General Psychology Syllabus for 2024-2025
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Instructor Information

Course Information

AI Statement

Collusion is defined as “the unauthorized collaboration with another person or by any other means, including artificial intelligence (AI) and computer translators, in preparing work for fulfillment of course requirements.” Using AI like (ChatGPT or Google Gemini) to create a document is considered colluding. <strong>The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence on specific assignments is at the discretion of the instructor. </strong>

COVID-19 Protocols

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Enrollment Center, Suite 700. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

Amarillo College Web Accessibility Policy Statement

Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

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

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

PSYC-2301-012 General Psychology

Prerequisites

Course Description

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

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Hybrid

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

I do not require that you get the textbook; I only recommend it. That said, because this is a hybrid course, you will do much better if you get the textbook I used while creating materials/assignments for this course. With limited time together in person, the book will be your best resource.

You can EITHER get the 11th edition OR the 12th edition of Exploring Psychology by David G. Myers & C. Nathan DeWall. The 11th and 12th editions of this book each work for this course, so you choose.

You do NOT need an access code, and again, the textbook is only recommended but not required.

Supplies

Pencil, pens, spiral notebook, and access to a computer with internet connection. If you do not have your own computer, you will need to use AC computers located on the 4th floor of Ware (the Library) or in The Underground (the basement of Ware).  Your exams will be given online, so you need to make sure you have a reliable computer AND internet connection.

Student Performance

These are the MINIMUM competencies. After studying the material presented in this course, the student will be able to do the following as evaluated by the faculty in the department/program:

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

Particularly because this is a hybrid course, I will not be able to fully lecture over all content that will be covered on exams. I do not require a textbook in this course; however, I do recommend getting the book that goes with this course, because that will provide you with more in-depth coverage of the course material. Exam questions are taken from my in-person lectures and chapter videos, but you will also find explanations and information in the textbook about what I cover in lectures, since I used the textbook as a guide when creating my presentations. Because I do not require the textbook, you do NOT need an access code for online content through the publisher, and you can get either of the two most recent editions: either the 11th or the 12th edition will work for this course – you choose. To help guide you as you study for exams and as you listen to my in-person lectures and/or chapter videos, I have provided my PowerPoint lecture presentations in our Blackboard course. These materials will help you identify what will and will not be covered on exams.

All students are expected to be tolerant and respectful of other students and of me. There will be zero tolerance for any type of harassment. In class discussions in person and/or online, please be courteous and respectful of the different opinions of your classmates. If you post to the online Discussion forum, remember that I (and potentially the entire class) will be reading what you post. AC also expects that each student will engage in academic honesty and refrain from cheating and/or plagiarism. This includes using AI programs and websites to write answers for you. I require each student to complete their own work independently rather than copying assignments from classmates or working collaboratively. Exams should be completed independently, as should all other assignments for this class. Penalties for cheating as well as plagiarism are outlined in the Amarillo College Student Handbook.

In our course calendar, in the last column, I list due dates for all assignments. Due dates are also listed below in this syllabus, and I post regular reminders using Blackboard’s messaging feature and the Announcements. Please try to complete all assignments on time. Calendar all due dates, use phone reminders, take advantage of the time you have, and plan ahead. If an emergency is going to prevent you from completing an assignment by the deadline, you will need to let me know as soon as possible, before the assignment is due. If you allow a deadline to pass without communicating with me, you will receive a 0 on that assignment. I rarely grant extensions on due dates because you almost always have at least a few days to complete all assignments – more often, you have the entire session to complete assignments at your own pace. Most of my assignments are open (available to be completed) for the duration of our course, so you can work ahead and submit assignments before their deadlines. Although I do not often extend deadlines, I will always open things up early for you, if that would fit better into your schedule.

Grading Criteria

You can check your grades in our course in Blackboard.  For your final overall course grade, I will round up at the standard .5 and above.  Grading will be on the scale:

100-89.5% = A
89.4-79.5% = B
79.4-69.5% = C
69.4-59.5% = D
59.4% and below = F

AC has adopted a tutoring policy, with mandatory tutoring required for every student with an overall grade in the course below a 75. Around midterms (Weeks 4-5), I will assign every student falling below a 75 to mandatory tutoring. As long as I receive an emailed tutoring report from your tutor, I will give you a few extra points on a pertinent assignment. For example, prior to submitting the Common Assessment, if you go to The Writers’ Corner for some help, I will give you points added onto your score for that assignment.

