Psychology 400-025

Applied Psychology

Syllabus - Spring 2012

Sections 1 and 2

Instructor: Dr. Robert T. Hitlan

Office: Baker 437
Office Phone: 273-2223
Office Hours: M, W 3:00-4:00 and by appointment

email: rob.hitlan@uni.edu

Course Website can be accessed via my homepage at: http://www.uni.edu/~hitlan/

Class Time:

Section 1: M, W, F 1:00-1:50 (SAB 25)

Section 2: M, W, F 2:00-2:50 (SAB 25)

Required Texts:

1. Applied Psychology: New Frontiers and Rewarding Careers. S. I. Donaldson, D. E. Berger, & K.Pezdek (2006). Lawrence Erlbaum: Mahwah: NJ.

2. Reserve Readings: Library

Course Overview:

This course provides students with an introduction to the various work activities and settings open to psychologists in various disciplines. This course is designed as an entry level course in applied psychology. This course will provide a survey of the applications of psychology in a variety of settings and work activities by providing students with an introduction to the research that supports the application of psychology to various specialties. Prerequisites: 400:001. It is imperative that you read all of the chapters in advance of lecture. Doing so will also help to integrate the material.

Basic Course Objectives:

1. Understanding the basic research methods used in applied settings

2. General understanding of the careers in applied psychology

3. Awareness of the variety of work activities and setting open to psychologists in different applied areas.

4. Knowledge of research findings in applied areas.

5. Expanded capacity to engage in divergent and critical thinking

6. Enhanced problem-solving skills by utilizing psychological principles to analyze situations

7. Enhancement of personal and professional effectiveness through increased understanding of behavior.

Evaluation:

Midterm Exams (x4) = 60%

In-class and take-home individual and group work  (e.g., Expectations/self-fulfilling prophecy; social influence, memory/forensic psych, smile,  etc.) =20%. This does not include the Social Norm Violation Assignment

Social Norn Violation Assignment = 10%

Research article presentation = 10%

Extra Credit (up to 3%). One half percent (.5%) for each day of the last week of classes and 1.5% for attending the final exam period.

Midterm Exams:

The Midterm exams will comprise 60% of your overall course grade. There will be four midterm exams throughout the spring 2012 semester. This means each exam will constitute 15% of your overall course grade. All Midterm exams will consist of multiple choice, True/False, short answer and/or essay questions. Each exam will include material covered since the previous exam. I DO NOT GIVE MAKEUP EXAMS. If you will be out of town on official University business on the day of an exam, you need to let me know ahead of time so that we can schedule a time for you to take your exam EARLY. In the event of a medical or other emergency, final decisions on the validity of such claims will be the sole discretion of the instructor.

In-Class and Take-home Individual and Group Work:

During the semester, students will have an opportunity to work individually and as part of a group on exercises related to course material that is being covered. Many of these are indicated on the Tentative Course Schedule. Other individual and/or group exercises may be added at the discretion of the instructor. Overall, in class exercises will be worth 20% of your overall course grade. Exercises cannot be made up (see above under “Midterm Exams” for notable exceptions)   

Norm Violation Assignment:

To explore the power of social norms, you are invited to complete this participant-observation assignment.

Part I: Violate a Social Norm

As mentioned in your readings, norms are prescriptions for accepted or expected behaviors. Your assignment is to violate one of the five norms listed below:

1. Sing loudly on a public bus, subway, or train.

2. Position yourself six inches from an acquaintance's nose during a conversation.

3. Stand on your chair in a restaurant and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. Continuously jump up and down while waiting in a check-out line at a grocery store.

5. Get into an elevator that is crowded with strangers, and after the doors close, introduce yourself to the group.

PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING: You may also violate any other norm you choose, as long as you don't risk harming yourself or others. For example, you should not do anything that involves breaking a law, disrupting a class or public event, sexual behavior or sexually explicit speech, taking something that is not yours, or saying something that is threatening or hurtful to others -- such norm violations will result in a score of zero.

Part II: Write About Your Experience

Turn in a description of the norm you violated, the way you felt, and the reactions people had to you (limited in length to two typewritten double-spaced pages using 1" margins and 12-point font). For example, you might describe whether the experience was uncomfortable, fun, liberating, scary, or something else. Or you might discuss the psychology of other people's reactions to you.

Important Note: This assignment is intended to be engaging and informative, but you can opt out of it if you prefer. If at any point you prefer not to complete an assignment (or if your attempt to complete it is unsuccessful), you can still receive full credit by turning in a two-page report discussing the barriers that prevented you from carrying out the assignment.

