Syllabus

New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Department of Social Sciences

Introduction to Psychology

PSY 1101/Section PSY 2020 D897

Spring 2020

Instructor: Dr. Duysal Aşkun Çelik Class Meetings: Monday & Wednesday, 8:30-9:45 AM

Office Phone: 718-260-5080

Office Location: Room Namm 601A and Online on Openlab & Blackboard (Bb)

Office Hours (in person): Monday 10-11am or by appointment

Office Hours (online): Wednesday 10-11am or by appointment

e-mail: daskuncelik@citytech.cuny.edu

Instruction Mode: Hybrid (Online and In-person)

Instructor’s Open Lab Site: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/psy2020springd987citytechcunyedu/ (under construction)

Required Text: Rose M. Spielman, Psychology 2018 Rice University Houston Texas (Open Source material, CC)

Available on bookstore and also at amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Rose-M Spielman/dp/1680922173/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me

You can also download for FREE:

https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology

Course Description: This course is intended to be an overview of the different topics subsumed under the general discipline of Psychology. These are the areas which the psychology faculty believe to be the most important as a foundation for the understanding of psychology. Needless to say, we will be covering the conventional understanding of what psychology is assumed to be all about. This course also allows students to access Blackboard, where you will find a copy of all information pertinent to this course. Details on how to access Blackboard and what you should do in case there are any problems are provided below.

The course covers the following in scope:

Methodology, history and theories of psychology, brain and behavior, neuropsychology, socialization, motivation, emotion, perception, learning, thinking, intelligence, personality and the adjustment processes, and social psychology.

Prerequisite: CUNY proficiency in reading and writing

COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT METHOD

LEARNING OUTCOMES	ASSESSMENT
Demonstrate an understanding of classic and contemporary theories of psychology	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in-class & online activities
Demonstrate an understanding of the different research methods that psychologist use to study overt and covert behaviors	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in- class & online activities
Demonstrate an understanding of the different areas within psychology, along with their terms and concepts	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in- class & online activities,
Demonstrate an ability to apply psychological concepts to real world situations	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in- class & online activities

GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT METHODS

LEARNING OUTCOMES	ASSESSMENT
KNOWLEDGE: Develop an introductory knowledge of psychology methodology and concepts	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in-class & online activities
SKILLS: Develop and use the tools needed for communication, analysis and productive work	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in-class & online activities
INTEGRATION: Work productively within and across disciplines	Exam items, assignments, in-class & online discussion, in-class & online activities

Competencies:

Upon Completion of this course, students will have acquired the following competencies:

1. The ability to define psychology and explain how psychology differs from nonscientific approaches to the study of behavior.
2. The ability to understand the various approaches to analyzing, evaluating, and reporting psychological data.
3. The ability to identify and describe the major sub-fields of psychology.
4. The ability to compare and contrast the basic assumptions that define the various approaches to understanding human behavior.
5. The ability to relate theory to the research method used by psychologists.
6. The ability to discuss how physiological aspects can affect human behavior.
7. The ability to identify and apply the principles of learning theory to human and animal behavior.
8. The ability to identify and describe abnormal types of behavior and the therapeutic approaches used to assist those with psychological disorders.
9. The ability to identify the different types of memory systems, and to discuss the factors that can affect memory.
10. The ability to identify the different types of social behaviors that can influence individual behavior.

Readings: You are expected to read the material in advance of the class meeting for which it is assigned. Since there is simply not enough time to cover everything in the assigned chapters, only certain points will be highlighted during class lecture periods. However, exams are given based on the information contained in the book. Therefore, in order for you to do just better than average on exams you will need to have read the material. You will also need to do your readings, in order to pass the quizzes.

Exams: There will be two in-class exams (see schedule for dates) and one online exam. Two mid-term and one final exam (online). Exams are usually multiple choice or T/F, will contain approximately 30 questions and will be graded from 0 to 15 points.

