PSYCH 1101: INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY

Fall 2024 Syllabus

Course Description

Why are people superstitious? Why do people blush when they are embarrassed? What is intelligence (and are IQ tests a good way to measure it)? Why don't psychopaths feel guilty when they harm others? How reliable are our memories? Why do we laugh? Why are some people extroverted and some people shy? Are there any universal emotions? While questions like these have been asked for centuries, psychology has begun to provide answers to these—and other questions about the human mind—by applying the tools of scientific investigation.

In this course you will receive a broad introduction to the science of psychology: from the history of the field and its major advances, to the latest research on topics such as perception, memory, intelligence, morality, personality, mental illness, language, and judgment. You will also learn about the tools and methods psychologists use to investigate the mind, such as observing how the mind of a child changes and develops over time, looking at people across cultures, measuring brain activity, and experimentally manipulating features of a person's environment.

Instructor

David Pizarro

Email: prof@cornellpsych.net

Course Structure

This course consists of four parts:

Lectures: M/W/F 10:10-11:00am Bailey Hall. Attendance is strongly encouraged. PDF versions of the lectures will be posted shortly after class here.

Textbook Readings: We use a custom, open, and free textbook from the Noba Project. You can access the book here: http://noba.to/nu6k3sq5

***Important note*** While sometimes there will be overlap between the content of the lectures and the textbook readings, this will not always be the case. The lectures will cover things that are not in the textbook, and the textbook will contain information that is not presented in the lecture. You are responsible for knowing the content from both.

Weekly Quizzes (starting the 3rd week of September): Each week we will create a quiz (administered via Canvas) consisting of 8 multiple choice questions covered by the readings and the lectures from the previous week. You will have a 24-hour window to complete the quiz outside of class, and you will have two minutes to answer each question once you begin the quiz (students with SDS accommodations will get whatever extra time specified in their letter. SDS letters must be submitted before the first quiz). Each quiz will become available on Monday at 11:59pm ET and will close on Tuesday at 11:59pm ET. Each quiz will test knowledge from the prior week's lecture and readings. We ask that you take these privately and do not communicate with other students in the course. You may, however, use whatever materials you have available (e.g., textbook, notes).

We will automatically drop your two lowest scores as a way to accommodate any emergency situations, illnesses, or just a rough weeks. Note that these are the only two only scores that will be dropped--there will be no extra accommodations above and beyond these two. This means that we will not accept any requests for taking a quiz later/re-opening a quiz, or any requests for excusing a quiz. (If there is a rare enough emergency that requires more consideration, please contact your advising dean and they can let us know).

Grading

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

Reading Assignments: 10%

Weekly Quizzes: 60%

Final Exam: 30%

Extra Credit (5%)

You may participate in psychology experiments for extra credit via the SONA online experiment portal. In SONA, each 1/2 hour of experiment time is worth 1 point. You are permitted up to 5 experiment points for extra credit in this course, and each point is worth 1 percentage point added to your final grade (so you can receive up to 5% extra credit added to your final grade). Information on how to use the SONA system can be found in the SONA participant factsheet on the pages tab. Please note that neither the professor nor the TAs has control over the SONA system (we simply receive a report at the end of the semester with the number of points you've completed). So please direct all questions regarding the SONA system directly to the SONA administrator at sona-admin@cornell.edu .

If you are under 18 you are not legally allowed to participate in experiments. In this case, please email the head TA Andres Montealegre for an alternative source of extra credit.

Final letter grade assignments (grades will be rounded):

A+: 99 and above | A: 94-98 | A-: 90-93 | B+: 87-89 | B: 84-86 | B-: 80-83 | C+: 77-79 | C: 74- 76 | C-: 70-73 | D+: 67-69 | D: 64-66 | D-: 60-63

Students with Disabilities

If needed, please have a Student Disability Services (SDS) accommodation letter sent early in the semester. If you would like to discuss your arrangements confidentially and privately, please email me for an appointment. If you need an accommodation for equal access, please send SDS an email message at sds_cu@cornell.edu. If the need arises for additional accommodations during the semester, please contact SDS.