Research Article Review/Presentation:

Students will work in small groups (no more than 3 students) on this presentation. This assignment is worth 10% of each student’s course grade. The goal is to have students delve further into one of the topics that we have discussed this semester (although articles that address other topics relevant to applied psychology are also acceptable but require instructor preapproval). A listing of preselected articles will be provided by the instructor on the date indicated below.  Each group member will be required to read the same empirical research article and discuss the article via an oral presentation to the rest of the class.  All group members are expected to contribute to the presentation. The presentation should be approximately 15-20 minutes in length and will be presented during the last two weeks of class. Some information that groups must  include in their presentation are: a) title of article, b) name(s) of authors, c) authors underlying rationale for specific hypotheses, d) method details, e) results/findings, f) interpretation of findings, g) applied implications of research, and h) 3-5 take home points. Additional details for this project including a scoring rubric for calculating group presentation grades will be added to the course website by February 13^th.  Groups should be prepared to provide a listing of group members to the instructor on this date.  

Assistance:

The time to get assistance is when a difficulty first occurs, not the day before the midterm or final examination. If you do not understand something, there are several options are available:

a. Ask questions before, during, or after class.

b. See the instructor during his office hours.

c. Get help from Tutorial Services.

d. Ask a fellow student for assistance.

Cheating:

In short, cheating will not be tolerated. Cheating is copying work, letting someone else copy your work, and sneaking peaks at other students’ exams. Anyone caught cheating will receive a grade of "F" for that work and will be subsequently reported to the appropriate authority for further action. Please note: Use of any electrical devises including cell phones during exams is strictly prohibited and will constitute cheating resulting in a failing grade (“0”) for that particular exam and referred to the appropriate body for disciplinary action.

PLEASE NOTE: One you leave the classroom during an exam, it is assumed you have completed your exam in its entirety. You will not be allowed to return and continue to work on your exam. If there is any chance you will need to use the restroom during an exam please do so – BEFORE beginning your exam. Also, if you arrive to class during a scheduled exam time and any student has already completed their exam and left the classroom, you will NOT be able to take the exam scheduled for that day.

Academic Ethics Policies

http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/catalog/ACAD-REG.html#withdrawl

Students at the University of Northern Iowa are required to observe the commonly-accepted standards of academic honesty and integrity. Except in those instances in which group work is specifically authorized by the instructor of the class, no work which is not solely the student's is to be submitted to a professor in the form of an examination paper, a term paper, class project, research project, or thesis project.

Cheating of any kind on examinations and/or plagiarism of papers or projects is strictly prohibited. Also unacceptable are the purchase of papers from commercial sources, using a single paper to meet the requirement of more than one class (except in instances authorized and considered appropriate by the professors of the two classes), and submission of a term paper or project completed by any individual other than the student submitting the work. Students are cautioned that plagiarism is defined as the process of stealing or passing off as one's own the ideas or words of another, or presenting as one's own an idea or product which is derived from an existing source.

It is not acceptable for the work or ideas of another scholar to be presented as a student's own or to be utilized in a paper or project without proper citation. To avoid any appearance of plagiarism or accidental plagiarism, it is important that all students become fully cognizant of the citation procedures utilized in their own discipline and in the classes which they take. The plea of ignorance regarding citation procedures or of carelessness in citation is not a compelling defense against allegations of plagiarism. A college student, by the fact that s(he) holds that status, is expected to understand the distinction between proper scholarly use of others' work and plagiarism.

A student who is found to have improperly used others' work must expect to be penalized for such action -- even if the argument is made that the action was taken with innocent intention -- and the student's instructor will normally judge such work "unacceptable." But it should be noted that the assignment of a low or failing grade for unacceptable work is not in itself a disciplinary action -- even if the assignment of such a grade results in the student's receiving a lower grade in the course, including "F", than s(he) would otherwise achieve. Such a response by an instructor is part of the normal grading process; if a student feels that s(he) has grounds to protest a grade received through this process, the student has access to the academic grievance procedure which the university has developed to deal with all student academic grievances.

Students with Disabilities:

In compliance with the University of Northern Iowa policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with disabilities. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Services, 103 Student Health Center, to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations.

No retroactive accommodations will be provided in this class. The web address for UNI Student Disability Services is http://www.uni.edu/sds/. This site provides detailed information about student, faculty, and university rights and responsibilities.

Pet Peeves:

1. Out of courtesy for both your fellow students and the instructor, make sure all electrical devises are shut off for the duration of class (e.g., pagers, cell phones, etc.)

2. If you must come to class late, do not walk in front of the instructor but take the first available seat

3. It is your responsibility to make sure you are on the class discussion list, not mine.

4. If you miss a class, please do not email me to ask what you missed or if the lecture material for that day was important. If I go over a topic – it IS important for you to know. Look at the course schedule and/or get the notes from a fellow student.

5. Other class disruptions are also frowned upon (e.g., putting on make-up during class, sarcastic remarks directed toward another student and/or the instructor)

 Tentative Class Schedule – Spring 2012

          Date                   Chapter                        Material                                   Assignments                Notes

Final Exam (finish research article presentations (first half) and wrap up.

Section 1:  Thursday 1-2:50, May 3

Section 2:  Monday 3-4:50, April 30