Psychology 023 Winter Term

1. Psychology 023 Winter Term

2. Winter term topics • Motivation • Why do people do the things they do? • Intelligence & Reasoning • Are some people smarter than others? Why? How can we measure intelligence? How do people solve problems and what common errors occur? • Language & Nonverbal Communication • What rules do people use to communicate with and without words? • Cognitive Development • How do children learn to think? • Social Development • How do children learn to interact with others? • Social Perception • How do people understand their own behavior and the behavior of others? Why does prejudice and racism occur and how can it be minimized? • Social Influence • How can individuals, groups, governments and advertisers affect people’s behavior? Why do nice people sometimes behave in evil ways? • Personality • Why are people so different in their personalities? How can personality be measured? What drives behavior -- personality or situation? • Mental Disorders & Treatment • What can go wrong with people’s mental health (anxiety & mood disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, including psychopathy) and how can disorders be treated? • Positive Psychology • What makes people happy and satisfied?

3. Is Psychology obvious? • Is the fluffier side of psychology just the study of the obvious? • How often is our “intuitive psychology” correct?

4. Before and After 023 Questions Answer these questions now based on your intuition. Look at them again at the end of the course. • You are a parent and you want your child, aged 10, to do well in school. Should you pay your child for getting good grades? • Your friend gets a pet chimp and wants to teach it to communicate. How successful do you think he will be? • You are a school teacher and have found that one particular ethnic group in your class is being discriminated against by the other students. What could you do to reduce the problem? • What is schizophrenia? What is a psychopath? • Was Freud the most important psychologist who ever lived or was he just an overrated sex-obsessed anti-woman nutbar? • You are at Masonville Mall and see a pickpocket pulling a wallet out of a guy’s pants. Would you stop him or keep walking? • Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi who supervised the deportation of 6 million Jews to the gas chambers. Was he inherently evil?

5. Winter Prof Mrs. Culham (of Green Gables) Dr. Culham/Jody (of Green Gables) • aka Dr. Culham, Professor Culham, Jody, Dr. Jody, Ms. Culham, hey you • any e-mails addressed to “Mrs. Culham” get forwarded to the professor’s mother • jculham@uwo.ca • include “023” at start of e-mail subject to make your e-mail spam-proof • empty “Subject” lines from unknown names get deleted • Office Hours • make an appointment by e-mail • Phone: • 661-2111 x85643

6. Who should I ask? Fall semester content, exams or grades: • Ask Dr. Johnston • kjohnst9@uwo.ca Research participation requirements: Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris • http://psyclone.psych.uwo.ca/intropsy/ • hmharris@uwo.ca Alternative to research participation requirement • Ask T.A. Nick Cothros • ncothros@uwo.ca • Plagiarism will be prosecuted!!!!! • Do not copy phrases or sentences from the articles, from the web, or from your classmates • Put ideas into your own words Everything else • Ask me! • jculham@uwo.ca

7. Course Web Page • http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/023/ • check announcements regularly • check exam grades • lecture outline and class info • lecture notes will be available by 6 pm the evening before the next day’s class • I recommend you print handouts and bring them to class to jot notes on • if we don’t get to everything, stopping point will be noted and you will be expected to bring previous day’s handout to class • optional web sites and demos

8. The Common Wisdom • “Do not read the textbook if you can learn it from the lectures. Textbooks are boring.” • “Do not go to class if you can learn it from the textbook. Professors are boring.”

9. Wiser Wisdom: Lectures • Attend classes • classes reinforce material covered in text • classes include some material not in text • professors are more enthusiastic when teaching material they find interesting • videos, stories and demos give different perspective and may be more memorable • opportunities for questions, clarification & discussion

10. How Much?!!! Textbook • $100+ Lectures • UWO tuition for Science student: $5,078 • Tuition per 1-semester course: $508 • Number of full lectures this semester: 22 • Cost per lecture: $23.09 • Note: This cost is only a fraction (~1/3 in Ontario) of the true cost of an education, with the remainder paid by taxpayers For comparison… • Cost of movie at Silver City: $9.95

11. Think! • Even though slide handouts are available on the web site, they deliberately do not contain everything • from the memory section, you may now realize that the likelihood of remembering something is related to the “depth of processing” (how deeply you think about it) • take notes in margins • fill in missing bits • write down examples • take notes on videos • make sure you understand concepts and can apply them to new situations • review lectures after class to reinforce material

12. Wiser Wisdom: Text • Learn the text • text can go into more detail than we have time for in class • lots of material • check Lectures page of web to see specific Focus Questions that will be tested • study actively, not passively • reading alone is not enough • you must actively think about the material to digest it • if you must use a highlighter, use it sparingly • recommended method for reading text: • read a focus question section • take point-form notes on the concepts, jargon, details • answer the focus questions • study guide is optional

13. The 8-hour guideline Your education is a full-time job • Assuming 40 hours of work per week, you should be spending 8 hours per course per week Sample Weekly Breakdown • 3 hours in class • 1 hour reviewing class notes • 2 hours actively reading text • 1 hour organizing information and studying

14. Exam Question Breakdown Lectures Only (includes videos) ~20-25% Text Only ~20-25% Overlap of Lectures and Text ~50-60%

15. Tues. & Thurs. Tuesday class • 12:30 - 1:20 Thursday class • 12:30 - 2:00 at the latest (except test days when you will have the full 1 hour, 50 mins if needed) • more video clips • usually clips rather than full videos to highlight important stuff without putting everybody to sleep

16. Test Dates Term Test 3 • Thursday February 2, in class • 40 multiple choice questions • up to 1 hour, 50 minutes • 10% of course grade • all material from Jan 10-31 (Lectures 1-7) Term Test 4 • Thursday March 9, in class • 40 multiple choice questions • up to 1 hour, 50 minutes • 10% of course grade • all material from Feb 7 - Mar 7 (Lectures 8-14) Final examination • To be scheduled by the registrar in Exam Period (April 13-30) • 100 multiple choice questions • up to 3 hours • 30% of course grade • all material from Winter semester • approx 20% on material from Lectures 1-7 • approx 20% on material from Lectures 8-14 • approx. 60% on material from Lectures 15-22

17. Test Format • multiple choice • some “factual/definitional” questions • more “conceptual/analytical” questions • “Test yourself” sample questions • will be given at start of each class so you have an idea what to expect • a list of names you are expected to know will be provided • dates of experiments will not be tested • each day’s lecture will begin with a review of the highlights from the previous day

18. Need Help? General help: • Learning Skills Services at the Student Development Centre offers clinics and one-on-one assistance. Rm. 210 UCC, http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning/ Psych 023 help • Make an appointment with me Careers in Psychology • See 023 web site for links • talk to the Psych drop-in centre (SSC 3rd floor by Starbucks)