1

COURSE SYLLABUS (current as of 08/23/2016)

CONTACT INFORMATION

Instructor: James R. Pomerantz (pomeran@rice.edu, jamesrpomerantz.com) Office: Sewall Hall 492A (4th floor, street side of Sewall Hall, corner office facing Baker College) Office Hours: Tues 1:15 – 2:15 pm or by appointment Teaching Assistants: Meiyuzi Gao (meiyuzi.gao@rice.edu), 117 Sewall Hall

Office hours: Thursdays 1 – 2 pm or by appt Shannon Marlow (shannon.l.marlow@rice.edu) 205A Sewall Hall Office hours: Wednesdays 10 – 11 am or by appt

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Become familiar with the field of psychology and the issues and problems that psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists study.

• Learn how research is conducted in this field – research methods and tools, and forms of data analysis used in the development and testing of theories.

• Learn how the study of the mind is integrated with the study of the brain, in adults as well as in infants and children, and in people with medical conditions that affect their central nervous system.

• Develop critical thinking skills and a healthy skepticism for what they read and hear about psychology, including about abnormal behavior / psychopathology, its causes and treatment.

• Gain insight into the impact of psychology in the real world, with applications ranging from improving learning outcomes, preventing conflict, and matching people with their ideal jobs.

• Students will demonstrate their mastery of these concepts by completing the scheduled course exams and by participating in experiments conducted at Rice and elsewhere in the Texas Medical Center.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS Note: there are two required texts for this course, as listed below. Although they can be purchased separately from any vendor, when you buy from the Rice Bookstore, the second volume is a paperback included free of charge when bought with the first volume and its associated electronic resources. This two-volume package will be available at a discounted price at Rice’s bookstore under one or both of the following ISBN codes: 10-Digit Bundle ISBN: 1-319-06860-X; or 13-Digit Bundle ISBN: 978-1-319-06860-8

o Introducing Psychology, 3rd edition. Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner, & Matthew K. Nock. ©2015 | 3rd Edition, Worth / MacMillan Education. ISBN-10: 1-4641-0781-5; ISBN-13: 978-1-4641-0781-8. Note that this text comes new with an electronic access card to a set of electronic recourses, which although not required may prove useful to you. The access card has an expiration date, and often when students buy this book used, they discover only then that the card has expired. Thus, the two book package above is recommended because it includes current editions, it includes both texts, and it includes a new access card.

o Psychology and the Real World, 2nd edition. Morton Ann Gernsbacher & James R.

Pomerantz, Editors. ©2015 | 2nd Edition | ISBN-10: 1-4641-7395-8; ISBN-13: 978-1-4641-7395-0.) http://www.macmillanhighered.com/Catalog/product/psychologyandtherealworld-secondedition-fabbsfoundation

Course: PSYC 101, Introduction to Psychology Section:003 (CRN 11624, Group II)

Term: Fall 2016 Room: Sewall Hall 301

Class: Tues-Thurs 2:30-3:45pm

2

Earlier editions of both books are available used at a lower price, but it is risky to buy older editions rather than the current editions. You'll sometimes be fine, but publishers update their books about every three years by weeding out the dated or incorrect material and introducing new and often very important material. Also, when we review the texts in class, we often refer to page numbers, and they can differ between two editions. If you're trying to save money, and most of us are, it makes better sense to buy a used copy of the current edition, or rent a copy, and/or sell it back at the end of the semester if you're not going on in the field. Those are wiser ways to economize than by buying out outdated edition.

EXAMS AND PAPERS

There will be four examinations in this course, including a cumulative final exam. The in-class exams will include a mixture of essay and objective questions and are tentatively scheduled for the dates indicated on the draft schedule. The final examination will follow a similar format and probably will be available on Owlspace.

RESEARCH REQUIREMENT

As a part of this course you are expected to get hands-on experience with psychological research. The usual way to meet this requirement is to take part in five (5) hours of experiments as a research subject/participant. Alternatively, you may satisfy this requirement by reading several research papers or chapters and writing a brief paper describing each. These requirements, various options, and your rights and responsibilities will be discussed further in class and are described: http://psychology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=68. This requirement will not affect your grade in this class, but you need to complete it in order to receive a grade. Regarding students not yet 18 years of age, you may not be eligible to participate in some or all these experiments because of IRB regulations; if that’s true for you, please contact your instructor to discuss alternate ways of meeting this requirement. This research requirement must be completed before classes end – no credits will be awarded after that day. Importantly, you must also assign your 5 earned credits to this section of PSYC 101 by the last day of classes as well – the system is locked after that. Having 5 unassigned credits is the same as having no credits at all.

