Winter term topics• Motivation

– Why do people do the things they do?• Intelligence & Reasoning

– Are some people smarter than others? Why? How can we measure intelligence? How do people solve problems and what common errors occur?

• Language & Nonverbal Communication– What rules do people use to communicate with and without words?

• Cognitive Development– How do children learn to think?

• Social Development– How do children learn to interact with others?

• Social Perception– How do people understand their own behavior and the behavior of others? Why does

prejudice and racism occur and how can it be minimized?• Social Influence

– How can individuals, groups, governments and advertisers affect people’s behavior? Why do nice people sometimes behave in evil ways?

• What’s the big deal about Freud?– Why has Freud had such a lasting influence on Psychology and pop culture when

most modern psychologists think he was full of crap?• Personality

– Why are people so different in their personalities? How can personality be measured? What drives behavior -- personality or situation?

• Mental Disorders & Treatment– What can go wrong with people’s mental health (anxiety & mood disorders,

schizophrenia, personality disorders, including psychopathy) and how can disorders be treated?

Is Psychology obvious?• Is the fluffier side of psychology just the

study of the obvious?• How often is our “intuitive psychology”

correct?

Before and After 023 Questions

• You are a parent and you want your child, aged 10, to do well in school. Is it a good idea to pay your child for getting good grades?

• Your friend gets a pet chimp and wants to teach it to communicate. How successful do you think he will be?

• You are a school teacher and have found that one particular ethic group in your class is being discriminated against by the other students. What could you do to reduce the problem?

• What is schizophrenia? What is a psychopath?• Was Freud the most important psychologist who ever lived or

was he just an overrated nutbar?• You are at Masonville Mall and see a pickpocket pulling a wallet

out of a guy’s pants. Would you stop him or keep walking?• Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi who supervised the deportation of 6

million Jews to the gas chambers. Was he inherently evil?

Answer these questions now based on your intuition. Look at them again at the end of the course.

Winter Prof• aka Dr. Culham, Professor Culham, Jody, Dr.

Jody, Ms. Culham, hey you– any e-mails addressed to “Mrs. Culham” get

forwarded to the professor’s mother

• jculham@uwo.ca– include “023” at start of e-mail subject to make your

e-mail spam-proof– empty “Subject” lines from unknown names get

deleted

• Office Hours– make an appointment by e-mail

• Phone: – 661-2111 x85643

Who should I ask?Fall semester content, exams or grades:• Ask Dr. Nurse• snurse@uwo.ca

Research participation requirements:• Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen

Harris • Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen

Harris• Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen

Harris• Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen Harris Ask Helen

Harris• http://psyclone.psych.uwo.ca/intropsy/• hmharris@uwo.ca

Alternative to research participation requirement• Ask T.A. Jonathan Cant• jcant@uwo.ca

Everything else• Ask me!• jculham@uwo.ca

Course Web Page• http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/023/

• check announcements regularly• check exam grades• lecture outline and class info

– lecture notes will be available by 6 pm the evening before the next day’s class

– I recommend you print handouts and bring them to class to jot notes on• if we don’t get to everything, stopping point will be noted and you will be expected

to bring previous day’s handout to class

• optional web sites and demos

The Common Wisdom

• “Do not read the textbook if you can learn it from the lectures. Textbooks are boring.”

• “Do not go to class if you can learn it from the textbook. Professors are boring.”

Wiser Wisdom: Lectures• Attend classes

– classes reinforce material covered in text– classes include some material not in text

• professors are more enthusiastic when teaching material they find interesting

– videos, stories and demos give different perspective and may be more memorable

– opportunities for questions, clarification & discussion

How Much?!!!Textbook• $104

Lectures• UWO tuition for Science student: $5,042• Tuition per 1-semester course: $504• Number of full lectures this semester: 22• Cost per lecture: $22.91

– Note: This cost is only a fraction (~1/3 in Ontario) of the true cost of an education, with the remainder paid by taxpayers

For comparison…• Cost of movie at Silver City: $9.95

Think!– Even though slide handouts are available on the

web site, they deliberately do not contain everything

– from the memory section, you may now realize that the likelihood of remembering something is related to the “depth of processing” (how deeply you think about it)

– take notes in margins• fill in missing bits• write down examples• take notes on videos• make sure you understand concepts and can apply

them to new situations

– review lectures after class to reinforce material

Wiser Wisdom: Text• Learn the text

– text can go into more detail than we have time for in class

– lots of material• check Lectures page of web to see specific

pages/FQs that will be tested

– study actively, not passively• reading alone is not enough• if you must use a highlighter, use it sparingly• use focus questions to guide your studying1. read a focus question section2. take point-form notes on the concepts, jargon,

details3. answer the focus questions

– study guide is optional

The 8-hour guideline

Your education is a full-time job• Assuming 40 hours of work per week,

you should be spending 8 hours per course per week

Sample Weekly Breakdown• 3 hours in class• 1 hour reviewing class notes• 2 hours actively reading text• 1 hour organizing information and

studying

Exam Question Breakdown

Overlap of Lectures and Text

~50-60%

Lectures Only

(includes videos)~20-25%

Text Only

~20-25%

Tues. & Thurs.

Tuesday class• 12:00 - 12:50

Thursday class• 12:00 - 1:30 at latest

(except test days when you will have the full 1 hour, 50 mins if needed)

• more video clips– usually clips rather than full videos to

highlight important stuff without putting everybody to sleep

Test DatesTerm Test 3

– Thursday January 29, in class– 40 multiple choice questions– up to 1 hour, 50 minutes– 10% of course grade– all material from Jan 6-27

Term Test 4– Thursday March 4, in class– 40 multiple choice questions– up to 1 hour, 50 minutes– 10% of course grade– all material from Feb 30-Mar 2

Final examination– To be scheduled by the registrar – 100 multiple choice questions– up to 3 hours– 30% of course grade– all material from Winter semester

• approx. 60% on material from Mar 9-Apr 6• approx 20% on material from Jan 6-27• approx 20% on material from Feb 30-Mar 2

Test Format• multiple choice

– some “factual/definitional” questions– more “conceptual/analytical” questions

• “Test yourself” sample questions – will be given at start of each class so you have an

idea what to expect

• names of psychologists will only be tested for the major players discussed in class with names in pink– dates of experiments will not be tested

Need Help?General help:• Learning Skills Services at the Student

Development Centre offers clinics and one-on-one assistance. Rm. 210 UCC, http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning/

Psych 023 help• Make an appointment with me

Careers in Psychology• See 023 web site for links• talk to the Psych drop-in centre (SSC 3rd floor

by Starbucks)