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BARUCH COLLEGE The City University of New York

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY PSY 1001 – COURSE SYLLABUS – Spring 2011

Wednesday / Friday 9:05am -10:45am

Lecturers: Prof. David Sitt David@DrSitt.com [please include “PSY1001” in your subject line] Office Phone: (646) 312-4480 Office Location: 8-215 Office Hours: Thursday 12:30pm-2:30pm and by appointment Prof. Zach Sapolsky Zachary.Sapolsky@baruch.cuny.edu [please include “PSY1001” in your subject line] Office Phone: (646) 312- 4002 Office Location: 4-240 F (Enter through Dept of Sociology @ rm 4-260 near rear elevator bank) Office Hours: Wednesday 1:15pm-3:00pm and by appointment

Teachers’ Assistants (TAs): [please include “PSY1001-AM” in your subject line] Monika Kosior and Gleb Furman BaruchPsy1001@gmail.com Office Phone: 646-312-4483 Office Location: 4-240 C (Enter through Dept of Sociology @ rm 4-260 near rear elevator bank)

Office Hours: Thursday 12:30pm – 2:30pm I. Course Description This course is designed to provide an overview of what psychology knows and does, and to relate that knowledge to life. By understanding psychology we can become more aware of ourselves, others, and our relationships. Our exploration will include topics such as: learning and motivation, states of consciousness, intelligence, and abnormal psychology. During this course, we will explore these issues and many others to make sense of, integrate, and be able to utilize firsthand knowledge of psychology.

II. General goals and objectives

o Learn and gain mastery over the basic facts and research findings, terminology, principles, and theories important in the various areas of psychology.

o Develop understanding, skills, and techniques for analyzing human behavior using a scientific approach. o Gain a basic understanding of the biological, sensory, and perceptual processes that underlie behavior and

consciousness. o Gain a basic understanding of the mechanisms of learning, memory, thinking, intelligence, human development,

motivation, emotion, normal and abnormal personality, and psychotherapy. o Analyze current issues and controversies in the field of psychology. o Gain an appreciation of cultural and gender diversity in human behavior. o Find ways to apply psychological findings to everyday life. o To embark on a FUN and EXCITING journey of exploration and growth while

expanding your knowledge and outlook on the world we live in!

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III. Textbook and Student Resources a. Psychology: Making Connections by Feist and Rosenberg (Required)

1st Edition, 2010 (Custom Edition For Baruch College*) McGraw Hill Publishers

o For this course, we are using a Custom Edition of Psychology: Making Connections created specifically for Baruch College students with its own ISBN #. This custom edition includes a FREE registration code to ConnectPlus, a required tool for this course (normally priced above $40 as a stand-alone product!). Students are advised to purchase this book through Baruch’s bookstore (or Shakespeare and Co on 23rd St), as books purchased on-line, used, or from other vendors will NOT contain the REQUIRED REGISTRATION CODE for ConnectPlus (see below).

o Our custom textbook is available as follows: Book Type Price @

Baruch (New)

ConnectPlus Included?

Ability to Sell Back?

Bound, Soft Covered (New)

$83.00 Yes Yes (but w/o ConnectPlus)

Bound, Soft Covered (Used, from Baruch Bookstore)

$62.25 NO! **see note below

Yes (but w/o ConnectPlus)

*This book is not rentable **If you purchase a used book, access to ConnectPlus will not be included. As such, you will be required to purchase Connect online for $10 as follows:

1. Go to: http://mpss.mhhe.com/products-connect.php 2. Look on the left side of the webpage under the heading “STUDENTS” 3. Click on Video: Student Registration: Buy Access Online 4. Follow the instructions. 5. IMPORTANT: Be sure to register with the SAME e-mail address that you have registered with

Blackboard. If you are unsure which address this is, contact the Helpdesk at (646) 312-1010. 6. Note that Connect differs from ConnectPlus ONLY in that it does not grant you access to the eBook.

