Aubyn Fulton, Ph.D. GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Fall, 2004  

Students enrolled in the course should access the materials on the class Blackboard page - the material there will be more complete and up-to-date. Resources here are intended for non-registered students and others interested in the basic structure and nature of the course.

• Syllabus 

• Course Schedule

• Reading Reports

• Web Reports

• Discussion List

• Human Subject Pool Guidelines

• Turnitin.com Registration Information

 

 

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

 

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Tentative Schedule of Assignments

  

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General Psychology
Reading Report Assignments
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

There are two articles assigned for each Reading Report (RR) day. All students are responsible for reading both articles assigned for each RR day (i.e. both articles will be on exams). However, students will prepare a Reading Report for only one of these articles (X or Y, assignments will be made in class).

RR1: Fri, 10/1 
Question for Article X - "More Experience = Bigger Brain?" (pp. 10 -17)
Briefly cite two findings which support the extension of Rosenzweig et. al.'s work to humans.

Question for Article Y - "Watch Out For the Visual Cliff!" (pp. 26-32):
Explain how the Campos study can be used to argue both for and against Gibson & Walk’s nativist position.

RR2: Fri, 10/22 
Question for Article X - "Thanks for the Memories" (pp. 114-122)
Explain how the results from Loftus' experiment 4 have particular relevance for police procedures.

Question for Article Y - " I Can See it All Over your Face (pp. 164-171)
What are the six universal emotions identified by Ekman & Friesen? Which two are most often confused in facial expressions by the Fore, and why?
 

RR3: Mon, 11/10    
Question for Article X – “Racing Against Your Heart?” (pp. 204-211)
What are the three reasons that the Freidman & Rosenhan study has been so critically important in the history of psychology?

Question for Article Y - "Life, Change & Stress (pp. 171-179)"
Explain Holmes & Rahe's definition of stress, and distinguish between psychosomatic and hypochondriatic conditions.

RR4: Mon, 11/15 
Question for Article X – “Who’s Crazy Here Anyway?” (pp.221-229)
What two crucial factors do Rosenhan’s study point out? (explain each).

Question for Article Y - "Learning To Be Depressed" (pp. 237-243)
Seligman argues that people are most likely to become depressed if they attribute their behavior to what three causes?

 

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General Psychology
READING REPORTS
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

By 10:00 am on the "Reading Report" days noted in the course schedule, students will have electronically submitted one copy of their Reading Reports to “turnitin.com”.

Reading Notes will be neatly typed, and contain the following:

I. Brief summary of the following (3 points each):

Ø      Introduction: Why was this study done? (What issue/problem/question underlies the study? Include a statement of the hypothesis if appropriate)

Ø      Method: How was this study done? (Basic procedure of the study. Include identification of the independent and dependent variable, if appropriate).

Ø     Results & Discussion: What was learned from this study? (What were the results, and what is their significance).

II. Statement and explanation of one critical response to the assigned article (3 points):
"Critical" does not necessarily mean "negative"; I want your careful reflections on information, arguments or conclusions in the text. You may want to identify a weakness in the method or conclusions of the article, or articulate a question raised by the article, with a tentative answer. Make sure you explain and support your responses. NOTE: Do not simply restate something already present in the text - this will not receive credit.  

III. Answer the question provided by the instructor for each article (2 points).
These questions are available in this syllabus and on Blackboard.

While you may discuss this material with classmates, the wording of these answers must be your own. Answers that suggest copying from a classmate will be treated as examples of academic dishonesty. NOTE: Copying will be assessed through “Turnitin.com”.

Eight points are available for each Reading Report. Reading Reports will be penalized two points if turned in one day late, five points if turned in two days late, and will not be accepted for credit if turned in more than two days late. (NOTE: Reading Reports are considered one day late if turned in after 10:00 am to turnitin.com on the day they are due). Students with medical conditions that prevent submission of the report by the deadline must provide documentation from some medical professional, and contact the instructor within 24 hours after the paper deadline. 

