eneral

sychology

yllabus

 

Derivation of Points
Most study guides that accompany college texts are a waste of time.  Fortunately, ours is the exception; it is really good.  The study guide will take you through the adventures and challenges that you will find in the textbook.  One of my main goals is to make the objectives of this course as clear as possible.  Students, who know the answers in the study guide, will do well in the Psychology 1200.  So be a Star, learn those study questions.

You will turn in your study guides prior to each examination.  If you complete the assigned chapters, you will be awarded five points.  If you do not finish all the items, you will receive zero points.  The assignment cannot be handed in late under any circumstances.  This includes your own demise.  Please note that the study guide assignments are not extra credit.  You are required to turn them in.

There will be four multiple choice examinations of 100 points each.  Think of these exams as four opportunities to behave in a heroic fashion and to demonstrate your excellence. Approximately, 50% of the information on the examinations will be covered in the lectures, but cannot be found in the textbook.  Therefore, be sure to take complete notes and spend a significant amount of time reviewing the lecture component of our web site.

The final examination is not cumulative.  I find it interesting that I am asked this question a number of times each semester, even though it is written in the syllabus.  The date and time for the final are set by the University.  Undoubtedly, this time will be inconvenient for some people (probably including your instructor).  However, under no circumstances will the final be given at a different time.  There is really no need to ask for an early or delayed final.

All make-up examinations will be administered on the last day of regularly scheduled class.  These make ups will be more difficult than the original tests.  Wise students are known by the absence of certain behaviors.  For example, clever students seldom put pencils up their nostrils, rarely forget to put their shirts on in the morning, and almost never attempt to walk on their knuckles.  Wise students also do whatever they can to avoid taking make-up tests.

All 1200 students will engage in research activity as part of the course.  You can fulfill your research requirement in one of two ways.  You can either serve as a participant in an investigation for a total of three hours or take a test on research related materials.  There are a total of 25 points for research activity.  Students who participate for a total of three hours will receive all 25 points.  Please note that not a minute less than three hours is acceptable.  If you accumulate less than three hours as a subject, you must take the research test.  Students taking this test will receive points proportional to the items answered correctly.  For instance, if you answer 80% of the items on the research test correctly you would obtain 20 points (20 = .8 x 25).  The research test will be given at several times to be announced toward the end of the semester.

The next paragraph contains secret information that will only be helpful to males or females.  If you are not a member of one of these groups, please skip this paragraph.  The research activities provide easy points for the smart student, but are a pitfall for students who are not very good at planning ahead.  Most of your classmates will want to participate in investigations for three hours instead of taking the research test.  To accumulate three hours, you will need to be vigilant in checking to see when experiments are being performed.  There is absolutely no guarantee that an investigation will be conducted when you want to be a participant.  Some unfortunate student will earn two hours credit and be unable to find an investigation to gain the third hour.  This poor soul will have to take the research test.  Make sure that this does not happen to you.  What occurs if you have less than three hours research credit and neglect to take the research test?  In that case, you earn 0 of 25 research points, a good way to mess up a grade.

I regret that I must now mention the issue of "no shows."  No shows are persons suffering from bad form. It is bad form when you sign up for an investigation and do not appear for your appointment.  Why is being a no show bad form?  One reason is that by not showing up for a study you are keeping the investigator, who is some other student, from completing a course assignment.  A second, equally important reason, is that you are depriving a classmate of the opportunity to earn research points.  Third, by not showing up for a study, you are demonstrating that you do not feel that another student's time is important.  Most of us have been "stood up" by someone before and we know how it feels.  Universities are communities of scholars and for them to function successfully there must be mutual respect among students.  No shows are a serious breach of the respect that we owe one another.

The course grades of no shows will be reduced.  It will be assumed that the first "no show" was beyond your control (e.g., sickness, you were attacked by angry neighbors, etc.).  Five research points will be deducted for the second no show and each no show thereafter.  For example, if three know shows are reported, ten points will be subtracted from the 25 research points.  There are no excused no shows.  The first no show, for which you do not lose points, takes into account the possibility that some extraordinary event may keep you from keeping your appointment.

A total of 15 attendance points can be obtained.  Students are allowed one cut.  If you do not over cut, you will receive all 15 points.  Five points will be subtracted for each over cut.  Do not bring me a note from your mother, employer, or university staff member telling me that you will miss a class.  We are adults. You are allowed sufficient cuts to account for illnesses, deaths in the family, mental health days, sports participation, writing the great American novel, pursuing the golden path to true enlightenment, etc.  Thus, there will be NO EXCUSED ABSENCES.  Use your cuts cleverly and earn some easy points.

To be counted as attending you must sign the roll that will be passed around each day.  It is your responsibility to sign the roll.  Your neighbor may hide the roll in his shirt, jam it in his ear, make a paper hat out of it or impede you in some other villainous fashion.  In all instances, it is your responsibility to get the roll and sign your name.  You will be counted absent unless your name is on the roll.

The amount of extra credit points depends on your performance on the quiz.

A summary of the points and the means by which they are obtained is listed below:
 1. 400 points from examinations (100 points each)
 2. 15 points for attendance
 3. 20 points for study questions (5 points each)
 4. 25 points for research activity