PSY 101 - Introduction to Psychology

Dr. Ed Schicatano - Dept. of Psychology

Breiseith 304
Office Hours: TBA
edward.schicatano@wilkes.edu
570-408-4566
Textbook: Hockenbury and Hockenbury (2012) Psychology 6th ed. Worth This book
is required for this course.
Course Goals and General Comments
The goals for this course are pretty straightforward. I will provide you with a broad
overview of the field of psychology, in which you will be exposed to the many
different Psychological theories, concepts, and research questions. During the
semester, you will be required to demonstrate an understanding of these concepts by
showing basic knowledge and the ability to apply, analyze and critically think about
this material on exams.
Although some of you may already have a sense of what psychology is all about,
many people mistakenly think that all psychologists do is "help people," either through
therapy or counseling. While it is true that therapy and counseling are part of
psychology, there really is much more to the field of Psychology. Psychology is the
study of the mind and behavior, and so, Psychologists are at the forefront of
examining and understanding what truly makes us human. For this, I could easily say,
the field of Psychology is the most important endeavor we as humans must take.
Psychologists study behavior, at all possible levels of analysis. This means that we'll
be discussing issues that deal with culture, social environment, biology, and gender.
You'll probably be surprised at how vast the field of psychology really is. Psychology
is a research science, and you will begin to understand why psychology is more than
just "common sense" or "folk wisdom." Topics that we will study include: The role of
the brain in normal and abnormal behavior, the development of cognition and
behavior, sensation and perception, learning, consciousness and drugs, memory,
emotions, abnormal behavior, psychology and health, and social psychology.

It is also possible that you will find some part or parts of this course relevant to
your own lives. I can't promise that you'll gain any great insights, but at least you'll be
armed with more knowledge about psychology than when you started. In the end
perhaps, a few of you may actually get excited about this field and want to pursue it
in more depth. The field of Psychology always welcomes fresh new minds and
perspectives!!

The learning objectives of this course are:

- To think critically about psychological theories.
- To understand the role of psychologists and their schools of thought in shaping the
field of Psychology.
- To apply psychological concepts to real life situations.
- To analyze the different psychological perspectives.
- To think critically about the causes of behavior.
- To understand how Psychology studies and experiments are conducted.

Course Schedule:
Unit 1

Chapter 1 - Introduction and Research Methods

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 2

Chapter 2 - Neuroscience and Behavior

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 3

June 20

Chapter 4 Consciousness
Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 5

June 17

Chapter 3 Sensation and Perception

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 4

June 14

Chapter 5 Learning

June 23

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 6

Chapter 6 - Memory
Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 7

July 10/11

Chapter 14 Psychological Disorders

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 10

July 6

Chapter 13 Stress, Health and Coping

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 9

June 30

Chapter 12 Social Psychology

Quiz and all assignments due

Unit 8

June 27

July 13

Chapter 11 Personality
Quiz and all assignments due

July 15

Please read the chapter assigned for each unit. Reading the chapter and especially
understanding the words/concepts in bold is necessary for success in this course.
All homework assignments and film reaction papers are due the same day as the quiz.
Quizes:
Each Unit is based on one chapter from the textbook. A quiz will be given for each unit
(chapter). From the moment you upload the quiz, you will have 75 minutes to complete the
quiz. You may use your book while you take the quiz. Even though this is an open book quiz,
you will have to read and understand the concepts in order to do well on these tests.
Quizzes may be taken at any time with a 24 hour period, starting 12:01 am, until evening,
11:59 pm on the designated day.
Homework Assignments:
Although there will be a quiz on each chapter, there will NOT be a homework assignment for
each chapter (Unit). There will be 7 homework assignments for this course. Homework

assignments are included in the following Units: Unit 1, 2, 5, 6, Chapter 8 assignment, Units 8
and 9.
There are really two parts to a homework assignment. First, when you click on the
Assignment link for a specific chapter, you will need to click on an internet link (provided by
your textbook). Go through the tutorial associated with this link. Then proceed to the
corresponding PDF file, which contains a couple of questions based on the link. Submit your
answers to these questions to the Outbox for this course. If the PDF file does not work,
please submit a Word file. This always works.
For Units 8 and 9, you will be writing information that does not come from a Tutorial. Read
the instructions for these assignments.

Film Reaction Papers:

All Units contain short Films in Psychology (except the last unit). There will be ten films that
you need to write a reaction to. Youll notice again that Unit 6 has two films - 6 and 6B. There
are other Units that contain more than one film. The following Units contain films: Unit 1, 2, 3,
4 (two films), 5 (two films), 6 (two films), 7 (two films), 8 and 9. For units that contain two
films, choose one to write about.
After you watch the specific film for each unit, please write a 1 page Reaction Paper on the
film. You need to address the following: 1) The issue/concept expressed, 2) How the film
relates to the specific chapter in this unit, and 3) a short reaction to the film (your opinion).

Grading:
Quizzes are worth 25 points
Homework assignments are worth 5 points
Film reactions are worth 3 points.
10 Quizzes = 250 points
7 assignments = 35 points
10 Film reactions = 30 points
Total = 315 points

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4.0 = 90% and above

3.5 = 85-89% 3.0 = 80-84%

2.5 = 75-79% 2.0 = 70-74% 1.5 = 65-69%

1.0 = 60-64%
0 = below 60%