 

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General Psychology
Book Reports: Queer Science by Simon LeVay
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

Students will write two reports over the Le Vay book. Each report will be one to two typed, double-spaced pages, 1” margins on all four sides in standard 10 or 12-point font.

Book Report 1 will cover the Introduction and chapters 2, 6 & 7 and is due at the beginning of class on Monday, November 1; Book Report 2 will cover Chapters 8, 9, & 11, and is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, November 2. There will both multiple-choice and short answer LeVay questions on the second tri-term exam, and on the comprehensive Final Exam as well. Students should begin reading on these assignments well before the above due dates to ensure adequate time to complete the papers.

Reading Guides over assigned LeVay chapters are posted on the course Blackboard. Book Reports will consist of written answers to the questions on these Reading Guides. Each Guide typically consists of eight questions for each chapter.

Book Reports will consist of answers to four questions – one selected by the instructor from each assigned chapter, and noted on the Guides with three asterisks (***). Each report will conclude with a paragraph in which the student provides a critical reflection on some part of the assigned reading. Students may reflect on some empirical element, or on the moral, ethical, social, political or religious implications of what they have read. These must be thoughtful, and expressed with appropriate respect and academic style.

NOTE: While the Book Reports will only contain answers to 4 questions (one from each of the assigned chapters), students should read all of the assigned chapters and try to answer all of the questions, as these will form the basis of quiz and exam questions over this material.

Each Book Report is worth 10 points (2 points for each question, and 2 points for the final critical reflection). Answers to each question will be graded on the following scale: Full and Complete = 2 pts; Partial = 1 pt; Inadequate = 0 pts.

Papers must be submitted to turnitin.com by 10:00 am on the day they are due as noted in the Syllabus. Papers turned in after 10:00 am on the day due, but before 10:00 24 hours later will be given a 50% penalty. Papers will not be accepted for credit more than 24 hours late.  Since papers are turned in electronically, even students who must be absent from class due to regular illness or extracurricular responsibility are expected to get papers in by the deadline. Students with unusually severe illness or emergency which prevents turning papers in on time should contact the instructor immediately to explore alternatives (note a waiver of late penalty due to illness will require some type of verification form a health professional).

 

 

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General Psychology
Web Reports[1]
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

All students will turn in two reports; students may also turn in an additional Web Report for extra credit. Some students may also complete an additional Web Report in lieu of a Film Report or Research Participation. Make your selections from the 23 sites listed on the next page.  Note that these sites were active as of early September 2003; contact the instructor if you find any currently inactive links.

The first Web Report is due Wednesday, October 29. The Second Web Report (along with any Web Reports being completed in lieu of Research participation) is due at the beginning of class on Friday, December 5. Web Reports being completed in lieu of Film Reports are due at the same time as the respective Film Report. If you work on these throughout the quarter, it will be an easy assignment – if you leave them until the last day, it will be difficult. Web Reports will be turned in as paper documents in class – do not try to use “turnitin.com”.

Web Reports are worth 8points each, and will be penalized 2 points if 1 day late, 4 points if two days late, and will not be accepted if more than two days late. Reports turned in any time after they are called for in class (even 5 minutes) and before 10:00 the next day will be considered one day late. Reports must be 2 double spaced pages (1” margins on all four sides), neatly typed, and each student must do their own work - it is NOT acceptable for students to copy any portion of their report from a fellow student  - even if a few words are changed.  Each Report must be the independent work of each student. Check plagiarism guidelines given earlier in this syllabus.

Complete and thoughtful answers are expected to every question. Responses, which, in the judgment of the instructor are incomplete or inadequate, will be penalized. Each Web Report must conform to this outline:

WEB REPORT

1.                   Name
ID #:
Purpose: (Web Report, Film Report or Research Participation)

2.                   Name and address of Web site reviewed:

3.                   Summarize at least four main points addressed in the web site. Some sites will have so much information that you can not summarize all or even most of it here; I will be looking for your ability to reasonably judge what the four most important points are. Give careful thought to your answer, and write four paragraphs in your own words (“do not cut and paste sentences from the web site”).