Academic Integrity

Please familiarize yourself (if you haven't already) with Cornell's code of academic integrity here: https://theuniversityfaculty.cornell.edu/academic-integrity/code-of-academic-integrity

I ask that you respect your fellow students, TAs, and instructor by adhering to these ethical standards in your work. If you have any questions about whether something might constitute a breach of academic integrity, please do not hesitate to ask one of the TAs or your instructor.

Schedule*

(*subject to changes, please check for updates)

Week 1 (Aug 26, 28, 30)

Lectures: Intro/Welcome, Methods in Psychology Pt. 1-2 No Reading

Week 2 (Sep 4, 6) (No Class Labor Day Sep 2)

Lectures: Methods in Psychology Pt. 3, The Brain Pt. 1 Reading: Chapter 1 (Psychology as a Science)

Week 3 (Sep 9, 11, 13)

Lectures: The Brain Pt. 2-3, Sensation and Perception Pt. 1 Reading: Chapter 2 (The Brain)

Week 4 (Sep 16, 18, 20)

Lectures: Sensation and Perception Pt. 2-3, Sleep and Dreams Reading: Chapter 3 (Sensation and Perception) Chapter 4 (Sleep and Other States of Consciousness)

*Quiz 1: Covers Methods 1-3, The Brain 1-3, Chapters 1 &2

Week 5 (Sep 23, 25, 27)

Lectures: Freud Pt. 1-2, Attention and Memory Pt. 1 Reading: Chapter 5 (Attention and Memory)

*Quiz 2: Covers Sensation and Perception 1-3, Sleep and Dreams, Chapters 3 & 4

Week 6 (Sep 30, Oct 2, 4)

Lectures: Attention and Memory Pt. 3-4, Learning Pt. 1 Reading: Chapter 6 (Learning)

*Quiz 3: Covers Freud 1-2, Attention and Memory 1-2, Chapter 5

Week 7 (Oct 7, 9, 11)

Lectures: Learning, Pt. 3, Emotions Pt. 1 (No Class Friday October 11-Prof. Pizarro away) Reading: Chapter 8 (Emotions)

*Quiz 4: Covers Attention and Memory 3-4, Learning Pt. 1-2, Chapter 6

Week 8 (Oct 16, 18) (No Class Fall Break Oct 14)

Lectures: Emotions, Pt. 2-3 Reading: Chapter 9 (Morality)

*No Quiz this week

Week 9 (Oct 21, 23, 25)

Lectures: Morality Pt. 1-2, Developmental Psychology (Guest Lecture) Reading: Chapter 7 (Developmental Psychology)

*Quiz 5: Covers Emotions Pt. 1-3, Chapters 8 & 9

Week 10 (Oct 28, 30, Nov 1)

Lectures: Judgment and Decision-Making Pt. 1-3 Reading: Chapter 10 (Human Judgment and its Pitfalls)

*Quiz 6: Covers Morality Pt. 1-2, Developmental Psychology, Chapter 7

Week 11 (Nov 4, 6, 8)

Lectures: Intelligence Pt. 1-3 Reading: Chapter 11 (Language and Intelligence)

*Quiz 7: Covers Judgment and Decision-Making Pt. 1-3, Chapter 10

Week 12 (Nov 11, 13, 15)

Lectures: Personality Pt. 1-3  Reading: Chapter 12 (Personality)

*Quiz 8: Covers Intelligence Pt. 1-3, Chapter 11

Week 13 (Nov 18, 20, 22)

Lecture: Social Psychology Pt. 1-2, Humor Reading: Chapter 13 (Social Psychology)

*Quiz 9: Covers Personality Pt. 1-3, Chapter 12

Week 14 (Nov 25, 27, 29) (No Class Entire Week Thanksgiving Break, Prof. Pizarro in Doha, Qatar)

Lectures: n/a Reading: No reading assignment (Thanksgiving Break)

Week 15 (Dec 2, 4, 6)

Lectures: Happiness Pt. 1, Final Exam Review, Wrapping Up Reading: Chapter 14 (Happiness)

*Quiz 10: Covers Social Psychology, Humor, Chapter 13

Week 16 (Dec 9)

No Class on Dec. 9!