Course Overview

PSYC 101 is structured to provide you with an overview of the many areas of the rapidly changing science of psychology. No prerequisite is required, and no prior knowledge of psychology is assumed. This survey course will introduce you to many of the underlying principles and approaches believed to guide human behavior, including biological factors, learning, memory, social cognition, intelligence, emotion, and personality.

This class is not a self-help course; it is an introductory science course.  You might gain some insight into your own behavior or the behavior of others along the way, but that is not the primary focus of this course.

The majority of the course will be spent learning about normal human behaviors and the techniques that psychologists use to research these behaviors.  We will discuss psychological disorders and treatments, but only during the last few weeks of the course.

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Required Text

Robert S. Feldman, Understanding Psychology, 8th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2006.

The text is available from Friday Center Books & Gifts at The Friday Center. You can order the text online, or you can print out the book order form to fax or mail with payment as indicated on the form.

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Objectives and Expectations

In completing this course you will be able to:

• define both the science and the practice of psychology;
• identify the various subfields and specialties within psychology;
• understand the importance of the scientific method to the study of psychology;
• explain the conditions that allow experimental research to infer cause and effect relationships;
• compare different theoretical and methodological approaches to behavior;
• master terms, names, concepts, scientific experiments, and theories vital to the understanding of psychology as a science;
• apply psychological principles and findings to solve real problems;
• critically evaluate sources of information found on the World Wide Web.

In this course you will be expected to:

• complete textbook assignments. This involves:
  • reading all assigned chapters.
  • completing an online quiz after mastering each "unit" of the text. 
  • preparing written commentary on the assigned reading—short answers to specific critical thinking assignments for each chapter.
• participate in an ongoing structured discussion forum. This involves:
  • initiating discussions on proposed and related topics.
  • responding to musings posted by your classmates and professor.
• submit all written assignments by the due dates.
• successfully complete the midterm and final exams.  Complete information will be given to you as we approach both exam dates.

In order to complete PSYC 101 successfully, you will need to spend approximately three hours a week reading required assignments online, including items posted to the discussion forum. You will need to spend an additional two to three hours "surfing" the Web, evaluating Web sites, and posting to the discussion forum. The required text readings and assignments (quizzes, exams, critical thinking essays) should require another six to nine hours of your time each week.

Yes, it can be quite time consuming. But, it is only fair to compare that figure to the time you would spend if you were taking the course on campus—you would spend three hours per week in the classroom and an additional six to nine hours per week doing the required readings, completing the written assignments, and preparing for exams. (And that estimate might be a bit low...)

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Grading and Exams

Grade by percentage:

• 20%—quizzes 
• 20%—midterm exam
• 25%—final exam
• 20%—discussion forum participation
• 15%—Web papers

Grade by point value (out of a total of 1,000 possible points):

• quizzes—210 points (14 quizzes x 15 points each)
• midterm exam—200 points
• final exam—250 points
• discussion forum participation—210 points
• Web papers—130 points (2 x 65 points each)

Your final grade will be based on the total number of points you accumulate and determined with the following scale (minus and plus grades will be awarded):

900 - 1,000 = A (900-929 earns an A-; more than 930 earns an A)

800 - 899 = B (800-829 earns a B-; 830-865 earns a B; 866-899 earns a B+)

700 - 799 = C (700-729 earns a C-; 730-765 earns a C; 766-799 earns a C+)

620 - 699 = D (620-669 earns a D; 670-700 earns a D+)

619 and below = F

Late Policy

Please pay attention to all due dates. Early submission is accepted and encouraged. Late discussion forum posts and Web papers will not be graded, but late quiz submissions may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Late exams will be penalized 25 points per day late. Submit your work early if you are worried about meeting a deadline.

Quizzes

You will take your quizzes online using Blackboard. See Course Mechanics for information on accessing Blackboard.  Do not access or attempt to access a quiz before you are ready to take it.  Each quiz will be graded automatically and information on your performance returned to you.  

Most quizzes are scheduled for Friday of each week, but there are some exceptions.  See the Lesson Schedule for all of the due dates.  

Quizzes are due by 11:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on the date indicated.  ALL quizzes must be completed, and they must be submitted ON TIME.

Examinations

There will be one midterm and one final examination. These will be essay and true-false justify (answer true or false and then provide your reasoning) in format, and they are designed to give you the opportunity to show me what you have learned. The emphasis will be on integration, analysis, and application, not memorization. Exams will be sent via e-mail.  Complete information will be given to you as we approach each exam date.

My goal for this introductory course is for you to understand and apply many of the principles underlying the science of psychology, not simply to memorize terms and definitions, so exams will be open book. You may utilize your text, notes, and course pages for reference, but you may not ask for or receive help from another person (except your instructor) to complete the exams. Please be sure that all of your answers are entirely your own. If there is any question or suspicion of plagiarism or cheating, the Honor Court will be notified.

