General Psychology Syllabus for 2022-2023
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Instructor Information

Course Information

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 Student Service Center office 112. 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.

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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:

The Tutoring for Success policy applies to any student whose grade or performance in the course falls below a departmentally determined minimum threshold. In either of those cases, the instructor will direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. Under this policy, the instructor will follow specific departmental guidelines governing the use, duration, and grade component of the tutoring need.

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-2301-008 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

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Exploring Psychology, 11th Edition, David G. Myers & C. Nathan DeWall

OR, you could instead get the 12th edition. The 11th and 12th editions of this book each work for this course.

You do NOT need an access code to online materials. The print book alone is all you need.

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 4^th 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

Eight-week college courses go by fast, and in this course, we cover all of the textbook’s chapters. You will need to read your book to get the best grade. Exam questions are pulled directly from the textbook, so the book is required, but you only need the print book – I will not use the publisher’s online content. You do NOT need an access code. Also, you may get EITHER the 11th edition OR the 12th edition – both work for this course. To help guide you as you read the book and study for exams, I have provided my PowerPoint presentations from all of my in-class lectures. These materials will help you identify what will and will not be covered on exams (particularly the last two slides of each PowerPoint).

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.  Please be courteous and respectful of the different opinions of your classmates.  AC also expects that each student will engage in academic honesty and refrain from cheating and/or plagiarism.  I expect 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 Blackboard assignments for this class (this does not include in-class activities conducted in groups, but only applies to required assignments submitted through Blackboard. The latter should always be completed independently).  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. 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, and I require you to tell me before 5:00 p.m. on the day the assignment is due. Please do not procrastinate past that time to at least begin assignments. I rarely grant extensions on due dates; however, I will always open things up early for you, if that would fit better into your schedule. Most of my assignments are open throughout the course. If you can click on it to access it, you can work ahead and submit these assignments before their deadlines.

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

The points will be earned:

45% of overall grade – Exams (4) – your lowest exam score will be dropped
25% of overall grade – Quizzes (10 total are required):

Reading Quizzes: (9 are required but there are 15 total, from which you can choose; basically, I will drop 6 of these) AND

1 Video with its Quiz (there are 2 videos/quizzes, over the 1st two chapters, but only ONE is required)

20% of overall grade – Social Responsibility Assignment
10% of overall grade – Class Participation
 

• There will be four 50-question multiple-choice exams taken online in Blackboard. 
  • I will drop your lowest exam grade.
  • The exam questions will be taken directly from the textbook.
  • Exams will open at 12:00 a.m. on the date indicated on the course calendar and will close when indicated, at least 5 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.  Use an actual computer that has a dedicated cable for the Internet connection.
  • You may take each exam from any location – from home, in an AC computer lab, at the public library, etc.
  • These 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 click on the menu item My Grades in our course, click on the Exam of interest, and you will then see all of the questions/answers.
• Quizzes:
  • There are 10 total quizzes you are required to complete in this course, but you have options to choose from.
  • 15 of the quizzes correspond directly to one of our book’s chapters and are called a “Reading Quiz.”
    • You can choose from these 15 quizzes to complete the required 9. (Essentially, I drop 6 Reading Quizzes.)
    • If you choose to complete all 15 quizzes, I will award you bonus points.
  • There are also 2 quizzes over videos I created for the first 2 chapters of our book. ONE of these videos/quizzes is required.  You can choose whether you complete Chapter 1 OR 2.
    • These are LONG videos, covering all of content that will be covered on the exam. Even if you don’t yet have our book, watch these videos and take these quizzes to prepare yourself on content you will see on Exam 1 over the first two chapters.
    • Even though only one of these is required, I will not lecture over the first two chapters, so I highly recommend at least watching both videos.
    • I have also made several videos covering some content from most of the remaining chapters in our book. If you are interested in taking similar quizzes over any of these additional videos for bonus points, please let me know.
  • For ALL of these quizzes:
    • Each quiz is completed in Blackboard and includes 10 multiple-choice questions covering a specific chapter, (e.g. Reading Quiz #1 is over chapter 1).
    • Like the Exams, these are open-book, open-note.
    • Unlike the Exams, there is NO time limit, and you do not have to complete the quiz all at once. You can save your answers, exit Blackboard, and then see your answers again when you return.
    • Also unlike the Exams, you can take each Reading Quiz as many times as you like. Your highest grade will be recorded in the gradebook.
    • Immediately after taking each Reading Quiz, you will see your grade; however, you will not be able to access the full quiz with the questions/answers until after the due date has passed.
      • Because these quizzes are due before the opening of each exam (covering the same chapters), you will be able to use your answers to the quizzes to help you with similar questions on the exam.
      • Access your full quizzes (with all of the answers) by selecting My Grades from our course menu and clicking on the name of each quiz.
• For the Social Responsibility Assignment:
  • You will be required to complete 4 hours of community service at a service agency in your community. This would likely be a nonprofit organization that provides a service to the entire community.
    • Possible agencies include churches, the Ronald McDonald House, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Maverick Girls and Boys Club, and the SPCA or local pound. 
    • If you are unsure if your agency qualifies, please ask me before you complete the volunteer hours. If you are in the Amarillo area, you might find some options by signing up for Hands On Amarillo at: https://www.actx.edu/studentlife/volunteer-opportunities-and-service-learning
  • You must provide signed documentation verifying that you completed all of the hours.  
    • If you do not provide verification of all 4 hours completed, you will receive a 0 for your overall Social Responsibility Assignment. 
  • After you have completed your hours, you will then answer questions about the experience, entering your answers directly onto the template. 
    • You will complete the “Social Responsibility Assignment Template” and submit it through Blackboard as a Word document or Rich Text file. 
      • Do NOT create your own file – use the TEMPLATE, filling in your answers after each question (you can simply add your answers to the template and do not need to change anything on the template itself).
      • At least for your answers, follow MLA style. Watch the video on this assignment for more details on what is expected.
      • Do NOT submit this assignment as a PDF.  Only Microsoft Word or Rich Text files are acceptable.
  • Each question has a rubric, which will be used for grading. The questions are worth different amounts of points.  You will be able to access the rubric within the assignment in Blackboard.
  • Although you can complete your volunteer hours with other classmates, you are required to complete the template on your own.  Submit your own independent work for a grade.
  • If you have done this for another class in a previous semester, you must complete another 4 hours and submit a new template, tailored to THIS class.
    • For example, you are required to cite our textbook in your answer to #3 – use the textbook we are using in this class.
  • This full assignment is divided into 3 parts.
    • Part 1: Prior to the final deadline for this assignment, and by the due date indicated on our course calendar, please tell me at which agency you plan to volunteer (you can just send me an email). This is typically due Week 3.
      • If you’ve already arranged to complete your 4 hours at this agency, consider typing out your answer to #1 on the template. You could also answer #5. Do not wait until the last minute to start this assignment, worth 20% of your final grade in this course.
    • Part 2: By the due date indicated on our course calendar, submit your Works Cited page (only that portion of the full assignment is required at this point). This is typically due Week 4.
    • Part 3: By the date indicated on our course calendar, the full template with all of your answers AND the form(s) signed by a volunteer supervisor verifying your 4 completed hours are due. The full assignment, with all parts, is typically due Week 7.
  • If you’re actually reading this, thank you. Please email me: “I read the syllabus” and I’ll give you a bonus point. My email is below.
  • Also, please find below the full citation to our textbook, which you will need for the Social Responsibility Assignment. I have provided both editions of the textbook you can use for this class. Select the one you have and then you can copy/paste this citation directly onto the last page of your template – the Works Cited page.

