Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
COURSE RECORD
Code PSYC102
Name Essential Topics in Psychology (II)
Hour per week 3
Credit 3
ECTS 5
Level/Year/Semester Undergraduate/ 1st year/ Fall
Type Core II
Classroom Online or TBA if it is open as an on-campus course
Prerequisites Enrolled or pass PSYC101
Special Conditions Since this class includes active debates and leadership, each student will be
expected to have the technologies as follows:
1. A stable and fast (e.g., fibre internet) unlimited internet connection for the
synchronous Zoom sessions on a computer.
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
2. Browsers to access CANVAS and Zoom
Build-in or webcam camera and microphone
For this course, I will use CANVAS and McGraw Hill Connect Websites. You
will access the course syllabus, course materials, lecture notes, links to related
websites, assignments, articles, etc., from these websites. I want you to know that you are responsible for
checking Canvas and Connect regularly. Information about exams and assignment
grades will also be available aont this site.
Content This is the second part of the introductory level course, PSYC101 [link here], that
allowing participants to continue exploring essential topics in psychological sciences.
The content of the course was defined in the previouslast part as follows:
"If you look at encyclopaedias back in the 1800s, you will see the definition of
psychology, as it is the most proper introduction to speculative philosophy. Since
then, internal (conceptual, methodological) and external (social, political) factors
have shaped the development of psychology as a scientific discipline. Today what
we understand psychology is the scientific study of thought, emotions, and
behaviours. The voyage to differentiateof mysteries of human thought, emotions, and behaviours
through scientific methods in this course provides us exciting discoveries of our
potential, limits, successes, failures, and true nature of a human being. It also gives
us the knowledge to achieve better services and peaceful societies and to improve
every aspect of individuals' lives in the modern world. It is essential to have the
ability and awareness for differentiating "common sense" and research evidence in
the 21st-century complex modern world. Based on scientific research,
understanding the reasons for some fundamental questions,, such as why we think in
a particular way, why we do, and what we do can be extremely helpful in your
business life as well as your academic achievement. Therefore, knowing essential
debates in the psychological foundation would be necessary to every psychologist
who would like to enhance her or himself in the contemporary global world."
Objectives This is a compulsory departmental course at an introductory level, allowing
participants to explore essential topics in psychological sciences. Instead of
providing a straightforward classical lecture format, it is designed to cover the main
theories of psychology by encouraging participants to involve in discussions,
demonstrations, and even some small applications in and out of th class time.
The course is designed to achieve the objectives based on both the AGU Psychology
Program Goals and the recommendations of the American Psychological Association
(APA) task force report on undergraduate students' competencies (Board of
Educational Affairs, 2012). Therefore, the design of the course will cover the student
competencies:
• Knowledge base of psychology
• Research methods in psychology
• Critical thinking skills in psychology
• Application of psychology
• Values in psychology
• Communication skill
• Sociocultural and international awareness
• Personal development
• Career planning and development.
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
Learning Outcomes
Goal 1: Knowledge base of psychology
Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the central
concepts, theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and empirical findings to
discuss how psychological principle applies to behavioural problems
1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in
psychology
1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology's content domains
1.3 Describe applications that employ discipline-based problem
solving
Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
Demonstrate scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective
research methods.
2.1 Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena
2.2. Demonstrate psychology information literacy
2.3 Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research
2.4 Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry
Goal 3: Ethical and Social Responsibility
Develop ethically and socially responsible behaviours for professional and
personal settings.
3.1 Apply ethical standards to psychological science and practice
3.2 Build and enhance interpersonal relationships
3.3. Adopt values that build community at local, national, and global
levels
Goal 4: Communication
Demonstrate competence in written, oral, and interpersonal communication
skills.
4.1 Demonstrate effective writing in multiple formats
4.2 Exhibit effective presentation skills in multiple formats
4.3 Interact effectively with others
Goal 5: Professional Development
Develop abilities that sharpen readiness for employment, graduate school, or
professional school.
5.1 Apply psychological content and skills to career goals
5.2 Exhibit self-efficacy and self-regulation
5.3 Refine project management skills
5.4 Enhance teamwork capacity
Teaching Methodology This is a compulsory departmental course at an introductory level, allowing
participants to explore essential topics in psychological sciences. Therefore, in this
course, you have been expected to engage, understand, analyse, and synthesised a
wide variety of psychological topics.
In response to the developing situation with covid-19, this course may be offered in
an online format unless offered as a campus course. For asynchronous sessions,
CANVAS and synchronous debate sessions on Zoom will be used. We will be using
various tools for active learning to take place. It is both lecture and a student-driven
course. It is your responsibility to participate actively in class discussions. The
requirements of each student will be as follow:
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
INDEPENDENT LEARNING ASSIGNMENTS
Before each class, you will be required to read relevant materials so that they can
actively join class debates. Before joining the class discussion, each participant will
be required to complete worksheets to highlight key concepts in the assigned
readings and assess their learning. Worksheets will be available on Blackboard
(online interactive tools provided by your course textbook), and you can submit
your answers in the Submit Answer section of the page. More detailed information
and demonstration will be provided during the class meeting in the first week;
however, you need to know in advance there are various activities in this course,
which requires your active online participation. Each out-class activities will be
taken about 3-4 hours for a week depends on individual differences.