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The Discussion Forum

You must maintain an active presence in the discussion forum—our electronic "classroom." This will be considered your participation grade for the course. If your participation is not at an acceptable level, you will receive an e-mail message directly from the instructor.  Please read this brief section on "Netiquette" before posting. You will access the discussion forums in Blackboard. See Course Mechanics for information on accessing Blackboard. 

In using the discussion forum, you will be expected to do at least THREE of the following EACH week:

• respond thoughtfully to questions posed by the instructor;
• post a question or comment that occurs to you while working through the readings;
• respond to a question or comment posted by a classmate;
• generate your own insightful questions that probe deeper into the subject material;
• comment on a link that you have explored (listed or newly discovered).

How will discussion postings be rated or graded? As I read your postings, I will ask myself:

• Did you do the requisite reading(s)?
• Did you think about this issue?
• Have you read and considered earlier postings?
• Are your answers relevant? insightful? appropriate?

The discussion forum will be open continually, and it is meant as a place for you to exchange information, share ideas, share opinions, form opinions, and help each other throughout the semester.

All posts to be graded for a particular week should be posted by the quiz deadline for that week. Additional posts are welcome and encouraged. Continued discussion among all of us will help everyone master the material.

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Web Papers

You will be expected to complete two brief "Web papers" on topics of your choice.  These papers will give you an opportunity to expand upon some of the discussion forum assignments and delve a bit deeper into a particular topic or idea that interests you. You should choose a topic that we have covered in the course, and find three relevant Web sites that expand upon this topic.

The Web papers should be brief—about a page each—and should include:

• a brief introduction, including any relevant information from the text, Lesson Notes, and Discussion Forums
• a description of what you have learned from your Web explorations
• a brief conclusion or statement that reflects your personal interpretation or analysis of what you have learned

You should also include a reference list with URL information that includes a brief summary of each Web site used. Do not include these summaries in the body of your paper.

The papers must be submitted on or before their due dates.  You are encouraged to submit them early, especially if there is a chance that you will miss the deadline, because I will NOT accept late Web papers.

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Study Strategies

SQ3R—Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review

• Survey—look over the material, flip through the chapter, notice the main headings and the length of each section. Choose a GOAL for this reading session. I suggest one (self-contained) section of the chapter. Never try to read more than 20-30 pages at one sitting; you won't retain much, and it will be a waste of your time.
• Question—write down a few questions that you have after flipping through the chapter. You need to start thinking about this subject matter before you start reading. The idea here is to get your brain ready to accept some information. I guess it's like turning on your thinking cap. Let's say you need to "turn on your complex, fully integrated information processor and ready it to accept the incoming data."
• Read—now it is time to start reading. Read for meaning—think and integrate as you read. Keep in mind that you are not reading a novel.
• Recite—talk about what you have read. There are lots of ways to do this, and the discussion forums set up for this course are designed for just that purpose. Let's discuss what you just read!
• Review—later, after you have finished reading, review what you (should have) learned—with the textbook closed. How much do you remember? Return to any parts that are sketchy.

See also the MURDER study technique outlined on page xxv of your textbook.

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Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Course quizzes and discussion forums are accessed through a software program called Blackboard. I will use Blackboard to make announcements to the class and to provide further instructions for assignments and exams. There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard. Click on the "PSYC 101" link, and you will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the forums, quizzes, and so on.

If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:

• If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.

• If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), visit the Onyen Web site.

• If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.

• If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.

• If you can't locate an exam or discussion forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer.

• If you have other technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).

Library Services and E-reserves

Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves and e-journals. If you are off-campus, when you click on a restricted library resource (such as e-reserves), you will be prompted to enter your UNC-Chapel Hill Onyen. If you are unable to access the library's licensed resources, please contact the proxy team for further assistance.

E-mail

E-mails regarding the course will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC mail using Webmail. You can have your Onyen e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward email” at the Onyen Web site. Please also notify Janice Durham at the Friday Center of the change.

If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff.

Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.

Submitting Assignments

This semester we will make use of the assignment function in Blackboard for submitting your work. It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you submit via Blackboard or e-mail. If your instructor doesn't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.

Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You should send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to your instructor and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.

Other Questions

Contact your instructor with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to your instructor at the top of every lesson page. Please include "PSYC 101" in the subject line of your e-mail.

Contact your Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with this Web site, including bad links.

If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).

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Lesson Schedule

The structure of the course is based on the structure of your textbook, but we will be skipping around some chapters and returning to others later in the term. We will use the following schedule:

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Honor Code

Remember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code, which states that "It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity."

An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism.  Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. Please read these items on plagiarism:

• What is Plagiarism?
• Plagiarism handout from the UNC Writing Center
• Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It
• The UNC Honor Code explanation of plagiarism

You must include a brief citation or notation any time you use an outside reference, even if you do not include any direct quotes. If you have questions, please consult your instructor before you submit your work.

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