Course Overview

This course is designed to provide an introduction to a wide variety of psychological disorders and related concepts. As you will read about in more detail from the text, we will try to develop a holistic, integrated understanding of contributing factors for each disorder as well as look at current knowledge of available treatments. Overall, the two main goals of the course are to:

1. introduce the fascinating study of abnormal behavior and familiarize students with core concepts and current research literature in this field
2. help students become critical consumers of course material, as well as of the representation of behavior disorders in the popular media, including the Internet.

To accomplish these goals, this course involves several components described below and draws on multiple resources including a required text, supplementary readings (from Web sources, popular magazines, and research articles), and discussion forums. I emphasize discussion forum participation to increase student interaction because I believe that students can learn a great deal from sharing their ideas about the course material and discussing those ideas with other students. There are also (optional, but recommended!) video clips available on the CD-ROM as well as other case examples to help you better understand these disorders.

It will be essential to pay close attention to course deadlines as you work to complete course requirements. Although many of the deadlines occur on Monday, there are exceptions so keep track of deadlines in whatever way works best for you.  Also, please read this course home page carefully so you clearly understand what the course requirements are. If you have questions, ask them now!

Before you begin, review these Study Tips. Following these guidelines will help you get the most out of this course.

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Required Text

Barlow, D.H., and V.M. Durand. Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach, 4th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005.

The text can be obtained from Friday Center Books & Gifts at the Friday Center either by ordering online or by printing and mailing the book order form.

The Barlow and Durand text is a readable and enjoyable text that offers current and comprehensive coverage of psychological disorders. The text also has excellent Web resources and comprehensive case examples on the included CD-ROM.

The organization of this course generally follows the organization of the text, although I have modified the order of some topics, as you will see from the course schedule. For each lesson, you will be expected to read material from the text, usually a complete chapter. Reading objectives will help you focus on important topics as you study. Although these reading objectives emphasize general concepts to focus on and understand, you are expected to read the entire assigned chapter. For each assigned chapter in the text, you will complete an online quiz.

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Supplementary Readings

I will often refer you to Web pages or online articles that enhance the course material. Some of the online articles will be posted through the electronic reserves (e-reserves) system at UNC, and others will be available through InfoTrac (see below). These additional online resources will sometimes function as tutorials on the information that is presented in the text, but more often they will cover additional material. (Your midterm and final exams will cover the material referenced in the "Assignments" section of the weekly course Web pages, but not those in the Additional Web Resources, Readings, and Activities" section.) In addition, these supplementary assigned readings will often be used as a platform for the discussion forum.

InfoTrac

Some of the online articles will be available through InfoTrac. You will receive a free four-month subscription to this service--as well as instructions on how to access it--when you purchase your textbook. If you have purchased a used textbook, you can still access InfoTrac through the UNC library system. The easiest way to use InfoTrac is to request an "Advanced Search" by the record number for the article (I will supply the record number to you). Select "Start Searching" under the Expanded Academic ASAP heading then select "Advanced Search" from the left side menu. Use the drop-down menu under "Key Word" and click on the "Record Num" option. Type in the record number for the article in the box provided.  InfoTrac should locate the specific article.  Click on "View" when the article has been accessed.  You can then print the article or read it online.

CD-Rom Cases

Once we reach the chapters on specific psychological disorders, useful cases are presented on the CD-ROM. I describe these on the weekly pages in the "Additional Web Resources, Readings, and Activities" section. Students in my on-campus course have noted that the videos I use to show students what the disorders look like are powerful teaching tools. To provide a similar experience in this Web course, I selected a textbook that provides cases on a CD-ROM. I will also take advantage of "naturally occurring" cases in the media. Since it is not standard to require CD-ROM access in CCO courses, I do not require students to view the cases or draw on them for class assignments. However, I believe it will be very helpful for you to view as many of the CD-ROM cases as you can. You can also use them as a good review tool. As you view the cases, try to identify specific symptoms the cases illustrate and judge how closely the presented symptoms match the diagnostic criteria.

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Discussion Forum

The discussion forums give you the opportunity to voice your opinions and respond to the opinions offered by others on key issues related to the course. The "Class Questions" discussion forum also provides an avenue to ask and answer other students' questions about course logistics—e.g., how others have successfully accessed Infotrac—as well as questions about course material not related to the other discussion forums. One advantage of an online course is that it encourages individuals with very different life experiences to engage in discussions relevant to the topic of study. To capitalize on this strength, this course places heavy emphasis on your interactions within discussion forums. There are forums on various topics and you are expected to participate in them as instructed on select lesson pages. You are expected to share your opinions on the course material and build upon the insights of other students. I will be monitoring the discussion forums to ensure that all comments are respectful and on-task. If at any time you feel that someone's comments are inappropriate, please notify me via e-mail.

