Introductory Psychology (PSY100H1S) – 2019 Winter

Syllabus

Course Summary
This course is an introduction to psychology, the scientific study of thought and behavior.
Here we will cover many topics, including: learning/memory, cognition,
sensation/perception, motivation, personality, developmental psychology, abnormal
psychology and social psychology. Additionally, we will review the techniques that
psychologists use in their research (including behavioral testing, research paradigms and
statistical analysis). Finally, we will discuss how psychological research shapes our
culture, health care industry and legal system.

Contact Information
Course Instructor: Dr. Paul Whissell (paul.whissell@utoronto.ca)
At all times, I am happy to respond to questions via email. You will generally receive a
response within 48h. Do not hesitate to ask for help! Before sending an email, please
read the guidelines below in the ‘Course Policies’ section.

Teaching Assistants (PSY100eve@psych.utoronto.ca) (corrected from earlier)

Teaching assistants will invigilate exams, run pre-test tutorials and monitor post-test
reviews. There are five course teaching assistants:
• Emily Alexander (e.alexander@mail.utoronto.ca)
• Anisha Khosla (anisha.khosla@mail.utoronto.ca)
• Isabella Lim (isabella.lim@mail.utoronto.ca)
• Corey Loo (corey.loo@mail.utoronto.ca)
• Sue Song (sue.song@mail.utoronto.ca)

Office Hours
The instructor will hold office hours every Monday, 1:30 – 3:30 pm in SS5012.

Required Textbook
Discovering Psychology: The Science of Mind. 3rd edition. 2018. Cacioppo, J.T. and
Freberg, L. A. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-337-56181-5.

PSY100H1S/Winter 2019 – Syllabus – Page 1

Marking Scheme and Tests

The course includes two term tests (each based on four lectures) and a cumulative
final exam (covering all lectures). A small component of your mark will also be based
upon your participation in psychology experiments (this process will be explained in
Lecture 2). To help you prepare for each test, study notes will be provided. Prior to each
test, teaching assistants will review the study notes in the course tutorials. After each test,
there will be test viewings offered that will be posted by the teaching assistants.
Dates/locations for tutorials and test reviews will be posted shortly.
− 25% Test 1 – February 4; Covers Lectures 1 – 4 + Relevant Readings (Check
Quercus for Your Room)
o 60 Multiple Choice Questions; 1 hour and 45 minutes allotted
− 25% Test 2 – March 18; Covers Lectures 5 – 8 + Relevant Readings (Check Quercus
for Your Room)
o 60 Multiple Choice Questions; 1 hour and 45 minutes allotted
− 46% Final exam – Cumulative (Covers all Lectures + Readings); Date to be
scheduled by the Faculty of Arts and Science
o 90 Multiple Choice Questions; 3 hours allotted
− 4% Participation in Experiments: Students must participate in experiments that are
conducted on campus via the PSYNup system. Information on PSYNup will be given
in a class presentation (L2) and on Quercus. Further questions can be directed to
psy100pool@psych.utoronto.ca.

Study Notes
To assist you in preparing for your exams, study notes for the course are provided on
Quercus. These notes will identify the key highlights of lecture content that are likely to
be tested on an examination. These notes are intended as a supplement to the lecture
material and textbook, not a replacement. If you can provide detailed answers to the
questions in the study notes, it is highly likely you will score at least a B grade (70+) on
the midterm and final examination.

PSY100H1S/Winter 2019 – Syllabus – Page 2

Lecture Schedule
Lectures will be every Monday, 6 – 9 pm for MSB2158. The following is a list of planned
lectures. For each lecture, additional readings from the textbook are assigned. Tests will
include questions based on material from lectures and the assigned readings. The
majority of concepts will be covered in the lectures. If time is tight for you, focus on the
lectures first. Testable material is also highlighted in the course study notes.

Date Topic Textbook Chapters

Jan 7 Lecture 01: Introduction to Psychology Chapter 1

Jan 14 Lecture 02: Research methods in Psychology + PSYNup presentation Chapter 2

Jan 21 Lecture 03: Biological Psychology Chapters 3 + 4

Jan 28 Lecture 04: Sensation/Perception Chapters 5 + 6

Feb 4 MIDTERM TEST 1 (Lectures 1 – 4 + Textbook Chapters)

Feb 11 Lecture 05: Learning Chapter 8

Feb 18 READING WEEK (NO CLASSES)

Feb 25 Lecture 06: Memory, Intelligence and Language Chapters 9 + 10

Mar 4 Lecture 07: Emotion, Motivation and Personality Chapter 7 + 12

Mar 11 Lecture 08: Developmental Psychology Chapter 11

Mar 18 MIDTERM TEST 2 (Lectures 5 – 8 + Textbook Chapters)

Mar 25 Lecture 09: Social Psychology Chapter 13

Apr 1 Lecture 10: Psychological Disorders and their Treatment Chapter 14, 15

PSY100H1S/Winter 2019 – Syllabus – Page 3

Course Policies

Accessibility Needs
All students are welcome in this course. If you have a disability/health consideration that
may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or Accessibility
Services for assistance (contact information: 416-978-8060; accessibility.utoronto.ca).

Policies on Missed Tests

If you miss a midterm due to illness, you must provide appropriate documentation
explaining why or you will receive a grade of zero for the test. We require that you use an
official U of T Verification of Illness or Injury Form (see
http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca/). This documentation must be submitted within
one week of the missed test. If it is not possible to get the certificate to us within one week
of missing the test, you must email us to explain why. We will deal with each missed test
on a case-by-case basis. If you cannot provide appropriate documentation within one
week of the missed test, and if you have not contacted us in that time to discuss your
circumstances, you will receive a grade of zero for the missed test.

If you miss EITHER test 1 or test 2, there are no make-up tests offered. If you miss
one test and provide us with appropriate documentation, the proportion of your grade
allocated to the missed test (25%) will instead be reallocated to your other test and final
exam (which will now be worth 37.5% and 59.5%). Documentation of Illness should be
placed in an envelope CLEARLY LABELED with the course code and the instructor's
name and brought to the main Psychology office, RM4020, Sidney Smith Hall.

If miss both test 1 AND test 2 for appropriate reasons, you will have to write a make-
up test. It is your responsibility to contact us as soon as possible so that this additional
test may be arranged for you in a timely fashion.

Email Correspondence
− Before writing an email, please check to see if your concern can be addressed by the
syllabus or Quercus announcements. This will save you (and the instructor) time!
− Email correspondence must be polite and professional. Mutual respect in the best
interest of both students and educators. We are always happy to have a discussion
with you provided that discussion has a civil tone. Emails that are rude, aggressive,
insulting, threatening or entitled will not be tolerated.
− The email title should include the course code and describe the purpose of the email.

PSY100H1S/Winter 2019 – Syllabus – Page 4

− The beginning of the email should include the proper title of the instructor. The end of
the email should include your name.
− The body of the email should include a full description of what you want to discuss.
We want to help you, but we need to be informed first.

Intellectual Property
− Students may wish to record lectures to assist in their learning process. This is
permissible provided the student obtains consent from the instructor first. Under no
circumstance can lecture content be posted online by a student without consent from
the instructor first.
− Class material is designed specifically for University of Toronto students enrolled in
the course. Other parties should not have free access to this material. Under no
circumstances should any material produced by the instructor or teaching assistants
be uploaded online (e.g. to an information-sharing website such as OneClass, Course
Hero or Youtube) or circulated via email to non-students. If you would like to share
material with someone who is not a student, please speak to the instructor first.

PSY100H1S/Winter 2019 – Syllabus – Page 5