To access the assignments, participants need to register for the course on McGraw
Connect. Register information will be distributed. These are -but not limited to
following activities
Smart Reading
I will assign McGraw Hill Connect's smart reading module for each week reading,
which allows you to do an active reading. I will make a demonstration in the first
week of how you can use smart reading. I hope this application will provide you to
balance intentional rigour with the freedom to make mistakes. Smart reading is an
environment that develops self-awareness through meaningful, immediate
feedback, which will help you improve your knowledge in psychology.
Reaction Papers: You will submit four 1- to 1.5-page, single-spaced reaction papers
on the readings no later than 5 p.m. before the next class meeting. You are free to
choose which chapters you want to submit for your reaction papers (the first
possible week date will be announced), but you must submit at least two of them
before fall break. I will not accept late reaction papers. You should turn these papers
in on Connect's page. So that I may grade these papers anonymously, please do not
include your name anywhere in the document.
Within reaction papers, you have the chance to write freely about your reactions to
one (or more) readings from that week. For example, you may critique the research
methods of some example study in the chapter or interpretation of the results,
design a new study to extend the current research, generate further questions or
hypotheses based on the chapter, apply theoretical knowledge into your
surrounding context and debate if there was similarity or differentiation that you
expected. No points will be awarded for reaction papers that only summarise the
readings.
Participation: Everyone is expected to attend every class and be prepared to
contribute to the lecture and class discussion. If you must miss a class for a required
and unavoidable absence, you must speak with Prof. Çoymak in advance. I will
provide three participation grades throughout the semester (one after a month
from the course start, one after two months from the beginning, and one before the
final exam). As a class, we will draft a set of guidelines regarding weekly lecture and
discussions and classroom etiquette on the first day of the course. In these
guidelines, we will address questions such as the following: What is the goal of
discussion in this course? What do we expect of each other in terms of preparation
for each class session? How can we make our class a safe space to talk about
sensitive topics or to voice confusion? What makes a respectful listener? How can
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
we effectively disagree with each other? What policies would we like to have
regarding potential classroom distractions (being late, eating food during Zoom
session, keep opening the mic and closing the video on Zoom, etc.)? These
guidelines will be distributed after class and will function as a "contract" regarding
class discussions throughout the semester.
You are not graded on whether you agree or disagree with the instructor or with
each other. Evaluation of class participation will be based on your ability to rise and
answer important issues, contribute ideas or insights, build upon the ideas of
others, ask questions to presenters, etc. By actively participating in the class
discussions, you can sharpen your insights and those of your classmates. Both the
quality and frequency of your participation will count towards your active
participation grade. Please note that high-quality or relevant contribution will earn
you a higher participation grade than frequent but insignificant contribution. Also,
you will not get any class participation points for just being present in class. Class
attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for scoring highly on class
participation.
Application-Based Activities: These are various highly interactive exercises, which
provide you to practice using problem-solving skills to apply your knowledge to
realistic scenarios. You must use it to work through and solve content specific
problems for each scenario, addresses the key concept of the relevant chapter.
These activities help you to improve your critical thinking and relevant workplace
skills. These activities involve topics as follow
• Ethics in research
• Gender Identity
• Male Sexual Anatomy
• Female Sexual Anatomy
• Models of Motivation
• Stages of Consciousness
Reading List Robert S. Feldman (2021). Understanding Psychology (Fifteenth Edition), McGraw-
Hill: New York.
The chapters are detailed in the Weekly Schedule section below.
COURSE POLICIES
Late
Submissions
All of the assignments are due at the scheduled dates and times. Please mark your calendar
for all due dates (especially project timeline) and follow the announcements about the
assignments. Late assignments receive a 10% deduction for each day they are late. After
three days, the assignments will not be accepted.
Communication I may make changes and additions to this syllabus that will announce in class or via
CourseWorks. You should use university email or CANVAS as a communication tool at all
time.
Please use CANVAS to communicate with me, yet if you are not able to use CANVAS for some
reason and decide to email me, please include "the class and section number (e.g.,
PSY301.01 Psychology of Social Conflict and Violence) into the subject line of your emails. If
this information is not included, your email may not be answered.
To: ahmet.coymak@agu.edu.tr
Subject: PSY31 Psychology of Social Conflict and Violence, Section 1
Greeting,
---Insert your message as clear, detailed, yet as concisely as possible---
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
Closure,
Your name & surname
Department, Year, Student No
Attendance
Policy
Students are expected to attend all asynchronous/synchronous times. Student absences in
excess of 3 weeks (4 or more) of synchronous times will result in automatic failure in the
course. It is your responsibility to come to class on time.