Action Assignment: There will be action assignments after some lectures. You will be required to write and discuss about your experience related to the topic at hand from a personal angle. The assignments should be uploaded to Blackboard (Bb) on or before the due date of the assignment. Each action assignment will be accompanied by a related discussion board where you will also be evaluated based on your participation, responses to others and overall online contribution. You will not be able to get a complete grade for an assignment unless you post on the related discussion board at least 2 answers to your classmate(s) and make at least one important contribution by tackling the discussion through a statement, a claim or an evidence.

Action Assignment format should be no more than 2 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 font. The margins of the page should be aligned (Ctrl-D function on your keyboard).

Online Discussion Posts: Every week, I will be posting an “intriguing” question/phenomenon/issue that will be useful to discuss further for our enhanced understanding of the topic at hand. You will need to answer that post through two required answer formats: 1. Direct answer to the instructor 2. Response to your classmate at least 2 times. I will be checking and responding to the discussion post every day during the week except Tuesdays.

The rubric for the weekly discussion posts are as follows (highest point 15):

Criteria	0	1	2	3
The audience (Instructor + Classmate)	No one	Only one (Instructor or classmate)	Both	Answer both audiences more than 2 times
Critical Contribution	There is no critical contribution that stimulates further thinking or ideation	Critical contribution towards the instructor prompt	Critical contribution both towards the instructor and towards the classmate	Critical contribution extends to other classmates’ discussion
Referencing	No referencing to any class material	Uses referencing while responding to the instructor	Uses referencing while responding to both	Referencing on all posts that exceeds just the instructor and one classmate
Relevance	No relevance to the topic at hand	Slight relevance	Moderate relevance	High Relevance
Timeliness of Posts	Misses the weekly posts all the time, posts very late	Mostly misses the weekly posts or mostly posts late	Somewhat misses the weekly posts or somewhat posts late	Never misses the weekly posts and always posts on time
Quality of expression	No clear statements including having several grammar problems	Some clear statements with grammar problems	Clear statements with some grammar issues	Completely clear statements with no/minimal grammar problems

E-portfolio: The e-portfolio is to further enhance your understanding of the class topic by applying your learning through different modalities.

Starting with our first assignment on personal perceptions, I would like you to do the following in order throughout the whole semester in our Psych 1101 course:

1. Write an essay on your perceptions and how it differs from the others in the same or similar situation-3 pages-Times New Roman-double spaced-to be posted on Bb by March 1^st, 2020
2. Shoot a personal video outlining your thoughts and realizations while doing this exercise-5 minutes maximum-to be posted on Bb by March 15^th, 2020
3. Find a video/set of images that reflect your understanding over this issue. You can shoot one if you feel fit without violating the confidentiality of others-get informed consent if you want to shoot a video of others-to be posted on Bb by April 1^st, 2020
4. Conduct 3 interviews with whom you feel relevant for our topic. It could be people from whom your perceptions completely differ in similar situations. Report your interviews in the conversation format which should be typed-to be posted on Bb by April 15^th, 2020
5. Create a Project proposal based on what you found. It could be a course, workshop, a short film…etc. that is exactly on the topic you have worked on. Should be at least 3 pages long, outlining Project summary, Project description, tools and methodology-to be posted on Bb by May1st, 2020.

Online group presentation: As a team of 5, you are required to select a topic from below and prepare a presentation:

• States of Consciousness
• Social Psychology
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Stress, Lifestyle and Health
• Biopsychology
• Learning
• Psychological Research
• Thinking and Intelligence

As a team, you need to cover the following in your presentations which should not last more than 20 minutes:

• Importance of the concept for the field of Psychology
• The main concepts
• Major scientific studies about the topic
• Daily applications
• Related video(s) about research and/or daily life

The presentations are due 11^th or 13^th of May depending on your group’s schedule to be determined.

