Tentative Syllabus
Textbook: Psychological Science, 2nd
edition by Michael Gazzaniga and Todd Heatherton (Norton
Publishers, 2006) -- available at the UT Bookstore or, for the digital version,
www.Nortonebooks.com.
|
DATE |
Lecture Topic |
Chapter |
|
Aug
30 |
Psychology:
What makes us tick? |
Chapter
1 |
|
Sept
4 |
The
nature of scientific understanding, or how we go about understanding the mind |
Chapter
2 |
|
Sept
6 |
Neurons,
neurotransmitters, and scurrilous liars |
Chapter
3 |
|
Sept
11 |
The
brain: Don’t leave home without it |
|
|
Sept
13 |
Sleeping,
dreaming, and consciousness |
Chapter
4 |
|
Sept 13* |
1st writing assignment due |
|
|
Sept 18 |
TEST 1 |
|
|
Sept
20 |
Sex. Need we say more? |
Chapter
9 (pp. 370-379) |
|
Sept
25 |
Sensation
and perception |
Chapter
5 |
|
Sept
27 |
Learning,
forgetting, and the nature of history |
Chapter
6 |
|
Oct
2 |
Memories:
Shopping lists, the magic number, and other nonsense |
Chapter
7 |
|
Oct
4 |
Babies,
little children, development, and the cruel world |
Chapter
11 |
|
Oct 4* |
2nd writing assignment due |
|
|
Oct 9 |
TEST 2 |
|
|
Oct
11 |
Solving
problems and other reasons to get your mind in gear |
Chapter
8 |
|
Oct
16 |
Let’s
talk: How the words we use reflect who
we are |
Chapter
11 (pp 454-460) |
|
Oct
18 |
Express
yourself: The social functions of emotion Love
at first fright: Where do feelings come from? |
Chapter
10 |
|
Oct
23 |
A
special treat: The revealing of new
information |
|
|
Oct
25 |
Stress,
illness, and emotional disclosure |
|
|
Oct 25* |
3rd writing assignment due |
|
|
Oct 30 |
TEST 3 |
|
|
Nov
1 |
Freud
and personality: Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll? |
Chapter
9 |
|
Nov
6 |
Mental
disorders |
Chapter
13 |
|
Nov
8 |
Psychotherapy:
When and how does it work? |
|
|
Nov
13 |
Personality
in animals |
|
|
Nov 13* |
4th writing assignment due |
|
|
Nov 15 |
TEST 4 |
|
|
Nov
20 |
Who
do you think you are? |
Chapter
12 |
|
Nov
27 |
Social
Physics: Birds, murder, and cocktail parties |
|
|
Nov
29 |
Social
behavior in |
Chapter
15 |
|
Dec
4 |
Obedience
to authority: The Milgram Project |
|
|
Dec 4* |
5th writing assignment due |
|
|
Dec 6 |
TEST 5 |
|
*All writing assignments
must be completed and submitted by 11:59 PM on the assigned day.
Web Site Information. The syllabus, old tests, grades, personality
feedback, and even a direct route to the experiments and prescreening page can
be accessed by opening the following address:
www.psy.utexas.edu/jp301
Writing requirement information. Writing assignments must be submitted on the web
through the internet address noted above. The writing assignments should be
finished by September 13 (for assignment #1), October 4 (#2), October 25 (#3),
November 13 (#4), and December 4 (#5) at 11:59 PM. Late submission = no credit.
No excuses. Assignment 1 deals with a
stream of consciousness experience; later assignments will deal with the course
material at the time. Questions about
the writing assignments should be directed to Yla Tausczik.