Download Spring 2016 - Salem Community college

Salem Community College
PSY 101
General Psychology
3 Credits
Spring 2016
This course is an introduction to the basic foundations of behavior. Major topics are drawn from
developmental psychology, motivation, emotion, learning, perception and the basic concepts of
personality and adjustment.
.
Instructor: Cristina E. Mazzeo, MS, LPC, NCC
Online
Phone: (856) 625-5129
Email:[email protected]
*Any appt. request(s) should be made via canvas
2
Academic Honesty/Plagiarism Policy:
Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty may be subject to failure of this
course, academic probation, and/or suspension from the college. See the Student Handbook for
additional details.
Plagiarism is a violation of the Student code of conduct and is thus subject to disciplinary action.
The following college website defines and provides examples:
http://www.salemcc.edu/library/preventing-plagiarism
Special Needs
In compliance with recent federal legislation affirming the rights of disabled individuals,
provisions will be made for students with special needs on an individual basis.
The Office of Disability Support Services offers a range of services to both support and
accommodate students with disabilities to succeed in their academic programs. The following
college website provides more information on obtaining services:
http://www.salemcc.edu/student-success-resources/disability-support-services
Class Participation and Attendance
Your course is broken down into weekly modules. Each student is expected to follow the course
schedule and complete all weekly requirements therein. Participation points will be derived via
your discussion posts, which will be based from your assigned chapter readings, powerpoints and
video assignments. Since the course is taught online, it is imperative that each of you maintain
active participation in the discussion board.
Exams
Unless there is an emergency which can be adequately documented, you are expected to complete
exams in this course on the day they are scheduled. Please note, the instructor deems what
constitutes an emergency.
Communication
All official electronic communication will be conducted via email utilizing students' Salem
Email account. However, if you wish to use your non-Salem email, you can set your Salem
account to automatically forward to a different account. Based on student privacy regulation, I
will not have access to any other email address, other than your Salem Community College
address. To facilitate communication, please include your name in the email as some addresses
are often confusing and do not match your name. The easiest way to reach me is through Canvas
email. You should expect a response to your email within 24 – 48 hours.
Materials
The following text is required for this course.
Myers, D.G (2014). Exploring Psychology. Worth Publishers, NY: 9th ed.
3
Computer Usage for this course
You can use any computer with Internet access and Microsoft Office 2010, including those in
the College’s labs or most any library.
Online Components
We will use the Canvas learning management system (LMS) for this course. You can access the
course by logging into Canvas at http://salemcc.instructure.com. All course activities and
materials will be posted, completed, and submitted on this site.
Technology Support
Since we are utilizing an online course, technological difficulties can arise. As a rule, be sure to
print all assignments, and document all exam answers to keep a personal record, in the
unfortunate event that your personal computer or online system experiences a crash before you
have the opportunity to complete and submit your work. If you have trouble navigating the online
course, please utilize the following resources:
 Salem Community College Information Technology: http://salemcc.edu/online-services or
call at (856) 351.2671
 Canvas User Guide: You will access this feature by logging in to your Canvas site, then
clicking “help” in the upper right corner of the Canvas toolbar.
Academic Support
If you find that you are falling behind, need help developing your research paper, would like to
meet with an academic advisor, would like to access library resources, or would like assistance
with any academic matter, please reach out to the following resource:
 Salem Community College Success Center: http://salemcc.edu/student-success-resources
or call at (856) 299.2100
Evaluation
Final grades will be based on the quality and outcomes of the following activities:
Concept/Skill –Exams – 400 pts OR 50%
Reflective Activity (10) – 160 pts OR 20%
Attendance/Participation (via Discussion Forum) – 240 pts OR 30%
4
Activity Details
 Discussion Board - is used to view and exchange ideas with other class participants.
Please ensure you stay abreast of discussion board topics in a routine manner. I will be
posting a discussion topic each week. Please make sure you post a meaningful
response to my topic, in addition to one thoughtful post to another fellow classmate.
Total points allotted each week towards participation will be 16 points - making each
meaningful post worth a maximum of 8 points each.

Exams – You will be given four exams to examine your psychological knowledge and
concepts. Each exam will contain 100 multiple-choice questions and will be worth a total
of 100 points.
As per school policy, your course includes a mandatory assignment that requires your
presence on campus w/identification. I have chosen that assignment to be exam 3
(administered within week 6). It will be given on campus Monday, February 22, 2016
from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. Exam will still be taken via computer – unsure, at this juncture if
the room will have computers in them, or one in which you could bring your laptop.
Room and technology specifics will be sent to you via your course announcements, as we
get closer to that time. Please be sure to bring appropriate identification for this exam.
If you are unable to attend the exam being administered on Monday, February 22, 2016,
on campus, you must make this exam up through Salem Community College’s Testing
Center. The contact for the center is: Nick Raddi (856-351-2716 or via email
[email protected])