GRADE POLICIES

Course grades will be determined using these weights: First exam - 20% Second exam - 20% Third exam - 20% Final exam - 40% Research participation: 0%, but must be completed to receive a passing grade.

There is no extra credit offered in this course, for reasons explained later in this syllabus in a section called, “Additional notes on the Grading System.”

ABSENCE POLICIES Attendance is not taken in this course. That said, exams will include material presented only in the lectures, not in the texts and not necessarily in the lecture slides. So attendance is highly recommended. Exams will also cover the reverse, that is, material in the texts that is not presented in the lectures. Material that is presented both in the lectures and in the readings is almost always high priority – thus the overlapping coverage.

RICE HONOR CODE In this course, all students will be held to the standards of the Rice Honor Code, a code that you pledged to honor when you matriculated at this institution. If you are unfamiliar with the details of this code and how it is administered, you should consult the Honor System Handbook at http://honor.rice.edu/honor-system-handbook/. This handbook outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of your academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process.

3

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES

If you have a documented disability or other condition that may affect academic performance, you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with Disability Support Services (Allen Center, Room 111 / adarice@rice.edu / x5841) to determine the accommodations you need; and 2) talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.

SYLLABUS CHANGE POLICY This syllabus is only a guide for the course and is subject to change with advanced notice. However, every effort will be made to keep requirements and dates unchanged.

CONTENT OF COURSE

This course will provide an introduction to all the major aspects of psychology, as listed on the schedule below and as outlined in the courses textbook. The emphasis is on the empirical, experimental study of behavior and the mind, using a variety of methods. In the fifteen or so content areas covered in the course, we will examine the major findings that have been uncovered, along with the dominant theories that prevail today. The course is intended as a sampler for those intending to go on to more advanced courses in psychology, and also as a what-you-need-to-know for those students for whom this is likely to be both your first and last psychology course. The course will follow a lecture format, but with questions welcomed and encouraged. When you raise your hand and are called up, please remember to ask your question or make your point in a voice loud and clear enough for the whole class to hear (and the instructor too!) For most weeks, the lecture slides will be placed on our class Owlspace shortly before class. Although this may save you from having to copy down material, the slides are not always fully self-explanatory. An approximate timetable of topics and reading assignments is listed later on this syllabus. The lectures will present material not appearing in either textbook – the overlap between texts and lectures is around 50% - so attendance in class is strongly advised, as is keeping up with the readings.

4

COURSE SCHEDULE (AS OF MID AUGUST – SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Week 1 Readings in IP and PaRW

08/23/2016 Introduction, housekeeping IP: 1

08/25/2016 Overview of Psychology PaRW: 1

Week 2

08/30/2016 Research Methods IP: 2, Appendix

09/01/2016 “ PaRW: 2

Week 3

09/06/2016 Neuroscience and behavior IP: 3

09/08/2016 “ PaRW: 3

Week 4

09/13/2016 Sensation and perception IP: 4

09/15/2016 “ PaRW: 4

Week 5

09/20/2016 Exam 1 IP: 5

09/22/2016 Consciousness PaRW: 8

Week 6

09/27/2016 Memory IP: 6,7

09/29/2016 Learning PaRW: 5,6

Week 7

10/04/2016 Emotion IP: 8

10/06/2016 Motivation PaRW: 10

Week 8

10/11/2016 Midterm Recess: No Class

10/13/2016 Language

Week 9

10/18/2016 Thought IP: 9

10/20/2016 Intelligence PaRW: 7

5

Week 10

10/25/2016 Development IP: 10

10/27/2016 Review, catch up PaRW: 9, 11

Week 11

11/01/2016 Exam 2 IP: 11

11/03/2016 Personality

Week 12

11/08/2016 Social Psychology IP: 12

11/10/2016 Psychological Disorders PaRW: 12

Week 13

11/15/2016 Treatment IP: 14

11/17/2016 JRP attending conference: No Class PaRW: 13, 16

Week 14

11/22/2016 Stress and Health IP: 13, 15

11/24/2016 Thanksgiving Recess: No Class PaRW: 14, 15

Week 15

11/29/2016 Conclusion; review (last week to complete your research requirement) PaRW: 17

