Undergraduate Programs
Syllabi 100 Level
General Psychology
830:101:07, 10
Fall 2007
Instructor: Dr. Margaret Ingate
Email: mingate@rci.rutgers.edu
Office: 313 Tillett Hall, Livingston
Office hours: Monday 9-11am
Class website: sakai.rutgers.edu 01:830:101:10 Use your net-id and password to log in. If you can’t log in, that means you are not registered, or have been dropped from the roster.
Read the syllabus all the way to the end. It contains important information that is critical to the grade you receive in the course.
Required Text: Kalat, J. Introduction to Psychology, Eighth Edition, Thomson, 2007, looseleaf edition
Required Equipment: TurningPoint RF Responder. Warning: Do Not Purchase Response Innovations Clickers!
Books and clickers are available bundled together at the Douglas bookstore.
Any additional required readings and materials will be posted on line, on Sakai.
Objectives of the course
- Students will develop a broad understanding of major topics in contemporary psychology.
- Students will begin to develop the skills to critically evaluate media reports about behavioral research findings.
- Students will be introduced to principles of learning and to meta-cognitive skills important for success in college.
- Students will be exposed to applications of psychological knowledge and principles in family, social, clinical, educational, and business settings.
Exams: There will be four exams, three non-cumulative “hourly exams” and a cumulative final.
On-line quizzes: These are required and are part of your grade. Before coming to class, read the assigned materials and take the quiz associated with the reading and the upcoming lecture. In general, there will be an 8 to 10 item quiz associated with every lecture. If you forget to take a quiz, you get a zero. The quizzes will be available approximately 48 hours before lecture and up until an hour before class.
Ungraded review exams will be available on-line before each exam. You will be able to take these review exams more than once.
In-class Response System and Quizzes: Most classes will include 8 – 10 questions as in- class quizzes. These will be presented one or two items at a time, during lecture. You will answer the questions by using your radio-frequency “clicker” to indicate your choice of answer. Correct answers will be worth 2 points; answering will be worth 1 point. Some questions will not have a correct answer and will not be scored. Some questions will have been presented in the on-line quiz prior to class. You are responsible for registering your clicker and remembering to bring it to class. (If it is not registered, you get no points. If it is registered incorrectly, you get no points. If you forget it, you get no points.) You are responsible for checking your quiz scores on-line after each class. If no score is posted, no responses were recorded from your clicker and you get no points.
At the end of the term, your clicker score will be the lesser of 100 points or the quantity your point total divided by ( (Number of classes with clicker quizzes minus two) times (the average number of points per class with quizzes)). What does that mean? You can forget your clicker twice, or it can malfunction twice, or you can cut class twice and not lose points. If you always come to class, and answer all of the questions correctly, you score will be capped at 100 points.
Research participation units (RPUs). Departmental policy requires that General Psych students either participate in experiments or write a report summarizing a published scholarly research paper. Failing to get your RPU requirement completed can ruin a good grade. Follow this link for more details: http://psych-s.rutgers.edu/research/test/rules.html
If you do not complete the RPU requirement, your point total will be reduced by half a standard deviation before a grade is assigned. For example, assume you have earned 550 of the available points, which would be an A, and the standard deviation is 60 points. Now assume you have not met the RPU requirement. Your point total is reduced to 520 points. Good-bye A, hello B+. Depending on the distribution of points, and how many you’ve earned, the impact could be even worse.
Follow this link to sign up for experiments: http://psych-s.rutgers.edu/research/test/
The deadline for completing RPUs is the week before classes end.
Integrity: If you cheat on exam, or on a clicker quiz, the consequences are very unpleasant and will have a very negative effect on your ability to graduate on time or to get into graduate or professional school. Having someone else “click” for you, or making responses for someone else constitutes cheating.
Calendar for Section 07
Week |
Dates |
Topic/Assignments |
1 |
Sept. 4, 6 |
Overview of Psychology: History, Issues, Methods |
2 |
Sept. 11, 13 |
Introducing your brain, Chapter 3 |
3 |
Sept. 18, 20 |
Sensation and Perception, Chapter 4 |
4 |
Sept. 25, 27 |
Nature, Nurture, and Human Development, Chapter 5 |
5 |
Oct. 2, 4 |
Learning, Chapter 6 |
6 |
Oct. 9, 11 |
Oct 9, Exam 1: Covering Chapters 1 – 6 |
7 |
Oct. 16, 18 |
Memory continued |
8 |
Oct. 23, 25 |
Cognition and Language continued |
9 |
Oct. 30, Nov 1 |
Consciousness, Chapter 10 |
10 |
Nov. 6, 8 |
Motivated Behaviors, Chapter 11 |
11 |
Nov. 13, 15 |
November 13, Exam 2: Chapters 7 - 11 |
12 |
Nov. 20 |
Abnormality, therapy & social issues, Chapter 15 |
13 |
Nov. 27, 29 |
Specific Disorders & Treatments, Chapter 16 |
14 |
Dec. 4, 6 |
Social Psychology, Chapter 13 |
15 |
Dec 11 |
December 11, Exam 3 Chapters 12 - 16 |
Final Exam |
Wednesday, December 19 |
Final Exam: Cumulative |
Calendar for Section 10
Week |
Dates |
Topic/Assignments |
1 |
Sept. 5 |
Overview of Psychology: History, Issues, Methods |
2 |
Sept. 10, 12 |
Introducing your brain, Chapter 3 |
3 |
Sept. 17, 19 |
Sensation and Perception, Chapter 4 |
4 |
Sept. 24, 26 |
Nature, Nurture, and Human Development, Chapter 5 |
5 |
Oct. 1, 3 |
Learning, Chapter 6 |
6 |
Oct. 8, 10 |
Oct 8, Exam 1: Covering Chapters 1 – 6 |
7 |
Oct. 15, 17 |
Memory continued |
8 |
Oct. 22, 24 |
Cognition and Language continued |
9 |
Oct. 29, 31 |
Consciousness, Chapter 10 |
10 |
Nov. 5, 7 |
Motivated Behaviors, Chapter 11 |
11 |
Nov. 12, 14 |
November 12, Exam 2: Chapters 7 - 11 |
12 |
Nov. 19 |
Abnormality, therapy & social issues, Chapter 15 |
13 |
Nov. 26, 28 |
Specific Disorders & Treatments, Chapter 16 |
14 |
Dec. 3, 5 |
Social Psychology, Chapter 13 |
15 |
Dec 10, 12 |
Catch-up and Review |
Final Exam |
Friday, December 21 |
Final Exam: Cumulative |
Grading: Grades will be based on a point system, as follows
Exams: 100 points each 400 points
On-line quizzes Average 100 points
In-class “clicker” quizzes 100 points (% of available points)
Grading standards
A 540 points
B 480 points
C 420 points
D 360 points
F 300 points