Students with medical reports need to submit the paperwork to your deanship of faculty in 5
days following the last day of the sick leave. Absence due to medical reasons cannot exceed
two weeks.
It is the responsibility of each student to keep track of how they are doing on class
participation by checking with the instructor several times during the semester.
Principles of
Academic Ethic
Each participant in this course is expected to abide by Abdullah Gul University ethical rules
and principles (hit the link for the details). Laws and regulations are compulsory for each
participant of the course without exemption. Examples of academic dishonesty include but
are not limited to plagiarising (copying someone else's work or ideas and misrepresenting
them as one's own), falsification (making up fictitious information and presenting it as real or
altering records for the purpose of misrepresentation), and facilitation (helping another
student to cheat, plagiarise, or falsify).
Besides, it is also essential to have a conscience for universal ethical principles applied to all
culture, philosophies, faiths and professions. Of course, there are not certain rules and
regulations for universal ethics principles but involve a debate for a framework of the
universal tenets of ethics provides participants with an active conscience, enhances
personality, moral decision-making that is a central aim of the psychological theories.
Therefore, it is also strongly suggested to each participant for looking at Marian Hillar's
Universal Declaration of Global Ethics and Larry Colero's An Ethics Framework (linked below).
• Hillar, M. (1995). Is a Universal Ethics Possible? A Humanist Proposition (a link to an
external site.). The Philosophy of Humanism and the Issues of Today, 127-148.
• Colero, L. (2005). A Framework for Universal Principles of Ethics (a link to an
external site.), Crossroads Programs Inc.
Flexibility A tentative schedule for the entire semester is included in this syllabus. Although much
thought and planning were put into the course schedule included in the syllabus, the
schedule is tentative and subject to change as necessary to adapt to the specific needs of the
class. Occasional departures from the schedule, such as additional readings, assignments,
and activities, may be announced in the course or via CANVAS during the semester.
Therefore, it is each student's responsibility to be in class on time and paying attention in
order to keep up-to-date with whatever changes are made in the schedule.
Feedback Your comments and suggestions are critical and will be taken into consideration during the
course. You will be provided with the 2021 Online Education Pulse survey on the CANVAS
"Module" page. Please do not hesitate to give feedback on the course. You can give your
feedback during class, during office hours, or through email. In addition, the Teaching and
Learning Center will run mid-term and end of term feedbacks.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Activities Number Weight (%)
Offline/Online Synchronous class meeting (Attendance) 14 20%
Asynchronous Activities (application-based activities, pre-readings) 14 20%
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 101)
Active participation (detailed in the Participation title under the
Teaching Methodology section)
14 15%
Independent learning assignments 14 35%
TOTAL 100%
ASSESSMENT
Evaluation Criteria Weight (%)
Smart Reading X 12 15%
Reaction Papers X 2 20%
Application Based Activities X 6 15%
Participations 20%
Midterm 10%
Final 20%
Total 100%
COURSE LOAD
Activity Duration
(hour)
Quantity Work Load
(hour)
Attendance Offline/Online Synchronous class
meeting
2 14 28
Pre-class activities (readings) 2 14 28
Research (web, library) 2 12 24
Evidence-based learning activities 2 25 50
General Sum 130
ECTS: 5.2 (Work Load/25-30) As an example, the workload is 93hr. 93 /25-30
CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAMME OUTCOMES*
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12
LO1 5 5 4 2 1 5 4 2 4 1 2 3
LO2 3 1 2 5 5 5 1 5 1 3 2 1
LO3 1 4 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 5 5
LO4 1 0 3 1 0 5 1 4 5 1 1 0
* Contribution Level: 0: None, 1: Very Low, 2: Low, 3: Medium, 4: High, 5: Very High
AGU School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Essential Topics in Psychology
Code of the course (PSYC 102)
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
W Topic Outcomes
1 Introducing the course LO1, LO3, LO4
Activity: Review of the syllabus & brief intro. to social conflict, preparing a class
discussion policy
2 Motivation and Emotion LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
3 Sexuality and Gender LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
4 Development LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
5 Personality LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
6 Health Psychology: Stress, Coping, and Well-Being LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
7 Psychological Disorders LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
8 (lecture-free week) How does psychology help to understand both locally and
universally
LO1, LO2, LO3,
LO4
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application&
synchronous in-class discussion
9 fall break (TBA)
Activity: (fall break, TBA)
10 Midterm LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: Exam preparation & Midterm LO4
11 Treatment of Psychological Disorders LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
12 Social Psychology LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
13 Diversity, Culture, Conflict, and Cooperation LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: pre-lecture readings, pre-class asynchronous application& LO4
synchronous in-class discussion
14 Overview of topics LO1, LO2, LO3,
Activity: debate LO4