Principles
of Psychology:
Psychology 110-02 Syllabus (Winter 2011)
Neil Lutsky
Olin 111, x4379, e-mail: NLUTSKY@CARLETON.EDU
ÒThe
purpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of the things
we know best.Ó
-Paul ValŽry
Organization and Requirements:
Psychology
110-02 is a survey course covering major topics in psychology. The course meets
for lecture and discussion on Monday and Wednesday and for presentations,
research projects, and discussion on Friday. We meet in LDC 104 from 8:30-9:40
Mondays and Wednesdays, and from 8:30-9:30 on Fridays.
The
schedule below lists the topics and readings we will be covering. Readings
should be completed prior to the class meeting for which they are listed. I
recommend that you then review those readings, your class notes, and course
slides after each class session. I will not lecture on every topic in the text
nor will the text cover all topics presented in class. However, the reading assignments
provide useful and often necessary background for lecture and discussion, and
should be completed before scheduled class meetings. Please note that if you choose to bring a computer or other
electronic device to class, please restrict your use of that device to
course-related activity during class meeting times. You will find the slides from my presentations in class
available after each course session on Moodle.
Three
examinations—two midterms and a final—will be given in this
course. You should also expect to learn
about three class research projects
(and complete two associated short
reports). Grading will be based on the following weights: research reports (20%
for each module), two in-term examinations (20% each), and final examination
(20%). Each exam during the term must be taken at its scheduled time; each
assignment must be completed for class on the date it is due. Any exceptions to
either expectation (e.g., due to serious illness or a biking trip to Tahiti)
must be arranged with the instructor prior to an exam or paper due date. The final will be self-scheduled.
The
text for this course is Psychology (8th
Edition) by Henry Gleitman, Daniel Reisberg, and James Gross. In addition, you
ought to purchase the paperbacks Predictably
Irrational by Dan Ariely, Darkness
Visible by William Styron, and Divided
Minds by Pamela Spiro Wagner and Carolyn Spiro. Additional assigned
readings will be distributed or made available through Moodle. Do stop by the
Psychology Department office area (Olin 107). Olin 107 has copies of and
computer access to materials you might want to explore if you are now or later
become interested in psychology. These include sources on the psychology major
at Carleton, graduate programs in psychology, and careers in psychology. My office is also in that area.
Special
help sessions for course projects, computer work, and exam preparation will be
scheduled during the term by the course
assistant, Emily Cogsdill (cogsdile@carleton.edu). I also encourage you to visit
my office to discuss psychology and course-related questions and ideas during
the open course office hour on Thursday, 1:30-2:30. I am often available in my
office at other times; please just stop by or set up a time to visit via e-mail.
Finally,
CarletonÕs ASC wants you to remember the following: ÒAll
assignments, quizzes, and exams must be done on your own. Note that academic
dishonesty includes not only cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism, but also
includes helping other students commit acts of academic dishonesty by allowing
them to obtain copies of your work. You are allowed to use the Web for
reference purposes, but you may not copy material from any website or any other
source without proper citations. In short, all submitted work must be your own. Cases of academic dishonesty will be
dealt with strictly. Each such case will be referred to the Academic Standing
Committee via the Associate Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of the
College. A formal finding of responsibility can result in disciplinary sanctions
ranging from a censure and a warning to permanent dismissal in the case of
repeated and serious offenses. The
academic penalty for a finding of responsibility can range from a grade of zero
in the specific assignment to a F in this course."
Schedule
Subject to Change
Check
Moodle for Updates and Links
Topic and Reading
Schedule:
M 1/3 Introduction to Psychological Science.
W 1/5 Personality in the Clinical Tradition.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 605-622.
F 1/7 Personality in the Measurement Tradition; Research Module I: Personality.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 591-605, 28-38.
Follow
link in Moodle to Research Module I.
DeNeve, Happy as an extraverted clam? pp. 141-144.
M 1/10 Social Behavior and Immediate Social Influence.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 519-534.
W 1/12 Social Influences on Extended Social Behaviors.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 534-541.
F 1/14 Obedience and the Holocaust.
Sabini &
Silver, On destroying the innocent with a clear conscience. Moralities of
Everyday Life, pp. 55-87.
M 1/17 Basic Models of Learning.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 259-289.
W 1/19 Cognitive Learning.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 289-298, 622-631.
F 1/21 Applied Behaviorism; Research Module I due.
Skinner, Why we are not acting to save the world, pp. 1-14.
M 1/24 Examination: Personality, Social Psychology, and Learning.
W 1/26 Psychopathology; Research Module III begins.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 635-674.
F 1/28 Schizophrenia.
Wagner & Spiro, Divided Minds, pp. 1-316.
M 1/31 Neuropsychology.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 85-105.
W 2/2 Psychotherapy and its Evaluation.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 677-713.
F 2/4 Accounts of Depression.
Styron, Darkness Visible, pp. 1-84.
Menand, Head case: Can psychiatry be a science? The New Yorker, pp. 1-9.
M 2/7 Midterm Break.
W 2/9 Brain Structure and Functioning. Presentation by Professor Lawrence Wichlinski
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 105-130.
F 2/11 Brain, Mind, and Self.
Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, pp. 7-21.
M 2/14 Examination: Psychopathology, Biological Psychology, and Psychotherapy.
W 2/16 Thinking and Decision-making.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 341-375.
Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness, Cultivating optimism, pp. 101-111.
F 2/18 Applied Cognitive Psychology; Research Module II: Cognition.
Ariely, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions,
pp. xi-xxii, 1-53,
75-117, 309-322.
Follow
link in Moodle to Research Module II.
M 2/21 Memory. Presentation by Professor Seth Greenberg
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 300-337.
W 2/23 Social Cognition.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 506-519.
Norenzayan & Nisbett, Culture and causal cognition, pp. 132-135.
F 2/25 Cognitive Research; Research Modules II and III.
Damisch, Stoberock, & Mussweiler, Keep your fingers crossed! How superstition
improves performance, pp. 1014-1020.
Neisser, John Dean's memory, pp. 139-159.
M 2/28 Sensation and Perception.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 133-142, 181-191, 196-215.
W 3/2 Intelligence.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 425-458.
F 3/4 Cognitive Testing and Society; Research Module II due.
Kuncel & Hezlett, Fact and fiction in cognitive ability testing for admissions and
hiring decisions, pp. 339-345.
Murray, Down with the four-year college degree, pp. 1-2.
M 3/7 Development and Change.
Gleitman et al., Psychology, pp. 545-588.
W 3/9 Tentative Conclusions about Psychology.
December 20, 2010