Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | PSY-1010-VO03 - Introduction to Psychology

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Stacy Shortle
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Kate Hughes

General Education Requirements

VSCS Social Sciences

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is a survey of the basic issues, concepts, theories, and methods of psychology. Students explore the scientific approach to understanding human behavior through a study of sensory processes, perception, emotion, motivation, intelligence, learning, and personality formation.

Essential Objectives

1. Discuss the development of psychology as a social science, including practices that create, maintain, or dismantle social inequalities.
2. Analyze how current research in neuroscience influences our understanding of the biological and environmental foundations of behavior.
3. Explore how environmental stimuli are sensed and perceived.
4. Describe the nature of consciousness and its relationship to psychological well-being.
5. Experiment with learning and memory formation and evaluate how intelligence is measured.
6. Understand key milestones in language, cognitive, and socio-moral development.
7. Compare theories of motivation and emotion.
8. Identify psychodynamic, behavioral, social, cognitive, and humanistic theories of personality and discuss the approach each takes to understanding human behavior.
9. Discuss how individuals and groups are influenced in social settings over time.
10. Evaluate how socio-cultural norms and values shape psychological diagnosis and treatment and discuss the importance of cultural competence in the field of psychology.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding the scientific method and in interpreting and evaluating statistical and other quantitative data as applied to human behavior in an ethical manner.
12. Explore the scope and diversity of career opportunities in the field of psychology and related professions through assignments such as informational interviews, job shadows, or other career exploration activities.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Fall 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2024-05-20. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

PSY-1010-VO03 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

The goals of this course are to introduce you to representative areas of Psychology, to teach you how psychologists think, and to continue your development of personal agency, critical thinking and analysis skills. You will be working with the textbook, Understanding Psychology, 12th edition by Morris and Maisto (2019) in order to get the broad overview of Psychology usually provided in an introductory course.

Understanding Psychology by Charles Morris and Albert Maisto, 2019:

ISBN13: 9780137529148

This course will include a weekly-pre-recorded summary of the content of the particular chapter being discussed that week, as well as guidelines for completing discussion posts and assignments that are all designed to introduce you to the various domains of psychology.

Evaluation Criteria

Discussion Posts-25% Each week, you will be assigned a discussion post or two to complete that is in response to a particular concept covered in the assigned chapter that week. In addition to completing the Discussion Post, you will be require to respond to at least one other student’s post. Here is the criteria for credit:

60-80%Responding to prompt with no reference to text or other sources and no interaction with peer(s).

80-90%Responding to prompt with specific reference to text only or external source of information (professionally written article from a reputable journal), but not both. One interaction with peer.

90-100% Responding to prompt with specific reference to textbook and external source of information (professionally written article from a reputable journal). Two interactions with peers.

Discussion Posts will be posted at 12:01 AM on Tuesdays and are due the following Monday at 11:59 PM. There are no late submissions or extensions unless extenuating circumstances prevent completion.

Writing Assignments-25% Each week, you will be asked to reflect on various concepts and complete a paragraph write up responding to the prompt. Here is the criteria for credit:

60-80%Responding to prompt with no reference to text or other sources

80-90%Responding to prompt with specific reference to text only or external source of information (professionally written article from a reputable journal), but not both

90-100% Responding to prompt with specific reference to textbook and external source of information (professionally written article from a reputable journal)

Reference must be included in write up in APA format.

Shared Writing Assignments will be posted at 12:01 AM on Tuesdays and are due the following Monday at 11:59 PM. There are no late submissions or extensions unless extenuating circumstances prevent completion.

Chapter Quizzes 30%, and Post Course Assessments 20%

You will be responsible for completing weekly quizzes. Quizzes reflect the content covered in the chapter. Quizzes will be posted at 12:01 AM on Tuesdays and are due the following Monday at 11:59 PM. There are no late submissions or extensions unless extenuating circumstances prevent completion.

The Post Course Assessment will be a reflective response focusing on the enduring issues presented in each chapter over the course of the semester. More details to be presented during the semester.

Extra Credit: Myth Assignments: 15%

You most likely have heard some statements in your world that make assumptions about particular behaviors or phenomenon, but lack scientific evidence to back them up. Each week, I will present a myth that is related to the content of the chapter that week. If you choose to complete the extra credit, you will find two scientific/evidence based articles written by scholars and published in reputable psychology journals that dispel that particular myth. You will be expected to write a short summary of each article and how it dispels the myth, and to include the citations in APA format. These assignments are meant to help you think critically about what you hear or read, and to find evidence-based data to support or refute the statement.

Myths will be posted at 12:01 AM on Tuesdays and are due the following Monday at 11:59 PM. There are no late submissions or extensions unless extenuating circumstances prevent completion.

You can complete as many as you would like, but must be submitted by the due dates.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Participation-Each week, you will be expected to post a response to a topic presented by the Instructor for attendance purposes. Additionally, you will be expected to complete shared writing assignments, experimental simulations, chapter quizzes and various discussion posts in response to specific topics posted each week.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Work completion including chapter quizzes, shared writing assignments, discussion posts and extra credit myth assignments are to be completed by the due dates listed on Canvas. There are NO exceptions unless extenuating circumstances prevent you from completing the work that week and the student reaches out to the instructor prior to the assignment deadline with an explanation. You may also be expected to provide documentation (i.e., doctor's note, etc). If work is not received by the due date, a 0 will be recorded-no late submissions. Please review the due dates in the weekly modules on Canvas to plan and organize your time week by week for success in this course.

You will need a computer and/or chromebook with reliable internet to successfully complete this course.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity