COURSE
ADMINISTRATION AND GRADING POLICY
1.
Course Format. Psychology 1
is a lecture course designed to provide familiarity with basic concepts in
psychology.
2.
TA Sections. Teaching Assistants (TA's) will conduct
weekly sections throughout the course (their names are provided on the Course
Web Site). At the first section the TA's will explain the Research
Participation Requirement and other important information related to the
course. Subsequent sections will consist
of lectures, videotapes and reviews of course material. These are designed to highlight and
supplement the material covered in the main lectures and the textbook, and to
prepare you for the exams.
In addition to leading the TA sections, your TA will be
available for two office hours each week.
Feel free to drop in and see your TA during his/her office hours; except
in an emergency, please do not try to reach your TA on the phone or drop in at
other times.
3. Course Grading. Course performance will
be assessed according to course point totals obtained on Midterm and Final
Exams. To receive full course credit, the Psychology Department requires that
you fulfill the Research Participation Requirement (see below).
|
Midterm Exam
(1 1/4 hr) |
100 |
Course Points |
|
|
|
Final
Exam (3
hr) |
150 |
Course Points |
||
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TOTAL |
250 |
Course Points |
||
Grades will be
assigned based on the following system:
|
A |
90 % of Total Points |
= |
225-250 |
Course Points |
A- 225-226, A+ 249-250
|
|
B |
80 % of Total Points |
= |
200-224 |
Course Points |
B- 200-201, B+ 223-224 |
|
C |
70 % of Total Points |
= |
175-199 |
Course Points |
C- 175-176, C+ 198-199 |
|
D |
60 % of Total Points |
= |
150-174 |
Course Points |
D- 150-151, D+ 173-174 |
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F |
< 60 % of Total Points |
= |
< 150 |
Course Points |
Course Points |
Your grades in Psy 1 result from a triple adjustment, because we add points such that: (1) the highest Midterm Exam score equals 100; (2) the highest Final Exam score equals 150; and -- at the end of the course -- (3) the highest Course Point Total is 250. Minus and plus grades will be assigned to those who score within 2 Course Points (not percentage points) of the next lower or next higher grade. For example, 223 or 224 Course Points is a B+, and 225 or 226 Course Points is an A-.
NOTE:
As mentioned, the above grades depend upon completion of the Research
Participation Requirement. The Psychology
Department will deduct one-half of one letter grade (for example, a B will
become a B-) if you have not completed the Research Participation Requirement
by the end of the course. The Requirement consists either of being a
subject in Psychology Department research experiments, or writing a research
paper. Your TA will explain the Research Participation Requirement in full at
your first TA section.
4. Exams. The Midterm Exam will be a 1 1/4-hr exam.
The Final Exam will be a non-comprehensive,
closed-book, 3-hr exam. Examination
items will consist of multiple-choice questions. The exams will be administered
only during the times designated on
the class syllabus. These times are:
MIDTERM
EXAM --
Tuesday, May 6 12:30 - 1:45 PM
FINAL
EXAM --
Monday, June 9 12 - 3 PM
You must drop the course if you cannot take the exams at the
regularly scheduled times.
Exams will be based approximately 50 - 75
% on material from the lectures, with the remainder taken from the book and
the TA sections.
The TA's will hold
Review Sessions at your regularly scheduled sections before each exam, and will
conduct an in-class review at the class period preceding the Final Exam.
5. Fair-Game Sheets. Fair-Game sheets
itemizing the broad content areas of the exams will be distributed
approximately one week before each scheduled examination period. If you know
everything about the items on the Fair-Game sheets, you should do well on the
tests.
6. Obtaining
Your Grades. Provided that you have given us your consent, grades will be
posted according to Perm Number on the Psy 1 Web site (at http://mentor.lscf.ucsb.edu/), and on the bulletin board outside the
Psychology Department, approximately one week after each exam is administered.
TA's will hand out, discuss, and then collect the Midterm Exam during your
regular TA section following the Midterm. Please do not see the Instructor to
obtain your grade or see your exam, since he does not have the exams or the
grades. Please do not phone either the Instructor or your TA to obtain your
grade, since we cannot provide this confidential information over the phone.
