The ACC Course Catalog offers this description of PSYC 2301:

Survey of introductory topics such as learning, memory, sensation and perception, personality, life-span development, physiological basis of behavior, stress and health, psychological disorders, social psychology, and research methods. Additional topics such as language development, states of consciousness, and psychotherapy may also be included as determined by the instructor. The Honors course provides a more in-depth introduction to the science and profession of psychology with emphasis on developing oral and written communication skills as they relate to the analysis and discussion of research and controversial issues in psychology

Course Rationale:
The rationale for a course in Introductory Psychology, also known as General Psychology, is to introduce students to the scientific study of behavior and the mind. Knowledge of this discipline will provide students with knowledge of why people and animals do the things they do and think the ways they think.

Prerequisites: None

Instructional Methodology:

All of the major exam and Chapter Quizzes will be administered in Blackboard. The instructional format of the class will be that of a lecture course with required chapter quizzes and online exams. Student participation in the form of questions, comments and discussion is greatly desired. Students will be expected to learn the lecture material! They will also be expected to read and study the textbook for this class. Written learning objectives accompany this syllabus. These objectives inform the student as to what textbook material is likely to be covered on the exams.

Technology Support Services:

In response to COVID-19-related campus closures, Austin Community College now provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at Drive-up Wifi.

The Student Affairs Help Desk can assist with questions you have about ACCmail, ACCeID, Admissions and Records, Financial Aid, and general Advising questions:

Email: helpdesk@austincc.edu

For Information & live chat visit austincc.edu/help

Students who submit the Student Technology Access Form and indicate they need help accessing their online learning environment to successfully complete their courses are eligible to check out an ACC iPad for use during the semester. You must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course.

Grades will be determined by a combination of chapter quizzes (totaling 100 points) and 2 major exams (worth 50 points each) with a of 200 grade points. The exams and chapter quizzes will be multiple-choice in nature. The exams and quizzes are open book, open notes, open internet and open collaboration exams with a specified time window for availability. Exams and chapter quizzes will be made available in Blackboard for limited time with a stated deadline. The deadlines for the chapter quizzes and major exams will not be extended for any reason. See the course schedule for your class to view the various deadlines for the activities in this class. The exams and chapter quizzes may be taken multiple times within their time window of availability and the highest score will be recorded in the grade book.

Make-Up Exams will be provided in Blackboard for students who fail to take the first exam before the deadline. The Make-Up Exam is only for students who fail to take a regularly scheduled major exam. It will be deployed in Blackboard and will be open book exams, just like the initial exams. It too can be taken multiple times to raise the score. The Make-Up Exam must be taken before the date of the next regularly scheduled major exam. If not taken, a score of zero will be maintained for the missing required exam. The Make-Up Exam will have a maximum point value of 25 points instead of 50. This means there is an automatic 25 point penalty for the exam.

• A point total of 90% or more of the available 200 points, i.e. 180 or more, will result in a grade of A in the course.
• A point total of 160 - 179 points, i.e. 80 - 89.9% of the available points, will result in a grade of B in the course.
• A point total of 140 - 159 points, i.e. 70 - 79.9% of the available points, will result in a grade of C in the course.
• A point total of 120 - 139 points, i.e. 60 - 69.9% of the available points, will result in a grade of D in the course.
• A point total equal to or less than 120 points, less than 60% of the available points, will result in a grade of F in the course.

You can check your grades throughout the course by selecting the My Grades link in Blackboard.

Attendance/Class Participation

Regular and timely class attendance and participation in online discussions and completion of chapter quizzes is expected of all students. If attendance or compliance with other course policies is unsatisfactory, the instructor may withdraw students from the class. The student is responsible for communicating with their professor and completing any assignments or other activities designated by their professor.

Incomplete Grades

An incomplete (grade of "I") will only be given in Summer, 2024 due to extenuating circumstances. What constitutes “extenuating circumstances” is left to the instructor’s discretion. If a grade of I is given, the remaining course work must be completed by a date set by the student and professor. This date may not be later than two weeks prior to the end of the Fall, 2024 semester. A grade of I also requires completion and submission of the Incomplete Grade form, to be signed by the faculty member (and student if possible) and submitted to the department chair.

