General Psychology Psychology 1 Section 08 ... - Foothill College

General Psychology
Psychology 1 Section 08, CRN 20808
Fall 2011
T, Th 12:00-2:15
Room: 3403
REP CONTACT
research-exp-program@stanford.edu
REP REGISTRATION
http://stanford-rep.sona-systems.com
REQUIRED TEXT
Psychology
Saundra K. Ciccarelli and Glenn E. Meyer
Prentice Hall (I accept the 2 nd & 3 rd Edition of the text)
Ben Stefonik
Office: 3023
Office Hours: T, Th: 10:00-11:00AM
W: 3:30-4:30 & by apt.
Phone: 650-949-7473
E-mail: stefonikbenjamin@foothill.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed as a gateway to the many different areas of psychology. It is an
introductory course, which means just what is says: It will introduce you to a number of different ideas,
perspectives, ideologies, explanations, theories, methodologies, topics and people in the field of
psychology. Because psychology is such a large, multifaceted discipline the time we have to dive deeply
into any one particular topic will be limited. This, however, gives the course its most interesting
characteristic: From the exposure and study of each facet of the discipline, you will be able to develop a
holistic perspective on an entire branch of science. That is, by the end of this course you will gain the
knowledge and thinking skills to develop a birds-eye view of what psychology is.
Furthermore, although the field of psychology contains a great deal of content, including theories,
concepts, terms, researchers, and biological information (and subsequently this class will contain a great
deal of content), psychology is also a process. We are all, to some degree, armchair psychologists insofar
as we all regularly reason, postulate, and generate conclusions about people and their behavior.
Psychology, of course is not so casual, rather it’s a process of applying the scientific method to questions
about behavior, which demands rigor and detailed attention – the beauty of which is descriptive accuracy
and the elucidation of the complexities of behavior. Thus, this class will seek to not only increase your
knowledge of the field of psychology but to also nurture your ability to approach questions about
behavior by using the process of scientific inquiry.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To learn and demonstrate mastery over the fundamental concepts from each of the chapter topics
covered during the semester (i.e., to increase your knowledge of the various topics included in the
discipline of psychology).
a. Identify the reasons why psychology is a science.
b. Identify the major theoretical perspectives in psychology.
c. Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings as these relate to everyday life.
2. To develop and refine your critical thinking skills. To gain the tools (creative thinking, skeptical
inquiry and the scientific approach) necessary to learn how to think like a psychologist.
3. Personal development: To understand and be able to apply psychological principles to personal, social
and organizational issues. Furthermore, to develop insight into your own as well as other’s behavior and
mental processes and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
4. Career planning and development: To learn how to pursue realistic ideas about how to implement your
psychological knowledge, skills and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of settings.

IMPORTANT POLICIES
1. Student takes sole responsibility for withdrawal procedures from the course.
2. Make sure that the e-mail you have on file with Foothill College (through the Banner System) is valid
and is one which you regularly check. Sometimes I may need to send an e-mail to the entire class and if
your e-mail is not accurate, you may not get information that you need.
3. All exams must be completed in class during the regularly scheduled time unless the student has
worked out an arrangement prior to the exam date.
4. Disruptive behavior and derogatory comments will not be tolerated. We will seek to foster an
inclusive and respectful atmosphere where all opinions, beliefs, attitudes and religious backgrounds are
respected. Derogatory, homophobic, racist, or sexist language is unacceptable. Students who are
disruptive in class will be asked to leave and will be required to have a meeting with the professor and the
dean of student affairs.
5. Plagiarism is unacceptable. Evidence of plagiarism on any assignment will result in a score of 0 for
that assignment. Even one sentence plagiarized will earn you a score of “0”. Plagiarism is defined as:
to steal and pass off another person’s words as your own (even definition of terms)
to use other people’s productions without crediting the source.
copying a sentence, but only changing 1-2 words
If you use the exact words from another person’s text, you MUST quote and cite the text. If you
do not, it is plagiarism.
6. If you have any questions regarding anything about this course, please feel free to e-mail me, talk to me
after class, stop by my office hours, or arrange an appointment with me. Also, college is a professional
environment. All correspondence with me via e-mail should reflect this professionalism. E-mails that
read like text messages are frowned upon by both me as well as the broader academic community. Please
use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation with all e-mails. However, do not be concerned about
minor errors. We are all human, and humans make errors! Just be sure to be respectful and appropriately
formal.
GRADING SCALE
A = 90% and up
B = 80–89%
C = 70–79%
D = 60–69%
F = 59% and below
Source Portion of
Grade
Quizzes 15%
Exams 30%
Homework & 35%
Article Analyses
Participation 10%
REP Program 10%
*I grade by adding cumulative total points/total possible points
**Extra credit opportunities will be available throughout the quarter and will count toward your
cumulative total points.

ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES
Quizzes: In addition to a midterm and a final, there will be several multiple-choice quizzes throughout
this course.
Article Analysis: You will be required to read and provide a critical analysis of several primary source
research studies. There are research studies that have been published in peer-reviewed journals and
provide you will a first-hand account of how psychology generates knowledge. I consider these
assignments to be the heart of the course, because it gives you the opportunity to participate in the process
of psychological inquiry.
Readings: Finally, another critical factor to your success in this course is that you complete the readings
for each chapter. For each chapter you will be given a list of concepts/topics to read. I expect you to
have a thorough understanding of the concepts and topics I assign from the text. I suggest taking notes
from the readings and “adding them” to the notes from the lecture of each chapter. Quizzes and tests will
contain questions from both the lectures as well as the materials you are required to read from the
textbook.
LATE WORK
Late work will not be accepted. In order to receive credit for an assignment, you must complete it on
time. Late work will only be accepted if you speak with me before the deadline to arrange an extension.
This is final. If you are absent the day a paper is due, you MUST send me the assignment in an e-mail
before the class period begins. The assignment must be attached as a .doc or .docx format. If you do not
have MSWord, then you must paste the text into the body of the e-mail. I DO NOT ACCEPT ANY
ATTACHMENTS OTHER THAN .doc or .docx
REP INFORMATION (SUMMARY)
Your Credit Requirements: 5.3
SONA Registration & Demographic Survey
(Due: Fri. Oct. 7, 5pm) (for 1 Credit)
All study credits can be completed with inperson
studies but you must complete a
minimum of 2 in-person study credits.
The remaining 2 study credits can be completed
by online studies
Mandatory Exit Survey (starts during last 2
weeks of the course). (for .3 credits)
REP DEADLINE: Fri. Dec. 9, 5pm
REP PROGRAM GRADING
REP program participation will count for 50 points. You must complete the REP program OR the
alternative assignment. For the REP program you will be required to complete 5.3 credits of study
participation. If you choose to participate in the REP program, you will need to complete a minimum of
3.3 credits to earn ANY points. When you complete 3.3 credits, you will have received 30 points. After
3.3 credits, each 0.5 credit will be worth 5 points up to 50 points. If you do not complete the exit
survey, your score will be deducted 5 points.
I do not give extra credit for completing extra REP credits beyond the requirement.
REP CONTACT
research-exp-program@stanford.edu
ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT
If you choose the alternative assignment, you will be required to complete a 5 page research paper. The
paper will be a summary of two primary source research articles. The paper must include summaries of
the thesis, supporting arguments, research methods, and conclusions of two experimental research
articles. I will provide a more detailed prompt for the writing assignment if you choose this option.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance and participation are critical to this course. Your participation score will be measured by:
attending class, taking good notes, being present and engaged, contributing to class discussions, and
participating in group activities (there will be several throughout the semester). Participation will be a
significant factor in your final grade. We will have aprox. 20 days of instruction and each day of your
attendance and participation will be worth 1 point toward your final grade (days in which there are group
activities will be worth 2 pts). Thus, by simply attending and participating in class you will be earning
points toward your final grade.
Because we have so much interesting material to cover, it is also critical that you arrive to class ON
TIME. An attendance sheet will be distributed at the beginning of class and students who arrive 10+
min. late will be marked absent.
In order to avoid an unexcused absence, you must contact me before class VIA E-MAIL or PHONE
Important Dates
10/7 – Last day to add, drop, and qualify for a refund
10/14 – Last day to drop without a grade, and file pass/no pass
11/23 – Last day to Withdraw from a semester length class (get a “W” on your transcript)
Student Services
www.foothill.edu → “Student Services”
*Excellent Resources Are Available – Take Advantage Of Them!*
Money For Books: Visit the Foothill College Financial Aid Office to find out if you can get money to
pay for your classes, books, supplies and many other expenses. Room 8202, or Ph: (650) 949-7245