4.                   Evaluate the credibility of the information provided on this web site. Base your judgment on the relevance and adequacy of the evidence cited, and the sources of this evidence, the expertise and credentials of the author, indications of objectivity (e.g. willingness to consider more than one point of view) or of a strong agenda or “axe to grind” that may predispose the author to ignore contradictory evidence.

5.                   What new question did the information in this site raise for you, what new thought or insight did it stimulate, or what previous experience does it illustrate or apply to?

6.                   Using a search engine, identify one other web site (not linked from the one you started at) that relates to this topic in some way. In one or two sentences, summarize this site, and evaluate its value.

Web Sites

Note: I have screened these sites to make sure they are reasonable, but I do not necessarily agree with everything in them. They are presented to expose you to the kind of psychological information available on the Web, and to give you practice in evaluating it. All of these links were active as of 9/9/04 -  Email me if any of these links have gone stale.

1.       10% Brain Myth: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

2.        Multiple Intelligences: http://www.edwebproject.org/edref.mi.intro.html (Read the first 5 links on this page)

3.       Religious beliefs and September 11 stress http://www.psycport.com/stories/uwire_2002_09_06_eng-uwire_eng-uwire_211549_1143908408268278434.xml.html

4.       Is Prayer Clinically Effective?: http://www.davidmyers.org/religion/prayer.html
[Note: For more on Psychology and Religion, see http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/index.htm]

5.       Sexual Orientation: http://www.davidmyers.org/sexorient/
[for those interested in this topic, see also: http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html#conversiontherapies

6.       Left-Handedness: http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/051600hth-genetics-lefthanded.html

7.       ESP: http://www.davidmyers.org/ESP/index.html

8.       Rorschach Inkblot Test: http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/rorschach.htm

9.       Stanford Prison Experiment http://www.prisonexp.org/

10.   Criminal profiling: http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminology/criminalprofiling2/index.html

11.   Evolutionary Psychology http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/primer.html

12.   Mother’s Influence on Delaying 1^st Sexual Intercourse in Adolescents: http://www.psycport.com/stories/washingtonpost_2002_09_05_eng-washingtonpost_wpni_eng-washingtonpost_wpni_004934_93059835677058663.xml.html

13.   Alcohol and Violence: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa38.htm

14.   Observational Learning and Albert Bandura: http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/bandura.html

15.   Animal Training at SeaWorld: http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Training/home.html

16.   Skinner Biography: http://www.bfskinner.org/bio.asp

17.   Primate Use of Language: http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/language.htm

18.   Personality Traits and Job Performance: http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=33

19.   Coping with Adolescent Stress: http://www.apahelpcenter.org/featuredtopics/feature.php?id=40  (read all three links on this page)

20.     Painful Shyness: http://www.apahelpcenter.org/featuredtopics/feature.php?id=5 (read all 4 links on this page)

21.   American Psychological Association - Student Page http://www.apa.org/students/
(Note: This is a large page, with many sub-pages; explore it a little and use whatever seems interesting).

22.     American Psychological Society: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/
(Note: This is a large page, with many sub-pages; explore it a little and use whatever seems interesting).

23.  Forensic Psychology http://psychologyinfo.com/forensic/


 

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General Psychology
Extra Credit: Discussion List
Fall, 2004
Aubyn Fulton

Discussion List
Students who wish to participate will simply send a message (a "post") to the “Discussion Board” on the “Communications Center” of the Blackboard page for this course. The message will be posted on the Board, for other students and the instructor to read. Other participants who desire can respond to the original post, or post a message about a new topic (also known as a "thread").

Quality Contribution
Posts will relate to the reading assignment for that quiz. A Quality contribution" is one that, in the judgment of the instructor, is both relevant to the themes of the course and demonstrates original, reflective, thought. The length of a quality contribution will vary, but will most often be one or two paragraphs long. (5 to 15 sentences). Posts will generally assert a point and try to defend (support) it, or state a position (from the course or other pertinent source) and either agree or disagree with it. Posts may also pose a question, try to answer it, and ask others to try an answer too. Posts that, in the judgment of the instructor, substantially repeat the content of a previous post will not receive credit.

