Psychology 101 (Section 001)
Introductory Psychology
Dr. Lester A. Lefton

PSYCHOLOGY 101 --Introductory Psychology - 3 credits, no prerequisites. A broad survey of psychological principles.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF COURSE
This is an introductory psychology course and its goal is to introduce the student to basic psychology. Students will be presented with material which will give them a broad base of understanding of psychology. Both classical research and contemporary issues will be discussed in attempting to relate theory and research to...

INSTRUCTOR, OFFICE, AND OFFICE HOURS
I am an experimental psychologist with special interests in perception. My office is in Room 224 Barnwell and I will be there immediately before this class. If you want to see me on a particular day or time, please let me know during or immediately after class; I can then arrange a time for a conference. My office phone is 777-4263. If you want to talk with me and have trouble finding me, please leave your name and number with my...

TEXT
There is one text required, available at the bookstores. Lefton, L.A. (1993) Psychology (5th ed). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

COURSE GOALS
The aim of the course is to expose students to the field of psychology. In doing so, students will be presented with a diverse body of information about the field of psychology. Being a survey course, no specific area will be emphasized to a great extent, but, rather psychology will be presented as a discipline...

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE
Information is presented both in the classroom and through the text. Classroom meetings will be in a lecture format such that the instructor will lecture on important material to be learned. He will not make an attempt to cover all aspects of the text. Rather, he will focus on difficult areas, particularly interesting areas, or on topics of special interest. While the class meetings are relatively structured lectures, there is a substantial amount of time set aside for questions and answers. Students are encouraged to ask questions and to interrupt the lecturer for points of information, clarification, or...

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students are expected to fulfill three obligations: 1) attend class, 2) take all exams, and 3) fulfill the Psychology Department human participant obligation.
Classroom Attendance: Classroom attendance is mandatory; attendance will be taken on a semi-random schedule. In accord with University guidelines, absences will be excused for incapacitating illness, official...
Examinations: There will be four examinations given through the semester. These exams will consist of approximately 60 multiple choice items and 20 fill-in-the-blank items. Students are expected to arrive in class on time with two No. 2 pencils. Exams and answer sheets will be provided...
Approximately 80% of the items will come directly from the text; the remaining items will be taken from material covered in class. Lectures will stress...
Human Participant Obligation: All students taking Psychology 101 are required to serve as a human participant in the Department's Human Psychological Pool. This means that the student will volunteer, at a time to be arranged, to participate in a psychological experiment. The exact details...

GRADES

There are four examinations. The lowest grade from Exams 1, 2, or 3 will be dropped. The final exam grade (test #4) will not be dropped. Thus, your grade will be based on the two highest grades of the first three and the final exam. There-are three scores (2 tests, 1 final) and all count equally in determining your final grade...
There are no make-up exams; if you miss an exam from the first three, you will receive a zero. If you miss an exam (from the first three) it will be dropped...
Grades on each test, which will have a total of 80 possible points, determined as follows: ...

A student's semester grade is determined by the total number of points achieved on each of the course
components. Thus a letter grade on any one component only shows a student his or her relative standing in...

Sample Test Questions

1. One problem with the experimental method is that it is

a. correlational

b. always expensive

c. artificial compared to real life

d. statistically unreliable

2. Correlations

a. prove cause-effect relationships

b. can't be expressed statistically

c. are rarely negative

d. may suggest cause-effect relationships

3. Cultural bias refers to

a. psychological attempts to maintain the status-quo...

Student's Guide to the Psychology Department Human Participant Pool

It is conventional for Psychology departments nationwide to introduce students to laboratory practice in Psychology by having them participate for a few hours as participants in experiments. The experiments cover a broad range of topics such as attitudes, mental abilities, human memory, perception, etc. Students learn about experimentation first-hand and...

It is the official policy of the Psychology Department to require students in certain classes to satisfy such an experimental requirement. If you have objections to serving as an experimental participant, the research requirement may be satisfied. . .

What do I do? This semester the requirement is to participate in five experiments. Most of these experiments will last about one or one and one-half hours and consist of one session. However, some experiments might be as short as one-half hour...

Where do I sign up? You sign up for experiments at the Human Participant Pool Bulletin Board in the second floor walkway between Barnwell and Hamilton (opposite the elevator). Look over the sign-up sheets...

What happens if I sign up for an experiment and I can't make it? If you sign up for an experiment and then discover that you aren't available, you must let the experimenter know. If you find out at least a day ahead of time that you cannot make it, simply cross out your...

What happens if I miss an experiment without notifying the experimenter? If you sign up for an experiment and fail to show up for it (and fail to notify the experimenter at least an hour in advance) you may LOSE the privilege of fulfilling your requirement through participation in experiments. Here's how it works. After one un-notified...

What happens if I don't like an experiment? Experimenters are required to give you a brief any time later, without penalty. . .

What happens when I complete an experiment? When you have completed an experiment, the experimenter will give you a 3x5 card. You need to fill out the information requested on the card (name, social...

What happens if I don't satisfy the experimental requirement? If you finish the semester without completing the requirement, you will lose...

Where is the Human Participant Pool Office, and where do I receive further information? If you need further information about the Human Participant Pool you can get it at the Human Participant Pool office, which is room 457 Barnwell...

ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATING IN EXPERIMENTS

The Human Participant Pool offers a written alternative for those not wishing to participate in experimental research. This alternative is only for those whose participation is a course requirement rather than an extra credit exercise. The purpose of participating in experiments is to gain hands-on experience concerning how experimental research is...

Here's what to do. Select an article from a recent issue of a psychology journal. The article must be two pages or longer, and the journal must be one that is located in the journal reading room, main floor of Thomas...

Copying another student's paper is also considered plagiarism. To discourage plagiarism...

DEADLINE for submitting these paper as fulfillment of your participation requirement is the end of the tenth week of school. No papers...