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PY-231, Abnormal Psychology Grand Rapids Community College Fall, 2004 INSTRUCTOR: Frank L. Conner, Ph.D. OFFICE: 310 Main INTRODUCTION: Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior—behavior that causes suffering to the individual and others around him or her, and interferes with functioning in a significant way. The study of abnormal psychology also includes learning about the factors, situations, and conditions that cause mental disorders and how they may be best treated. People usually say that abnormal psychology is their most enjoyable psychology course. Even if you are not a psychology major, you will learn much about yourself and others, and what makes people behave in maladaptive ways. But be warned: Taking a course in abnormal psychology does not make you an expert in healthy or unhealthy mental functioning. Try to keep your armchair analyses of your friends and family to yourself. Of course, if you think it is appropriate, you might let others know about resources for help with psychological problems. It is not uncommon for students of abnormal psychology, like some medical students, to think that they have the symptoms of disorders that they study. Resist the temptation to lapse into hypochondria (a disorder you will learn about in abnormal psychology). You will learn that diagnosing mental disorders is a methodical process that involves more than just the appearance of certain symptoms. However, if you seriously think that you need to seek professional help for a problem, by all means do so. The college has counselors you can talk to. You can also seek guidance from a private counselor or psychologist, or from your local community mental health center. Careers in abnormal psychology encompass a wide range of interests and services. Most treating psychologists, including counselors, psychotherapists, clinical social workers, and clinical psychologists, are specialists in abnormal psychology. People who provide psychological services to those who come in contact with the legal system are known as forensic psychologists. Many people with an interest in abnormal psychology become researchers, studying the causes and seeking better treatment for mental disorders. Lastly, you can find abnormal psychology in everyday life, movies, and books. After you take a course in abnormal psychology, you will be able to better understand things that happen in real life, as well as characters and circumstances depicted in movies and books. You may never be able to look at a movie in the same way. There you can let your desire to psychoanalyze run wild (remember you have to keep it under control with your friends and family members!). You will learn about theories of disorders that will help you understand why, for instance, a person with schizophrenia pushed someone to their death in front of a subway train. You can develop your own theories about why children become violent, or what causes someone to become a sexual predator. TEXT BOOK: Comer, R.J. (2005). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology (4th ed.) New York: Worth Publishing ATTENDANCE: To meet the expectations of the class you must attend class. There is a very high relationship between attendance and success in all college classes. You will not be fulfilling your personal and social obligations to this class if you are not in attendance. There is no difference between an excused and unexcused absence.
· Students will not be dropped from the class. College policy allows a student to initiate a "W" at the registrars office up until 70% of the class has been completed. After that point, the student will receive his or her appropriate, earned grade. · Students who miss a test may reschedule to take the test within one week. However, you must contact the instructor within 24 hours of the time the original test was given to schedule a makeup test. In addition, you will receive a grade no better than a B on the rescheduled test. ·
No other graded material will be accepted after the end of class
on the date the assignment is due. If a class is
cancelled for any reason, check Blackboard for information about future classes. Use of telephones, pagers, audio players or other electronic devices that disrupt the learning process or teaching environment is prohibited in the classroom. REQUIREMENTS: The following outlines the assessment procedures in this class. Unit Exams (4 x
50 points = 200 points) There will be four unit exams. They will use multiple assessments techniques. Major Project
(100 points) The major project is designed for you to go deep into the science of abnormal psychology. You will have several option in doing this from writing a traditional research paper to organizing a panel presentation/discussion. During class I will provide specific examples and as a class we will “brain storm” other options. Each student will develop and submit a project proposal by September 14th, 2004. Application
Projects (3 x 50 points = 150 points) There will be three application projects assigned at appropriate intervals throughout the semester. The purpose of these projects are to allow you to reflect at a personal or applied level on some of the important issues of abnormal psychology. Each of these will be equivalent to a 3 – 4 page paper. GRADING: Your grade will be determined by the total number of points received on each of the class requirements converted to a percentage. The percentage grading scale is as follows: 100-94...... A 89-87........ B+ 79-77........ C+ 69-67........ D+ 59 and below E 93-90...... A- 86-83........ B 76-73........ C 66-63........ D 83-80........ B- 73-70........ C- 63-60........ D-
OTHER EXPECTATIONS: As an academic experience being offered by Grand Rapids Community College, this class is subject to all policies and procedures as outlined in the Student Handbook and College Catalogue. Students should be aware of these requirements pertaining to, but not limited to, import student issues such as academic honesty, plagiarism, student rights and responsibilities, and grading grievance procedures
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