You may choose to purchase ConnectPlus, though it will cost significantly more money. b. Connect / Connect Plus (Required)

o Students are REQUIRED to register for either ConnectPlus or Connect, our text book’s comprehensive on-line companion site. A registration code for ConnectPlus is included with all new book purchases made through Baruch’s Bookstore and Shakespeare and Co on 23rd St. Those purchasing a used book should see the information above (see IIIa).

o A 21-day free trial is offered at the website so that you may complete assignments prior to purchasing the actual book. Be sure to use the same e-mail address which you have registered for use with Baruch’s Blackboard system!

o To register for ConnectPlus, you must visit the following site, enter the code provided to you with your Custom book purchase, and follow the instructions to complete registration:

http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/d_sitt_bwfa_fall2011

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o IMPORTANT: Be sure to use the same e-mail address which you have registered for use with Baruch’s Blackboard system! It does not matter if it is a Baruch e-mail address or other e-mail system, so long as you use the same address for both ConnectPlus and Baruch’s Blackboard systems.

o ConnectPlus is an on-line student resource center intended to enhance your learning experience. Resources include:

o Videos & Animations o Interactive self-quizzes o Flashcards o Annotated web-links

o ConnectPlus will be used to administer your required LearnSmart Assignments (LSAs) (See below). o For technical support with ConnectPlus, see instructions on Blackboard’s ConnectPlus Tab.

c. Blackboard

o Aside for lectures and group discussions, this course draws heavily on electronic resources. This course requires

constant use of Baruch College’s Online Blackboard system. We may post such relevant materials as PowerPoint slides, videos, study tools (e.g., flashcards, quizzes), interactive exercises and other materials that are intended to enhance your learning experience. Please check blackboard before each class if you wish to print presentation slides and bring them to class to integrate with your notes.

o We will also use blackboard to post important course announcements, updates, extra credit assignments, as well as your grades throughout the semester. You are responsible for all announcements and course adjustments made through Blackboard.

If you have difficulties accessing or using Blackboard, you should contact the BCTC Helpdesk at (646) 312-1010 or by e-mail to helpdesk@baruch.cuny.edu d. Tutoring Service

We highly encourage you to seek additional exposure to the course material via our designated Psychology tutors at the Student Academic Consulting Center (SACC).

o The tutoring center is located at VC 2-116. Please call 646-312-4830 ahead of time for an appointment. o Find out more about the Student Academic Consulting Center at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/sacc/ o If you require assistance with writing in this or any other class, please visit the Writing Center on the 8th floor of the VC building (adjacent to the main elevator bank).

IV. Course Grades & Requirements a. Exams (80% of course grade)

o There will be four non-cumulative exams given during the semester. o Refer to the Class Calendar for exam dates and topics covered on each exam (page 7). o Each exam is worth 20% of your total course grade. o There are no class wide curves or extra credit on exams. However, you will have the opportunity to skip a certain number of questions on each exam, providing you with a type of “individualized curve”. For

example, if a particular exam has 65 questions, you might be instructed to answer 65 out of 70 questions on that exam, allowing you to skip whichever 5 questions you choose.

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b. Connect – LearnSmart Assignments (15% of grade) o You will be assigned an online LearnSmart Assignment (LSA) through Connect for each of the 13 chapters

covered in the course. o In order to receive credit for individual LSAs, you must achieve a grade of 80% or better. o Your total LSA score which is calculated in your total grade is as follows:

o Completion of between 3-5 assigned LSAs = 4% o Completion of between 6-8 assigned LSAs = 8% o Completion of between 9-11 assigned LSAs = 12% o Completion of all 12-13 assigned LSAs = Full 15%

c. Attendance (5% of course grade)

o Proper attendance in this course will earn you 5% towards your final grade, defined as having a maximum of 4 absences. Note that arriving late counts as a ½ absence.

o An accumulation of a combination of 4.5 or more absences/lates forfeits this 5%. o At 6 absences you will be dropped from the course. In rare circumstance where a student is not dropped from

the class and finishes the semester with 6 or more absences, they will be penalized an additional 3% of their total course grade

o See the Attendance section below for more information about our Attendance Policies. d. Extra Credit (Optional Addition of 3% to overall grade)

TO BE ANNOUNCED e. Research Requirement (see “Research Info” Tab on Blackboard for details) As part of your requirements for PSY 1001, you will need to earn 5 credit hours from out-of-class assignments. The purpose of these assignments is to provide the student experience with the methodology of psychological research. There are two options for completing these assignments.

