessions of i>clicker participation is a requirement, and you can use FIVE more sessions for ONE extra credit point (equivalent to ONE Sona credit). Important: you MUST have FIVE sessions of SUCCESSFUL i>clicker use to qualify for this ONE extra credit point. Reminder: successful i>clicker use means answering at least 75% of questions within a session.

Important: the TOTAL extra credit in the course cannot exceed 10% of the final grade. That means you can do either two additional Sona credits or one additional Sona credit and five extra sessions of successful i>clicker use.

Course Policies:

Course conduct: This is a college course and behavior during class time should reflect that. Disrespectful, disruptive, or distracting behavior will not be tolerated. The professor is the final arbiter of what behavior is inappropriate. The professor is also in the position to select the best course of action in instances of inappropriate student behavior.

Laptop use: the use of LAPTOPS is NOT ALLOWED during class. Unfortunately, the majority of students use their laptops to engage in class-irrelevant activities. This creates disruption and significantly contributes to inappropriate talking during the lecture. If you are caught using your laptop during a lecture, 2 points will be deducted from your next exam score for EACH instance of laptop use.

Talking: there is ABSOLUTELY no talking while the professor is lecturing or answering student questions. Talking is disruptive to the professor and distracting to other students, not to mention disrespectful to everyone. If you want to talk to your friends, do NOT come to class to do that. Go to Starbucks or some other talking-friendly place on campus.

Attendance: I will not be taking attendance in this class. However, i>clicker participation constitutes 10% of your final grade and requires your presence in class. Students are responsible for ALL material in the text as well as in the lectures. Lectures are designed to explain and expand on concepts presented in the text. If you choose not to attend the lectures, it is your responsibility to obtain the information covered in class. PowerPoint slides from each lecture will be posted on Moodle, but they may not include all information covered in class. You can tape-record the lectures if you wish. You may not photograph or video-record any materials presented by the instructor in class.

Assigned readings: You are expected to complete the assigned readings before class. My lectures will assume a basic understanding of chapter material on your part. I will not cover everything in the chapter during lectures but I will be discussing external information not available in your textbook. I will focus on the most complex and/or interesting material from the chapter and spend most in-class time on illustrating important concepts with examples, demonstrations, and/or videos. However, if you have specific questions about the material you’ve read in the chapter, I’ll be happy to address them in class or during office hours.

Progress in the course: If at any time during the semester you are concerned about your progress, please arrange a time to come and talk with the professor during her scheduled office hours. Your progress should only be discussed with the professor, not the teaching assistant.

Academic Integrity/Honesty: This course operates on the University's Code of Academic Integrity. This Code of Academic Integrity reflects the values articulated in the Student Code of Standards. All students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of Florida International University.

All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook” (Florida International University Student Handbook (2004-2005). The University’s policy on academic misconduct and dishonesty may be found at: http://academic.fiu.edu/docs/provost_manuals.htm.

Accommodations due to disability: Students with special needs are encouraged to discuss their circumstances with the professor and notify the Disability Resource Center to arrange for accommodations. At the University Park Campus, the Disability Resource Center is located in GC 190. The phone number is (305) 348-3532. At the Biscayne Bay Campus, the Disability Resource Center is located in WUC 139. The phone number is (305) 919-5345. If you require special accommodations due to a learning disability, please let the professor know during the first two weeks of the semester. If the professor is not officially notified before the exam date, NO special accommodations will be provided during an exam. To receive special accommodations during exams, student clients of the Disability Resource Center must bring an official Exam Proctor Form to be approved and signed by the instructor. Additionally, an official confidential letter must be sent from the Disability Resource Center to the instructor, specifying the student’s condition and necessary accommodations.

Grading policy: The final grade, as mentioned above, includes the best two of the first three exam scores plus a fourth exam score (50%), five highest quiz scores (20%), use of i>clickers in at least ten classes (10%) and four credits of research participation (20%). The following scale is used to assign final grades:

|Letter grade |Range |Letter grade |Range |
|A |90% or above |C |65-69% |
|A- |88-89% |C- |60-64% |
|B+ |85-87% |D+ |55-59% |
|B |80-84% |D |50-54% |
|B- |76-79% |D- |45-49% |
|C+ |70-75% |F |44% or below |

The last day to drop the class with a grade of “DR” (no letter grade being assigned) is Monday, March 19th.

Everything in this syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the professor. You will be notified in class and via Moodle whenever changes are made. Be sure to read the “Guidelines for Online Quizzes,” “Sona Systems Instructions,” and “I>clicker Instructions” documents posted in Moodle.