Your evaluation as a group will be based on the following (each criteria 3pts):

• Relevance & Content
• Teamwork
• Presentation style
• Organization
• Timing

The team grade applies to all team members except your team evaluations prove otherwise. At end of the term, each team member will be given the following team evaluation report. Any member that receives the same point (below 3) from at least two members of the team will have his/her overall presentation grade reduced greatly. The team evaluation form includes the following:

Rating Scale	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
	4	3	2	1

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Overall contribution to the team project, including attendance at team mtgs.

2. Consistently completed work on time.

3. Quality of work contributed.

4. Cooperative team member. Helped the team function effectively as a group.

The overall Criteria for Grading:

2 IN CLASS EXAMS and 1 ONLINE FINAL EXAM 15 % EACH = 45%

3 Action Assignments = 15% (complementary with contributions on the discussion board)

ONLINE Discussion Posts= 10%

ONLINE Presentation on the Topic of Choice = 15% (Group through Blackboard Collaborate)

E-portfolio=15%

Active Participation* extra up to 15 %

Attendance & Participation: Class begins at 8:30 AM and I am required by the college to take accurate attendance. During the class, I give utmost importance to your active participation. You might get additional points (up to 15pts on your overall final grade points) for your participation by asking relevant questions and related comments to my provoking questions. This includes the discussion posts where you can always demonstrate an above average participation and I’ll make sure to take note on that.

*Active Participation: Active participation includes, but is not limited to, such things as asking/answering questions, participating constructively in class activities and discussions, completing your coursework in a timely manner and being respectful of your fellow classmates and your professor. I also give utmost importance to the proactive manner in which you approach the course work in general.

Calculating Your Final Grade: Your final grade will be calculated using the values found below. If you would like to know if you are passing the class at the midsemester point or if you would like to know what score or scores you will need to average a particular grade at the end of the semester please use the Grade Calculator found on Blackboard under “Course Information”.

Grading Scale

A  = 93-100

A- = 90-92.9

B+ = 87-89.9

B   = 83-86.9

B-  = 80-82.9

C+ = 77-79.9

C = 70-76.9

D   = 60-69.9

F   =  59.9 and below

(Please note that the college does not have a C- grade)

Blackboard

Access to Blackboard:

You may access Blackboard via the City Tech website (www.citytech.cuny.edu) by clicking on the Blackboard link under “Quick Links.” If you do not have an account, click on Register Now to create a new student account. Click on Student and fill out the requested information. Type in your username and password. Once you have logged in, you will find a link on the right side of the page named Blackboard 9.1. When you click on it, you will be redirected to your Blackboard homepage. Then click on your course. Alternatively, you can login to Blackboard via the CUNY Portal www.cuny.edu and click Log-in. For help logging in, see http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/bb9student_videos/login/Login.html

If you need help immediately, please contact either Rezaul Hoque (718) 254-8565 in the G600 computer lab and at the email address: itec@citytech.cuny.edu

Help with CUNY Portal:

If you need help with the CUNY Portal, for example, you do not seem to have a CUNY account no Blackboard please contact the Student Helpdesk located on the 1st Floor of the Library (L114), inside the Student Welcome Center. The telephone number is 718-260-4900, or e-mail them at studenthelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu.

Help with Blackboard:

• If you need assistance with Blackboard (your Blackboard account is not working properly), contact the Instructional Technology & Technology Enhancement Center 718-254-8565 or e-mail at ITEC@citytech.cuny.edu. Alternatively, drop by the student lab, G-600, at any time during its hours of operation.
• Information about the CUNY portal and the various features of Blackboard may be found below:

http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/studentbb.html

• This Blackboard student tutorial will show you how to use the various features of Blackboard, such as logging in, using the Discussion Board, working in groups, checking your grades, and sending an e-mail. It also contains FAQs.

http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/CIS/functions/bb/userguides/student/FAQforstudent_Brochure.pdf

http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/CIS/functions/bb/userguides/student/FAQsforstudentinimages_Sp13.pdf

• “Blackboard Student User Guides” can be found at the following links:

