General Psychology Community College of RI PSYC-2010-372, 607 (General Psychology)

William Pacitti, Ph.D. Fall 2013

COURSE DESCRIPTION Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, including how they are affected by the organisms physical state, emotional state, and external environment. Understanding these processes can contribute to improving our lives and the lives of others. General Psychology provides the basic survey for this science. This course considers many aspects of mans behavior and offers an opportunity to think about applying this basic knowledge to everyday life. General Psychology also gives students the foundation necessary for a more detailed study of behavior in future psychology courses. Human behavior is fascinating. Although your study of general psychology in this Web-based course will be self-directed, dont miss the opportunity to appreciate what an amazing creature man/woman is by exploring all available resources through the publishers web site. To successfully complete the General Psychology web based course it is necessary that you structure your time and devote an appropriate amount of time to read, complete the practice quizzes, and review using all the publishers resources available. These include practice tests for every chapter, exercises like crossword puzzles, and interactive computer simulations of demonstrations and videos. There is also a personalized study plan available through one of the links made available to all students of this course. At the same time, remember to set aside enough time to do the written assignment which is due towards the end of the semester. You will procede through this course at your own pace, with the only time constraints being coming to the Lincoln campus on the assigned days for exams, which must be taken on campus. ORIENTATION MEETING Tuesday, Sept 10 2013 6:30 p.m., Lincoln Campus, Room 2535 Students who wish to contact me at any time other than the Orientation Meeting or the exams may reach me through the Community College at the numbers listed below: Professor Pacittis office; Room

2359 Lincoln Campus; E-mail:

wpacitti@ccri.edu
333.7262 Secretary/Psychology Department

Office hours are held during the day at the following times: Mon, Weds, Fri 8-9, 10-11 Students are encouraged to come in at any time during open office hours to discuss assignments/readings/web based exercises. No appointment is necessary during designated office hours.

REQUIRED TEXTS: Discovering Psychology, 6th ed., Hockenbury & Hockenbury, Worth, 2010 This text comes with a card which contains a PIN which you will use to access the publishers PsychPortal. This site will contain all the practice quizzes, mastery tests, demonstrations, etc. which will reinforce and review basic concepts in the text in preparation for the exams.
Publishers web site address:

http://courses.bfwpub.com/discoveringpsych6e.php 1. Go to http://courses.bfwpub.com/discoveringpsych5e.php (Mac users need to use Firefox) 2. Click on the link "REGISTER AN ACTIVATION CODE. 3. Your students will be prompted to follow the on-screen instructions to find your course. They will start by selecting the school's state/province, the school name, then their instructor, course, and/or section. 4. Your students will enter the activation code that came with their textbook or that they purchased from us. They will also be asked to enter their email address, choose a password and they will be ready to go! 5. Your students can also purchase access on the website by clicking on the PURCHASE link.

Remember, your progress through the course is self-directed and you will have three examinations which must be taken on campus. Attendance at these tests is required. EXAM 1 Tues Oct 8, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Room 2535, Lincoln Campus EXAM 2: Tues Nov 12, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Room 2535, Lincoln Campus Exam 3: Final Exam: Tues, Dec 17, 2012, Room 2535, Lincoln Campus The following is a suggested study time table/schedule which should be followed in completing reading/study assignments: Week
Sept 4 Sept 11

Topic
Why Study Human Behavior? Research Methods in Psychology The Nervous System The Neuron & Neural Transmission

Readings
Ch 1/pp. Appendix A; (A1-A13) Ch 2

Sept 18, Sept 25 Oct 2

Sensation and Perception Consciousness Learning: Classical/Operant Conditioning Learning: Observation Memory Language and Cognition

Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7

Oct 8

(Tuesday) TEST #1 Room 2535, 6:30 pm Flanagan Campus Includes Chapters 1-5

Oct 16 Oct 23 Oct 30 Nov 6 Nov 13

Intelligence Motivation Emotion Development Personality and individual differences Social Behavior

Ch Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch.10 Ch 11

Nov 12 Nov 15
Nov 20 Nov 27 Dec 4

(Tues) TEST #2 Room 2535, 6:30 pm Flanagan Campus Includes Chs. 6-9 Essays/Papers Due
Stress, Health, and Coping Understanding Psych. Disorders, Psychotherapy Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14

Dec 17

(Tues) Final test Room 2535 Includes Chs. 10-14

6:30 FLANAGAN CAMPUS

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: You will be required to complete four 1-2 page reaction papers/essays, due by Nov 15, 2013. Each essay should focus on one of the contemporary and controversial issues listed below from the seven categories and include a discussion and reference to the research employed to support your conclusions . Biological Issues 1. Are humans naturally violent? 2. Are genetic explanations of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder Faulty? 3. Does evolutionary Psychology Explain Human sex differences? Research Issues 4. Should Animal research in Psychology be eliminated? 5. Does psychotherapy really help? Human Development 6. Do mothers who work outside of the home have a negative effect on their children?

7. Does the divorce of parents harm their children? Cognitive Processes 8. Should Psychology Adopt a Theory of multiple intelligences? 9. Do adults repress memories of childhood sexual abuse? Mental health 10. Is drug addiction a choice? 11. Do multiple personalities (Dissociative Identity Disorder) exist? 12. Is cell phone use/ texting addictive? Psychological Treatment 13. Does drug treatment work? 14. Is treating homosexuality ethical and effective? 15. Does electroshock Therapy cure depression? Social Psychology 16. How is media violence harmful to children? 17. Does the internet have psychological benefits or risks? 18. Is pornography harmful? Your essay should be 1-2 typed pages, employing research obtained from your reading the text and searching the internet and library for the most contemporary articles, publications, essays, etc. When citing published works you must always use appropriate references following APA format. See handout for APA style for citing references from printed material as well as internet publications. These references should always include the author, name of publication, date, etc. Each of the essays will be graded on a 25 point basis, and the cumulative total will be averaged with your test grades (each worth 25% of your final grade). Each paper will be graded based on (1) content, argument, use of references, etc. 15 points and (2) Writing, style, APA format, proofread, etc. 10 points=25 possible Please submit all four papers in hard copy at the same time. Do not email papers as attachments. Staple all four papers together and do NOT use plastic or other kinds of covers. MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON THE PAPERS! Papers are due on or before Nov 15. Papers received after Nov 15, 2012 will have 10 points deducted from their total.. Hard copy of papers (NOT e-mail) should be mailed or delivered to me at the following address: Dr. William Pacitti, Psychology Dept. Community College of Rhode Island 1762 Louisquisset Pike Lincoln, RI 02865

Examinations: Students are required to complete three tests, (includes the final exam). These tests must be taken at the Flanagan campus on the dates indicated in the outline.
TEST #1 Oct 9 (Tues. Evening, ROOM 2422) includes material from the text pages corresponding to chs. 1-5 TEST #2 Nov 13, (Tues Evening ROOM 2422) , includes material from text corresponding to pages in chs. 6-9 TEST #3 Dec 18, (Tues Evening ROOM 2422) includes material from the text corresponding to pages in chs.10-14) (NOTE: THIS IS THE FINAL EXAM ) GRADING The final grade will be based on tests and assignments as follows: 2 tests = equal to 50% Final Exam = equal to 25% Essays/Reaction Papers = equal to 25% Any student who does not take the three tests, or does not complete the written assignment will be dropped from the course and given a grade of WU (withdrawn unofficially). Make-up policies: Make-up exams will be allowed only if extenuating circumstances exist and must be scheduled for a time during daily office hours within one week of the original test date.