P101:
Introductory Psychology 1
Course Information
PSY-P101 Introductory Psychology 1
This is an online course that will be administered entirely through Canvas.
Successful students will...
- …demonstrate familiarity with theoretical foundations and studies that are part of the natural and mathematical sciences. Topics will include research methods, neuroscience, sensation and perception, learning and memory, and cognitive psychology.
- …learn critical thinking skills that can be applied to evaluate claims made by scientists, by practitioners, and found in the media.
- …use relevant theories to explain phenomena or make new predictions, and will appreciate how psychological science can be translated into practical solutions for problems that impact human lives.
- …have an understanding of the foundations of scientific inquiry, be able to distinguish experimental and nonexperimental research studies, and critique conclusions that can be drawn from these studies.
- …have an understanding of basic research methodology, including but not limited to research design, data collection and analysis, and interpretation of results.
- …recognize that studying psychological science has value to a broad range of professions and industries.
- …evaluate psychological research for compliance with ethical standards.
- …understand how variations in environmental and biological factors give rise to individual differences.
- …be intrigued by the questions, answers, and conduct of psychological science, and will appreciate the stunning complexity of the brain, mind, and behavior.
You’ll be successful if you are engaged in your learning. Reflect on your understanding of class materials and review them to assess your comprehension; use your time effectively to learn concepts, and seek assistance to resolve any unanswered questions or other aspects of class activities.
Instructor Information
Dr. Ben Motz (call me Ben)
Research Scientist
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Indiana University
http://motzweb.sitehost.iu.edu/
Email address: bmotz@indiana.edu
Office phone: 812-855-0318
Office Hours
Wednesdays: 2:30-4:00pm
You can visit my office hours in person: Psychology Building room A200B
...or by videoconference: Zoom
https://iu.zoom.us/j/8128550318
If you sign-in and it appears that nobody’s there, please wait 1-2 minutes to allow me to connect with you.
Teaching Assistant
TBD
Course Structure and Activities
The Lessons: 40% of your grade
There will be 36 online lessons in the course. Each lesson includes a set of graded activities that are designed to guide you through a specific topic in P101, providing resources, summarizing ideas, and asking you questions along the way. The lessons are organized into seven units: (1) Introductions, (2) Research Methods, Ethics, and Skepticism, (3) Neuroscience, (4) Sensation and Perception, (5) Memory, (6) Learning, and (7) Language and Thought.
The units are “scheduled” — meaning that there’s a specific time when all the lessons within a unit will become available for you to complete, and a specific due date for all the lessons in a unit (see the calendar, at the bottom of the syllabus). After the due date you’ll still be able to go back and view the lessons, but you won’t get credit for your work after the deadline has passed. (Note: The deadline for the Unit 1 Lessons is the same as the deadline for the Unit 2 Lessons.)
You can complete the lesson activities as many times as you want; feel free to retry them to study, practice, or just to get higher scores. We will only count your highest score (submitted before the deadline) on each activity.
Your lowest 4 aggregate lesson scores will be dropped. Each of your 32 highest aggregate lesson scores is worth 1.25%, for a combined 40% of your final grade. Each lesson has the same weight toward your final grade (again 1.25%), even though different lessons will have different amounts of questions and activities.
The Quizzes: 45% of your grade
At the end of every unit, students will take a timed online quiz on the learning material from the unit. The quiz questions will be drawn randomly from a large question bank, and these will also include some of the questions from the lessons. Students will be allowed only one submission attempt. The quizzes will be proctored by Examity (see Course Details and Policies below), and will be available for at least a three-day window.
There will be 6 quizzes, one for every unit (except the introductory unit), and the lowest quiz score will be dropped. Each of your 5 highest quiz scores is worth 9%, for a combined 45% of your final grade.
The Assignments: 15% of your grade
Within each unit, there will be a short reflection activity—a writing assignment that is designed to help you think about the course material in more depth, and to make connections between P101 and your own experiences.
The reflection assignments for each unit will be due when quiz for that unit opens. They will be graded on a 3-point scale; fractional points will be awarded, and a rubric will be provided with each assignment.
There will be 6 reflection assignments, one for every unit (except the introductory unit) and the lowest assignment score will be dropped. Each of your 5 highest assignment scores is worth 3%, for a combined 15% of your final grade.
The Experiments
All students must obtain 4 experiment credits by participating (as a subject) in psychology experiments, either online or in person. These will help you gain first-hand knowledge of the science of psychology, the ethical principles of research, and the diversity of research activities (and researchers) in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Experiments are scheduled using an online system:
https://iub-pbs-credit.sona-systems.com/
You must complete this requirement, but your participation in any individual experiment is entirely voluntary. If you are unable or unwilling to participate in any experiment, we will arrange a substitute assignment that is befitting your particular situation. There will be an opportunity in Unit 2 to indicate your preference, or you could email me directly (bmotz@indiana.edu) if you choose this option. Students would be wise to complete the experiments as soon as possible. Many tend to wait until the final three weeks of the term to obtain their experiment credits, and for this reason, there will be few, if any, available experiment appointments at the end of the semester. Avoid the crunch and do the experiments early. If you do not complete the experimental participation requirement (or pre-determined substitute assignment), you will receive a grade of “incomplete” (unless your grade is a D or F, in which case you will receive your assigned grade). The incomplete will be replaced with your earned grade if you complete the experiment requirement within 1 year.