Reflective Activity Essays – I will be posting ten activities this semester. You are
responsible for completing all of them. The premise of the exercise is to enable you to
practice and demonstrate the skills you are actively learning and apply them to real-life
situations.
Final Grade Calculation
93 – 100 = A
90 - 92 = A88 – 89 = B+
83 – 87 = B
80 – 82 = B78 – 79 = C+
73 - 77 = C
70 - 72 = C68 – 69 = D+
60 – 67 = D
59 – below = F
Failure due to attendance = FA
5
Please note that there will be no extra credit assignment(s) offered during this course. Students
grades will be based on the above described (exams/activities/participation).
Course Content Outline
I.
Introduction – Psychology
a. Methods: Interviews, Questionnaires, Observations, Experiments, Tests
b. Aims of Psychology
c. Schools of Psychology: Introspection to Behaviorism, Cognitive, Humanistic,
Heredity vs. Environment, and Other Schools of Psychology.
II.
Body and Brain
a. The Brain
b. Autonomic Nervous System
c. Endocrine Glands
III. Senses
a. Operation
b. Vision
c. Hearing
d. Smell
e. Taste
f. Touch
IV. Learning
a. Classical Conditioning
b. Operant Conditioning: Operant Escape, Operant Avoidance, Learned Helplessness
c. Cognitive View
V.
Memory
a. Kinds of Memory: Sensory, Short Term, Long Term
b. Why We Forget
c. Meaning and Organization: Rule vs. Rote, Encoding
d. How to Study: SQ3R, Primacy vs. Recency
VI. Language
a. Functional Structure
b. How Language is Learned
c. Thinking and Problem Solving
VII. Emotions, Drives, and Motives
a. Theories of Emotions
b. Drives and Behaviors
c. Motives
6
VIII. Intelligence and Personality
a. Resourcefulness
b. Tests: Achievement, Aptitude, Vocational
c. Test Construction
d. Nature vs. Nurture
e. Psychoanalytic Theory
f. Humanistic
g. Behavioral
IX. Anxiety and Stress
a. Anxiety
b. Stress
c. Defense Mechanisms
d. Schizophrenia
e. Affective Disorder
f. Substance Abuse
X.
Psychotherapy
a. Dynamic Therapy
b. Humanistic Therapy
c. Behavioral Therapy
XI. Life-Cycle
a. Birth
b. Preschool Years
c. Pre-Teen Years
d. Adolescence
e. Adulthood
f. Old Age
g. Dying
XII. Social Psychology
a. Socialization
b. Conformity
c. Attitudes
d. Attribution
e. Interpersonal Attraction
f. Altruism and Aggression
7
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes:
Objective 1: Students will identify the course performance objectives of this course.
Objective 2: Students will be able to describe aims and methods of psychology.
 Students will be able to:
o Explain 3 key issues in psychology
o Explain and define and psychological experiment
o Explain 3 different types of psychology
Objective 3: Students will describe brain parts and functions.
 Students will be able to:
o Briefly explain the nature-nurture dispute within psychology.
o List ten parts of the central nervous system.
o List and describe five endocrine glands.
o Briefly explain the left brain/right brain belief.
o Explain the special role of the cerebrum.
Objective 4: Students will recognize be able to describe human development from conception to
old age.
 Students will be able to:
o List the stages of development before birth
o Explain four sound demands from birth to three years
o Explain the importance of peers from six to ten
o Compare biological changes from middle age to old age
o Explain the stages of bereavement
Objective 5: Students will identify the senses and their functions.
 Students will be able to :
Describe how our senses work
o Name five senses
o Name our least efficient sense
Objective 6: Student will describe the different aspects of learning.
 Student will be able to:
o Compare classical conditioning and operant conditioning
o Explain positive and negative reinforcement
o Explain learned helplessness
o Describe Pavlov's Experiment
Objective 7: Student will describe how the memory works.
 Students will be able to:
o List the stages of memory
o Explain at least one theory as to why we forget
o Explain how drugs impact on memory
8
Objective 8: Student will describe how memory affects behavior.
 Students will be able to:
o Explain how language affects thinking
o Explain two theories of language acquisition
o Name two pitfalls to problem solving
o Compare verbal communication to nonverbal communication
Objective 9: Student will explain intelligence.
 Students will be able to:
o Define intelligence
o Indicate what is considered to be an average genius and retarded IQ score
o Explain at least two of Piaget's stages
o Compare Thurstone's test to the Wechsler
o Explain what constitutes a standardized test
Objective 10: Student will explain how stress affects the body.
 Students will be able to:
o Define stress
o Define five defense mechanisms
o Explain two biological reactions to stress
Objective 11: Student will explain the relationship between emotion, drives, and behaviors.
 Students will be able to:
o Explain R.E.M
o Define Emotion
o List at least four drives
o Explain the relationship between the body and our emotions
o Name and describe at least one eating disorder
Objective 12: Student will compare and contrast personality perspective.
 Students will be able to:
o Define the V axis of the DSM IV-TR
o Describe 3 types of anxiety disorders
o Define Neuroses and Psychoses
o Identify factors that contribute to mood disorders
o Explain four types of abnormal behavior
Objective 13: Student will describe the process of psychotherapy.
 Students will be able to:
o Define Psychotherapy
o Compare Psychoanalysis to behavior modification
o Explain client centered therapy
o Explain the relationship of biology to therapy
9
Objective 14: Student will explain social psychology.
 Students will be able to:
o Compare aggression to assertion
o Explain attribution theory
o Lists four agents of socialization
o Explain altruism
o Explain four conflicts of Erik Erikson