7. Changing Grades. We will make every
effort to insure that you are graded fairly.
An exam grade will be changed only if it has been mis-graded. If you
believe that your exam was mis-graded, you must let us know within one month
after the exam. We will then re-grade
the entire exam. Retroactive drops are
not given for failures in this course (see below), and late drops will not be
granted after the midterm is taken and the grades are posted.
Your final course
grade is based on the total number of earned Course Points. This total is the
result of a triple adjustment. As a result, we will not change grades (either
to raise or lower them) for any
reason other than grading mistakes.
8. Early Test Administration. With the
special exception of Make-Up Exams (see below), examinations are given only on
the dates and times listed on the Course Syllabus. Exams cannot be given
earlier or later than the assigned dates and times. Again, you must drop the course if you cannot
take the exams at the regularly scheduled times.
9. Make-up
Exams. Make-up Exams can be given only with a letter signed by a physician
certifying that you were incapacitated at the time of the exam, or an official
letter indicating that your absence was authorized or compelled. If you miss an
exam and don't have such a letter, you will earn a zero for that exam regardless of the reason you did not take
it. Make-up Midterm Exams must be
scheduled at the mutual convenience of students and the TA's within three weeks
following the regularly scheduled Midterm. Make-up Final Exams must be
scheduled at the mutual convenience of students and the TA's within three weeks
of the beginning of the next quarter. Missing a Make-Up Exam will earn an
automatic F in the course. NOTE: In
order to safeguard the test items, make-up
exams will consist entirely of essay questions.
10.
Class
Attendance. Class begins promptly at 12:30 PM. Class attendance is not
required for either the main lectures or the TA sections. However,
approximately 50% of the test material will be derived from the main lectures
and TA sections, and both will include a great deal of information not
contained in the text. Experience has shown that consistent attendance is
highly beneficial.
11.
Syllabus
and Readings. A syllabus will be
distributed at the first lecture. The syllabus will include lecture topics and
required textbook readings for each lecture. Assigned readings should be
completed by the time of the associated lecture.
12. Class
notes. No A. S. Notes will be
available for this class. The lecture slides, some of the video clips, and
useful Web links will be available at the course Web site at: http://mentor.lscf.ucsb.edu/
13.
Extra
Credit, Retroactive Drops and Incompletes. No extra credit is included, or
possible, in the grading system. Grades are neither raised nor lowered on a needs
basis. We will not approve retroactive drops.
Incompletes are only granted with a note from a physician certifying that
you were medically incapacitated at the time of an exam (and, again, the
Make-Up exam will be an essay exam).
14. Re-takes.
Re-taking this course requires full participation using the current text,
including attending all TA sessions and taking both Exams, and grading will be
as noted in # 3 above.
15. Honors
Contracts. We regret that Honors contracts are not possible in this Psych 1
course.
16.
Recommendation
Letters. We regret that we cannot write letters of recommendation based on
your performance in this large lecture class.
17.
Instructor.
The Instructor is responsible for organizing the course, setting up the grading
system, assigning the readings, and giving the lectures. Please feel free to
come see him during office hours to discuss in more detail the topics covered
in the course, or to obtain suggestions for further reading. Please do not come
to see the Instructor directly about details of course administration,
registration issues (drops, adds, etc.), or your exams or grades -- for this
information, see your TA.
18.
Teaching
Assistants. The teaching assistants conduct the TA sections and perform
most of the administrative functions in the course. Because of the size of the
class, most of your 1:1 contact in this course will be with your TA. Please see
him or her if you have questions about your grades or your standing in the
course. If you have a difference of opinion with your TA about grades, etc.,
and you cannot work it out, please do not see the Instructor directly. Ask your
TA to make an appointment with the Instructor to clear up any questions.
19.
Studying
for Exams. There's no easy solution to earning good grades, but we have a
few hints: (a) form a study group of 4-5 friends at the beginning of the
class, and meet each week to discuss
what you learned in class that week; (b) before the Midterm or Final, spend 1/2
to 2/3 of your time studying alone, then meet every day or so to review the
topics on the Fair-Game Sheet; (c) although some people study by using flash
cards, this method doesnt work well with the kinds of conceptual questions on
the Psychology 1 Exams; use your study group to ensure that you haven't just
memorized terms, but also understand the concepts.
