We have designed this course with four objectives in mind. At the end of this course all of you should:

1. know the basic terms, concepts, principles, methods, and perspectives of psychology;
2. be able to apply this knowledge to your own life and the world around you;
3. be able to think critically about psychology and pop psychology;
4. be able to do the first three things after you get out into the so-called real world after college.

These objectives are hierarchical. You cannot do objective 3, for instance, without first being able to do objective 2. All the course requirements are designed to help you achieve these four objectives.

Course Requirements:

There are six different kinds of course requirements: tests, lab, structured academic controversies, the change project, pre-lecture assignments, and intellectual dialogue.

Tests. There will be four tests, made up of multiple choice and essay questions. Each test will cover material from the textbook and lectures. The forth test will be given on the date of the final exam, but it is not a final and is not cumulative. It is the same as the other three tests. Each test is worth 90 points toward your course grade. There are 30 multiple choice questions, worth two points each, and essay points totaling 30 points on each test. Dates for the tests are given on the course schedule below. The teaching interns assigned to this class will hold review sessions before each test to help you prepare.

Lab. Every student must attend their assigned lab section. Lab grades will be worth 100 points. Your grade will be given to us by your teaching intern at the end of the semester. At your first lab meeting you will be given a separate syllabus and assignments for lab, as well as an additional lab textbooks. IMPORTANT NOTE: The textbook that we are using is somewhat different from other textbooks used at CSB and SJU. Sometimes your lab assignments will require you to look up things in your text may not be there. if you can't find a bit of information, say a concept or definition, that you need for lab, just ask us and we will get it for the class. This way you will have the advantage of using our text, which emphasizes critical thinking and the application of your knowledge, without any disadvantages caused by the uniqueness of the text.

Structured Academic Controversies. The structured academic controversies, or SACs, are a kind of mini-debate that you will carry out in class in a small group. Your small group will be divided into two sides that discuss and take sides on a real controversy within psychology. The SACs will be explained more fully in a separate handout. Each SAC will be worth 70 points. There are a total of three during the semester. All students in the small group that carries out the SAC will receive the same grade unless there is evidence of social loafing, a psychological term for "not doing your fair share."

Change Project. As part of this course you will conduct a simple behavior modification project on yourself. This project, designed to change some aspect of your behavior that you want to change, will be introduced and describe in detail later. The change project is worth 100 points.

Pre-lecture Assignments (PLAs). These are twelve short written homework assignments given during the semester. Each is worth 10 points. The first two are due at the start of class before the lecture starts, hence the name pre-lecture. Beginning with the third one, you will e-mail your answers to Sigmund Freud (sfreud@csbsju.edu) two hours before the beginning of class. These homework assignments are designed to prepare you for the material we will cover in a given unit and to motivate you to read and think about the assigned chapters in the text.

Intellectual Dialogue. This portion of your grade consists of two parts--an assessment of your class contribution (through small group and whole class discussions), and your participation in our electronic conference. Beginning with the third PLA, you will post a Make Up Your Own (MUYO) question on the chapter and explain why you are interested in this question. This question should be significant and your explanation of why your are interested in this question should show thoughtfulness. For many questions, for most of the really important questions, there is no one right answer. The MUYO question is your opportunity to communicate what is of significance in your reading. After the first class meeting on a topic, but before noon on the following day, you will read each other's questions and carry on a conversation on the electronic conference. We have divided the class into two sections for the purposes of the electronic conference--those in section One will primarily post and respond on one forum, while those in section five will converse on another forum. You are free to read the other forum, but we want to keep the forums small enough that you will get to know the other members.

Class Expectations:

We have three general expectations for you that we wish to be up front about. They are that you will work hard, be in class on time, and follow the funny rule.

Work Hard. A lot of what people mistakenly believe to be "intelligence" or "mental ability" is really just intellectual skill. Like all skills, such as hitting a tennis ball or swimming the butterfly, intellectual skills develop with a little bit of coaching a lot of practice and hard work. We provide the coaching, you provide the hard work. Think of college as your job. The average college professor at a liberal arts college like St. Ben's or St. John's works, on average, 55 hours per week. According to economist Juliet Schor, more than 25% of employed Americans put in over 49 hours of work per week. if you think of college as your job, and each of your four courses as one fourth of your job every week you are looking at 11 to 12 hours per course (assuming a 44 to 48 hour work week). We expect you to do 11 or 12 hours of work per week if you wish to succeed. Since the work is not evenly spread out (although we have tried to balance it) and since you have demands in your other courses, you need to plan ahead and work ahead whenever you can. So don't fall behind in your reading, come to class having done all the reading before we start a unit (if possible) and start studying for the tests immediately. With hard work, each and every one of you can master the course objectives.

Be in class on time. Woody Allen is reported to have said that 90% of success in life is showing up. In this class you are expected to be in class on time. If you absolutely must come in late, do so in a way that does not disturb the rest of the class. Also keep in mind that the course catalog clearly states the university attendance policy: "Students are required to attend all class meetings of courses for which they are registered. It is the student's responsibility to contact an instructor-preferably in advance--of a necessary absence. A student absent for any reason assumes the responsibility for making up work which has been missed" (p. 18). So be in class and be there on time. In addition, missing more than two class meetings will cause a reduction in your intellectual dialogue grade.

The Funny Rule. Our third expectation is that you will follow a rule that may sound strange to you but in reality is closely related to Woody Allen's remark about success. Here it is: After you come to class, you will remove your watch and put it in your pocket, bag, or pack where you cannot see it or get to it. You will also disarm any beepers or alarms that you may have set. The only exception to this rule is that you may wear your watch during tests. Get into the habit of taking off your watch at the start of class. Now, you will be asking yourself why should there be such a seemingly stupid and extreme rule. Our answer--to maximize your performance in class you need to mentally be here, to pay attention and focus on what is happening in class and not be thinking about all your other concerns, worries, and needs. The watch often makes it difficult to be "where you are, when you are there." Of course, at the end of our time together you need to go on to your other responsibilities. In order to make sure that we never go over, we will wear a watch with a beeper set for 12:28. At the two minute warning you will know that it is time to pay special attention to what we have to say. (We will often summarize the important points or give clues to what will be on the test in the last two minutes.) This way class will never run late. The time, however, is our concern, not yours. Your concern is with grasping the material. Removing your watch will help you do that.

Grading:

Grades in this course will be based on the number of points you earn out of a total possible 1000 points.

Your letter grade will be determined according to the following table:

Tentative Class Schedule: