Course Syllabus

Fall 2025 | PSY-1010-VU02 - Introduction to Psychology

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Joseph Covais and Quinton Applegate
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
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. 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 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 course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Fall 2025 textbook/book details will be available on 2025-05-19. 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-VU02 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.

Methods

This syllabus gives you an outline of what we will be covering in class each week and what is expected of you.

While I do not teach from the textbook, and you need not bring it to class, to get the most out of the course you should have the listed chapter(s) for each class read before we meet.

In this class it is your responsibility to see to it that I get your written coursework. I will ordinarily send you an email acknowledging receipt of your assignment. If you have sent in an assignment, a week or more has passed and you have not heard from me, then I probably didn’t get it. Late papers will always be accepted, but expect that points will be subtracted for tardiness.

All work needs to be submitted in type-written form, either as a paper copy or pasted into the body of an e-mail. Please don’t ask me to retrieve papers from some cloud source like Google.Docs. No hand-written work will be accepted. If you must submit as an email attachment make sure they are in either .doc, .docx, .txt, or .rtf formats. My computer cannot read .wps files.

If you are having difficulty with any of the course material or wish to communicate with me for any reason, feel free to do so by e-mail or you may call me at home during reasonable hours at 864 2822.

To pass this class: come to class and hand everything in when it’s due.

To fail this class: Miss some classes and don’t hand in assignments, or if you do, make sure they are late.

Evaluation Criteria

At the end of the semester, all points earned (exams, written work, class participation, and attendance) will be averaged. Extra credit points are then added to the average of scored grades.

Grading areas are weighted as follows:

Final exam – 10%, Midterm exam – 10%, homework and essays 40%, Class participation (includes attendance) – 40%,

Letter grades will be determined by points, based on the following formula:

A+ 97-100, a 93-96, A- 90-92

Grades of A+,A, and A- will be granted to those who demonstrate a thorough understanding of the course subjects, reflected through well articulated explanation, critical analysis, and a level of class participation which enhances the level of discussion.

B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82

Grades in the B+,B, and B- range will be given to students who possess a firm grasp of all major points within class topics, with strong presentation of this understanding shown in written work and class participation.

C+ 77-79, C 73-76, C- 70-72

Grades in the C+, C, and And C- range will be given to students who show an adequate grasp of the essential features of material covered in the course, with a demonstrated effort to develop their comprehension shown in their written work and class participation.

(Grades below C- receive no credit)

D+ 67-69, D 62-66, D- 60_62

Grades of D+,D, and D- will be given to students showing a minimal comprehension of areas covered in the course, as well as an apparent effort made to increase this understanding in their written work and in-class participation.

F 59 and less

A grade of F will be given to students whose written work and class participation is minimal or absent, with little or no evidence of effort to comprehend the material being made.

Students seeking accommodations for disabilities will need to make an appointment with the ADA Co-coordinator and supply documentation of their condition.

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

A midterm and final exam will be given. These exams may include short essay or multiple choice questions. Exams will cover materials from the text as well as what is discussed during class or shown infilms. Students who miss an exam need to contact the instructor immediately and before it has been reviewed in class, in order to schedule a retest.

Extra credit:

Opportunities to accrue extra credit will be offered impromptu by the instructor during the course of the semester. Those students not present in class when such offerings are made will not be eligible.

Reading assignments:

Each class will cover one or two chapters of our text, as well as articles deemed important enough to distribute. This can work out to be 50-70 pages per week. Please have the assigned reading completed prior to class and bring your textbook with you as we will be reviewing each weeks reading assignment when we meet. Class discussions will originate with, but not be limited to, the prior week’s readings.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late assignments will be accepted after their original due date, but will be graded down accordingly.

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

Apply Now for this semester.