COURSE GOALS

The purpose of this course is to widen and deepen your understanding of abnormal behavior.  The following are specific objectives related to the purpose of this course:

1. Appreciation of historical and cultural views of normal and abnormal behavior within the science and practice of psychology.

2. Familiarity with the most common forms of psychopathology (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders).

3. Understanding the basic theories of, research on, and treatments for these disorders.

4. Development of a critical approach to claims presented by the media about the origins of and cures for psychopathology (e.g., "It's all biological and medication is the answer.").

TEXT

Nolen-Hoeksema, S. A. (2011). Abnormal psychology (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION

I will conduct this class through lectures, video excerpts, demonstrations, and other in-class activities (e.g., discussion).  All in-class activities, although based on course material, are intended to enhance and stimulate your thinking about topics related to psychopathology rather than merely repeat information contained in the text.  While I hope that this format will provide you with interesting and enriching experiences, it places responsibility on you to keep up with the assigned reading and to ask questions about material contained therein.

COURSE COMPONENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION

3. TERM PAPER

Graduate students enrolled in this course must complete a term paper because they are receiving graduate credit.  Graduate students will complete either a proposal for an original research study or a paper that reviews published theoretical, empirical, and/or practical literature.  This paper is worth up to 100 points.  A description of the requirements for the graduate term paper is linked to this syllabus.

GRADING

You may see your grades by clicking on the link "Grading" above and then logging on to a secure webpage.  Grades will be based on an absolute scale of 400 points (500 for graduate students), with the breakdown as follows:

Exams:                                    400 points (100 point each)
Extra Credit:                             10 points
Graduate Term Paper:            100 points

A =   360-400 points (90-100%)
B =   320-359 points  (80-89%)
C =   280-319 points (70-79%)
D =   240-279 points (60-69%)
F ≤    239 points (< 60%)

To receive an A you must show exceptional knowledge of the material.  I am not inclined to negotiate grades just because a student believes s/he deserves a better grade.  Grades are based on academic performance, not perceived need.  To facilitate your test performance, I will provide you with feedback within one class period of taking an exam.  Although I will not hold post-mortems on exams, please feel free to discuss your exam results with me.  Before doing so, however, I expect you first to make an independent effort to discover the source of your mistakes.

COURSE POLICIES

PREPARING FOR EXAMS

1.  Take thorough notes.  I will highlight key ideas, but I recommend that you take notes on the entire lecture.  As I explain examples or integrate material, I am trying to expand on or review key ideas in order to make them more sensible.

2.  Review your notes regularly.  Reviewing your notes each day has three advantages:

a.  it decreases the burden of cramming;
b.  if there is a section of your notes that is unclear, you will know about it in time to get it clarified, rather than discovering the night before an exam that your notes are virtually unintelligible; and
c.  it should be related directly to exam performance.

3.  Read the text.  Reading the text in order to learn information for an exam is different from reading for pleasure.  As you read, highlight key ideas and take notes either in the margins or on a separate sheet of paper.  Your notes can be memory cues, ideas about how the text and lecture fit together, or about what seems to be important.  Take an active role in this process; this will make your memories richer and more accessible.  Finally, read the chapters as they are covered because smaller chunks are easier to digest and remember, and it gives you an opportunity to review later.

4.  Make a plan.  Get organized and plan when to review a specific set of material.  Schedule different parts of this task, including breaks.

5.  Take notes on your notes.  As you review your notes, take an active role.  Consider implementing the following:

a.  make condensed outlines,
b.  make lists of key points for each concept,
c.  make lists of different approaches to similar ideas, and
d.  make lists of similarities and differences among concepts.

When you do these things, you not only review the material, but you also organize and re-organize it in helpful ways.

6.  Make studying a social event.  Find someone in class with whom you can compare notes, share ideas, and discuss the material.  Social interaction helps to process and organize information.  If you can help a friend understand the material, then you yourself know it.  Plus, studying might actually become enjoyable!

7.  Test yourself.  Testing yourself or having someone test you periodically is useful.  You will be able to identify material you need to study more.  You will also be able to identify material that you already know and do not need to spend more time studying.  In this way, you can focus your efforts more efficiently and effectively.  You will also build confidence with each self-assessment because you will discover that you are becoming better prepared.

8.  Take advantage of resources.  Feel free to ask questions in class or during my office hours.  If you find that you have problems taking notes and tests or if you suffer from test anxiety, the UniversityCollege and Student Counseling Services, respectively, can assist you.  If you need to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability, contact Disability Concerns.

9.  Avoid cramming.  Following the steps outlined above will help you create alternatives to cramming.  Cramming is a less effective way to study than spreading out the work over time.  You will learn less material that way.

10.  Keep a regular schedule.  Another disadvantage of cramming is that it can disrupt sleep.  Disruption of regular sleep can have a detrimental effect on the brain's ability to store new information and will impair your ability to perform the following day.  You should also know that many drugs, including alcohol and caffeine, can disrupt the brain's functioning in ways that you might not notice, in addition to the obvious ways.  Only you can decide if the lost sleep, restlessness, irritability, and subsequent exhaustion are worth the inefficiently learned information you might retain from a substance-fueled all-nighter.

11.  Take responsibility.  Remember, you are responsible for everything covered in class.  Barring unforeseen circumstances, if you do not perform well in this course, it is most likely because of insufficient effort.  Most of you should be able to earn a B or C if you work hard.  Please follow the suggestions listed above to maximize your performance.