School: North Georgia College and State University
Department: Psychology & Sociology
Instructor: Chuck Robertson, Ph.D.
Course #: PSYC 1101
Title: Introduction to General Psychology
Semester Hours: 3 credit hours
Office: 102B Dunlap Hall
Phone: 706.867.3220
Office hours: check
my Google Calendar, and By Appointment
Web Site:
http://radar.ngcsu.edu/~clrobertson/index.htm Book Site:
http://courses.bfwpub.com/psychmod.php Email:
clrobertson@ngcsu.edu Prerequisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Course Description: A broad study of the major topics in psychology including but not
limited to research methodology, the brain, biological and social factors influencing
behavior, development, learning, memory, personality, abnormal behavior, therapy, and
gender and cultural variables.
Course Objectives: I want to share with you the depth and breadth of psychology. We will
investigate many of the main areas of study and you will learn that psychology is a science.
This course will put you on the way to being a well-educated person. We will briefly cover
the history and methods of psychology. We will also spend some time learning about our
brain and our body. The vast amount of time in our class will be spent on cognition and the
mind.
Methods of Instruction: I will lecture on the material that we all need to learn and
provide examples in class. When applicable we will all participate in experiments and
demonstrations in class to help explain ideas/constructs/theories... Feel free to ask any
questions that might come to you during lecture. It is my philosophy that introductory
psychology class be fun and I want you to get answers to your questions of why people
behave in certain ways and why you do the things you do. That being said this is not an easy
class, but the work you put into it should be beneficial to your understanding the world.
Evaluation Methods: You will have 3 tests during the semester including the final. Each
test will be worth 100 points. I do not give makeup tests, but if you come to class
everyday, you will be well aware of our test dates and the material. Should you miss a test
(and there is no reason you should) your grade will be replaced with your score from the
final (test 3). If you take advantage of the quizzes that we will be working on mostly before exams I will give you up to three points added to your final grade, one for each section. The quizzes will be online and will be excellent practice for our exams. (This means if the cut off for a B is a 76 average and you have a 73, you win with the bonus points.)
The three tests during the semester will consist of two parts. Part 1 will be a more traditional test. You will take it as an individual and it will make up 75% of your test grade. You will take this exam online like our quizzes. The next class period (or an hour later in summer) after an exam we will get together and take collaborative exams. I will put you into groups and you will all take the exam together. The groups score will make up 25% of your test grade. During this exam you will only be using each others brains.
Anything in the book and anything covered in lecture are fair game for test
material. The last exam will be taken during our scheduled final exam period. You will have a two hour window to complete it.
General Expectations:
Attendance: I do not take attendance (other than roll verification). That being said, you
should never miss class or be late.
Withdrawal: I will not automatically drop you from the roll for excessive absences. It is
your responsibility to complete all withdrawal forms..
Participation: There is no grade or assessment assigned to classroom participation, but all in class activities and discussion are designed to aid your learning and I strongly suggest you
participate. Of course, taking our online quizzes will greatly benefit your learning.
Individual/Collaborative Work:
Cheating is not acceptable behavior. If you are in doubt as to what constitutes cheating on
homework assignments or tests then you need to come and clarify it with me before you
cheat. Anyone caught cheating will be sent to Academic Affairs and I will ask them to fail
you and remove you from my class for the remainder of the semester. Should you decide
to be a psychology major after this, you will need to take my classes.
All tests will be a product of your individual work/processing.
Working on your own: You need to read the textbook and you need to take some decent
notes that will allow you to ascertain what in the textbook is important to me.
Course Content (by week) we will make adjustments as needed. You will find a link on my website with a tentative weekly schedule on it.
Important Dates:
FINAL EXAMINATION!... you are responsible for attending the final examination during
the time scheduled by the VPAA’s office. You may find the time to all your exams by
visiting the Calendar section of the NGCSU website and viewing the final exam matrix.
http://www.ngcsu.edu/vpaa/Main%20Pages/Calendars.shtml Knowledge base: You will need the online text and access to our course portal.
Text: Myers in Modules, 8e.
http://courses.bfwpub.com/psychmod.php ISBN for the eBook and PsychPortal: 1429207523
ISBN for the eBook and PsychPortal + a traditional hardback text: 1429225866
Other: I may make readings available on our
class blog site; http://intropsych.edublogs.org/
Class evaluations: Class evaluations at NGCSU are now conducted on-line through Banner.
Evaluation of the class is considered a component of the course and students will not be
permitted to access their course grade until the evaluation has been completed. The
evaluations will be accessible beginning one week prior to Final Exam week. Specific
instructions will be made available when the surveys are activated.
Academic Integrity Policy:
Honor Code: "On my honor, I will not lie, cheat, steal, plagiarize, evade the truth or
tolerate those who do."
Suspected violations of the Academic Integrity policy should be referred by students to
the instructor. If the instructor concludes that a violation of the Academic Integrity
policy has occurred, the instructor will either (1) penalize the student and file an incident
report with the Academic Integrity Council or (2) refer the matter directly to the
Academic Integrity Council. If an incident report is filed by the instructor, the instructor
will review the completed report with the student and will request that the student sign
the report as an indication that the student is aware of the contents of the report.
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities:
North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) is committed to the full inclusion of
individuals with disabilities and to the principle of individual rights and responsibilities. To
that end, the policies and procedures of NGCSU reasonably ensure that a person with a
disability is not, on the basis of that disability, denied full and equal access to and the
enjoyment of academic programs and co-curricular activities or otherwise is subjected to
discrimination in such programs and activities.
The policies for access by individuals with disabilities at NGCSU are designed to
ensure full compliance with all pertinent federal and state legislation, specifically to
include Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) of 1990.
To receive disability accommodations, the student should contact the Coordinator
of Disability Resources, Office of Academic Support Programs, Room 207 Barnes Hall.
Approval of reasonable accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.