The points will be earned:

30% of overall grade – Exams (3) – your lowest exam score will be dropped
20% of overall grade – Common Assessment – Fake News
20% of overall grade – Cornell-Style Notes for at least 10 of the 15 chapters
15% of overall grade – Class Participation
15% of overall grade – Myth Research Article & Video

• There will be three 50-question multiple-choice Exams taken online in Blackboard. 
  • Your lowest exam grade will be dropped. I will drop your lowest score after you have taken 2 exams, so that before the last day to drop this class, you will have a better idea of what your final grade will be.
  • The exam questions will be taken directly from my lectures AND chapter videos.
  • Exams will open at 12:00 a.m. on the date indicated on the course calendar and will close when indicated, at least 3 days later, at 11:59 p.m. (except for the last exam, which will be due by NOON on the last day of the course).    
  • You must complete the exam, all at once, within the allotted time of 90 minutes. 
  • Please do not wait until the last minute, when you will not find anyone to assist you with technical problems. I, and most all other AC staff, will be unavailable to answer questions after 8 p.m. each night. 
  • Do NOT take exams on a laptop connecting to the internet wirelessly, a cell phone, or when using an unreliable connection. Ideally, use an actual computer that has a dedicated cable for the internet connection. (If you do not have reliable internet service, check with the AC Library about the hotspot program – 806.371.5400).
  • You may take each exam from any location – from home, in an AC computer lab, at the public library, etc.
  • The exams are open-book/open-note.
  • You will be able to see your exam grade immediately, but you cannot access all of the questions/answers until after the due date has passed – at that point, you can access your full exams (with all of the correct answers).
• Common Assessment – Fake News. This one assignment is worth 20% of your overall grade, so doing well on this is the best way to raise your grade in this course.
  • Look for a fake news story across social media and online sites. Your fake news story will NOT be from a reputable source – you can find one anywhere. Your fake news story will likely demonstrate bias and use persuasive/inflammatory language intended to persuade readers.
  • As you read the fake news story that you have chosen, try to think about how different groups of people might react to this story. Would a person in a country other than the U.S. react differently than an American might? Would belonging to a particular ingroup impact a group member’s reaction to the story? Would a person’s culture or ingroup impact whether or not (and how) they share this story with others?
  • Although this assignment asks you to find and analyze a fake news story, your focus should be on how people from different groups or cultures might vary in how they interpret and share the story you chose. How do intercultural differences influence our interpretations and reactions to information? Does the group we belong to influence how (or whether) we share fake news?
  • You will then conduct some research using either a library database or a Google Advanced search of approved websites.
  • You are required to find 3 scholarly sources (sometimes these are referred to as Academic Journals). As you conduct your research, make sure that your sources are:
    • either from a library database or from a Google Advanced Search
    • scholarly articles (or Academic Journal articles)
    • analyzing how different populations of people might react to the information presented by your news story. For example, if your fake news story is suggesting that a presidential candidate smoked marijuana while in college, your research articles might examine how people from different cultures or groups feel about marijuana usage.
    • OR, if you are unable to find research articles that specifically pertain to the topic of the fake news story that you have selected, you should instead find sources that discuss more general psychological factors that make specific groups of people more susceptible to believing in fake news and conspiracy theories (e.g., ingroup/outgroup effects, social identity and groupthink, or social influence and peer pressure).  
  • After you read through the scholarly articles you chose, you will need to think about YOUR feelings about this topic. You will not only be graded for your ability to comprehend the research, but also for your ability to think critically about what you have learned. You will need to provide some of your own opinions and reactions, rather than simply copying what the authors of your research articles wrote.
  • Finally, you will write a 700-word (minimum) essay that should represent your own original thought. Do not plagiarize by copying full phrases and sentences from the research articles that you found. You may not use AI to write this assignment; it is a form of plagiarism. If a student is found to have plagiarized on this assignment, they will receive an F on the assignment and possibly for the course.
  • Use in-text citations within your essay and provide a References page with full citations for all of your sources. The word count should not include the References page. For help with formatting, consult a tutor in The Writers’ Corner or a librarian.
  • In your essay, make sure that you answer all of the following questions:
    • In general, what is your fake news story trying to persuade people to believe?
    • What did the 3 sources that you found teach you about intercultural differences in how different groups of people might vary in their interpretations and reactions to your fake news story?
    • How does the spread of fake news on social media affect how people trust real news sources?
    • Does the group we belong to influence how (or whether) we share fake news? When answering this question, think about ingroup(s) to which you belong, and how those ingroups impact your opinions.
    • How do you think you (as an individual) can combat fake news – or at least the fake news story that you selected?
    • How do you think groups or communities can work together to promote the spread of accurate information instead of fake news?
      • Please note: Some of the questions above are asking for YOUR opinions. If you use others’ opinions from your research articles, you must cite those sources properly, following APA style. You do not have to provide sources for your responses if they are exclusively your opinions.
  • In our course in Blackboard, you will submit PDF files of your sources (at least 4: your fake news story and 3 scholarly articles). You will also submit your essay, as a Microsoft Word or .rtf file. If you are using Google Docs, simply select Download as and choose Word or .rtf. Then, once you are logged into our Blackboard course, even without opening the file, you will be able to select and upload it.
  • To ensure you receive full credit, follow all of the detailed instructions, which you will find on the LibGuide: https://actx.libguides.com/FakeNews
  • Are you reading this syllabus carefully? If so, please email me “I read the syllabus” and I will give you a bonus point. You will find my contact information below.
• Following the Cornell style for note-taking, take hand-written notes while attending an in-person lecture OR while watching one of my pre-recorded chapter videos. These notes must be hand-written and then scanned/uploaded to Blackboard OR submitted to me in person. (OR, if you have a stylus that you use on your tablet, that will be fine. Even though you do not use notebook paper while taking notes on your computer, you will still be taking notes by hand and can simply upload those files to Blackboard – as long as they are image files viewable on any type of computer, like PDFs.)
  • You will find a video in our course providing an overview of the Cornell note-taking style. Please follow this style as closely as you can.
  • I understand that not everyone’s handwriting will be as easy to read, but I must be able to make out at least most of your writing, so please try hard to write legibly.
  • Although there is no strict page requirement, because each textbook chapter is at least 30 pages, submitting only a page or two of notes for a chapter will not adequately cover that content, so to receive full credit, aim for several pages of notes, each time you submit these.
  • To receive full credit in this category, you will need to take notes while listening to at least 10 of the 15 lectures. If you submit notes on the remaining 5 chapters, you will receive bonus points.
• Participation:
  • I want to reward your effort and participation in class. There are 3 ways you can earn participation points.
    • Option 1 – The in-class participation points:
      • Come to class and participate by answering my questions and contributing your own ideas during our in-class discussions. Each time you participate by speaking up, I will mark a tally beside your name. Toward the end of the course, I will add all of these “points” and based on how often you contributed to discussions (compared to your classmates) I will assign grades for your participation in class and/or in the online forum (please see immediately below for information about the online participation option).

