Applied Psychology

PSY 2033

Spring, 2005

Tuedays/Thursdays 1:30 p.m.

 

 

Contact Information:

Dr. Travis Langley

301-F McBrien Hall

(870)230-5222

langlet@hsu.edu

 

Applied Psychology. Application of research methods and psychological theories to modern day settings and everyday life, with particular emphasis on behavior modification, personal adjustment, and social relationships. This course examines opportunities for occupations, internships, and practicum experiences in psychology and related areas.

 

 

Required Textbooks:

 

Hayes, N. (2001). Teach Yourself Applied Psychology. McGraw-Hill Publishing.

 

Kuther, T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2003). Careers in Psychology : Opportunities in a Changing World Careers in Psychology : Opportunities in a Changing World. Wadsworth Publishing.

 

Test Schedule

 

Test 1: Thursday, February 24

            Open book test over Teach Yourself Applied Psychology

 

Test 2: Thursday, March 31

            Careers in Psychology

 

Final: Tuesday, May 10, 1:00-2:50

 

Grading

 

            50% Tests        50% Activities

 

Scale on the 40-point tests: 

A 35.1→

B 30.1 - 35.0       

C 25.1 - 30.0       

D 20.1 - 25.0       

F ←20.0

 

There will be no makeup tests, so don’t even ask. However, any student who arranges for an appropriate guest speaker to come address our class or who arranges an appropriate field trip can drop their lowest or a missing test scorea and get an extra A figured into their average.

 

The professor also reserves the right to subtract any number of points from the grade of someone who disrupts class, or to assign a course grade of F to someone caught cheating. Anyone caught cheating will also be referred for University disciplinary measures.

 

Writing Across the Curriculum:  The last question on every multiple-choice test will be some version of “Since the previous test, what have you learned from the current course material that was not otherwise covered by this exam?” Write your answers in coherent sentences. In general, each distinct fact you provide will be worth half a point, up to the normal maximum of 3, so to earn full credit provide 6-8 distinct facts. Writing more could earn a little extra credit, up to an absolute maximum of 4, which would almost always bring your score up a full letter grade. Bad answer, not worth any credit: “We talked about status offenses, but you didn’t ask about them.” Good answer: “A status offense is a crime that would not normally be a crime, except that it is not legal due to the age of the person doing it, such as truancy, underage drinking, or running away from home.” Rather than just stating which topic was not covered by the test, tell what you learned about the topic.

 

Assignments

 

Jobs & Careers Project

 

Throughout the semester, the class will learn about jobs that people can get with degrees in psychology. This will include investigating local job opportunities and contacting people who graduated from H.S.U. to find out what they're doing with their psychology degrees.

 

Practicum Opportunities Project

 

Learn about volunteer opportunities in psychology. This will include investigating local volunteer opportunities and doing ten hours of relevant volunteer work.

 

Chapter Presentation

           

In small groups, maybe even pairs, you will each take one chapter from the book, investigate jobs in the area that chapter covers (e.g., forensic psychology, sport psychology, health psychology), and present that to the class during the last half of the semester. I will meet with each group to help you and make sure each member is contributing appropriately.

 

Total point value for each of these three projects:

 

  A+  40

  B+  35

  C+  30

  D+  25

  E+  20

  F+      10

  A   38.3

  B   33.3

  C   28.3

  D   23.3

  E   18.3

  F        5

  A-  36.6

  B-  31.6

  C-  26.6

  D-  21.6

  E-  16.6

  0        0

 

Your presentation grade will be adjusted for participation, for things such as asking questions or offering information about topics presented by other students (without interfering or monopolizing).

 

Points for miscellaneous homework assignments contribute toward either your Jobs & Career Projects score or your Practicum Opportunities score. Missing work will get negative credit. Moreover, people who miss assignments can be dropped from this course just the same as if they'd missed class. These are simple assignments, so just do them.