Psych 100, Fall 2009

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change

Introduction to Psychology
Fall 2010 PSYCH 100
Mon and Thurs 2:45-4:00pm
Hunter North Assembly Hall

INSTRUCTORS
Dr. Sarit Golub

Associate Professor

TA Kristi Gamarel

Office: HN714

Mondays 11:30am-1:00pm

Office: HN741

Thursdays 4:30-5:30pm

Dr. Jeffrey Parsons Professor

TA Thomas Crow

Dr. Virginia Valian Distinguished Professor

TA Kai Monde
Dr. Philip Zeigler

Office: HN636

Mondays 4:00-5:00pm

Distinguished Professor

TA Daisy Kaplan

Office: HN606A

All questions, problems or concerns:

Mondays 1:00-2:00pm

psych100@hunter.cuny.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will introduce you to the kinds of questions psychologists ask, the methods they use to
answer these questions, and the nature and limitations of our current answers. In their lectures, the
instructors will address questions and issues of central importance to the field and assign portions of
the text which will provide background information for the lectures as well as supplementary
information on closely related topics not covered in the lectures. You are responsible for, and will be
tested on, both the lectures and the assigned materials.
COURSE OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the multifaceted field of Psychology. You will
be introduced to the major theories, subject areas, research methods, and findings that shape the field.
It is our hope that you will become a more educated consumer of psychological research findings and
better understand the implications of psychological research. We hope that this class will help you
improve your ability to think critically.

Psych 100, Fall 2009

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Text: Available only at Shakespeare & Co. or the Hunter College Bookstore
Hockenbury, D. H. & Hockenbury, S. E. (2010). Discovering psychology. Fifth
edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. (Study guide optional)

Clicker
Students will also need to purchase a clicker from the bookstore and register it
online. Clickers will be used to record attendance, record answers to quizzes, and
to interact with instructors during the lectures. Your clicker is REQUIRED for this
course. Be sure you always bring it to class! More detailed information on
clicker purchase, registration and use will be made available on the course
Blackboard website, accessible at: https://portal.cuny.edu/portal/site/cuny/

GRADING
Your grade in this course will be based upon a point system. There are a total of 150 possible points.
You will receive a specific number of points for each of three components: examinations, quizzes, and
in-class responses to instructor questions. Lecture attendance and research credits also affect your
grade, by potentially lowering it if you do not meet minimum requirements.
Examinations. There will be three scheduled examinations during the course and a fourth
during the final examination period. All four exams are required. (Note: The fourth exam will
not be cumulative. Even if you are happy with your grades on the first three exams, you must
take the fourth exam.) Students will receive a grade of 0 for any missed exams. There are no
make-up exams. Each exam will be worth 40 points, and will be based on lectures and assigned
readings. Your lowest exam score will be dropped in calculating your final grade. Therefore,
exams will contribute up to 120 points toward your final grade for the course (3 exams at 40
points each). All exams are closed book and you MAY NOT use any notes, dictionaries, or
translating devices. You will use scantron forms to answer exam questions, as well as record
your answers on the exam booklet. All electronic devices must be OFF (cell phones, palm
pilots, etc.). Any student found cheating will fail the exam and be reported to the Department
Chair and Dean of Students. Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late to any exam will
not be permitted to take the exam this is a firm policy and we cannot make exceptions. Once
you leave the Assembly Hall, you may not re-enter. We will not return exam papers to you, but
TAs are available during office hours to go over any specific exam questions you may have.
Quizzes. The usefulness of the lectures depends significantly upon your having done the
assigned readings before the lecture. To encourage timely completion of the reading
assignments, a number of unscheduled, brief quizzes will be given some time during the class
(at the start of class, in the middle, or at the end). You will use your clickers to take each quiz.
There will be a total of eight quizzes, of which you will be allowed to drop your lowest three; a
total of five quizzes will count towards your final grade. These five quizzes will contribute up
to 20 points of your final grade (5 quizzes at 4 points each). There are no make-up quizzes. All
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Psych 100, Fall 2009

