Course Syllabus

Fall 2026 | PSY-1010-VO11S - Introduction to Psychology

Synchronous Class

Synchronous courses are delivered through a combination of online and regularly-scheduled Zoom sessions. In synchronous classes, students must attend Zoom sessions and actively engage with each other and faculty in course activities and discussions.

Faculty

Erika Hashberger
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Gilberto Diaz Santos

General Education Requirements

Social Science

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. Understand the basic components of neurobiology and explore emerging neuroscience research.
3. Discuss how environmental stimuli are sensed and perceived.
4. Describe the nature of consciousness and its relationship to psychological well-being.
5. Explain theories of learning and memory formation and discuss 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 computer recommendations Support page.

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 2026 textbook/book details will be available on 2026-05-18. 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-VO11S 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

• Virtual small and large group discussions
• Interactive projects and/or activities
• Multimedia presentations and resources
• Readings, writing, and inquiry-based research
• Professional work-based learning experiences & integration

Evaluation Criteria

Coursework (65% of final grade)

Assignments: Students will complete seven extended, semi-structured assignments, demonstrating their ability to analyze and evaluate course materials, and use these skills in context with ethical and practical perspectives. Assignments will be labelled from 1 - 6 in Canvas: the “second” assignment is a two-part sequence, labelled as 2.1 and 2.2, then followed by Assignment 3.

In total, assignments comprise 35% of the final grade. Since there are seven assignments, each one is worth 5% of your final grade.

Course Paper: Over the course of the semester, students will complete five pieces of work that progressively contribute to their finished course paper.

In total, the course paper and its contributing components are worth 30% of the final grade, broken down as follows:

• Paper topic selection (3% of final grade)
• Thesis statement and annotated bibliography (3% of final grade)
• Two sources with annotations (3% of final grade)
• Detailed paper outline (3% of final grade)
• Rough draft (3% of final grade)
• Course paper (15% of final grade)

Engagement and Participation (35%)

Students will demonstrate understanding, analysis, and application of concepts by engaging with course materials in the Canvas page, including recorded lectures, discussion forums, and self-evaluations.

The engagement and participation grade consists of:

• Discussion Participation: 10 discussion forum posts, collectively worth 20% of your final grade (2% each).
  • 11 discussions are assigned for the semester. The lowest grade you earn on one discussion, even if it is a 0, will be dropped from your final grade
• Self-Assessments: Students will complete three self-assessments, worth 15% of the final grade (5% each). Assessments are done at the beginning of the semester, at midterm, and at the end of the semester.
  • Self-assessments are designed to provide a reflective space for students to review their habits of learning, set goals, identify challenges and receive feedback. The primary purpose of these is reflective, and grades will be based on effort. In other words, students can receive a strong grade even if their self-evaluation focuses on a setback, frustration, or mistake.

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

Students will demonstrate understanding, analysis, and application of concepts by engaging with course materials in the Canvas page, including recorded lectures, discussion forums, and self-evaluations.

The engagement and participation grade consists of:

• Discussion Participation: 10 discussion forum posts, collectively worth 20% of your final grade (2% each).
  • 11 discussions are assigned for the semester. The lowest grade you earn on one discussion, even if it is a 0, will be dropped from your final grade
• Self-Assessments: Students will complete three self-assessments, worth 15% of the final grade (5% each). Assessments are done at the beginning of the semester, at midterm, and at the end of the semester.
  • Self-assessments are designed to provide a reflective space for students to review their habits of learning, set goals, identify challenges and receive feedback. The primary purpose of these is reflective, and grades will be based on effort. In other words, students can receive a strong grade even if their self-evaluation focuses on a setback, frustration, or mistake.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Missing & Late Work Policy

Students are encouraged to turn in coursework following the schedule as noted in the syllabus and Canvas. However, it is also understood that this is an introductory course, and students are actively developing new skillsets necessary to accommodate college-level academic workload and complexity. For this reason, coursework and expectations are designed to facilitate individual skill development as much as subject-specific learning. In order to encourage continued effort despite setbacks, students may submit and receive partial credit for late work within the following parameters:

Discussion Posts:

It is essential for discussion posts to be made in a timely manner in order to allow yourself and peers to complete the response post component of these assignments.

• Late posts (initial or response) made within three days (72 hours) of the due date may receive partial credit, with deduction of 10% per day.
• Posts submitted after 72 hours, but within one week of the due date may receive a maximum score of 50%.

Other Coursework:

Regular assignment completion is an important element of the course. While non-discussion assignments do not impact peers in the same way, it is important to stay up to date with your coursework to succeed in - and ideally enjoy - this class. This is not an expectation of perfection, but recognition that it is harder (and more stressful!) to catch up the more there is to do.

• Late work will be deducted at 5% if it is submitted within 24 hours after the deadline.
• Late work submitted 24+ hours late will be deducted at 5% for the first day, and 10% each additional day.

“Ask for help early and often” policy:

• Life is complicated. Communicating professionally about deadlines and unexpected challenges is an important skill, and one that it’s never a bad time to work on. This policy applies to non-discussion assignments.
• If you anticipate being unable to meet the deadline for an assignment AND contact me prior to the submission deadline, including the three elements discussed below, I will waive the late penalty for 72 hours (from the original deadline).
  • A small amount of context about what’s causing the anticipated delay (broken charger, ER visit, etc)
  • An updated timeline for when I can expect your work to be submitted
  • A clear statement of what you need from me, if anything. For example:
    • I’ve got this, I just need more time
    • I need some help, and will schedule an Office Hours meeting through Calendly (or need to find at a different time due to my own scheduling constraints)
    • I have a couple questions, listed below…
• This exception exists in recognition that it can be uncomfortable to ask for help, and as an attempt to encourage you to do it despite that discomfort. Communicating ahead of time about an anticipated challenge or setback is a valuable practice to have in any professional or academic context.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/student-support/accessibility-services/
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

Apply Now for this semester.