Course Requirements:

How Does This Class Work? Introduction to Psychology is a dense course that is sometimes overwhelming to students. Don’t worry. I’ve broken down the text and information into 5 easily digestible units. The lecture schedule at the very bottom of this document will let you know what we are going to cover and when we are going to cover it. This is an asynchronous course which means you will be responsible for keeping up with the material and when it is due. Never hesitate to ask me if you need any help or have any questions regarding the class schedule and what is expected of you all.

Reading: You are responsible for studying every topic we go over. This includes your notes from lectures, PowerPoints, and test reviews. Yes, the test reviews will guide you to what is most important in each chapter; however, reading the ZTC textbook can help consolidate this information into your memory on a deeper and more meaningful level.

Attendance: Attendance will be taken daily; however, 10 times this will count as points. You start the semester with 50 points and each time you are absent on a day where attendance counts, you lose 5 points. The days that attendance counts are random. Attendance will be taken near the end of the session and not the beginning.

ACC Email and Blackboard:

It is VITALY important for you to have an ACC email account and an ACC Blackboard account. This is how I contact the class with any news and send you attachments that you need to be successful in class. I also use Blackboard to post grades and class materials (PowerPoints, Test Reviews, etc.). It is up to you to set up these accounts BEFORE the semester begins.

To set up an ACC email account click on the student tab at the top of the ACC home page. On the Student page click on the ACCmail link on the right of the page. On the Gmail sign-in page there will be a link to create an account.

To access your Blackboard account, you must first activate your ACCeID. Here is the link: http://www.austincc.edu/help/acceid/activate-your-acceid-step-by-step-instructions

Participation:

Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class by completing the readings in the course and following the structure set-out by the instructor. Students must check Blackboard for materials that will be posted for each instructional unit. Also, it is recommended that students check their ACC email often for possible reminders and/or updates on information pertaining to the tests and/or other course related matters. Copies of the emails sent to all students may also appear on the Announcement section of Blackboard.

Evaluation:

Blackboard Orientation Quiz (5 Extra Credit Points): There will be a brief 5 question quiz regarding the syllabus that must be completed in the first week of class. The due date for this quiz is Monday, June 3rd by 11:59 PM. This quiz is worth 5 extra credit points.

Exams (500 points): There will be five exams during the semester. They will each be worth 100 points. They will consist of multiple-choice questions, matching and true-false queries. Each test will have a total of 50 questions except for the last test which will have additional questions due to there being 3 chapters involved. There will also be a few bonus questions added to the end of each exam for extra credit. The exams will cover the readings assigned and the topics discussed for class.

There will be no re-takes of exams. You get one chance to take it. There will be plenty of bonus points offered to you throughout the semester.

Exams will be given using Blackboard and your browser of choice. Each exam will have a window in which the exam is due. We will encounter a Unit each week and have the weekend to take the corresponding exam (listed below under the lecture schedule). You will not need to download a special browser or take the exam in a testing center. You may use your regular browser to access each of the 5 exams when they are available. On test day, the exam will open at midnight and be available through the end of the day each Sunday (11:59 PM). Just make sure you finish it within each of the corresponding windows. You will have 2 hours to finish each exam. It must all be completed in one sitting. You may not save the exam and return to it later. Make sure that you have enough time to complete your exam.

Test Reviews: I will make sure that you have a test review for each section that points you towards the most important information for each test. These reviews will be available to you at least a week before the exam date. Usually, these reviews are available as soon as a Unit is opened.

Extra Credit (at least 35 points): There will be 2 extra credit exams, one assigned after the first 2 Units and the other assigned between the 3rd and 4th Unit. The specific dates the tests will be open are located below in the course schedule. They will be worth 15 points each. The questions will be in the same format as the regular tests. The main difference is that you will have three opportunities to take the bonus tests. Your best score will be the one that is recorded. This is done because of the number of chapters included for each test. These points will be added to your overall total. These exams are completely voluntary, and they do not negatively impact your grade if you choose not to take them. They also do not count against you if you miss questions on them. They can only add points to your overall total. These extra credit exams will cover material that has previously been covered throughout the semester. Once they are available, they will be open to take until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 30th.

There will also be at least one extra credit paper (if not more) assigned that will vary in potential points. These may happen as the semester unfolds or as is warranted.