1) You may volunteer to participate in psychological experiments (1 hour of participation = 1 credit). You can sign up for experiments on the experimental website (http://baruch.sona-systems.com/). Your password for the system will be emailed to your Baruch account within the first two weeks of class. When signing up for experiments, please remember: a. to print the page with the name/date/place/time of the experiment and the experimenter’s name (keep this

information until the end of the quarter); b. to cancel through the website before the scheduled time if you cannot make the experiment; c. to make sure you sign the experiment sheet at the end of your experiment d. not to sign-up for experiments that take place after the last day of meeting time of the class. e. If you forget your password, go to http://baruch.sona-systems.com/ and use the password recovery link. f. If you have any disputes about your participation in experiments, you must deal with the experimenter

directly. g. According to the ethical guidelines, participation is voluntary and individuals may withdraw from an

experiment, at any time, without penalty to that individual. 2) You may complete an alternative research assignment.

a. Review of a research article. Using a specific set of questions listed on Blackboard under the “Research” tab, you will review a research article from any Psychology Journal (you may NOT use articles from daily newspaper, Psychology Today or any other newsstand magazine such as Time or Newsweek). Each article you review is worth 1 credit hour. The library has an extensive list of Psychology related journals to choose from. You can use the print versions in the library or use the PsyArticles database that is located on the library’s website. You can choose the articles that interest you. To complete your review for each article, you must answer SIX questions from a specific form posted on Blackboard (see the “Research Info” tab, “Instructions for Participants”. The questions are at the end of the document).

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b. You must e-mail all completed article reviews to Dr. Loren Naidoo by the deadline to psychology.sona@baruch.cuny.edu

c. For more information, refer to the detailed instructions on Blackboard’s “Research Info” tab.

Important Guidelines Regarding Research Requirement:

o You must complete ALL research requirements by the LAST DAY OF BARUCH CLASSES, Dec. 13th. For those submitting alternative assignments, they must be e-mailed to Dr. Naidoo no later than December 13, 2010, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

o You may complete the required 5 credit hours through a combination of the above options (example: 3 hours of experiments + 2 journal reviews, etc.).

o All questions/problems regarding the research requirement should be e-mailed directly to Dr. Loren Naidoo at psychology.sona@baruch.cuny.edu

o Note that these “credit hours” are NOT points which get added to your grade. o PENALTY WARNING: If you fail to complete this requirement, your final grade will be lowered by one

half-grade. Do not leave this requirement to the last few weeks of class! V. Attendance a. Absence: Students are expected to maintain proper attendance throughout the semester. According to Baruch’s policy, you are allowed only 4 absences in this class. This includes absences for personal reasons (i.e., vacation, appointments, personal events such as weddings, etc), as well as for unexpected reasons (i.e., illness, travel problems, etc,). Excused absences are limited to severe illness with a doctor’s note, death of family member, and jury duty. For the latter, you must provide official documentation attesting to the event (i.e., doctor/hospital notation, jury notice, etc), or provide a note from the Dean of Students, Ron Aaron (rm 2-256). b. Lateness: You are expected to attend class on-time. Attendance is usually taken within the first 10 minutes of the start of the lecture, and at times will be taken in the final 20 minutes of class. If you arrive after attendance is taken (even by 1 minute!), you are considered late. At that point, please take a seat in one of the last rows in the class, rather than going to your assigned seat. Minor train/bus delays do not excuse lateness; you must allow enough time to arrive to class assuming there might be transit complications. Note that each lateness is considered 1/2 an absence, with 2 latenesses equaling a full absence. IMPORTANT: If you do arrive late (or are unsure if you were marked absent), it is YOUR responsibility to let the Instructor know at the end of class that you were in fact in class and to mark the attendance sheet accordingly. We will not seek you out to confirm your presence in class. c. Reward / Penalties: Again, you are allowed 4 absences (with 2 lates = 1 absence). If a student accumulates fewer than 4 absences (including lates), you will earn 5% towards your course grade. At 6 absences, you will be dropped from the course and receive a WU (the equivalent of an F grade). Being dropped from a class CANNOT be reversed by an instructor. In rare circumstance where a student is not dropped from the class and finishes the semester with 6 or more absences, they will be penalized 3% of their total grade. d. Dates for Dropping/Withdrawing from the Course

o Drop with 100% tuition refund August 25 o Drop with 75% tuition refund September 1 o Drop with 50% tuition refund September 8 o Drop with 25% tuition refund September 15 o Last day to drop without “W” Grade September 15 o Last day to withdraw with “W” grade November 17