If an Incomplete is not resolved by the deadline, the grade automatically converts to an “F.” Approval to carry an Incomplete for longer than the following semester or session deadline is not frequently granted.

Austin Community College offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Student Accessibility Services on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes.

A word about Scholastic Dishonesty: This is a serious problem and is one of the most self-defeating behaviors which any student may display. Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, classroom presentations, discussion boards, and homework.  Plagiarism is the submittal of someone else's work as one's own. It will not be tolerated. Nor will any form of cheating during exams. If convicted of scholastic dishonesty in this course, the student will receive an F.  This topic and many others are covered in the official ACC College Catalog.

Students are expected to be mature and responsible citizens.  Any student whose conduct or dress at any time is in violation of the law, is a public nuisance, or is deemed improper or detrimental to the College may be subject to disciplinary action.  Students are expected to respect the rights and welfare of other members of the College community and its guests. Violence, the threat of violence, any disruption to the learning process, or intimidation will be subject to disciplinary action.

The Department of Psychology respects Academic Freedom. Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. Students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics. It is my hope that these differences will enhance the class and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be more encouraged to think and learn. Therefore, be assured that your grade will not be adversely affected by any beliefs or ideas expressed in class or assignments. Rather, we will respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions.

Although the instructor reserves the right to drop any student from this class when it is appropriate and indicated, your registration is your responsibility! If you stop engaging and participating in this class for any reason, be sure to submit an online withdrawal form provided by the Office of Admissions. This may prevent you from receiving a grade of F. The deadline for withdrawal in the 5 week session, is Monday, June 24, 2024. Students are responsible for understanding the impact withdrawing from a course may have on their financial aid, veterans benefits, international student status, and academic standing. Students are urged to consult with their instructor or an advisor before making schedule changes. Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in fall 2007 or later at any Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a W) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college career. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are encouraged to carefully select courses; contact an advisor or counselor for assistance.

Here is a link to ACC COLLEGE POLICIES.

This is a Zero Textbook Course (ZTC). Therefore your free online resource that is helpful for this course is locate at: https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=psychology-textbooks

1. Exam 1  (Exam: Due by Midnight 6/20)

                1&2.        Introduction to Psychology  5/28, 5/29  Chapter Quiz due 6/6

                3.             Week of 6/3: Biological Psychology & Sensation and Perception: Quizzes Due 6/10

                4.             Week of 6/10: Learning and States of Consciousness:  Quizzes Due 6/17

                5              Week of 6/17: Memory and exam 1:  Both due by midnight 6/23

                                6/20 – no in-person class:  This is exam time online

1. Chapters 7-13 Exam 2 Due by Midnight 7/18

No class in person 7/2 or 7/4

                8.             Week of 6/24: Motivation and Human Growth/Development: Quizzes due 7/1   

9.             Week of 7/1: Stress/heath and Thinking, Language, Intelligence:  Quizzes due 7/8

                    Classes the week of 7/1 are all online.  No in-person classes

10.           Week of 7/8:  Psychological Disorders and Personality: Quizzes due 7/15

                11.           Week of 7/15: Social Psychology and Exam 2:  Quizzes due 7/19

General Psychology: An Introduction

Tori Kearns and Deborah Lee

Learning Objectives

Chapter 1 & 2: History of Psychology

• Describe the precursors to the establishment of the science of psychology.

• Identify key individuals and events in the history of American psychology.

• Describe the rise of professional psychology in America.

• Develop a basic understanding of the processes of scientific development and change.

• Understand the difference between correlational and experimental designs.

• Understand how experiments help us to infer causality.

• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of different research designs.

Chapter 3: Biological Psychology

• Name the various parts of the nervous system and their respective functions

• Explain how neurons communicate with each other

• Identify the location and function of the limbic system

• Name at least three neuroimaging techniques and describe how they work

Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

• Differentiate the processes of sensation and perception.