This is the City Tech Student User Guide, which provides a quick introduction of the basics using PDF’s and videos.

http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/studentbb.html

This is the CUNY Student User Guide, which provides lots of detailed information using PDF’s and videos

http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/CIS/functions/bb/userguides/student.html

Help with City Tech e-mail

You must use your college e-mail to communicate in this course. If you’re having trouble with your Student Email, please contact the Student Helpdesk located on the 1st Floor of the Library (L114), inside the Student Welcome Center or visit http://cis.citytech.cuny.edu/Student/it_student_email.aspx . The telephone number is718-260-4900, or e-mail them at studenthelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu. In general, a student’s new e-mail address will be their firstname.lastname@mail.citytech.cuny.edu.

If you need to update your e-mail, refer to the links below for instructions. Please note that it must be a City Tech or CUNY e-mail account.

http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/bb9student_videos/updatingemail/UpdatingeMail.html

http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/CIS/functions/bb/userguides/faculty/ChangeEmailAddressSP13.pdf

Miscellaneous

Electronic Devices: According to page 73 of the Student Handbook, “The use of cell phones is prohibited in classrooms… [and] any other areas where instruction…is taking place.” Accordingly, the use of cell phones, smart phones, or any other wireless hand-held device in this class is prohibited.”

You are more than welcome to use your laptop during class, to take notes or to follow the lecture. However, if you are found using your laptop for anything other than this class, you will immediately lose this privilege.

 

Fellow Student’s Information: Please do not ask me to give you anyone’s paper or grades. I also cannot give out any personal information that I might have for another student. If you would like to contact a fellow student, email addresses are available on Blackboard.

Emails: Please do not use my e-mail address for trivial matters. If you are having problems with something, by all means contact me. If you are going to be late or absent for a class do not e-mail me with this information.

Availability of Course Information: If you need copies of any information, for example PowerPoint overheads, the syllabus, or study sheets for exams, you can find copies of these on Blackboard. I will not email any of this information.

Academic Integrity: The following academic integrity standards are taken directly from the College Catalog. Since academic integrity is a very serious matter, I expect all students to read the following information and be aware that I do take any form of academic dishonesty as a serious offense. Please read carefully the section on plagiarism. This is especially important for this class because if I find that you have plagiarized an assignment, you will be given a zero for the assignment and will not be permitted to rewrite the assignment. Basically, avoid cutting and pasting at all costs. If you would like to read the academic integrity standards in full, you can find the entire text in the College Catalog, or in your Student Handbook.

Academic dishonesty includes any act that is designed to obtain fraudulently, either for oneself or for someone else, academic credit, grades, or any other form of recognition that was not properly earned. Academic dishonesty encompasses the following:

Cheating: Defined as intentionally giving, receiving, using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids, including any form of unauthorized communication, in any academic exercise. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with instructors to determine whether or not a study aid or device may be used.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is intentionally and knowingly presenting the ideas or works of another as one’s own original idea or works in any academic exercise without proper acknowledgement of the source. The purchase and submission of a term paper, essay, or other written assignment to fulfill the requirements of a course and violates section 213-b of the State Education Law. This also applies to the submission of all or substantial portions of the same academic work previously submitted by the student or any other individual for credit at another institution, or in more than one course.

My (Old School) Electronic Device Policy:

You have plenty of time to check your email, text messages, voicemail and/or social media before or after class. Thus, the use of any type of electronic device during this course is banned for the duration of the semester – including (but not limited to) the use of cell phones, smart phones, pagers, iPads, iPods (i-Anything really), laptops, digital recorders, et al. Any student caught using an electronic device in class without prior permission from the professor will receive one friendly warning. After that, you will automatically lose ten (10) points from your assignment grades for every subsequent infraction.

Accommodations:

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities. If you have specific physical, psychological or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible so that your learning needs can be appropriately met. If you have not already done so, you will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Center for Student Accessibility, which is located in L-237 in the Library Building.

