Required Reading

Jewell, L.N. (1998). Contemporary Industrial/Organizational psychology, 3rd Edition. New York: Books/Cole.

• To give a broad understanding of the activities and roles of  Industrial/Organizational Psychologists in business, industry, and academia.
• To examine the methods, theories, and practical issues involved in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
• To understand the situational and individual factors that contribute to workplace behavior.
• To investigate how changes in culture, technology, and economics impact individuals at work.
• To look into the future and explore how work will change in the next 30 years.      
• To make connections between course material, work situations, and other topics in psychology.

PSYC 101 (General I), PSYC 200 (General II), PSYC 220 (Quantitative Methods) and PSYC301 (Experimental) are all prerequisites for Social Psychology. This course sequence ensures that you have a firm understanding of concepts such as the differences between descriptive, correlational and experimental research, the relationship between independent and dependent variables, correlation and causation, between subjects vs. within subjects designs, internal, construct, and external validity, and confounds in research (to name a few). You will have difficulty with the material in this course if your knowledge on these topics is weak.

Course Format

 This course follows a lecture/discussion format. All students are expected to participate in class discussion and class activities. Questions are encouraged.  Electronic mail and discussion groups will be used as an additional medium for interaction and dissemination of information. All students must have a private email account active to receive important course updates. 

Evaluation

Grading will be on a traditional grading scale where 88-89.5 is a B+, 90-92 is an A-, 93 or above is an A and so on.

There are no make-ups for any of the quizzes or exams. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Quizzes (45% of final grade)

There will be eleven quizzes throughout the semester (about one quiz every week or so) given during the first fifteen minutes of class on assigned dates. If you are late, you will not be able to take the quiz. These quizzes will focus on class lecture, discussion, in-class presentations, guest speakers, movies and the assigned reading. Quizzes will have both multiple choice and essay components. Only the best ten grades count towards your quiz average. Thus, if you perform poorly on one of the quizzes or miss one quiz, you compute your quiz average from the best (or remaining) ten quiz grades. Answers to the quizzes will be posted on the web. No make-ups. YOU WILL NEED A #2 PENCIL FOR THESE QUIZZES.

Exams (45% of final grade) 

There will be four exams throughout the semester. Only the best three grades are computed in your exam score. Therefore, if you are satisfied with your average on the first three exams you do not have to take the cumulative final exam. If you miss one of the exams or perform poorly on one of the scheduled exams, you may take the final to enhance your exam average. Exams will consist of multiple choice and essay formats and will come from class lecture, the text, additional assigned material, class discussion and writing assignments.There are no make-up exams.YOU WILL NEED A #2 PENCIL FOR THESE EXAMS.

Class Participation (10% of the grade)

Contributions to discussion, rapt attention, good attendance (less than two absences "excused" or otherwise), actual (even feigned) interest in the course material, thoughtful comment, and playing off of other students' comments are all encouraged. Class "dis-participation" (disrespect for other students, leaving beepers or cell phones during class [and/or answering them], SLEEPING, wandering out for a snack or to make phone calls, eating gross/crunchy things in class, chronic lateness, private conversations with a neighbor while others are speaking etc.) will not be tolerated.

Advice

This course is intense and we will progress quickly through the course material and it will be easy to fall behind. The following four points are essential  for success in this course.

• Focus. Come to class ready to learn. If you prepare for class and concentrate on the lecture and in-class activities you will need to spend less time studying.

• Prepare. Skim over the reading assigned for the day PRIOR to coming to class. After class, go back and thoroughly read the entire chapter.

• Read. Keep up with the material. Reading the summaries will give you an overall outline for the important points as you read the chapters making it easier for you to absorb information.  Skim and then read the chapters as they are assigned so you can understand the in-class activities.

• Rehearse. When you get quizzes back, go over the answers to understand where you have gone wrong (and where you have gone right). Learning only occurs when you have feedback on your performance and can learn from that feedback.

Communication

Communication is essential to the learning process. In class I communicate with you by lecturing, answering questions, giving instruction and providing feedback and you communicate with me by providing comment, asking questions, and performing on assignments and exams. I also understand that students need individual attention from time to time. If you would like to discuss a class-related issue, please do not approach me before or after class when my attention is on the day's material and when privacy is at a minimum. Instead, make an appointment with me and give me some information regarding the question(s). These appointments allow the privacy and individual attention you deserve.

If the question is quick, email is the most efficient method of contact. Email also reduces the "phone-tag" that often occurs between professor and student.

Communication between students is strongly encouraged. The first day of class you should get two students' phone numbers and email addresses so that you may collaborate on notes, have a study partner, and/or to check on information you may have missed in class.

Teaching Themes

I have three major themes in my teaching: content mastery/application, critical thinking and connectivity/social change. First, content mastery and application are at the core of any learning experience and I expect students to become involved with the material.  Second, I encourage students to be active consumers of psychology by being critical and creative thinkers. Thus, the teaching of epistemology, barriers to accurate thinking, and validity analysis are themes throughout all of my courses. Third, I encourage students to make connections between course content, personal experiences, and your larger social world. I urge you to broaden their frame of analysis from the personal/interpersonal level to realize the social, cultural, and economic factors contributing to your beliefs and behaviors.