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Note that dropping a course with a “W” grade has NO negative effect on your GPA. However, after the final withdrawal date (see above) a student can no longer voluntarily withdraw from a course. If you are dropped from a class (e.g., due to poor attendance), you will receive a “WU” or “WN” (WN= if never attended) in the course, which is equivalent to an F grade in calculating GPA. If you receive an “F”, “WU” or “WN” grade in a course, it can only be replaced by retaking the course during a later semester and achieving a “C” grade or better. An instructor cannot reverse a “WU” or “WN” grade. See the Student Handbook or the Office for Student Advisement for more on replacing “F”, “WU” and “WN” grades. e. ATTENTION ALL INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Maintaining good attendance in this, and all other courses is crucial. Poor attendance will put you at risk for being dropped from a course, which may jeopardize your status as a “Full-Time Student”, which may lead to complications with immigration services. It is your responsibility to be aware of these policies and the outcome of being dropped. Please refer to the Office for International Students for more information. f. ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students requiring accommodations to course procedures must discuss these with me ASAP. You will need to present documentation from the Office of Service for Students with Disabilities. VI. Academic Integrity The Department of Psychology fully supports Baruch College's policy on Academic Honesty, which states, in part:

"Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's educational mission and the students' personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. "

Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F on an assignment/exam to an F in this course. A report of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional information and definitions can be found at: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html NOTE: Use of electronic media/tools (i.e., dictionaries, cell phones, PDAs, laptops, MP3 players) is not allowed during exams. If you require the use of a translation dictionary, you can use a paper translation dictionary (e.g, Chinese to English) upon approval from a TA or the Professor prior to an exam.

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PSY 1001 COURSE CALENDAR Fall 2011 / Wed & Fri / 9:05am-10:45am

Instructor Date Wed Fri Topic Chap. Notes Sapolsky Aug 26

Introduction to Course /Resource Review 1

Sapolsky Aug 31 History of Psychology + Research In Psychology I 1 & 2 Sapolsky Sept 2 Conducting Research in Psychology II 2 Sitt Sept 7 Neuroscience, Brain, and Behavior I 3 Sitt Sept 9 Neuroscience, Brain, and Behavior II 3 Sapolsky Sept 14 Life Span Development I 5 Sapolsky Sept 16 Life Span Development II 5 Sept 21 EXAM 1 1, 2, 3, 5 Sapolsky Sept 23 Memory 7 Sept 28 College Closed Sept 30 College Closed Sitt Oct 4 – TUES

Consciousness I: Meditation/Sleep (Classes follow a Friday Schedule) 6

Sitt Oct 5 Consciousness II: Hypnosis /Psychoactive Drugs 6 Oct 7 College Closed Sapolsky Oct 12 Personality I 13 Sapolsky Oct 14 Personality II 13

Oct 19 EXAM 2 6, 7, 13 Sapolsky Oct 21 Motivation and Emotion I 11 Sapolsky Oct 26 Motivation and Emotion II 11 Sitt Oct 28 Learning I 8 Sitt Nov 2 Learning II 8 Sitt Nov 4 Stress and Health 12 Sitt Nov 9 Positive Psychology PDF See Blackboard

Nov 11 EXAM 3 11, 8, 12, PDF Sitt Nov 16 Industrial Organizational (I/O) Psychology PDF File See Blackboard Sitt Nov 18 Social Psychology 14 Sitt Nov 23 Social Psychology 14 Nov 25 Thanksgiving Break – College Closed Sapolsky Nov 30 Psychological Disorders 15 Sapolsky Dec 2 Psychological Disorders 15 Sitt Dec 7 Psychological Disorders & Therapies 15 &16 Sitt + Sapolsky Dec 9 Therapies 16

Dec Date and Time

TBA EXAM 4 (Final Exam) 14, 15, 16, PDF

NOTE: Some Chapters in your textbook have been omitted from the syllabus and the sequence of topics does not follow that of the books table of contents. Also, the lecturer reserves the right to alter the schedule, including LSA and Exam dates with proper notification. Any changes to the schedule will be posted as announcements on Blackboard. You are responsible for keeping up on such changes.