Skyline College

Psychology Department
PSYC 100: General Psychology
Fall 2023

Course and Contact Information

Instructor: Dr. Shaun Perisho
Email: perishos@smccd.edu
Office Hours: Bldg. 12 Rm. 140C
MWF: 10:30am-11:30am
Tuesday: 3pm-4pm

Class Page: https://smccd.instructure.com/courses/53288

Required Texts/Readings/Materials
Spielman, Dumper, Jenkins, Lacombe, Lovett, & Perlmutter. (2019). Psychology. OpenStax

This is an open access textbook available for free. You can download it by clicking here.

Course Description
Introduction to the study of behavior and mental processes. Methods and theories of psychology, as well as
findings in the areas of biological, cognitive and social processes are discussed. Subject matter includes the
brain, learning, memory, motivation, personality development, and other related topics.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, a student will meet the following outcomes:
 Demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and
historical trends in psychology.
 Apply psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues.
 Demonstrate information literacy in the field of psychology.

Course Objectives:
 Draw the distinction between scientific and non-scientific methods of understanding and analysis.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the biological basis of behavior and mental processes.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Sensation and perception.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of learning and memory.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cognition and consciousness.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of psychometrics, individual differences, and personality.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of social processes including those related to sociocultural
and international dimensions.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of developmental changes in behavior and mental processes
across the lifespan.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of psychological disorders.
 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of emotion and motivation.
Midterms and Final Exams (50% of Final Grade)
Midterms will be administered in class. We will have three midterm exams during the quarter followed by one
cumulative final during finals week. Your final grade in the course will consist of your three highest scores out
of the four exams. For this reason, no makeup exams will be given. If you miss a midterm it will count as your
“dropped” grade.

Assignments (50% of Final Grade)

I will periodically post quizzes and assignments on our Canvas page. These postings will include instructions on
how to complete the assignment, how to submit the assignment, and how to access any relevant resources that
may be helpful.

Cheating and Late Policy

Cheating on any exam or assignment will result in a zero for that assignment/exam. Repeated cases of cheating
(or particularly severe instances) may result in more severe penalties, including a zero in the overall course.

Late assignments will be penalized 10% for every day they are late. This means the maximum score for an
assignment turned in after the due date is 90%, followed by 80% the next day, 70% the following day, and so
on. Assignments turned in 10+ days late will be penalized 100% for a max score of 0 points.

Grading

I do not round grades as a general rule. The breakdown below is concrete and should be expected once grades
are posted at the end of the semester.

Range Letter Grade

93-100 A
90-92.99 A-
87-89.99 B+
83-86.99 B
80-82.99 B-
77-79.99 C+
73-76.99 C
70-72.99 C-
67-69.99 D+
63-66.99 D
60-62.99 D-
0-59.99 F
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

Reasonable accommodations will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. If you do not have an
accommodation letter, please contact the EAC at (650) 738-4123.
http://www.skylinecollege.edu/disabilityresources

Counseling Services:

College can be a particularly challenging and stressful period. If you feel the need to talk to someone at any
time please contact Counseling Services at (650) 758-4270 between 9AM and 6PM, Monday through Thursday.
You can also visit the Skyline Counseling website for additional information. I’m here to help you thrive both
inside and outside the classroom. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’d like any help navigating this
process or other resources available in our community.

Other Resources:
You have access to academic, medical, financial, technical and other forms of help remotely through the Virtual
Campus website. It’s extremely intuitive and easy to use so I’d strongly recommend taking a minute to browse
the options it can offer to make your semester easier, healthier, and more successful.

Degree Applicability and Course Transferability:

Official information about course transferability and degree applicability is stated in the Skyline College
Catalog. Information about course transferability and degree applicability is updated on an annual basis. For the
most current information about course transferability, consult a Skyline College counselor and ASSIST, the
online transfer information database: http://www.assist.org For the most current information regarding
Associate Degree requirements, please consult a Skyline College counselor and the Skyline College Catalog:
http://skylinecollege.edu/catalog/

Regarding Title IX:

The SMCCCD maintaining safe and caring college environments at Cañada College, College of San Mateo and
Skyline College. The District has established policies and procedures regarding Sexual Misconduct,
Harassment, and Assault. A District website has also been developed which provides you with important
information about sexual misconduct and sexual assault. http://smccd.edu/titleix To learn more about these
issues and how you can help prevent them, you are encouraged to view the Not Anymore videos, which can be
found on WebSMART under the Student Services link. Click on the 'Not Anymore Website'.
 Course Schedule

Week Date Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines Exams

1 8/16-8/18 Ch. 1: Intro to Psych
2 8/21-8/25 Ch. 2: Psychological Research
3 8/28-9/1 Ch. 3: Biopsychology
4 9/4-9/8 Ch. 4: States of Consciousness (Holiday on 9/4)

5 9/11-9/15 Ch. 5: Sensation and Perception Exam 1 (9/15)

6 9/18-9/22 Ch. 6 Learning

7 9/25-9/29 Ch. 6: Learning

8 10/2-10/6 Ch. 7: Intelligence

9 10/9-10/13 Ch. 7: Intelligence (Holiday on 10/11)

10 10/16-10/20 Ch.8: Memory

11 10/23-10/27 Ch. 9: Lifespan Development Exam 2 (10/27)

12 10/30-11/3 Ch. 10: Emotion and Motivation

13 11/6-11/10 Ch. 12: Social Psych (Holiday on 11/10)

14 11/13-11/17 Ch. 12: Social Psych
15 11/20-11/24 Ch. 14: Stress, Lifestyle, and Health (Holiday on 11/24)

16 11/27-12/1 Ch. 15: Psychological Disorders

17 12/4-12/8 Ch. 16: Therapy Exam 3 (12/8)