PSYC1000A General Psychology

2022-2023 Term 1
Department of Psychology
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

1. Course Description
This course aims to provide students with an overview of contemporary
psychological approaches to the study of human behaviors and its contribution to
our knowledge of human functioning. Emphasis will be placed on application of
theories in everyday life.

2. Learning Approach
Lectures introduce major concepts and theories in psychology. Interactive
activities (e.g., games, demonstrations, video viewing, etc.) are included to
facilitate your learning of subject matters and enhance your understanding of
learnt materials.

3. Prerequisites
There is no prerequisite for this course.

4. Teaching Members

Lecturer
Dr H. K. FOK
Office: Sino Building Room 334
Phone: 3943-6505
Email: hungkitfok@cuhk.edu.hk
Lecture Time & Venue: Thursday 2:30-5:15 pm
YIA LT1
Consultation Hours: By appointment (with at least 24 hours prior notification)

Teaching Assistants
Yiwen WU Siu Kit YEUNG Anna Jia Jun ZHANG
Office: Sino Building 348 Sino Building 348 FYB 603E1
Phone: 55185012 64935005 69402404
Email: yiwenwu 1155062203 anna2022
@link.cuhk.edu.hk @link.cuhk.edu.hk @link.cuhk.edu.hk
Consultation Monday Thursday Thursday 09:30-11:30
Hours: 14:00-16:00 OR 10:20-12:20 OR OR Appointment by
Appointment by Appointment by Email
Email Email
 5. Course Content
Topics Contents
1. Introduction What is Psychology?
2. Research Methods What are basic research methods in psychology?
What do we need to consider when conducting
research?
3. Sensation & Perception How do we make sense of the world?
Can we believe what we see?
4. Memory How can we remember? Why do we forget?
How can we improve our memory?
5. Brain & Behavior What are the basic structures of human brain?
What is the relationship between brain and behavior?
6. Development Which is more important, nature or nurture?
How does a child grow and develop?
7. Learning How do we learn?
What factors contribute to behavior change?
8. Intelligence What is IQ?
How do we measure intelligence?
9. Personality What are the major approaches to personality?
What are the methods of personality assessment?
10. Social Psychology How can we influence others?
In what ways are we influenced by others?
11. Psychological Disorders What is abnormal?
What are the common psychological disorders?
12. Stress & Coping, Health What is Stress and Coping?
Psychology & Positive Psychology How do we improve our physical and mental health?

6. Expected Learning Goals

I. Understand major concepts and theories in psychology
II. Appreciate and develop the skills to scientifically evaluate claims

7. Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be expected to
I. Demonstrate a basic understanding in various areas of psychology
(matches with Learning Goal I)
II. Experience first-hand how psychological research is conducted (matches
with Learning Goal II)

8. Learning Activities
Lecture
Time per week 3 hours
Venue YIA LT1
No. of sessions 11
Attendance Mandatory
Teaching member(s) Lecturer
Matching with learning goals (LG) LG I, II, III, IV
Matching with learning outcomes (LO) LO I, II, III, IV
Lectures
The lectures will present an overview of psychology-related theories, concepts,
and research findings. Various controversial issues in psychology will be
discussed. You will engage in interactive activities to consolidate your
understanding in psychology. Small-group discussions, demonstrations, and
exercises will reinforce your understanding of learnt theories, concepts, and their
applications.

9. Assessment Scheme
⮚ Formative assessment
(measure what you have learnt at different stages during the course)
Mid Term Quiz 40% Matching of Learning Goals:
Final Quiz 50% LG I & II

⮚ Authentic assessment
(measure your ability to address related real-life problems)
Study Participation/ 10% Matching of Learning Goals:
Written Assignments LG II
-----------------------------------------------
100%

Note:
Absentees from a quiz for unjustified reasons will not be granted a make-up quiz and
will be given a “0” for that quiz. Students with a valid medical certificate or justified
reasons will be given a make-up quiz with essay questions. The instructor and the
teaching assistants reserve the right for the final decision to grant a make-up quiz or
not to a particular student.
10% of the grade (i.e., 10 points) is devoted to study participation / written
assignments.
Each hour of study participation accounts for 2 points, and each piece of written
assignment accounts for 4 points. You can choose any combination of study
participation and assignment writing to obtain the 10 points, e.g., participating in 5
hours of study, participating in 1 hour of study plus writing two pieces, and so on. For
each student only the first 3 written assignments will be considered.

If you choose to write an assignment, for each piece please select an article published
within the last 12 months from the journal Psychological Science. Prepare a one-page
paper (font size 12 of Times New Roman, double-line spacing, 1-inch margin) with
the following content: (a) summary of the main research question, the method used by
the author(s) to address it and the findings; and (b) your evaluation of the article.
Spend about 2 hours on each piece. Assignments fulfilling both requirements (a) and
(b) above will be given 4 points, while those fulfilling either (a) or (b) will be given 2
points.