Letter Grades
Final letter grades will be assigned according to the table.
“Percent” is calculated by a weighted average of the percent correct on lessons, quizzes, and the reflection assignments, adjusting for the percent that each counts toward your final grade. Decimals will be rounded to the nearest percent score.
| Grade | Percent |
| A+ | 97-100 |
| A | 93-96 |
| A- | 90-92 |
| B+ | 87-89 |
| B | 83-86 |
| B- | 80-82 |
| C+ | 77-79 |
| C | 73-76 |
| C- | 70-72 |
| D+ | 67-69 |
| D | 63-66 |
| D- | 60-62 |
| F | <59 |
Materials and Technology Requirements
eText
A custom eText has been created for this course, and has been provided to all enrolled students (a small fee has been added to your bursar bill for this course). All students will have access to this eText through Canvas’s “IU eTexts (Unizin Engage)” tool.
Computer
Students will need a modern desktop or laptop computer. Some of the lessons will require that you’re using a computer with a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad (tablet devices may not function properly), and most of the lessons won’t work properly on a smartphone.
Webcam and Microphone
You’ll need a working built-in or external webcam and microphone in order to use the quiz proctoring service, and to visit office hours remotely.
Use only Firefox or Chrome!
Students will need to access the P101 content using up-to-date versions of either Firefox or Chrome. There will inevitably be errors if you are using other browsers, and errors resulting from using other browsers will not be grounds for excuses or extensions.
Internet Connection
Students will need reliable broadband internet access throughout the semester. Your internet connection will need to maintain consistent speeds of at least 2mbps (both upload and download) to sustain the connection to the quiz proctoring service. During online quiz proctoring, a dropped internet connection is the same as getting up and walking out of an in-person test, and dropped or inadequate internet connections will be grounds for dismissal from the quiz. Please keep in mind that hotel WiFi, shared network connections in large houses with high internet traffic (e.g., fraternities or sororities), or 4G cellular internet connections may not be sufficient to support a consistently high bandwidth for online quiz proctoring.
A Private Place to Take the Quizzes
Students will need to take the proctored quizzes in a quiet, private place. There may not be other people in the space where you take the quizzes. If you are unable to find your own private place to take the quizzes, there is a space available in the Psychology Building, but only between 8:30am and 4pm on weekdays. Contact me (bmotz@indiana.edu) if you need to use this space.
Need Help with Technology?
Contact the IT Support Center (Help is available 24/7)
Phone: 812-855-6789 | Email: ithelp@iu.edu | Chat: ithelplive.iu.edu
Another information source for technology at IU is the Knowledge Base
Need Help Staying on Top of your Schoolwork?
Students in this class are invited to use Boost, a free smartphone app developed at IU that provides notifications and reminders about schoolwork in Canvas. It is designed to help students keep track of assignment deadlines, important announcements, and course events all in one easy-to-use app. For more information, see https://kb.iu.edu/d/atud or https://boost.iu.edu.
Course Details and Policies
Email announcements will be the primary method for communicating in this course. Students will be expected to check their Indiana University email at least once each day, and they should have Canvas configured so that Announcements from P101 are sent to them right away. (How do I configure my Canvas notification preferences?)
If you send Ben Motz an email, please allow at least 24 hours (longer during holidays and weekends) for a response. I will not be checking email between 5pm and 8:30am.
Quizzes
The quizzes will be conducted online, and will be scheduled and proctored by Examity. Examity gives you the flexibility to schedule exams at your convenience and take them wherever and whenever you want. In order to schedule the P101 quizzes on Examity, you need to create an account with Examity, and provide a copy of a government-issued or university-issued picture ID card. You will need to show this ID card when you access the quizzes.
Examity is available to proctor the quizzes anytime during the quiz window (even in the middle of the night), however you will need to schedule your proctoring sessions at least 24 hours in advance. Advanced scheduling of your proctoring sessions, and appearing for your scheduled proctoring appointments, are part of the P101 requirements. Failure to schedule your proctoring sessions or not showing up for your proctoring sessions, for any reason (including legitimate emergencies), will result in a zero on the quiz.
Examity Quick-Start Guide for Students
url: http://www.examity.com/docs/Canvas_Student_Quick_Guide.pdf
IU Knowledge Base Article on Examity
url: https://kb.iu.edu/d/aphw
Examity also provides free technical support to ensure you have the best testing situation possible. You can contact Examity by phone at 855-Examity (855-392-6489), or by clicking on the live chat link located at the top and bottom of the Examity dashboard.