• Explain the basic principles of sensation and perception.

• Describe the function of each of our senses.

• Outline the anatomy of the sense organs and their projections to the nervous system.

• Apply knowledge of sensation and perception to real world examples.

Chapter 5: Learning

• Distinguish between classical (Pavlovian) conditioning and instrumental (operant) conditioning.

• Understand some important facts about each that tell us how they work.

• Understand how they work separately and together to influence human behavior in the world outside the laboratory.

Chapter 6: States of Consciousness

• Define consciousness and distinguish between high and low conscious states

• Explain the relationship between consciousness and bias

• Understand the difference between popular portrayals of hypnosis and how it is currently used therapeutically

Chapter 7: Memory

• Define and note differences between the following forms of memory: working memory, episodic memory, semantic memory, collective memory.

• Describe the three stages in the process of learning and remembering.

• Describe strategies that can be used to enhance the original learning or encoding of information.

• Describe strategies that can improve the process of retrieval.

Chapter 8: Motivation

• Gain an appreciation of the importance of emotion in human life.

• Understand the functions and meanings of emotion in three areas of life: the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social–cultural.

• Give examples of the role and function of emotion in each of the three areas described.

Chapter 9: Stress and Health

• Describe basic terminology used in the field of health psychology.

• Explain theoretical models of health, as well as the role of psychological stress in the development of disease.

• Describe psychological factors that contribute to resilience and improved health.

• Defend the relevance and importance of psychology to the field of medicine.

Chapter 10: Thinking, language, and intelligence

• Name at least one “type” of intelligence.

• Define intelligence in simple terms.

• Explain the controversy relating to differences in intelligence between groups.

• Understand the systematic biases that affect our judgment and decision making.

• Develop strategies for making better decisions.

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Chapter 11: Human Development

• Explain the way the attachment system works and its evolutionary significance.

• Identify three commonly studied attachment patterns and what is known about the development of those patterns.

• Describe what is known about the consequences of secure versus insecure attachment in adult relationships.

• Be able to identify and describe the main areas of cognitive development.

• Be able to describe major theories of cognitive development and what distinguishes them.

• Understand how nature and nurture work together to produce cognitive development.

• Understand why cognitive development is sometimes viewed as discontinuous and sometimes as continuous.

• Know some ways in which research on cognitive development is being used to improve education.

Chapter 12: Personality

• List and describe the “Big Five” (“OCEAN”) personality traits that comprise the Five-Factor Model of personality.

• Describe each of the Big Five personality traits, and the low and high end of the dimension.

• Describe the major models of personality within the psychodynamic perspective.

• Define the concept of ego defense, and give examples of commonly used ego defenses.

Chapter 13: Psychological Disorders

• Understand the relationship between anxiety and anxiety disorders.

• Identify key vulnerabilities for developing anxiety and related disorders.

• Identify main diagnostic features of specific anxiety-related disorders.

• Differentiate between disordered and non-disordered functioning.

• Describe the diagnostic criteria for mood disorders.

• Understand age, gender, and ethnic differences in prevalence rates of mood disorders.

• Identify common risk factors for mood disorders.

• Know effective treatments of mood disorders.

• Describe the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.

• Describe the potential risk factors for the development of schizophrenia.

• Describe the treatments that work for some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Chapter 14: Social Psychology

• Recognize the difference between the central and peripheral routes to persuasion.

• Understand the concepts of trigger features, fixed action patterns, heuristics, and mindless thinking, and how these processes are essential to our survival but, at the same time, leave us vulnerable to exploitation.

• Understand some common “tricks” persuasion artists may use to take advantage of us.

• Use this knowledge to make you less susceptible to unwanted persuasion.

• Become aware of how widespread conformity is in our lives and some of the ways each of us changes our attitudes and behavior to match the norm.

• Understand the two primary reasons why people often conform to perceived norms.

• Appreciate how obedience to authority has been examined in laboratory studies and some of the implications of the findings from these investigations.

• Consider some of the remaining issues and sources of controversy surrounding Milgram’s537 Conformity and Obedience obedience studies.