Faculty of Arts

Department of Psychology

PSY 102 - Introduction to Psychology I

Fall 2016, Section 031
RCC-204, Mondays 8am-11am

Instructor: Stephen Want Office: JOR 938 (Jorgenson Hall)

Phone: ext. 7156 Office Hours: Tuesdays 2pm-3pm or by appointment
E-mail: swant@[Link]
(Please use your [Link] e-mail address when sending a message)
Webpage: [Link]
Course Web Site: accessed via [Link]
Length: One semester
Type: Lecture (3 hours)
Course designation: Professional/Professionally Related
Anti-requisites: PSY 11, PSY 105

This course is not a liberal studies course and will not be used towards the fulfillment of
a Liberal Studies Requirement for graduation purposes. Liberal studies courses always
have the designation (LL) or (UL) in their course description in the Ryerson Calendar.
Courses not identified as either (LL) or (UL) are not liberal studies. Students are
responsible for making appropriate course selections.

Course Description: This course introduces students to psychology, the scientific

study of behaviour and cognition, by examining the basic principles of psychology and
their application to everyday experience. The course surveys some core areas of
psychology including research methods, biological bases of behaviour, sensation and
perception, memory, and cognition.

Text (Helpful, but not required): Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding. Third
Canadian Edition by Lilienfeld, Lynn, Namy, Woolf, Cramer & Schmaltz. Pearson
Canada (publisher).
Course Objectives:
• to introduce students to psychology and its sub-specialities
• to make students aware of the scientific nature of the study of behaviour
• to acquaint students with the multiplicity and interplay of factors involved in the
explanation of any behaviour
• to demonstrate to students the relevance of psychological principles to professional
life
• to prepare students for more in-depth study of psychology’s sub-specialities in
subsequent courses
• to enhance students’ ability to evaluate critically psychological research findings
reported in popular media and in academic sources
• to familiarise students with the process of psychological research, through direct
experience as a research participant

Evaluation: Note that all exam and assignment grades will be posted on-line via
[Link] (only you will have access to your grade on [Link]).
Assessment Date Weight
Written Assignment 1 Oct. 3rd 8%
Exam 1 Oct. 17 th 25%
Exam 2 Nov. 14th 25%
Written Assignment 2 Nov. 21 st 14%
Research Contributions Dec. 5th 3%
Exam 3 TBA 25%

Exams: There will be two ‘mid-term’ exams and a final exam (each worth 25%). Exams
will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Exam 2 is not cumulative.
However, Exam 3 will focus on content covered after the second mid-term (Chapters 7
and 8 of the textbook), and also include some cumulative questions from the rest of the
course (Chapters 1-6).

Assignments: Psychology enables us to pursue new ideas regarding the human mind
and behavior, but also to reject incorrect ideas about how we function in our world.
Throughout the course, you will encounter a number of ground-breaking or controversial
ideas from a number of different sources. You will be asked to evaluate materials
provided by your instructor in terms of the quality of evidence for some of these claims.
More details regarding the written assignments will be provided as the course
progresses.

Experience with research: In addition to attending lectures, there will be opportunities

for you to participate in psychological research outside the classroom, in the psychology
building at 105 Bond Street. By participating in actual psychological research (rather
than just reading or hearing about the results of such research), you will gain a better
understanding of how psychological research is conducted and what kinds of research
psychologists are interested in doing, both at Ryerson, and more generally. This
“research experience” component will involve you participating in individual research
studies for which you will receive 0.5 - 2% of your final grade in Psy102 (up to a
maximum of 3%). You will find out about, and sign-up for, these research opportunities
through an online system called “Sona”. Your log-in details for the Sona system will be
e-mailed to your official Ryerson e-mail address near the start of the semester. All
research studies that you have the opportunity to be involved with will have been
reviewed by, and will comply with, the requirements of the Ryerson Research Ethics
Board.

Missed Classes and/or Evaluations

Students are required to inform their instructors of any situation which arises during the
semester which may have an adverse effect upon their academic performance, and
must request any considerations and accommodations according to the relevant
policies and well in advance. Failure to do so will jeopardize any academic appeals.
• Medical certificates – If a student misses the deadline for submitting an
assignment, or the date of an exam or other evaluation component because of
illness, he or she must submit a Ryerson Student Medical Certificate AND an
Academic Consideration form within 3 working days of the missed date. Both
documents are available at [Link]/senate/forms/[Link]. If you are
a full-time or part-time degree student, then you submit your forms to your
own program department or school. If you are a certificate or non-
certificate student, then you submit your forms to the staff at the front desk
of the Chang School.
• Religious observance – If a student needs accommodation because of religious
observance, he or she must submit a Request for Accommodation of Student
Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance AND an Academic Consideration
form within the first 2 weeks of the class or, for a final examination, within 2
weeks of the posting of the examination schedule. If the required absence occurs
within the first 2 weeks of classes, or the dates are not known well in advance as
they are linked to other conditions, these forms should be submitted with as
much lead time as possible in advance of the required absence. Both documents
are available at [Link] If you
are a full-time or part-time degree student, then you submit the forms to
your own program department or school. If you are a certificate or non-
certificate student, then you submit the forms to the staff at the front desk
of the Chang School.
• Students who need academic accommodation support should register with the
Academic Accommodation Support office (formerly called the Access Centre).
Before the first graded work is due, registered students should inform their
instructors through an “Accommodation Form for Professors” that they are
registered with Academic Accommodation Support and what accommodations
are required.