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change

quizzes are closed book. You MAY NOT use any notes, dictionaries, or translating devices.
All electronic devices must be OFF (cell phones, palm pilots, etc.). Any student found cheating
will fail the quiz and be reported to the Department Chair and Dean of Students.
Attendance. Your attendance will be recorded at each class session using lecture participation
questions answered with your clicker. Attendance will not be recorded on paper, so it is
important to bring your clicker to each lecture. Attendance will be recorded at a random time
during each lecture, so it is important to be on time and stay for the entire lecture. Because the
lectures make up much of the substance of the course and will not be available elsewhere,
regular attendance is strongly encouraged. All students start with 10 points toward their
attendance grade. You are allowed three absences without penalty over the semester. For each
additional absence, up to 5, you will lose one point from your final grade. No excuses or
doctors' notes are required or accepted. More than a total of eight absences (3 without penalty
plus 5 with penalty) will result in an automatic grade of F.
Research Credits two options. You must fulfill 3 research credits. This is mandatory.
These research credits do not add points to your final grade, but if you do not fulfill this
research requirement, you will receive an "Incomplete" on your transcript until you do
complete the credits. You can fulfill the credits in one of two ways, by participating in
experiments or by taking additional quizzes.
We encourage you to participate in research here at Hunter. It is a way to get firsthand
experience, from the participant's perspective, in how research is done. The website with
information on dates and times for all experiments is: http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com/
If you do not want to take part in an experiment, or if you are under 18 years of age, you may
take quizzes to receive research credit. For information on these quizzes, please contact the
following person in charge:
Naitram Baboolal
TEL: 212-772-5612
Email: nbaboola@hunter.cuny.edu.
Office: Hunter North 741A
Your final grade will consist of the following requirements:
Performance
Points toward Final Grade (Important details)
Examinations
Quizzes
Attendance/Participation
Research credit

120
20
10
--

TOTAL POINTS

150

(4 total, drop lowest 1)

(8 total, drop lowest 4)
(1 point off for every absence after 3)
(insufficient credit will earn Incomplete)

Based upon the total points achieved, letter grades will be assigned using the official Hunter
College grading system, which is presented in the box below. Please note that grades will be
rounded to the first decimal place, not to the nearest whole number. Example: a student who
has a final grade of 89.8 will receive a letter grade of B+. (TOTAL POINTS 1.5 = Letter
Grade)
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Psych 100, Fall 2009

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change

Letter Grade
A+
A
AB+
B

%
97.5 - 100.0
92.5 - 97.4
90.0 - 92.4
87.5 - 89.9
82.5 - 87.4

Letter Grade
BC+
C
D
F

%
80.0 - 82.4
77.5 - 79.9
70.0 - 77.4
60.0 - 69.9
0.0 - 59.9

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND COURTESY

Important note regarding academic integrity:
Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations,
obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses
against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy
on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter
College Academic Integrity Procedures.

For full guidelines on academic honesty, please read the online publication provided by the
CUNY Provosts office (Please read Section 1, pp 1-12):
web.gc.cuny.edu/provost/pdf/AvoidingPlagiarism.pdf

Be sure you understand what academic dishonesty is so that you do not accidentally commit it.
Whether you intend to be dishonest or not, any dishonesty including showing or telling another
student your answers during an examination or quiz will be considered a serious breach of
academic values.
Discourteous or Disruptive Behavior
Because this is a large class, even a very small amount of conversation in class rapidly becomes
disruptive of the lecture experience for other students. Students are therefore requested, as a
courtesy to your peers, to refrain from unnecessary conversations or any other behaviors that
disrupt the lecture. The TAs have the authority to issue a courteous request to this effect. If the
request is repeatedly ignored, the TAs also have the authority to ask for your student identification
and report you to the course instructors or to the Dean of Students. Should this happen, the student
may be subject to disciplinary action by the Department or College.

MEET YOUR PROFESSORS

Dr. Philip Zeigler - Prof. Zeigler studies the way in which input from the environment is
transformed into sensory signals, processed by the brain and used to control our movements. He is the
Director of our Behavioral Neuroscience Concentration, which prepares undergraduates for medical
and graduate school studies in Neuroscience.
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Psych 100, Fall 2009

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change

Dr. Virginia Valian Dr. Valian studies how children acquire the structure of their language,
how adults acquire the structure of a second language, and how gender influences evaluations of
people's abilities.
Dr. Jeff Parsons - Dr. Parsons studies the contextual factors related to sexual health and
drug/alcohol abuse, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS prevention and health issues facing lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Dr. Sarit Golub - Dr. Golub studies social, cognitive, and emotional factors that influence
health behavior, with special emphasis on social-cognitive factors that impact clinical, psychological,
and behavioral outcomes among individuals living with HIV and those at-risk for future infection.

From the Office of AccessABILITY:

In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and
accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is
recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical and/ or
Learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY located in Room E1124 to secure necessary academic
accommodations. For further information and assistance please call (212- 772- 4857) /
TTY (212- 650- 3230).

QUESTIONS?
We encourage you to visit during TA office hours (posted at the top of this syllabus), or contact us by
email, should you have any problems, concerns, or questions about any aspect of the course. Replies to
email will be sent within 24 hours during the school week. We will not be able to reply during
weekends. Be sure to include your first and last name in all email.
We also encourage you to use the Discussion Board on our course Blackboard website, which includes
forums for students to post (and answer!) questions on any and all topics related to the course (such as
exams, research credit, attendance, clickers, and lecture topics).

**Please see Schedule.pdf for lecture schedule and reading assignments!**