The subject of a quality contribution will also vary, though it should relate directly to the content of the chapter being covered at the time of the post. Anything directly related to course reading and discussion is appropriate. Posts attempting to relate course themes to broader issues (religious, political, social, academic, personal, etc) are also appropriate. Particularly appropriate is engaging the writer of a previous post in dialog - expanding on a point made, or disagreeing with it and explaining why. Students may also agree or disagree with an assertion or comment made by the textbook author or course instructor – as long as they include a clear basis for their position.

Etiquette
When disagreeing with others, be courteous and polite. Try to adhere to traditional spelling and grammatical standards, but occasional lapses will not be penalized. Avoid writing posts in all capital letters, as this is the equivalent of screaming on the computer.

Credit
Students will receive one bonus point per quiz for every "quality contribution"; maximum of one point per quiz, not to exceed a total of 10 points on any one quiz. Bonus points cannot be carried over to another quiz. To qualify for credit, each contribution must conform to above standards, and be posted to Blackboard by 8:00 am on the day of a quiz.

 

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Turnitin.com

 The papers required for this course will be submitted electronically using the web site “turnitin.com”.  

These 8 papers must be submitted using turnitin.com, and must be submitted by 10:00 am on the due date or they will receive a late penalty. Papers must be submitted in Microsoft Word (NOT “Works”). Do not turn in hard (paper) copies of these assignments.

Turnitin.com is a web-based plagiarism prevention system designed to detect academic dishonesty in written work. Papers that contain copying from the internet, or copying text from papers previously or concurrently submitted by students for this course, will be flagged by the system.  It is the expectation of the instructor that all papers will be the original work of the student.  When turnitin.com detects academic dishonesty the instructor will investigate the case personally, and if plagiarism is confirmed PUC’s penalty for plagiarism will be followed, which dictates either an “F” for the assignment, or dismissal from the course with a grade of “F” and written referral of the matter to the Academic Dean’s Office, where notation will be made on the student’s record, and consideration will be given of dismissal from the college (see the College Catalog: http://www.puc.edu/PUC/academics/catalog_pdf/Catalog0204.pdf  p. 36 and Appendix). If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism, see this:  http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/wts/plagiarism.html.

The purpose for using Tunitin.com is to help students resist the temptation of engaging in academic dishonesty in the first place, rather than punishing them after it happens. Most often students cheat or plagiarize when they feel under pressure, and perceive themselves to be overwhelmed by either the quantity or level of assigned work. Consult with your course instructor, academic advisor, or any other member of the college faculty or staff if you find yourself tempted to be dishonest, and we will help you. 

SUBMITTING PAPERS TO TURNITIN.COM:

1.                  Go to turnitin.com

2.         Create your User Profile (only required for your first paper submission)

                                    a.         Click on the "create a user profile" link (near top right of page)

                                    b.         Type in your complete e-mail address

c.         Type and retype a password you would like to use for Turnitin.com

                                    d.         Complete the personal information page

                                    e.         Select "student" as user type

                                    f.          Read the user agreement and click "I agree-continue with profile"

                                    g.         Click "return to login page"

            3.         Enter your e-mail address and password

            4.         Click "Log In"

5.                  Click on the "enroll in a class" tab

6.                   Enter the "class/section ID" (see Blackboard for this information)

            7.         Click on the course name

            8.         Click on the "submit" icon" to the right of the paper you are turning in

            9.       Type in the "submission title" of your paper

            10.       Click on "Browse" button to download your paper

            11.       Click on the "submit" button

            12.       Confirm that you are submitting the correct paper

            13.       Click on the "log out" button at the top of the page

 

Contact the instructor, or the Learning Resource Center, for help in activating your turnitin.com account.