General Psychology Syllabus for 2015-2016
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Instructor Information

Course Information

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Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact disAbility Services (Student Service Center room 119, phone 371-5436) as soon as possible.

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As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

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Course

PSYC-2301-002 General Psychology

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: RDNG 0331-minimum grade of C or a score on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading skills

Course Description

General Psychology is a survey of the major psychological topics, theories and approaches to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

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Department Expectations

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Exploring Psychology, 9^th Edition, David G. Myers

Supplies

Access to personal computer or AC Computer Lab

Student Performance

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

1. Identify various research methods and their characteristics used in the scientific study of psychology.

2. Describe the historical influences and early schools of thought that shaped the field of psychology.

3. Describe some of the prominent perspectives and approaches used in the study of psychology.

4. Use terminology unique to the study of psychology.

5. Describe accepted approaches and standards in psychological assessment and evaluation.

6. Identify factors in physiological and psychological processes involved in human behavior.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Active attendance and participation is expected; it really is the best way to learn.  As far as cell phones go, I do understand the need to be available in the event of an emergency. I am on call for area mental health crises and am part of the interagency Panhandle disaster team. I get it. Please let me know if you are on call for any form of emergency services. Otherwise, please silence your phone for the duration of the class and take the call after class is dismissed. Being available for your BFF who is having a really bad date is NOT “emergency services.” Please, no texting during class; if you’re focused on the texting, you’ll miss out on the class interaction. You do not multitask as well as you think you do, I promise. 

If you do miss class, it is up to you to get the notes from your peers. Trust me, you do not want my notes; they are largely in a mix of several languages and mean nothing to anyone but me. If you miss an assignment, it’s also up to you to make arrangements to get that information as well.

The tests are generally planned to be open-book as I am anticipating that they will be online. However, you will be expected to do your own test for yourself. Cheating will not be tolerated. There will be one essay written during this semester; no plagiarism is allowed. Cheating is considered academic fraud, and Amarillo College takes it very seriously.

In your academic journey, you will meet, and indeed, learn from many different people who have a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. You do not have to agree with everyone, but I do expect everyone to be respectful of each others’ positions even when they differ. It is possible for vigorous debate to remain civil, despite what we see in the political arena.

Grading Criteria

There will be a total of 650 possible points for the semester. You will be able to check your grade on AC connect. Grading will be on the standard grade scale:

100-90% 650-585= A

89-80% = 584-520= B

79-70% = 519-455= C

69-50% = 454-325= D

Below 50% Below 325= F

The points will be earned:

400 points for exams (4 100 points exams and you get to replace the lowest exam grade with your highest exam grade)

100 points for attendance (I will take attendance during the semester for a different amount points depending on the day and if there is an activity)

100 points for Social responsibility essay (you will need to answer this essay online)

50 points for Scientific Methodology and Critical Thinking quiz (Will be given at the first session, but I will accept late submissions since many students don’t add the class until later)

Total points possible: 650 points

• 4  50 question multiple choice exams; each exam is worth 100 points and you will get to replace the lowest test grade with your highest exam grade. The exams will be taken from notes and the chapters in the book. These exams will be online via AC Connect; you can take it at your home or at the AC computer lab if you prefer.
• 50 points for Scientific Methodology/Critical Thinking quiz. This 10 question quiz will assess your knowledge on scientific method, your ability to read a graph and your ability to think critically.
• Social Responsibility Essay: this essay will be assigned early and due at the midterm so you have time to work on it. This is really pretty generous as it’s not a massive undertaking; I only expect it to be between 600 and 800 words. Your word processor program will give you a word count as  you go. Don’t freak out; this is not a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis; it’s not even a decent research paper. However, I do want to see some effort put into it. REMEMBER THAT GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION DO MATTER! Written communication skills are important in pretty much every profession you’re training for. The essays will be graded using he following rubric:

 

 

 

 

 

	Levels of Achievement
Criteria	Exceeds Expectations	Meets Expectations	Needs Improvement	Barely Meets Expectations	Does Not Meet Expectations
Knowledge	31 to 40 points Reflects knowledge gained through research of website and reflects on own experiences and personal knowledge of the subject making sure to answer every part of the question presented. Referencing direct information from at least 2 of the articles	21 to 30 points Reflects using minimal information form website source and most from personal knowledge and experience making sure to answer all parts of the question presented. Referencing direct information from at least 1 of the articles	11 to 20 points Reflects only using personal knowledge and nothing from website source Answer most of the questions presented. Does not directly reference anything from the articles	5 to 10 points Reflects only on using personal knowledge and doesn’t not answer all the question presented. Does not directly reference anything from the articles	0 to 4 points Does not answer any part of the question using experience and/or own experiences Does not directly reference anything from the articles
Organization	31 to 40 points Information is clearly organized.	21 to 30 points Information is semi-organized.	11 to 20points Information is loosely organized	5 to 10 points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization	0 to 4 points Information is unclear, unorganized or not present
Mechanics	16 to 20 points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout written and oral work. Required word count is meet	11 to 15 points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout written and oral work with minimal errors. Required word count is meet	6 to 10 points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout written and oral work with major errors. Does not meet required word count	3 to 5 points Very poor grammar and spelling used through written and oral work. Does not meet required word count.	0 to 2 points Extensive grammatical and punctuation errors. Does not meet required word count

 

Attendance

I’ve tried this several ways, and what I’ve learned is that when I DO have an active attendance policy, students make more of an effort to show every time, and the grades for that semester are always remarkably higher. Therefore, I have concluded that it is in your best interest for me to count attendance as a part of your class performance. Science; it’s good stuff.

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Additional Information

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