FOUNDATIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY

PSYC 3070

ASPIRE Evening Program

Simpson University

Spring 2008

Diana Hamar, MA Phone: 246-4142

dhamar@simpsonuniversity.edu http://hamarscompendium.com

Course Description

This course will focus on preparing students for future courses in psychology. An Overview of the field of psychology will be provided including major ideas and theories, subfields of psychology and various graduate school and career options. In order to promote success in the psychology major, foundational academic skills (e.g. using the library, reading, research, writing APA style papers, how to present scholarly information) will be addresses via community building activities.

Learning Outcomes	Assignments to assess learning outcomes
1. Identify expectations Simpson University’s ASPIRE program has for psychology majors	Review syllabus, assignment quality of papers and presentations discussed
2. Demonstrate an increase in basic knowledge about the field of psychology in order to prepare for future psychology courses	Overview of psychology theories and careers. Group research and paper presentation on the variety of fields in psychology. Topic to be assigned. Midterm and final exam.
3. Begin to explore long term career and academic goals that a degree in psychology makes possible.	Lecture, group research and presentation of paper.
4. Demonstrate proficiency in the basics of APA style of writing papers.	Weekly in-class exercises and check of correct APA style writing. Peer editing within group.
5. Demonstrate and understanding of academic skills necessary for success in future courses.	Lecture and exercises focusing on developing critical thinking skills and improving test-taking skills. Plagiarism worksheet.

Psychology topics to be addressed:

Overview of history of psychology
Overview of major theories in psychology (psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, humanistic/existential, cross cultural)
Nature vs nurture debate
Ethics in psychology, particularly in terms of conducting research and helping professions.
Subfields and careers in psychology or related fields.
Preparing for employment and/or graduate school.

Academic skills to be addressed:

Study skills and test taking skills (adjust according to skill base of students in the class)
How to access research done in psychology (i.e. how to use the library).
How to read research / literature in the field of psychology. For example how scholarly papers are organized (abstract, introduction, methods, etc)
How to evaluate for scholarly sources (peer-reviewed journal, magazines, on-line journals, etc.)
How to write APA style papers. This includes basic writing skills, knowing how to write an empirical paper and literature review, as well as the basics of APA.
What plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
How to prepare for term seminar projects. (see attached handout)

TEXTBOOKS:

Kuther, T. L. (2006). The psychology major’s handbook (2^nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson

Wadsworth.

(Optional)

APA Publication Manual, 4^th edition (recommended, especially for those bound for grad school).

Myers, D. G. (2007). Psychology *8^th ed.). New York; Worth Publishers

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

50 points Class attendance and participation (up to 10 points per class session).

100 points Mid-term exam: objective and essay questions will be taken from the text, class lectures, videos shown, and presentations.

100 points Final exam: will emphasize the topics covered since the mid-term, but may contain questions that are comprehensive. This exam may be both objective and essay.

200 points Research paper: See handout for details. You will need to have 3-5 formal sources.

50 points Presentation – Professional in tone.

500 Points Total

GRADING

Your final grade is based on the total points accumulated. Pluses and minuses are given for totals within eight or less points of the cutoff. Grading is not based on curve.

A - 500 to 450

B - 449 to 400

C - 399 to 350

D - 349 to 300

F - 299 or below

Note:

Absences, for any reason, do not accumulate any points.
Being late or leaving class early will lead to point deductions.
More than 2 absences may result in a failing grade (refer to college policy manual).
Talking to neighbors in class or distracting behaviors will result in loss of points.
Text messaging during lectures will result in writing a paper on the topic of the lecture.
Tests must be taken as scheduled.
Late tests or papers are subjected to a 20% deduction of points. Instructor may waive this if there is sufficient reason.

WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

In order to keep up with the lecture materials, you will need to read at the following pace.

Notes for lectures may be found on Website, but are only a skeleton outline. You must attend lectures to gain full understanding of each topic.

1^st meeting Introduction to Foundations in Psychology

Library Access & Reading Research.

Literature reviews and writing empirical papers.

Overview of the History & Theories of Psychology

Group Communication Introduction & Assignment

Thesis Statement due

2^nd Meeting Overview of the History & Theories of Psychology

Group communication – Improving listening habits

APA – Details of title page, Headers, Footers & Parenthetical Notations

Plagiarism

Study skills & taking tests –

Take Midterm within next week

(download from http://hamarscompendium.com )

3^rd Meeting Careers in Psychology

Group communications – Improving verbal and nonverbal effectiveness

List of References due – Reference page check

APA Style & Organization of paper –

Midterm Exam - due

4^th Meeting Phases of Group development

Group Roles – voluntary vs. involuntary & Improving group climate

Conflict management - Working with difficult people

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

Careers in Psychology continued & preparing for employment

Outline of paper due

5^th Meeting Ethics in the field of psychology

Group Presentation

Research Papers Due

Final Exam due last meeting of class

(download from http://hamarscompendium.com )

QUESTIONS and COMMENTS

My presentation style may use many case examples drawn form my experiences. The use of such examples is to illustrate the application of materials being studied. Any resemblance to you, your relatives or friends is purely accidental. Please feel free to ask questions that will further facilitate classroom discussion. I do, however, reserve the right to redirect or defer questions at any time. Please do not engage the class in attempts to diagnose yourself, your friends and/or your relatives.

Academic Honesty

“Each student is responsible for performing academic tasks in such a way that honesty is not in question. Unless an instructor specifically defines an exception, students are expected to maintain the following standards of integrity.

1. All tests, term papers, oral and written assignments, and receptions are to be the work of the student presenting the material.

2. Any use of wording, ideas, or findings of other persons, writings, or researchers requires the explicit citation of the source; use of the exact wording requires a ‘quotation’ format.

3. Deliberately supplying material to a student for purposes of plagiarism is also culpable.”

****Note****

If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please inform the instructor the first day of class.