By the last day of the course you should have (i) submitted the papers to VeriGuide
(VeriGuide assignments #1, 2, or 3.), and (ii) emailed the papers, the pdf files of the
journal articles, and the signed VeriGuide receipts to your TA. Any late assignment
(as indicated by the time of submission to VeriGuide) will not be graded. Papers will
not be accepted without the pdf of the journal article or VeriGuide receipt attached.
Grade Overall course
A Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes.
A- Generally outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning outcomes.
B Substantial performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on
some learning outcomes which compensates for less satisfactory
performance on others, resulting in overall substantial performance.
C Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes, possibly with
a few weaknesses.
D Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes.
F Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to
meet specified assessment requirements.
10. Learning Resources
Textbook Required
Cacioppo, J. T., Freberg, L. A., & Cacioppo, S. (2022). Discovering Psychology:
The Science of Mind (4th ed). Cengage Learning.

11. Course Updates

Blackboard (https://blackboard.cuhk.edu.hk) will be adopted in this course for
posting course notes, announcements etc.

12. Feedback for Evaluation

You are welcome to give us comments and feedback about the course. Feel free to
share your views with any of the teaching members. You can also post your
comments on e-Learning.

13. Course Schedule

Date Lecture Reading
8-Sep-2022 Introduction & Research Methods Ch.1, 2
15-Sep-2022 Sensation & Perception Ch.5
22-Sep-2022 Memory Ch.9
29-Sep-2022 Development Ch.11
6-Oct-2022 Brain & Behavior Ch.4
13-Oct-2022 Mid Term Quiz
20-Oct-2022 Thinking & Intelligence Ch.10
27-Oct-2022 Learning Ch.8
3-Nov-2022 Personality Ch.12
10-Nov-2022 Social Psychology Ch.13
17-Nov-2022 Psychological Disorders Ch.14
24-Nov-2022 Stress & Coping, Health Psychology & Ch. 16
Positive Psychology

Note: The final quiz will be held during the examination period from 7 Dec 2022
(Wed) to 23 Dec 2022 (Fri). Please check the draft examination timetable to be
released later.
14. Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

The University places very high importance on honesty in academic work, and has a
policy of zero tolerance on plagiarism. Guidelines on academic honesty are on the
website on "Honesty in Academic Work: A Guide for Students and Teachers"
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

Guideline about plagiarism

Any assignment (i.e., project, essay, or paper) that shows evidence of plagiarism will
be marked down severely. In simple terms, plagiarism is copying passages and/or
ideas from other sources without referencing those sources. Moreover, when you
report someone else’s ideas/findings you must put it in your own words and not
merely copy full sentences or parts of sentences from the source article. It is your
responsibility as a scholar-in-training to cite the ideas and work of others correctly.
Please visit the following websites for discussions on how to recognize and avoid
plagiarism.

http://ec.hku.hk/plagiarism/introduction.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/style/plagiarism/plagiarism.html

If you commit plagiarism in an assignment, and it is your first offence in the course,
the penalty will range from a minimum of a single letter grade reduction in score on
the assignment to a maximum of failure on the assignment. A second offence within
the same course will result in a minimum penalty of a single letter grade reduction in
the course grade to a maximum penalty of course failure. The specific penalty applied
is up to the discretion of the professor. In all cases of plagiarism, the student's name
will be recorded in a central database maintained by the general office. If a student is
referred for plagiarism in more than one course, or more than one instance in the same
course, the student's case will be forwarded to the university administration for
follow-up action.

Detecting plagiarism
The Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning requires that all student
assignments in undergraduate programmes should be submitted via VeriGuide.
Obviously, this policy will only apply to assignments in the form of a
computer-generated document that is principally text-based (i.e., excluding
calculations in science, brief laboratory reports, drawings in fine arts and architecture,
etc.).

● Each student must upload a soft copy of the completed assignment to the
plagiarism detection engine VeriGuide, at the URL:
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/veriguide
● The system will issue a receipt which also contains a declaration of
honesty, which is the same as that in
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/p09.htm
● The declaration should be signed, and the receipt stapled to a hard copy
of the assignment, which should be handed in before the assignment due
date.
● Assignments without the receipt will not be graded by teachers.
 I promise that all assignments submitted to this course across the entire semester
will be original except for source material explicitly acknowledged. I also
acknowledge that I am aware of University policy and regulation on honesty in
academic work, and of the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to
breaches of such policy and regulations as contained in the website
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

___________________________ ______________________
Signature Date

______________________ ______________________________
Name Student ID

________________________ __________________________
Course code Course Title
* Please hand in this form in the first tutorial/submitted to the Blackboard. The
lecturer and tutor might not be able to grade if the student fails to submit the form.