Psychology and Law
PSY 400-070/SOC 980-070
Section 01
Fall 2006
Dr. Kim MacLin
Class Time: TR 2-3:15pm
Class Location: SAB 129
This Syllabus is Subject to Change. Last Updated 1/18/2007
Course Description:
Psychologists know a great deal about how human beings behave and think. This course will bring this arsenal of knowledge to bear on the complex thoughts and behaviors that occur in criminal and legal situations. One of my goals is to three-dimensionalize these people that we often think of in stereotypical terms: the heartless criminal, the vicious prosecutor, the bleeding heart defense attorney, the austere and noble judge. By understanding their roles, motives, ambitions and even their physiology, we can quite easily apply a wealth of psychological knowledge and theory to how these people think and behave in their legal roles. This course follows the criminal timeline, from before the crime, to the crime itself, pretrial proceedings, the trial, sentencing, incarceration and beyond. You'll learn all about how to apply psychology to these situations.
Course Requirements:
You have to do 15 homework assignments, 6 quizzes, a book report, and participate in the class project. Details below.
This Syllabus:
This syllabus is our contract. Therefore, it is lengthy and detailed. It clearly states your obligations to me, and mine to you. Imagine any complaints you might have about a course (particularly after the fact, and if you didn’t get the grade you wanted): and look for those possible complaints in this syllabus. If there is something you don’t like, TAKE A DIFFERENT COURSE! Staying in this course beyond the first day indicates to me a commitment to learn in this type of environment.
Have questions about the course? Check your syllabus first! Very likely the information you want is here! Please bring this syllabus to class with you and record any changes in requirements or deadlines on it. Announcements made in class “count” just as much as policies outlined in the written syllabus.
Contacting Me:
Not that I don’t want to talk to you in person (!) but email is the most efficient and reliable way to reach me. When you do contact me (by email or phone message) please include your first and last name and which class you are in (I teach other courses).
Email: kim.maclin@uni.edu
Phone: 273-2302
Office: Baker Hall 344
Office Hours: TR 2-3, and by appointment
Teaching Assistant:
Your teaching assistants grade all of your homework (with guidelines and feedback from me), enter your grades, answer questions, and generally help out. If you have questions about a homework grade you should contact them first. Always feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have. Your TAs know and can do a lot for you though, so use them!
Teaching Assistants: Eli Cochrane (cochrane@uni.edu) and Emily McShane (emcshane@uni.edu)
Office Hours: By appointment
Class Communication: I often will communicate with you through an email listserv. Your UNI email address is where these messages are sent. If you add the class late, you may not be on the list. I will announce the first several days of class how to add yourself to the list, and how to change the email address to which you receive mail. Announcements made over email are typically extremely important. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you are receiving these emails. Click here to add yourself to the email listerv if you are not receiving class emails so far.
Textbook: Memon, A., Vrij, A., & Bull, R. (2003). Psychology and Law. Wiley. 2nd edition.
Book Report Book: You will choose one book to write your report on. Some are available at the UNI bookstore, others from Amazon or mall bookstores. The full list is here.
Course Information
Course information is available in two places, WebCT and my own website. Your grades, assignments and course information are available via WebCT. Duplicate course information (like your syllabus and the course calendar) are also available via my website.
Course Information Website: http://fp.uni.edu/maclink/psychology_and_law.htm
Course Assignments and Grades: http://webct.uni.edu (WebCT)
Class Attendance:
Class attendance is critical. I do not take roll. But you will miss information and participation points if you choose not to attend class. If attendance is low, I may have a class assignment. These cannot be made up. NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED. If you cannot attend class on a particular day, your best bet is to send me an email, or to leave a phone message at my office PRIOR TO YOUR ABSENCE. Talking to me after the fact does not ensure that I will be sympathetic or helpful in any way!
Homework:
There is a lot of homework in this class. Most of the assignments are simple, but do require your reading (or listening) and attention. Some of you may feel that this is “busy work.” Well, you are partly right! The work is designed to keep you reading, studying, and thinking at a steady pace, avoiding the pitfalls of “cramming.” The homework points do add up, and you will hurt your grade if you only periodically do homework assignments.
Homework assignments are posted on WebCT. Homework is submitted directly from WebCT and is due by 3:30pm on the day it is listed. Some homeworks require you to listen to a program. Most are short, but some are 1 hour! So make sure you check the course calendar early so you have enough time to do it before the deadline.
Quizzes: There will be 3 quizzes worth 50 points each.
Class Project: worth 205 pts. See the class project link (the first part of this line) for MUCH more information.
Final Paper: 100 pts
Individual Webpage Update: 25 pts
Real Court/Trial Experience: 50 pts
Mock Trial Reflection Notes: 30 pts (10pts per trial day)
Book Report: worth 100 points. See the book report link (the first part of this line) for MUCH more information. The book report options are here. The report should be 2000 words long, typed, and in APA style. Here is a sample. Note that the body of your paper goes in between these two elements (in other words the reference page is NOT page 2), and are numbered accordingly.
Extra Credit (2pts each option):
You can earn extra credit points by doing psychological movie reviews. These are available in WebCT.
Or, by participating in experiments. Go HERE. Problems logging in? Contact Rakhi Patel rp468304@uni.edu
Or, by writing article summaries. You may write a 500 word summary for any or all of these research articles (you need to be on campus to view/print these articles). Please submit them hard copy to me or the TA.
#1 Infanticide
You may receive a MAXIMUM of 20 extra credit points for the course.
Grading Scale: NOTICE there are no plusses and minuses given
A=90% and above of possible points
B=80-89% of possible points
C=70-79% of possible points
D=60-69% of possible points
F=less than 60% of possible points
Quizzes=150 pts (3 @ 50 pts each)
Book Report=100 pts
Class Project=205 pts (see above for breakdown)
HW=150 pts (15@ 10 pts each)
Total= 605 possible points + in class/participation points
Cheating & Plagiarism:
DON’T CHEAT! Cheating is any sort of activity that results in you turning in work (quizzes, homeworks, book reports, extra credit) where you are not the SOLE contributor and developer of the ideas. You are bound to the University's ethics policies. I will be using Turnitin.com to screen papers.
Very Bad Things to Do that Will Get YOU in BIG TROUBLE
(if I catch you, and I catch a lot of people)
Googling a movie review to see what a movie is about so you can write an extra credit assignment on it
Asking your friend to tell you what a movie is about so you can write an extra credit assignment on it
Digging back into your foggy memory of a movie you saw a million years ago and writing an extra credit assignment on it
Googling to find a paper that you can use as a model for your book report
Purchasing any sort of paper on the Internet
Copying/pasting any content off of the Internet into ANY assignment for this course
Reading summaries, reviews, articles about your book report book and writing (or copying) about that content as if it were your own
AND MANY MORE DEVIOUS ACTIVITIES.......
If you have a disability that could affect your performance in this class:
UNI is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. It is the responsibility of students to contact the Office of Disability Services (213 Student Services Center-273-2676) to arrange for documentation and accommodation.
If you have University sponsored obligations that require you to miss class:
It is your responsibility to contact me during the first week of class to let me know of your obligations throughout the semester. As soon as you receive your paperwork detailing out the days you will miss class, please provide me with a copy for my files. It is STILL your responsibility, however, to remind me by email at least a day before you are going to miss a class due to your approved obligations, so that we can arrange for any work you might miss. It is your responsibility to ensure that you get makeup assignments from me immediately upon your return. You will need to get class notes from a fellow student.