Welcome to PSY 2012!

Course Calendar (subject to change): This is the schedule of lecture topics and corresponding reading assignments. Exams and other important dates are also noted. All chapters requiring completion of an online quiz are noted with an asterisk (*). For quiz deadlines, see below. This schedule may change at the discretion of the professor.

Course schedule (tentative, subject to change at any time):
|DATES |TOPICS |CHAPTER |IMPORTANT TASKS/NOTES: |
|1/10 |Introduction to course | |Log into the course in Moodle |
| | | |Read syllabus and other documents |
| | | |Sign Sign Course Agreement online |
| | | |Buy textbook and/or access code |
| | | |Buy I>clicker2 |
|1/12 |Psychology and research methods |Introduction, Ch. 1* |Read Introduction and chapter 1 |
|1/17 |Last day to Add/Drop courses for Spring 2012 semester |
|1/13 | | |Chapter 1 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|1/17 |Psychology methods |Ch. 1 |Chapter 2 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|1/19 |Brain and behavior |Ch. 2* |Read chapter 2 |
|1/20 | | |Chapter 1 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|1/24 |Brain and behavior (cont.) |Ch. 2 |Chapter 2 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|1/26 |States of consciousness |Ch. 6 |Read chapter 6 (pp. 182-199) |
|1/31 |States of consciousness (cont.) |Ch. 6 | |
|2/2 |EXAM 1 |Chapters 1, 2, and 6 |BE ON TIME |
| | | |Bring #2 pencil/eraser |
| | | |Bring official photo ID |
| | | |No electronic devices, no hats |
| | | |Grades posted in Moodle |
| | | |Chapter 7 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|2/7 |Conditioning and learning |Ch. 7* |Read chapter 7 |
| | | |Chapter 8 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|2/9 |Conditioning and learning (cont.) |Ch. 7 |Chapter 7 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|2/14 |Memory |Ch. 8* |Read chapter 8 |
| | | |Chapter 8 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|2/16 |Memory (cont.) |Ch. 8 | |
|2/21 |Cognition and intelligence |Ch. 9 |Read chapter 9 (pp. 301-303) |
|2/23 |Cognition and intelligence |Ch. 9 |Read chapter 9 (pp. 304-313) |
|2/28 |EXAM 2 |Chapters 7, 8, and 9 |BE ON TIME |
| | | |Bring #2 pencil/eraser |
| | | |Bring official photo ID |
| | | |No electronic devices, no hats |
| | | |Grades posted in Moodle |
| | | |Chapt Chapter 3 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|3/1 |Human development (cont.) |Ch. 3* |Read chapter 3, complete online quiz |
|3/6 |Human development (cont.) |Ch. 3 |Chapter 3 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|3/8 |Last day to request an alternative research assignment in writing |
|3/8 |Social thinking and social influence |Ch. 16 |Read chapter 16 |
| | | |Chapter 17 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|3/13 |Spring break | | |
|3/15 |Spring break | |Chapter 17 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|3/19 | LAST day to drop the course with a DR grade |
|3/20 |Social thinking and social influence |Ch. 16 | |
|3/22 |Prosocial and antisocial behavior |Ch. 17* |Read chapter 17 |
|3/27 |Prosocial and antisocial behavior |Ch. 17 | |
|3/29 |EXAM 3 |Chapters 3, 16, and 17 |BE ON TIME |
| | | |Bring #2 pencil/eraser |
| | | |Bring official photo ID |
| | | |No electronic devices, no hats |
| | | |Grades posted in Moodle |
|4/3 |Personality |Ch. 12 |Read chapter 12 |
| | | |Chapter 14 quiz opens at 10 a.m. |
|4/5 |Personality |Ch. 12 | |
|4/10 |Psychological disorders |Ch. 14* |Read chapter 14, complete online quiz |
| | | |Chapter 14 quiz closes at 11:55 p.m. |
|4/12 |Psychological disorders |Ch. 14 | |
|4/17 |Therapies |Ch. 15 |Read chapter 15 |
|4/19 |Therapies | | |
|4/26 | |Chapters 12, 14, 15 |BE ON TIME |
|Note time ( |EXAM 4 | |Bring #2 pencil/eraser |
| |Thursday, April 26, | |Bring official photo ID |
| |9:45 – 11:45 a.m. | |No electronic devices, no hats |
| | | |Grades posted in Moodle |

Please remember that the schedule above may change.