PSYC 1.08 (T, Th) GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
FALL 2011 SCHEDULE
Week Chapter Date In-Class Activity Assignments & Due Dates
1 Chapter 1:
9/27
The Science of Psychology 9/29
2 Chapter 1:
The Science of Psychology
3 Chapter 5: Learning 10/11
Chapter 6: Memory 10/13
4 Chapter 6: Memory 10/18
Chapter 2: Biological
Perspective
5 Chapter 2: Biological
Perspective
Chapter 3: Sensation and
Perception
6 Chapter 8: Developmental
Chapter 7: Cognition
10/4 Article Analysis 1
(Due 10/11)
10/6 Design an Experiment
Quiz 1 (Ch 1 & Article)
10/20 Quiz 2 (ch. 5 & 6)
10/25
10/27
11/1
Chapter 7: Cognition 11/3 Quiz 3 (Ch. 2, 3, 8)
7 11/8 Midterm (Ch. 1, 5, 6, 2, 3, 8 & 7)
Chapter 14: Psychological
Disorders
8 Chapter 14: Psychological
Disorders
Chapter 12: Social
Psychology
9 Chapter 12: Social
Psychology
10 Chapter 13: Theories of
Personality
11/10
11/15 Quiz 4 (Ch. 14)
11/17
11/22 Article Analysis 2
(Due 11/29)
11/24 NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/29 Personality EC
(Due 12/1)
Chapter 9: Motivation &
Emotion
12/1 Quiz 5 (Ch. 12 & 13)
11 Chapter 9: Motivation &
Emotion
12/6
Chapter 10: Sexuality and 12/8 Reflection Essay
Gender
(Due 12/8)
12 12/13 Final Exam (Ch. 14, 12, 13, 9, 10)
Tues. 12/13 12:30-2:30
3403
*This schedule is subject to change so it is your responsibility to stay abreast of course materials*

Chapter 1: Research
Psychology Now: Modern Perspectives
Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Humanistic, Cognitive
Sociocultural, Biopsycholgoical, Evolutionary
Chapter 5: Learning
Classic Studies in Psychology: Biological Constraints
on Operant Conditioning
Instinctive Drift
Cognitive Learning Theory
Tolman’s Maze-Running Rats: Latent Learning
Kohler’s Smart Chimp: Insight Learning
Seligman’s Depressed Dogs: Learned Helplessness
Chapter 6: Cognitive
Getting It Out: Retrieval of Long-Term Memories
Retrieval cue
Encoding specificity
Recall & Recognition
Tip of the Tongue
Serial Position Effect, Primacy Effect
Recency Effect
Flashbulb Memory
Chapter 2:Biology
Central Nervous System
The Brain
The Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system
Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception
Gestalt Principles
The main idea behind the Gestalt Principles
Figure-ground, Proximity, Similarity, Closure
Continuity
Chapter 8: Developmental
DNA
Genes
Chromosomes
Student Reading Guide
Chapter 7: Cognition
Relationship Between Language and Thought
Does language influence the way people think?
Compare and contrast:
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Cognitive universalism
Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
Models of Psychological Disorders
Biological model, Psychodynamic view
Cognitive perspective, Biopsychosocial perspective,
Behaviorist Perspective
Types of Disorders
Anxiety, Somatoform, Dissociative
Mood, Personality
Specific Disorders
Agoraphobia, Panic Attack
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Somatization Disorder
Dissociative Amnesia, Bi-Polar Disorder
Anti-Social Personality Disorder
Chapter 12: Social Psychology
Asch’s Conformity Study
Obedience: Milgram’s study
Social Loafing
The Power of Social Roles
Chapter 13: Theories of Personality
Freud
Cultural Background
The Unconscious Mind, Divisions of Personality
Id, Ego, Super ego
How the three parts of personality work together
Chapter 10: Gender and Sexuality
Theories of Gender Role Development
Social Learning Theory
Gender Schema Theory
Master’s and Johnson’s Observational Study
Kinsey’s Contribution to Psychology
Chapter 9: Motivation and Emotion
Approaches to Understanding Motivation
Instinct Approach, Drive-Reduction Theory
Incentive approach
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Subjective Experience: Labeling Emotion