You may wish for
expert help on test-taking techniques or to cope with test anxiety. Campus Learning Assistant Services (CLAS)
will be offering study-technique workshops for Psychology 1. If you are interested, please contact CLAS at
893-4248.
WELCOME TO PSYCH 1 !
CLASS WEBSITE
AT: http://mentor.lscf.ucsb.edu/
|
CLASS 1 |
Tu |
Apr 1 |
Overview of course format and administration. Introduction
to psychology as a science and a profession.
( TA Sections: Orientation and Subject Pool.
People who missed their assigned sections should fill in during any other
times. |
|
CLASS 2 |
Thu |
Apr 3 |
Neural and endocrine bases of behavior I. (Reading: pp. 64 97) |
|
CLASS 3 |
Tu |
Apr 8 |
Neural and endocrine bases of behavior II. (Reading: 464O 464R) TA Sections: Clever Hans and Facilitated
Communication |
|
CLASS 4 |
Thu |
Apr 10 |
Neural and endocrine bases of behavior III (Reading: pp. 398 413) |
|
CLASS 5 |
Tu |
Apr 15 |
Sensing and perceiving. (Reading: pp. 98 149); TA Sections: ESP |
|
CLASS 6 |
Thu |
Apr 17 |
Sleep and dreaming I (Reading: pp. 362 395) |
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CLASS 7 |
Tu |
Apr 22 |
Sleep and dreaming II ( TA Sections: Human and Nonhuman Brains |
|
CLASS 8 |
Thu |
Apr 24 |
Classical learning theories I. (Reading: pp. 200
217) |
|
CLASS 9 |
Tu |
Apr 29 |
Classical learning theories II. (Reading: pp. 218 241) TA Sections:
Midterm Exam Preparation |
|
CLASS 10 |
Thu |
May 1 |
Memory and forgetting.
(Reading: pp. 242 283) |
|
CLASS
11 |
Tu |
May
6 |
*
* * MIDTERM EXAM (100 Course Points) * * * No TA Sections this week |
|
CLASS 12 |
Thu |
May 8 |
Thinking. (Reading:
pp. 284 315) |
|
CLASS 13 |
Tu
|
May 13
|
Development. (Reading:
pp. 163 199) TA Sections: Review Midterm Results |
|
CLASS 14 |
Thu |
May 15 |
Evolution of behavior I. (Reading:
pp. 150 162) |
|
CLASS 15 |
Tu |
May 20 |
Evolution of behavior II. ( TA Sections: Sex and Attraction |
|
CLASS 16 |
Thu |
May 22 |
Sex, love, and emotion.
(Reading: pp. 414 425, 434 464M, 509 517) |
|
CLASS 17 |
Tu |
May 27 |
Influence, obedience, conformity. (Reading: pp. 476 508, 518
527) TA Sections: Discrimination |
CLASS 18
|
Thu |
May 29 |
Personality and character.
(Reading: pp. 528 564) |
|
CLASS 19 |
Tu |
Jun 3 |
Intelligence and the IQ.
(Reading: pp. 332 359) TA Sections: Final
Exam Preparation |
|
CLASS 20 |
Thu |
Jun 5 |
In-Class Review for Final Exam (TAs) |
|
EXAM |
Mon |
Jun
9 12-3
PM |
*
* * FINAL
EXAM (Non-comprehensive; 150
Course Points) * * * |
All readings are from:
Kalat/Fridlund/Revlin,Mind & Brain, The Science of Psychology
(2008).
Text World Wide Web Site: http://psychology.wadsworth.com/
Psych 1
Discussion Schedule
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Mon |
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Tue |
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Wed |
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Thu |
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Fri |
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8:00 AM |
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Jackie |
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Scott |
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Heidi |
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8:30 AM |
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8:00 |
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8:00 |
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8:00 |
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9:15 |
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9:15 |
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9:15 |
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9:00 AM |
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9:30 AM |
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Scott |
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Shelley |
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Heidi |
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10:00 AM |
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9:30 |
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9:30 |
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9:30 |
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10:45 |
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10:45 |
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10:45 |
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10:30 AM |
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