Psychology 10:
Introduction to Psychology
Fall 2005
Meeting Time: Monday and
Wednesday, 12:00-1:10 PM
Room: Avery 201
Professor: Mita Banerjee
Office: Scott
210 Phone: x72648 E-mail: Mita_Banerjee@Pitzer.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday
10:30-11:30 AM, Thursday 3:00-4:00 PM, and by appointment.
Text and Readings: The textbook for this class is Psychology:
Mind, Brain, & Culture, by Drew Westen, 4th edition. Make sure that
you have the correct edition. There is
also a book of required readings for this class (Psychology in Context,
2nd edition, edited by Sattler & Shabatay).
Both books are available at Huntley Bookstore.
Goals of the course: This course covers a broad range of topics in
psychology. The goal is to introduce you
to some of the major research areas in psychology, and to give you a sense of
the research topics psychologists are interested in, and the nature of
psychological assessment and clinical practice.
Some topics that we will cover include the biological bases of
psychology, sensation and perception, development, social processes,
personality theories, psychological disorders, and therapy. A portion of class time will also be spent discussing the readings from Psychology in Context
and examining their implications for future work and for real world situations.
IT IS THEREFORE ESSENTIAL THAT EVERYBODY
KEEP UP WITH THE READINGS, AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS THEM. IF IT APPEARS THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT KEEPING
UP WITH THE READINGS, WE WILL HAVE POP QUIZZES ON THIS MATERIAL.
Course Requirements: This course
will involve both exams and papers.
There will be three exams during the semester, and a final exam to be
held during the official exam period.
There will also be two fairly short (2-3 pages) written assignments
during the semester. Additionally,
participation in psychological studies is a requirement of this course.
Class
Participation (5%): Students will be required to attend class regularly,
and to actively participate in class discussions.
Exams
during the semester: Exam I (10%) will be held on October 5. Exam
II (15%) will be held November 7. Exam III (15%) will be on November 30.
The second and third exams are weighted more to give you a chance to get
used to my style of examination. THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP EXAMS EXCEPT IN THE
MOST EXTREME SITUATIONS
(E.G. MEDICAL EMERGENCY).
Papers
(20%--10% each): Students will be required to write two 2-3 page reaction papers, each of which should focus on one of
the readings from Psychology in Context that is not in the syllabus.
Students will be asked to describe and evaluate the readings, and to
examine their relevance personally, societally, and in relation to
psychological theorizing. The first paper is due October 26th, and the second paper
is due November 16th. LATE PAPERS WILL BE PENALIZED.
Research
Participation (10%): Throughout the semester, your participation in various
studies being conducted at the colleges will be requested. To receive the 10% credit, you need to
participate in 3 studies. Should you really not want to participate in
the studies, you need to hand in a 2-page summary of a psychology journal
article (not from the class readings) that you have read. You
must do one such paper for each study; if you don't participate in any studies
you will need to turn in 3 papers. Participation
information and/or summary papers must be turned in by December 7th.
Final
Exam (25%): A cumulative final exam will be held on Tuesday December 13th, at 7:00 PM, in Avery 201.
Schedule of
Readings
T=text PC= Psychology in
Context
Class
dates Topic and assigned
readings
Sept.
5/7 Introduction to
the Class
T-Ch. 1 PC-Goleman
Sept.
12/14 The
Scope & Methods of Psychology
T-Ch. 2
Sept.
19/21 Personality
Theories
T-Ch. 12 PC-Noda; Ashe &
Rampersad (p. 212)
Sept.
26/28 Biology
T-Ch. 3 PC-Mairs; Rose
Oct.3/
5 Sensation &
Perception
T-Ch. 4 PC-Sacks Exam
I-October 5
Oct.
10/12 Consciousness/Emotion, Stress,
& Coping
T-Ch. 9
&11 PC-Dotto
FALL BREAK, NO CLASS OCTOBER 17
Oct.
19/24 Motivation
T-Ch.
10 PC-Reeve;
Pope Jr. & Hudson
Paper #1 due Oct. 26
Oct.
26/31 Learning/Memory
T-Ch.
5&6 PC-Goodwillie;
Loftus & Ketcham (p. 94)
Nov.
2/7 Physical & Cognitive
Development/Social Development
T-Ch. 13
& 14 PC-Hall; Cowley
Exam II-Nov. 7
Nov.
9/14 Intelligence
T-Ch. 8 PC-Vigil
Nov.
16/21 Psychological
Disorders
T-Ch. 15 PC-Storm; Davis
Paper #2 due Nov. 16
NO CLASS NOV. 23, THANKSGIVING
Nov.
28/30 Treatment
Approaches
T-Ch. 16 PC-Burns
Exam III-Nov. 30
Dec.
5/7 Social Attitudes
and Interpersonal Processes
T-Ch. 17
& 18 PC-Cialdini; Staples
FINAL EXAM Tuesday December 13, 7:00 PM, Avery 201