General Psychology (CAS PS101 S1)

2012 Summer 1
Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-12:50pm
PSY B43
Professor:
Barak Caine <sbarak@bu.edu>
Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 1:00pm, PSY 112-A, or by appointment
Office Telephone: 617-353-5314
TFs: None
Sections : None
Course Objectives: 1) To provide a prerequisite for more advanced psychology-related courses including
but not limited to: physiological psychology, abnormal psychology, behavioral and cognitive neurosciences,
neuropsychology, functional neuroanatomy, psychopharmacology. 2) To cast psychology in a scientific
framework. 3) To provide an introduction to the foundations and various subdisciplines of psychology.
Course Format: Students are advised to read the text for each subject prior to attending class. This will allow
greater understanding of the material and will prepare students for the quick pace of lecture. The class lectures
will partly review material described in the textbook, as well as introduce related information not included in the
text. Reading the text alone will not provide adequate preparation for academic achievement, as some topics
discussed in lecture (and not in the text) will be on the exams. Accordingly, regular attendance at lectures is
strongly advised. Practice quizzes to give illustrative examples of examination questions will be administered
during the semester. Thus, missing lectures places one at a competitive disadvantage. Outlines highlighting
the key material will be presented in lectures and posted on Blackboard under Course Documents.
Requirements: Midterm Exams - During the semester, three midterm exams will be scheduled; each will
consist of 25 multiple choice / fill in the blank questions covering material presented after the previous midterm.
There will be no make up midterms; however, the lowest midterm exam grade will be dropped. If you miss a
midterm, this exam grade will be dropped and the other two midterms grades will be counted. Thus, missing
an exam places one at a competitive disadvantage. Final Exam - There will be a cumulative final exam
consisting of 50 multiple choice / fill in the blank questions, which will be administered on the last day of class.
Make-up final exams will be given only in cases of a special emergency (such as a doctors note, police report,
or memo from a BU official). If the final exam is missed without prior notification to the instructor, allowance of a
make up final exam will be at the discretion of the Professor, and may warrant a formal grade of incomplete.
Research Participation - All students must either participate as a subject in 2 credit hours of research
conducted by the members of the Psychology Department or read and write a report about a psychology
related topic (to be selected by the student and approved by the professor). If you need guidance on research
participation contact Katie OShea in the Psychology Department. If you choose to write the paper in lieu of
research participation, please contact the professor by the 3rd week of class! Failure to complete the
participation or paper will result in a grade of I (incomplete). Grades and course materials will be posted on
blackboard. If you have questions about grades please contact the professor.
Grading: Midterm Exams 2 x 25 points + Final Exam 50 points = Final Grade based on 100 points; 87-89 = B+,
83-86 = B, 80-82 = B-, etc. In cases of partial credit the precise values will be tallied and a final decimal of XX.44
will be rounded down and XX.45 will be rounded up. Extra credit: Class participation (0.1 pts per contribution) or
class presentation, maximum 2.0 pts. Class participation must be reported to the professor after class on the
day of the participation or credit is forfeited.
Text: Principles of Psychology, 4th Edition by Ettinger, Tompson & Williams (ISBN 978-1-60229-916-0)
Tips: Although the semester seems long, the course moves quickly. Stay current with the material. Read the
relevant text in advance of the scheduled topic. If something is not understood, seek clarification as soon as
possible. Regularly attend the lectures and focus on correcting errors that were made on the practice quizzes.
Do not hesitate to approach the Professor during class meetings and office hours.
Academic conduct code: It is your responsibility to adhere to this code. Copies are available in room CAS
105. All cases of suspected academic misconduct will be referred to the Dean's Office.

Barak Caine
General Psychology
Summer 2013

Course Outline
Date

Topic

Chapters/Outlines

May 21

Course Introduction, Research Methods, Origins

Ch. 1-2, OL 1

May 23

Biology and Behavior

Ch. 3, OL 2

May 28 9:30AM

Midterm Exam 1 (covering Chapters 1-3 & OLs 1-2)

May 28 10:30AM

Sensation and Perception

Ch. 4, OL 3

May 30

Sensation and Perception

Ch. 4, OL 3

June 4

Learning & Memory

Ch. 5-6, OL 4-6

June 6, 9:30AM

Midterm Exam 2 (covering Chapters 4-6 & OLs 3-6)

June 6, 10:30AM

Sleep & Dreaming

June 11

Sleep & Dreaming

June 13

Development, including Cognitive & Language

8, 9

June 18, 9:30AM

Midterm Exam 3 (covering Chapters 7-9 and OLs 7-9)

June 18, 10:30AM Personality & Social Psychology

10-11

June 20

Behavioral Disorders

12

June 25

Psychological & Psychiatric Treatments

13

June 27

Final Exam CUMULATIVE (covering Chapters 1-13 and OLs 1-12)

All lectures, quizzes, midterm examinations and the final examination will be in
Psychology B43.