Based on past experience with the discussion forums, I want to provide some guidelines regarding the posting of personal information on the forums. While some sharing of personal information can be appropriate (if related to class material) and happens in classroom settings, the added anonymity of online classes leads people to share more than they might otherwise. A general frame of reference when deciding if something is appropriate to the forum would be: is this something I would normally get up in a classroom and share with 25 people I do not know well? Another good rule of thumb is to monitor your own emotional reactions to course material and take more time to consider whether the content of a response or post is appropriate when you are having a stronger emotional reaction. Another option would be to run any questionable content by me. I can help guide you. 

One last clear and fast rule, you should never directly attack (insult/personally criticize) another student in your post. It is important that we treat each other with respect in order to have productive and appropriate discussions. Finally, if you ever read something in the forum that concerns you or seems inappropriate, feel free to drop me an e-mail. I do read the posts, but not everyday, so e-mail will get to me more quickly, particularly during lessons with no active forum.

The discussion forums are largely designed so that you will learn interactively with each other. I will function in a more passive role, expecting you to respond to each other’s questions and comments. If you ever have any questions that you’d like me to answer directly and quickly, please e-mail me and I will respond as quickly as possible.

The caution/limits I suggested on posting your own personal information are doubly true for posting personal information about someone else.  Keep in mind that it is possible that someone could figure out the identity of that person, based on your identity and your relationship to that person.  Thus, not only could sharing their information be considered a violation of their privacy but if what you shared had legal ramifications... well, hopefully you get the point.  So, please remember to be thoughtful and mindful of others' rights to privacy when posting.  Now, back to the course-related discussion forum logistics.

Our discussion forums are in Blackboard. There is a link to Blackboard at the top of every course page. You will log into Blackboard, and then choose the forum for the current week of the course.

Your discussion forum participation will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Quality of writing: I expect a conversational style, with no major grammar or spelling errors, and clear ideas. Concise writing is preferred--generally one paragraph per posting is sufficient.
• Mastery of course material: Opinions should draw on and demonstrate understanding of course material.
• Interactivity: The extent to which you respond to other students' ideas in an appropriate and constructive manner (even where you disagree) is important. Students who participate in well-developed "threads" of discussion will do well in this category. It is important that you participate and post to the forum at least twice during the assigned time frame of that forum. In addition to posting your opinion related to the discussion topic, you can also post:
  1. to pose a question related to the discussion topic (something that you didn't understand, something you're curious about), and
  2. to respond to another student's posting.

Again, you should plan to post to the forum at least twice during each lesson as a bare minimum. At least one of your posts should be in response to another student.

Your participation in discussion forums will contribute 20 percent to your grade in the course. Thus, your participation (or lack thereof) in this area of the course can significantly raise (or lower) your course grade. More information and tips are provided on a page called Instructions for the Discussion Forums. 

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Optional Student Review Project

Some students prefer to write papers rather than have their grades solely determined by tests. For those of you out there, you can choose to complete a brief paper called a student review project. For this project, you will function as a reviewer of how some aspect of abnormal psychology is presented in the media. To begin, you should look at the topics and disorders we will be covering (see the Course Schedule or look through the text chapters) and choose a topic area that particularly interests you (such as PTSD, family factors in depression, community treatment for schizophrenia, and so on). Then, you'll need to identify a specific resource related to this topic that you want to review.

Your options include:

• InfoTrac article—Do a search of InfoTrac to identify articles on your topic; select an article and critique it.
• Other literature and print media—Select a magazine or journal article within your area of interest; review and critique it.
• Web resource—Search the Web to find an online resource related to your area of interest to review and critique.
• Movie—View a movie related to your area of interest; review and critique it.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

1. You must get approval from me for both your general topic of interest and for the specific resource you would like to review, particularly if you choose to review a movie. The primary reason for this step is that I must be familiar with the resource you select in order to evaluate your review. If I am not familiar with your selection, I will need to determine whether I have time to read/review it myself or whether you will need to select an alternate resource. During this approval process, I will also evaluate whether your selected resource is appropriate for the project.

2. To do this project, you must first review these details and guidelines for the student review project to better understand the specifics and requirements.

3. You must decide and notify me of whether you wish to complete a review project. Again, see the details and guidelines for the student review project for more information on what's involved.

This project can contribute 10 percent to your grade.

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Quizzes, Exams, and Grading

Quizzes

To make sure that you keep up with and understand the textbook material, you will be asked to complete online quizzes on each chapter. You can access the quiz site from any of the lesson pages. You will take your quizzes using an online software package called Blackboard. See "Course Mechanics" for more information.

The quizzes will be available until 10 pm EST of the individual due dates. You may take the quiz at any time before then, but you must submit your answers before 10 pm on the due date. Again, pay attention to these due dates—you are responsible for noting and adhering to the course schedule! When you have submitted the quiz, you can view your grades in the Student Gradebook section of Blackboard.

You will be graded on a pass-fail basis for each quiz and can take these quizzes open book (it will be good practice for the exams to write down the answers you think are correct without looking at your book, and then check any answer you are unsure of before submitting the quiz). Credit for 60 percent or more of the questions is considered passing. Cumulatively, the quizzes will contribute 10 percent to your course grade.

Exams

There will be a midterm exam and final exam, together accounting for 70 percent of your grade in the course if you do not complete a student review project and 60 percent of your grade if you do. The exams are weighted so that whichever exam you perform better on will receive more weight in the calculation of your final grade. The exams will cover material from the textbook, course Web pages, discussion forums, and assigned supplementary readings, and will be composed of multiple-choice, fill-in-the blank, listing, and short-answer/essay questions. Unlike the quizzes, exams are to be taken closed book. You are not to look at your text, the class Web pages, or any other material, using only your memory and understanding of course material.

You will take your midterm and final exams using Blackboard. You will be quite familiar with Blackboard by the time of the midterm because you will have used it for the quizzes and discussion forums. On exam day, the test will be made available at 12 am. You will have 90 minutes to complete the midterm and two hours to complete the final exam (once you enter the exam site, you must submit the exam within the allotted time). Your exam must be submitted before 11:30 pm on the exam day.

Very Important Notes

• The exams will only be active in Blackboard on exam days from 12 am until 11:30 pm.
• Once you click on the exam link at the Blackboard site, you will have started the exam. Do not enter the exam site until you are ready to take the test. You have 90 minutes to complete the midterm and two hours to complete and submit the final exam—no longer! Set a timer! It is a violation of the Honor Code to exceed the allotted time for the exam.
• Be certain to follow the instructions that appear on the exam carefully.
• You have only one opportunity to take the midterm and final exams.

Grading

If you choose to complete a student review paper, your grade will be based on the following percentages:

If you do not choose to complete a student review paper, your grade will be based on the following percentages:

*The midterm and final exam will be weighted such that the exam you perform best on is weighted 10% more than the other exam.

If any of the required course elements are neglected, it is very difficult to achieve a passing grade for the course. For example, if a student passes all quizzes and exams but does not participate in the discussion forums, it will be difficult for that student to pass the course.

Grade reports will not be e-mailed or mailed. You can access your grades in the "Student Gradebook" section of Blackboard. Because your midterm and final exams include essay questions, your grade will be incomplete until I have time to grade everyone's essays.

You may access your final grade from the Student Central Web site. (You will need your Personal ID number and PAC number, issued by the University Registrar, to access the information on this site.) For transcripts, call 919-962-0497.

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Honor Code

As a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: "It shall be the responsibility of every student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support 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." Plagiarism is a particularly serious Honor Code violation. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, contact me.

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Class Communication

Outside of the discussion forums, much of our class communication will be carried out using the "E-mail Communication" features of Blackboard. This will allow you to send e-mail that gets sent to everyone in the class simultaneously.

While using these tools will make it easier for me to communicate with you, you should also feel free to send messages of your own to the class, such as "Can anybody help me understand the role of sublimation in phobias?"

Alternatively, if you only want to send e-mail messages to me, use my personal e-mail address instead. Please feel free to e-mail me whenever you have a question about anything. That's what I'm here for. An instructor's e-mail link is provided in the navigation bar at the top of each course page.

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Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Some of your class components (discussion forums, quizzes, and exams) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to login to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.

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), you will find help on the Onyen Web site.

Use your Onyen to login to Blackboard, then click on the "PSYC 245 CCO Fall 2007" link. You will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion 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), you will find help on go to 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. If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to consult this page for instructions on how to access the resources. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources.

E-mail

All communication from your instructor 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 e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.

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

It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to me via e-mail. If I don'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 may need to 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 me with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to me at the top of every lesson page. Please include "PSYC 245 CCO" in the subject line of your e-mail.

Contact the 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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Course Schedule

Class will follow the approved UNC-Chapel Hill academic calendar. You are not expected to participate in class during holidays or breaks. Again, pay close attention to the schedule and the calendar. It is crucial to keep up with the reading assignments in order to complete the various components of this course.

A Final Note

Students in abnormal psychology courses sometimes experience "medical student syndrome" where they start to worry that they have some (or all!) of the disorders they are studying. In most cases, these fears are unjustified. However, if you find that the course material does hit close to home and suspect this goes beyond "medical student syndrome," discussing it with a professional may be helpful. 

• If you are an enrolled UNC-Chapel Hill student, Counseling and Psychological Services (966-3658) is available at no charge to discuss your concerns to determine how best to meet your needs. This service is strictly confidential. 
• If you are not a UNC-Chapel Hill student, and you have a clinical concern, you are advised to seek assistance with an appropriate professional in your area. The American Psychological Association answers questions on choosing a therapist, and provides  nationwide contact information. You can also call the APA at 1-800-964-2000. 
• Another resource is the North Carolina Psychological Association's Psychologist Locator Service:
  1004 Dresser Court, Suite 106
  Raleigh, NC 27609 
  Phone: (919) 872-1005 
  Fax: (919) 872-0805 
  E-mail: ncpa@interpath.com

Lesson 1