Honors Syllabus Addendum

PSYCHOLOGY 1010 – SECTION 003 – FALL 2014

HONORS SYLLABUS ADDENDUM

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Monisha Pasupathi, [email protected]

Congratulations on joining me for the Honors section of Psychology 1010. You are responsible for all the assignments, exams, and material covered in the main syllabus for Psychology 1010, section 002; policies outlined therein also apply to students in the honors section. The primary purpose of an honors section is to promote a deeper engagement with course material, fostered by closer contact and interaction with a faculty member.

What’s in this Syllabus Addendum?

This addendum outlines the additional objectives, assignments, experiences, and events associated with the honors section. It is necessarily incomplete, as some features of the course must be determined in conjunction with enrolled students.

Additional Learning Objectives

In the honors section, you will practice applying the science of psychology to problems that you care about. We will begin the term by identifying 1 or 2 problems to focus upon in our exploration of applications of psychology. Then, we will jointly identify, present, and discuss an additional reading that links each week’s course topic to the problem(s) selected by our group. By the end of the term, each of you will write a focused term paper outlining a relationship between your chosen problem, and a particular area of psychological research that you choose to target.

Additional Materials

Additional materials for this class will include primary journal articles relevant to the chosen problem(s) for the semester. These will be available via the Marriott Library, many in electronic form.

Methods

The additional meeting hour for this course is structured like a seminar – we will meet to discuss supplemental readings; our discussions will focus heavily on how the course material and supplemental readings illuminate our chosen problem. The reading load will vary from 2-3 abstracts to a full journal article in each week, depending on whether you are a main presenter for that week.

Assignments & Grading

As with the main class, you will have the 600 points from the exams, on-line quizzes, and research participation. In this course, there are an additional 200 points associated with assignments for this class: weekly participation (36 points), a presentation assignment (24 points), and the final paper (140 points).

Attendance/Participation: 36 points

You are expected to attend the honors section class meetings at least 12 times during the semester (class will meet approximately 13-14 times) and to participate actively. Each attendance occasion with active participation is worth 3 points, for a maximum of 36 points.

Short assignments: 24 points

You will be expected to present and lead discussion of at least one reading during the semester – ideally, one that is relevant for your chosen final paper topic.

Final Paper: 140 points

In the final paper, you will review applications of psychological research in a specific area of psychology of your choice (e.g., memory research) to the problem we chose for the semester (e.g., obesity). You are expected to include the readings for that week of class, as well as additional readings identified by you. One possible way to approach this assignment well is as follows: Propose a solution to the problem that involves your area of psychology; evaluate existing research that either supports your solution, or explicitly tests it; and suggest the best next steps for your solution (e.g., develop the solution and test it in the laboratory, field-test the solution in an ecologically valid context, etc.). Grading criteria for the paper are: 50% accurate and sufficiently detailed review of appropriate literature; 35% clarity, structure, and writing quality; and 15% grammar, spelling, and formal elements of writing. How are my Grades Determined?

Your final grade for the course is determined by your percentage of total points, out of 800 possible points.

Grade Points needed Percent Equivalent A 744-800 93-100 A- 720-743 90-92.99 B+ 696-719 87-89.99 B 664-695 83-86.99 B- 640-663 80-82.99 C+ 616-639 77-79.99 C 584-615 73-76.99 C- 560-583 70-72.99 D+ 536-559 67-69.99 D 504-535 63-66.99 D- 480-503 60-62.99 E 0-479 0-59.99

Schedule of Topics and General Due Dates

Wee Main Class Topic Honors section Topic What to do k 1 SCHEDULING A TIME AND TURN IN Turn in a PLACE FOR THE CLASS SCHEDULING INFO scheduling TO DR. PASUPATHI information BY 8-27!!! sheet (see end of this document) by 8-27 to Dr. Pasupathi via email. 2 Chapters 1-3: Introductions, We will Introduction/Methods/nature- identifying problems of choose our nurture interest, assigning problem focus topics/weeks, lit search today. discussion 3 Biological Bases Neuroscience and We’ll begin Psychophysiology presentation Discussion/Presentatio assignments n by topic today – Dr. P will model the presentation with the Wee Main Class Topic Honors section Topic What to do k readings on biological bases 4 Sensation and Perception Sensation/Perception discussion/presentation 5 Consciousness Consciousness discussion/presentation 6 Learning Learning discussion/presentation 7 Memory Memory discussion/presentation 8 FALL BREAK NO MEETING 9 Motivation & Emotion Motivation/Emotion discussion/presentation 10 Thinking, Language, IQ Thinking/Language/IQ discussion/presentation 11 Development Developmental perspectives 12 Personality Personality perspectives 13 Social Social 14 Thanksgiving NO MEETING 15 Chapter 14/15/16: Clinical Clinical, Stress-n- Psychology, Stress and Coping Coping 12- FINAL PAPER DUE AT 5PM 15 SCHEDULING SHEET

Below, please list ALL times during the week that you COULD NOT attend a 1-hour class meeting on campus. I will be in touch Thursday, August 28th by 5pm about honors class meeting times. A location will be determined by Friday, August 29th. Communication about location and time will go out via email, please check your university email to ensure that you receive this information in time.

Name: ______

Contact: ______

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