General Disclaimer:

Please note that the contents of this class syllabus are not set in stone, and are subject to change at the discretion of the professor. Any changes to this syllabus will be announced during class.

My Availability: Please note that I will not respond to emails on the weekends, except for those weekends preceding an exam. Thus, if you email me on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday that is not the weekend of an exam, I will not answer your email until the following Monday.

Please note that the following outline is subject to change. If changes are made, you will be advised in advance. Furthermore, YOU are responsible for making sure that your outline is up to date. You can find a copy of the most recent outline on Blackboard.

THE CLASS SCHEDULE & SPRING 2020 CALENDAR

Week	Location	Topic & Chapter Number	Discussion main Topic	Deliverable	Additional Online Materials to cover
1	In-person	Welcome, Introduction to Psychology, Brief History Ch. 1	Psychological Approaches	Discussion post	Introduction to our Open lab site and its contents: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/psy2020springd987citytechcunyedu/
2	Online	Psychological Research Ch. 2	Further Understanding of Operational Definition	Discussion Post Action Assignment #1(should also include a discussion post)	Below is the link for an Openlab Psychology site where you will have a taste of being a participant in a real psychological experiment! Please check this out, try one and let me know how it felt/and how you think about it-the whole experience. http://www.openlabpsychology.com/
3	In-person	Biopsychology Ch. 3	Where biology and psychology mostly intersect	Discussion post
4	Online	Sensation and Perception Ch. 5	To be posted	Discussion post
5	Online	Learning Ch. 6	To be posted	Discussion post E-portfolio Step 1 due
6	Online	Thinking and Intelligence Ch. 7	To be posted	Discussion post related to Action Assignment # 2
7	In-person 1st Midterm	Memory Ch. 8	To be posted	Discussion post
8	Online	States of Consciousness Ch. 4	To be posted	Discussion post E-portfolio Step 2 due
9	Online	Emotion & Motivation Ch. 10	To be posted	Discussion post
10	Online	Social Psychology & I/O Psychology Ch. 12&13	To be posted	Discussion post
11	In person 2nd Midterm	Life Span Development & Personality Ch. 9&11	To be posted	Discussion post E-portfolio Step 3 due
12	Online	Psychological Disorders Ch. 15	To be posted	Discussion post related to Action Assignment #3
13	Online	Therapy & Treatment & Final Review Ch. 16	To be posted	Discussion post E-portfolio Step 4 due
14	Online-Bb Collaborate	Team Presentations	To be posted	Discussion post
15	Online Final Exam	–		Discussion post E-portfolio last assignment due

Discussion Post Topics for the first 3 weeks of course:

Week 1: Introduction to Psychology as a Discipline: Psychological Approaches

Now that you know the overall approaches to psychology as a discipline, I would like you to think about the all the psychological approaches we have introduced so far namely the behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, phenomenological and biological, and then choose one problem in your daily life then come up with a specific question to be asked from one or two of the approaches above. The question example could be as follows:

Response to me: What was my problem-solving approach when I had missed the subway train today? or Which part of my brain was involved in speech when I was a child?

Response to your classmates: Any comments/further questions to what your classmates had posted.

Week 2: Psychological Research: Further understanding of Operational Definitions

Consider the below statement:

“People in the east are usually very stressed and aggressive”.

Response to me: Please let me know what is wrong with the above statement considering what we discussed under “operational definition” and “scientific research”. I will be happy to respond to your comments. Many thanks…

Response to your classmates: Any comments/further questions to what your classmates had posted.

Week 3: Where does Biology and Psychology mostly intersect? Problems/Treatment/Neuroscience

Consider the latest developments in the Biopsychology field, and try to make a short exploration on where the two fields mostly interact to produce certain outcomes.

Response to me: Is it mostly problems, for treatment purposes or neuroscience advancement? Come up with your own perception of what the latest findings. You can use online resources with key words included here.

Response to your classmates: Any comments/further questions to what your classmates had posted.