Please turn over or scroll down for class schedule

 CLASS SCHEDULE
Please note that the amount of time spent on each topic may vary slightly.

Dates: Lecture Topic: Readings:

Sept. 12th, 19th How Psychology Became a Science Chapter 1
• Course details, brief history and current overview of the
field.
Sept. 19th, 26th Research Methods Chapter 2
• The scientific method, data collection techniques,
correlations, experiments.
Oct. 3rd * Biological Psychology Chapter 3
• Neural structure, neural function, anatomy of the brain.

* Assignment 1 due date

Oct. 10th Study Week – NO CLASS

Oct. 17th Exam 1 (25%) Chapters 1, 2 and 3

Oct. 24th Sensation and Perception Chapter 4

• Vision, object perception, hearing.

Oct. 31st Consciousness Chapter 5

• Divided attention, automaticity, subliminal perception,
sleeping and dreaming.

Nov. 7th Learning Chapter 6

• Habituation, classical and operant conditioning.

Nov. 14th Exam 2 (25%) Chapters 4, 5, and 6

Nov. 21st ** Memory Chapter 7

• Encoding, storing, and retrieving information.
** Assignment 2 due date
Nov. 28th Language, Thinking, and Reasoning Chapter 8
• Linguistic relativity, the structure of language,
categorization, problem-solving.

Dec. 5th Review class for final exam All chapters

In the final exam Final Exam (25%) Major emphasis on

period Chapters 7, and 8,
plus some
questions from the
rest of the course
Student Code of Academic Conduct
The Ryerson Student Code of Academic Conduct defines academic misconduct, the
processes the University will follow when academic misconduct is suspected, and the
consequences that can be imposed if students are found to be guilty of misconduct.
Further information is also available at [Link]/academicintegrity.
Academic misconduct includes:
• plagiarism (claiming words, ideas, artistry, drawings or data of another person as
your own, including submitting your own work in whole or in part in more than
one course)
• cheating
• misrepresentation of personal identity or performance
• submission of false information
• contributing to academic misconduct
• damaging, tampering, or interfering with the scholarly environment
• unauthorized copying or use of copyrighted materials
• violations of departmental policies on professional behavior and/or course
requirements

[Link]
[Link] is a plagiarism prevention and detection service to which Ryerson
subscribes. It is a tool to assist faculty members in determining the similarity between
student work and the work of other students who have submitted papers to the site (at
any university), internet sources, and a wide range of journals and other publications.
While it does not contain all possible sources, it gives faculty some assurance that
students’ work is their own. No decisions are made by the service; it simply generates
an “originality report”. Faculty must evaluate that report to determine if something is
plagiarized.
Students who do not want their work submitted to this plagiarism detection service
must, by the end of the second week of class, consult with the instructor to make
alternate arrangements.

Late submission policy: Extensions requested before the assignment due date may
be granted on medical or compassionate grounds, at the discretion of the instructor. If
no extension has been granted before the due date, 10% per day late will be subtracted
from the assignment grade.

Important Resources Available at Ryerson

Use the services of the University when you are having problems writing, editing or
researching papers, or when you need help with course material:
• The Library (LIB 2nd floor) provides research workshops and individual
assistance. Enquire at the Reference Desk or at
[Link]/library/info/[Link]
• The Writing Centre offers one-on-one tutorial help with writing and workshops
[Link]
• Learning Success (VIC B-15) offers individual sessions and workshops
covering various aspects of researching, writing, and studying. You must book
 these directly through their website
[Link]
• English Language Support (4th floor, Student Learning Centre) offers
workshops to improve overall communication skills
[Link]
support/[Link]

There is one general site where you may see and register for all of the workshops
offered by all of these areas: [Link]

For more Information: The Department of Psychology has a web site at

[Link]/psychology where students will find information regarding the
Undergraduate program in Psychology, the Certificate in Psychology and the
Psychology Minor as well as departmental policies regarding appeals, plagiarism, and
other issues. It is the student’s responsibility to know and adhere to all Departmental
and University policies, and also to make arrangements for maintaining proper
registration in this course. Please read the Ryerson Calendar carefully.