Myers, David G., and C. Nathan DeWall. Exploring Psychology. 11th ed., Worth, 2019.

Myers, David G., and C. Nathan DeWall. Exploring Psychology. 12th ed., Worth, 2022.

• Participation:
  • I will reward people who attend classes and demonstrate content mastery by participating knowledgeably in class discussions. By “knowledgeably,” I mean that it will be clear that you read the book and are familiar with the topic being discussed – beyond only offering your opinions (which are also welcome). You will receive points toward this grade simply by answering my questions in class and offering your feedback on course material.
    •  (The information just below ONLY applies if you are not able to participate in class sessions):
      • I will be using the Blackboard tool for an online option to earn points toward this Participation grade. You do not have to post online comments if you instead simply attend classes and contribute in person. But, if you get sick and have to miss classes or if you do not want to speak up in front of the entire class, feel free to post online.
      • For this online option, I will be using the Blackboard tool for online Discussion Boards, 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 all 8 weeks. You can post and reply whenever convenient for you.
      • “Deadlines” will need to loosely follow along with the chapters 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. Chapter 4 is covered in Exam 2, so waiting until long after Exam 2 was due to post comments 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).
    • At the end of this course, I will assign grades for your participation in class and/or in the online forum and will base this grade on how often you contributed to discussions, compared to your classmates.
• 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 don't offer last-minute chances to save a poor grade. You will find these chances incorporated in class materials in Blackboard. You have to find it to earn it!
• In our class in Blackboard, you will find additional information about all assignments, including videos I have made for each of them.

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 assignments in this course by their deadlines or communicate with me about why you are not participating, or you will be dropped from the class altogether.  Automatic withdrawals occur if students do not submit their first assignments through Blackboard.

Although I do not require attendance at every class and there is no attendance grade, I will award participation points for knowledgeable participation in class discussions, and by attending classes, you will also benefit from my explanations of information that could be on your exams. BUT if you feel sick, please do not come to class. We are still coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I do not count attendance toward your course grade. 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 in our class on the “Announcements” page in our course and also sent out via email, so checking your email regularly is expected.

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 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 Blackboard Collaborate session (like Zoom).

The best way to reach me is by sending me an email (mseder@actx.edu).

You can also contact me on my office phone (806)345-5582, but that will only work during typical business hours. I typically work 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.  If you do not reach me when calling, leave me a message.  I will check voicemail messages periodically throughout most workdays.  If you do not leave a complete message, I may not be able to help you.  Please tell me your full name and which class you are attending (for example, “Sue Smith in the General Psychology 10:30 Monday-Thursday class”). 

I cannot guarantee that I will respond to any messages after 4:30 p.m.  I can guarantee that I will not respond to any messages left on my office number after 4:30 p.m. or to very many messages sent via email after 8:00 p.m.