Evaluation Breakdown

                                                Possible Points                                  

Test 1                                      100 _____

Test 2                                      100 _____

Test 3                                      100 _____

Test 4                                      100 _____

Test 5                                      100 _____

_____________________________

Total Possible Points             (500)   _____ +

BB Orientation Quiz             (5)      _____ +

Extra Credit                           (30)    _____

Total                                                   _____/550

Recommended Text/Materials:

This is a zero-cost textbook course, and the textbooks below are not required. I list them because these are the texts that I used to craft the course. It may be beneficial for you to obtain a copy of the texts, but it is not required, only recommended.

• Spielman, R.M., Jenkins, W.J. & Lovett, M.D. (2020). Psychology (OER), 2nd Edition. OpenStax. ISBN: 978-1-951693-23-7 (Digital Book)

• Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G. & Boyd, D. (2013). Mastering the World of Psychology: A Scientist Practitioner Approach – Books a la Carte, 6th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 9780134584010

Tentative Lecture Schedule for Summer 2024:

Unit #1

Chapter 1 Intro to Class and Psychology: We will go over the course objectives and syllabus. We will cover chapter one of your text. We will go over the basic research terms and methods (experimental and correlational) and we will also discover the roots of psychology from Plato to the most recent schools of thought in psychology.

Chapter 2 Biology and Behavior: We will spend time discussing the basics of neuropsychology (anatomy of a neuron, basic parts of the brain and their functions, etc.). We will also discuss some of the clinical disorders that are involved with neuropsychology (memory and language disorders, etc.) A brief history of treatments from the field of neuropsychology will also be discussed.

Unit #2

Chapter 4 States of Consciousness: What happens when you sleep? We will discuss this and even topics such as dream interpretation. We will cover sleep disorders located in the DSM-V. We will discuss altered states of consciousness (meditation, hypnosis and psychoactive substances). We will talk about the effects of different substances on the human mind and the socio-political issues attached to drugs. We will also cover addiction treatment options.

Chapter 5 Learning: We will discuss the roots of behaviorism and what conditioning is. We will discuss different types of reinforcement and how they can be used to shape behavior. We will discuss phobias and how they are treated with cognitive behavioral therapy.

Unit #3

Chapter 6: Memory: The Structure of Human Memory, A Closer Look at Retrieval, Remembering as Reconstruction, Forgetting, Biology and Memory and Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings

Chapter 8 Human Development: A brief overview of human development. We will discuss various theories of development from a biopsychosocial perspective. We will discuss Piaget, Erikson and Kohlberg. We will also discuss temperament, attachment, language development, socialization and gender role development. We will also cover end of life issues.

Unit #4

Chapter 11 Personality Theory and Assessment: How do you capture someone's personality? Can you? We will discuss the various theories of personality. We will review Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Carl Jung's theory, Behaviorism, Cognitive theories, humanistic and evolutionary theories. We will also discuss the cutting-edge theories of personality. We will also learn how to measure personality through various assessments. We will also review the Personality Disorders from the DSM-V (Chapter 14).

Chapter 14 Social Psychology: Why do some people conform to norms while others appear to be immune to the pressures of society? We will review why this is the case and the other different terms involved in social psychology (Getting people to comply, obey and conform, etc.). We will discuss the different theories of social learning and the various historical experiments that were performed in the name of social psychology research including the Zimbardo Prison Study and the Stanley Milgram study of obedience.

Unit #5

Chapter 12 Psychological Disorders: What is a disorder, how do we know what is adaptive or maladaptive behavior? We will address the DSM-V and how mental health professionals use it. We will also review the different theories about where mental illness comes from. We will all the anxiety disorders, mood disorders including suicide stats and warnings. We will also cover the Psychotic Disorders, Somatoform Disorders, Factitious Disorders, Eating Disorders, Impulse Control Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Other childhood disorders, and Intellectual Disability

Chapter 13 Therapies: We will discuss the different theories of therapy from psychodynamic to Gestalt therapy. We will also look at different types of therapy including couples and group therapy. We will review CBT from Chapter 5 and discuss behavior modification techniques. We will also discuss biomedical therapies as well as cover issues in therapy (cultural awareness and sensitivity, confidentiality, choosing a therapist, etc.).

This course is designed to familiarize you with basic psychological terms and concepts. You will also be introduced to classical research from the past, prominent figures in the field and multiple topics ranging from neuropsychology to psychological disorders. Many of you come from different majors and backgrounds, so I don’t want you to think that this class is only for those pursuing a career in the mental health field. Many of the concepts we will cover can assist you occupationally and even socially. I hope that by the end of this course some of the myths that you may have about psychology are dispelled. There is nothing mystical about what mental health professionals do. The practice and study of psychology is ideally objective, and the theories and assumptions made are built upon research. Introduction to Psychology is a captivating course, and I hope this is revealed to you as we read, discuss and explore.