Quiz sessions must be scheduled with Examity at least 24 hours in advance of the appointment time.
There will be no extensions or second attempts on quizzes. If you miss a quiz for any reason, including illness, outages in your personal internet connection, and even for legitimate emergencies, you will receive a 0. Your one lowest quiz score will be dropped.
During a quiz, you may access the lessons and the eText (and any notes you've added to the eText), but those are the only resources that you may use. You must take the quiz alone, and you may not copy the quiz questions, nor receive copied quiz questions from other students. Any students found to be copying, providing, or receiving quiz questions or answers may receive a grade reduction or zero on any or all quizzes, or in the course, as determined by the instructor and/or the Dean of Students.
Lessons
The lessons are online, and you may use any resources you wish in order to complete them. Lesson activities can be resubmitted as many times as you wish, and we will only count your highest score before the lesson deadline. After the lesson deadline you may continue to access and practice the lesson activities, but your work after the deadline will not be counted toward your grade.
There will be no extensions on lesson activities. If you forget to do a lesson activity, even for a legitimate emergency, you will receive a 0. You are allowed to drop your four lowest lesson scores (the four lowest aggregate lesson scores will be dropped, not the four lowest individual lesson activities).
Students can work through the lessons together, but students cannot directly share the answers with other students, or receive the answers from other students. Any students found to be providing or receiving lesson answers may receive a grade reduction or zero on any or all lessons, or in the course, as determined by the instructor and/or the Dean of Students.
Reflection Assignments
The reflection assignments are your opportunity to think more deeply about a particular topic, application, or real-world example of the P101 material. As such, your submission must be written entirely by you, in your own words. Canvas will automatically process all students’ submissions through TurnItIn.com to ensure that writings (in part or in full) haven’t been copied from Wikipedia, other college students’ papers, scholarly articles, websites, and a host of other sources. Plagiarism is academic misconduct, and all submissions of non-original work will be treated as such. Under university policy, all alleged cases of academic misconduct will be reported to the Dean of Students.
Late submissions of the reflection assignments will be accepted, with a half-point (out of 3 points total) deduction per 24 hours that the submission is late. Regardless of emergency, the late penalty will not be waived. Your one lowest reflection assignment score will be dropped.
Accommodations
Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities (e.g. mental health, learning, chronic health, physical, hearing, vision, neurological, etc.) You must have established your eligibility for support services through the appropriate office that services students with disabilities. Note that services are confidential, may take time to put into place, and are not retroactive; Captions and alternate media for course materials may take three or more weeks to get produced. Please contact Disability Services for Students at their website or 812-855-7578 as soon as possible if accommodations are needed.
Concussions can present unique challenges in an online course because the treatment of a concussion will typically involve limited or no “screen time.” In the event of a documented concussion, a student may choose to receive an incomplete in P101 (and thus complete the course in a subsequent semester), or to continue in the course without accommodations. There will be no extensions on lessons, quizzes, or assignment deadlines due to a concussion.
Minor Variations in Course Materials
In this online course, different students may receive slightly different variations in course materials. This is because we are attempting to evaluate what types of learning materials and activities work best. All students will receive the same basic resources, but there may be minor differences in functionality between students.
No Extra Credit
There will be no opportunities for extra credit in this course.
Workload
The expectation is that this 3-credit hour class is likely to require a weekly time commitment totaling about 8-10 hours.
Timeliness and Responsibilities
It is a student’s responsibility to ensure that his/her lessons, assignments, and quizzes are submitted correctly and on time via Canvas. It is also the individual student’s responsibility to for their technology to work. Problems with your computer, issues with your internet connection, or conflicts in your personal schedule cannot be grounds for excuses or extensions. Do the lessons, assignments, and quizzes early (e.g., do not schedule the quiz for the last minute) so that you still have the flexibility to complete the activity before the deadline if a problem arises.
If you are ever concerned whether an assignment has been successfully submitted via Canvas, check your Gradebook, and if there’s still any concern, please ask for confirmation. In the extremely rare case that the online course is not functioning properly, any accommodations will depend on whether or not there was timely notification that problems were encountered, before the deadline. If you believe that you’ve encountered a problem or malfunction in the course materials, your notification must include a screenshot (of the whole screen, demonstrating that you’re using Firefox or Chrome) illustrating the issue, as well as the answers you were trying to submit (if applicable).
Disclaimers
This syllabus is an outline of the course and its policies, which may be changed slightly for reasonable purposes during the semester at the instructor’s discretion. You will be notified via email if any changes are made to this syllabus or to the policies herein.
The syllabus provides the precise formula for calculating a final letter grade in the course. Grade calculations displayed in Canvas may not be accurate for various reasons. Students should not rely on Canvas’s grade summaries to display accurate information about course standing.
General Policies
There are a number of campus-wide policies governing the conduct of courses at the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, and these policies apply to this course as well. You can review these policies online.