12/01/2016 Exam 3

FINAL EXAM: THE FINAL EXAM WILL TAKE PLACE ON A DAY TO BE SCHEDULED BY THE REGISTRAR. THIS FOURTH/FINAL EXAM WILL BE OFFERED ON OWLSPACE, ON THE DAY SCHEDULED BY THE REGISTRAR, SO IT CAN BE TAKEN OFF CAMPUS ANYTIME THAT DAY. YOU WILL HAVE 3 HOURS TO COMPLETE IT FROM WHEN YOU START.

6

Additional notes on the Grading System Dr. Pomerantz, Rice University

Some instructors grade their courses on strict curves, where a predetermined percentage of students gets As, a different percentage gets Bs, etc. Other instructors use strict predetermined letter-grade ranges where, for example, test scores of 90-100 get As, 80 – 90 get Bs, etc. The disadvantage to the first method is that if the class as a whole works harder than average and so does well, those students receive no higher grades than the students in another class that does not work as hard, an outcome that is clearly unfair. The disadvantage to the second method is that it requires that instructors ensure all tests are equally difficult, which is hard or impossible to do. An instructor may give a harder exam one semester and an easier exam the next, with the later class receiving higher grades unfairly. Because of these flaws in the strict curve and the strict range methods, Psychology 351 uses a hybrid of the two, trying to capture the benefits of each while avoiding their drawbacks. So as an instructor I have a set of letter grade ranges in mind before each exam, but then I look at the test results to see if the exam appears to have been harder or easier than usual and also to see if there were tricky, ambiguous, or buggy questions. We then adjust the letter grade ranges accordingly. The average grade in this course, on a numerical scale where A=4, B=3, etc., generally falls quite close to the university-wide average for similar level courses taken by similar students. I see this as a good outcome because it means that students are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged relative to others when taking this course; it ensures the course is grade-neutral.

In assigning final course letter grades to Esther, we try to take students whose grades are extremely close to the boundary of the next higher letter grade and consider bumping them up to that grade, if possible, based on their class participation or some other valid criterion. We can see how students looking at their letter grades might believe that they are quite close to the boundary for the next higher letter grade; in truth, however, there are often students with higher scores than they who also received the same grade as they did. So if we were to bump one student up, we would then have to consider bumping all the others up; and that would create a new wave of students who just barely miss that new letter grade boundary, and so on ad infinitum. If you are the next in line for a bump, or maybe even second to next, we consider this even without your asking us to; but jumps larger than that are rarely possible.

If you find yourself in that situation, our best advice, for what it's worth, is to be philosophical about it. In the past, you've almost certainly just made (rather than just missed) a letter grade boundary by a thin margin; perhaps that's happened to you in other courses, but in any case, it will probably happen to you in the future in some part of your life. These chance events even out over the course of many years. Slim consolation for now, but it really is true.

Extra Credit As the syllabus notes, there is no extra credit in this course. It’s like the Olympics: if Simone Biles goes for a Gold Medal in the Olympics and comes up short, can she write a paper to win the needed extra credit? No, she focuses on doing it right the first time. So should students focus on doing well on the formal course requirements, which are designed to test your mastery of the core material you need to know. Some instructors assign extra credit for activities such as participating in extra experiments, but that is not the purpose of the subject pool (as it’s called), and your participation in experiments is not supposed to affect the grades you receive. A second reason why extra credit is often not a good idea is that some students use it as their Plan B, in case they don’t perform well on the formal course requirements. The danger in that strategy is that research shows* that people who adopt a Plan B (a backup or escape plan, in case things don’t go well) tend to lose their motivation to succeed with Plan A. So it’s better to focus and do well on the formal requirements. Third and last, to the extent that a course uses any degree of curving in grade assignments (see above), offering extra credit can allow a student who does less well on the formal requirements to surpass another student who did better (and even drive down that student’s grade). As a result, all students might have to pursue extra credit to protect themselves from this possibility, so it no longer would be “extra” credit. So my advice is to for you to focus on doing well on what you are supposed to do in this or any other course: achieve mastery of the core material. * http://99u.com/articles/54228/the-danger-of-making-a-backup-plan