• • • Option 2: Post comments/questions in the online forum.
      • I will be using the Blackboard tool for online Discussions, but this is not a typical Discussion Board. You will NOT be expected to post an initial post and two replies by specific due dates.
      • There are no strict due dates for posts. This discussion forum will be open for the duration of the class. You can post and reply whenever convenient for you.
      • “Deadlines” will need to loosely follow along with the chapters as scheduled in our course calendar. In other words, if our course calendar indicates that chapter 4 will be covered that week, that’s when you should post a comment or question regarding Chapter 4. You are tested on Chapter 4 in Exam 1, so waiting until long after Exam 1 was due to post comments about that content would not be helpful. Please try to follow along with the course calendar. 
      • I ask that you routinely check this forum and reply to people who direct their comments to you (myself included).

• • • Option 3: Additionally, there are Chapter Video Quizzes that will count toward your Participation Grade.
      • All quizzes are completed in Blackboard.
      • All are open-book/open-note.
      • The Chapter Video Quizzes gauge your understanding of content from the videos I created.
      • While you will see a grade for each of these Chapter Video Quizzes, the grade only lets you know how many questions you missed and does NOT reflect what your final Participation Grade will be. You are merely accumulating points toward this grade. You get credit simply for attempting these quizzes.
      • The Chapter Video Quizzes are NOT timed.
      • You can retake the Chapter Video Quizzes as often as you’d like – your highest grade will stay in the gradebook. BUT, remember that you will not be able to access the full quiz with the questions/answers until after the due date has passed.
      • You can use the full quizzes as you take the Exam covering that content (Exams are open-book/open-note). After the due date for each quiz has passed, you can access those quizzes to see the correct answers.
• • The Participation Grade is determined by how much you (and your classmates) participate in this class. In other words, if you only complete 3 Chapter Video Quizzes, scoring 100s on all 3, it is still UNLIKELY that you will receive an A for the final Participation grade. If those are the only 3 activities that you complete, ignoring the in-person chances to contribute, the online Discussion forum, and the other video quizzes, you will only receive partial credit for your overall Participation Grade.
  • I will assign grades for your participation toward the end of our course and will base it on how often you contributed to discussions (in person and/or in the online forum) and how many points you accumulated after taking quizzes, compared to your classmates.
  • Although I cannot predict how active a particular class will be, historically, students who earned a 100 for their overall Participation Grade contributed to in-person discussions (or the online forum) 30+ times AND accumulated around 1,500 points after taking Chapter Video Quizzes. Students who did not contribute often to the online forum, and who only took a few (under 5) of the Chapter Video Quizzes did NOT receive full points.
• Myth Research Article & Video –
  • This assignment is divided into 2 parts.
  • Part 1:
    • During Week 1 of this course, you will be provided with a list of common myths pertaining to psychology. Choose 1 of the myths that surprised and interested you.
    • Then, using one of the Amarillo College Library’s databases, find 1 article that addresses the myth you have chosen (ideally, one that provides evidence disproving the myth). You may use sources that were published within the last 10 years.
    • If you work with a librarian for some assistance with your research, please ask that librarian to let me know that they met with you, and you will receive extra points on this assignment. Librarians can meet with you in person, help you over the phone, or via the online chat box (which you will see when you visit the Library’s homepage: www.actx.edu/library).
    • You will also find a video I made walking you through how to use the Library databases in our course – please watch this if you are unable to work directly with a librarian.
    • Part 1 is usually due at the end of Week 1.
  • Part 2:
    • After analyzing your 1 article, use VidGrid (you will find the link in our course in Blackboard) to create a 3-minute video:
      • briefly explaining the article’s findings,
      • giving more detail about why you either agree or disagree with those findings,
      • if you think the article’s authors failed to address something that might prove/disprove the myth,
      • and how can you apply all of this to your own experiences.
    • You can find the rubric that will be used for grading the videos in our course in Blackboard, but you will be assessed for:
      • how well you answer the above questions,
      • whether you find a credible source from an AC Library database,
      • whether you correctly interpreted and applied the information you learned from the article,
      • and how well you apply the information and explain everything using your own words, while making eye contact with the camera. I am not a speech teacher, so I don’t care if you say “uh” or pause to gather your thoughts. I don’t mind if you flap your hands and arms (I do that myself!) I don’t need you to follow a strict structure of providing an intro and then summarizing everything at the end. I DO however want you to use your own words. Do not simply read something you found online. Do not read the article you chose. During the majority of your speech, look into the camera (making eye contact with future viewers). You can certainly briefly refer to your notes, but, again, do not simply read them. Informally teach me what you learned and give me your own words and thoughts.
      • The video is typically due Week 2.
• Finally, throughout this course, I will offer chances for you to earn bonus points that are added on to your final average in the class. This often helps people who are hovering near their target letter grade get bumped up to it. But you will have to find and take advantage of these opportunities as they come, all along the course. I won’t tell you where to find these chances and I don't offer last-minute chances to save a poor grade. You will find these chances incorporated in class materials in Blackboard all along, throughout our course. You MIGHT have already found one here, in this document?!
• In our class in Blackboard, you will find additional information about all assignments.

Attendance

Attendance is measured not only by attending in-person classes but also by way of your completion of assignments by their due dates. If you do not attend our first class, then you must complete the first assignment in this course by the deadline or communicate with me about why you are not participating, or you will be dropped from the class altogether.  Automatic withdrawals occur at the start of Week 2 if students do not submit their first assignments through Blackboard.

Although I do not require you to attend classes and there is no direct attendance grade, I will award participation points for contributing to in-class discussions, and by attending classes, you will also benefit from my explanations of information that could be on your exams.

Because I take exam content directly from my lectures, I do highly recommend you attend classes – it simply benefits you and makes it easier for you to get a good grade in this class. BUT if you feel sick, please do not come to class. I do NOT deduct points for missing classes, and I have provided everything to you in the form of my chapter videos, which cover the same material as my in-person lectures. Each time that you are in class, however, please make sure to sign that day’s attendance sheet, which is one of the records maintained for the course and is something AC tracks.

Periodically, I will make announcements, which will be posted on our Blackboard course on the Announcements page. Often these announcements are also sent out via email, so checking your email regularly is highly recommended. I also use the messaging system to send messages directly to you through Blackboard. Emails and the Blackboard messaging system are the primary ways I will communicate directly with you.

Calendar

Additional Information

Please contact me if you have questions or problems that are impacting your performance in this class.  As much as possible, I will be happy to help you.  My contact information is below.

I work full-time in the AC Library. Even though I work at AC full-time, I do not have regularly scheduled office hours. I will hold office hours by appointment. I am happy to schedule times that are convenient for you, even after-hours or on weekends. If you are unable to meet with me in person, we could arrange a time for a call or a Blackboard Collaborate session (like Zoom).

The best way to reach me is by sending me an email (mlweathersbee@actx.edu). You can send me an email any time of day, but I will not respond quickly to many that are sent after 8 p.m. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can on the following day.