PSYCHOLOGY 127: ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Fall Quarter 2008

Tuesdays & Thursdays: 12:30-1:45 PM; Franz 1178

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Christensen TAs: Nicole Starace & Katie Williams Office: Franz A326B Nicole: nkstarace@ucla.edu; E-Mail: Christensen@psych.ucla.edu Office: Franz Hall 1183C Phone: 310-825-7732 Office Hrs: Wed 9-10 and 3:30-4:30 Office Hrs: Tues. 1:45-2:45 PM; Katie: Katie.j.williams@gmail.com; Wed 2-3PM Office: Franz Hall A235C;

Office Hrs: Tues 11:30-12:30; Thurs 2-3

Course Description The major purpose of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of abnormal behavior. Topics will include the definition, description, and classification of abnormal behavior, the development of abnormal behavior, and the treatment of abnormal behavior. Attention will also be given to research methods used to study abnormal behavior. The required text for this course is Abnormal Psychology: Core Concepts, by James N. Butcher, Susan Mineka, & Jill M. Hooley (Allyn & Bacon, 2008), which is on sale in the bookstore as either a hardback version (more expensive) or loose leaf version (less expensive). The book store may offer to rent the text as well (even less expensive). Finally, a copy has been put on reserve in the library (no cost). We will read all the material in this book but not always in the order that it appears in the book (see reading assignments below). The reading material in this text, lectures, and films will be used to convey the substantive matter of abnormal psychology. The textbook will provide the basic overview; the lectures will highlight certain topics and provide supplementary material; the films will provide illustrations of different disorders and their treatments. Evaluation and Grading Policy Grades will be based on three midterm exams, a final exam, and a paper. The first midterm exam will be held on Thursday, October 16, 2008; the second midterm exam will be held on Tuesday, November 11, 2008; the third midterm exam will be held concurrently with the final exam on Thursday, December 11, 2008, 11:30am-2:30pm. If you have personal events which conflict with these times and which will prevent you from taking these exams, you should not take this course. Each of the three midterms will cover approximately one third of the material in the course. The final exam is comprehensive and will cover all course material. Each of these four exams will enable you to earn a maximum of 60 points. All midterms will consist of multiple choice questions only. There will be one “thought paper” required during the course. Although you will need to use material from the class in writing this paper, there is not a single set of right answers for the

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paper. Rather, you will be judged by a) how thoughtfully you discuss the questions posed in the paper assignment, b) how well you document your points with examples and, if appropriate, research from the book, and c) how well you express yourself in writing (organization, clarity, grammar, punctuation, and style). The paper must be a maximum of 4 pages (double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12-point font) in length and will count a maximum of 20 points. The paper topic will be assigned right after the first midterm and will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, November 6, 2008. We do not tolerate any plagiarism in the writing of the paper or any cheating on the exams. Please consult Bruin Success with Less Stress (www.library.ucla.edu/bruinsuccess) for an interactive, online tutorial designed to help students understand plagiarism, academic honesty, intellectual property issues and proper citing techniques. The final grade will be based on the total accumulated points from the paper, the final exam and the top two midterm exam scores. The lowest midterm score will be dropped (which could be the 3rd midterm given at the same time as the final exam). Thus, total possible points are 200 (2 midterm exams at 60 points each, one final exam at 60 points, and one paper at 20 points). The final grading curve will not be higher than the typical distribution of 90% A, 80% B, 70% C. Thus, if everyone in the class were to get at least 80% of the answers on the exam correct and score similarly on the paper (a maximum total points of at least 160), there would be no grade lower than B. However, experience has shown that classes usually generate a wide distribution of scores so that As, Bs, and Cs are given and, regrettably, even Ds and Fs. Plus and minus signs will be used to modify some of the A, B, C, and D grades.

Many short film clips will be shown in class to illustrate course material. Because there will be questions on the exams about these film clips, you should attend class regularly. Do not assume that you can do well in the course by simply reading the assignments and studying lecture notes or a friend’s notes from class. There will be no make up exams. If a student misses one of the first two midterm exams, we will simply sum up the remaining three exams to determine final point totals. If a student misses the final exam (and third midterm, since they are given concurrently), the student will be given an F unless the student makes arrangements with the instructor for an Incomplete. If you feel there was an error in grading the multiple choice exams, you may certainly see the TA or instructor. However, any questions about these exams must be made within 10 days of the posting of the exam. There will also be a limited time frame in which to question your grading of the paper. Study Aids PowerPoint Slides of course lectures will be posted on the course web site before lectures. To aid in your note taking, you should download these slides and print them out before lecture. The TAs will also take notes in class and will post them in the Lecture Notes office for sale. Finally, lectures will be available on Bruin Cast (a UCLA podcasting service): http://www.oid.ucla.edu/webcasts

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Honors Seminar An honor’s seminar (Psych 189) linked to this course will be held on Fridays 1-1:50 in Franz Hall 1571. A small number of students will participate in class discussions of controversial issues in Abnormal Psychology, based on the book by Richard P. Halgin, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Abnormal Psychology. Admission to the course is with instruction consent only (PTEs will be given). Preference will be given to College Honors students and psychology majors planning graduate study in the social or life sciences. Incompletes The grade of incomplete (“I”) will be assigned only when a student’s work is of passing quality but is incomplete for good cause. The work must be made up during the next quarter in which the student is in residence or the grade will lapse to “F” or “NP”, as appropriate. Pass-No Pass Grades Students who choose to take the course P/NP will receive a P (pass) if they earn point totals worth a C or better, but will receive an NP (no pass) if they earn point totals worth a C-, D+, D, D-, or F.

Contact with the Instructor and Teaching Assistant Both the instructor and teaching assistants (TAs) will maintain weekly office hours and will be available to respond to questions. It might be helpful for you to know what we consider appropriate questions and how we would like to deal with them. The most appropriate questions have to do with material from the lecture and book that you don’t understand. If you attended lecture and read the book but you still don’t understand something, we want to help you. We will gladly try to clear up your confusion. First consult the class discussion board – perhaps someone has had a similar confusion and already posted a question which has been answered. If not, please post the question on the discussion board so that we can answer it for your benefit as well as the benefit of the entire class. If your question is more personal (e.g., about your grade) or you are uncomfortable posting your question on the discussion board, please e-mail either the TA or the instructor or come to one of our office hours. If you have questions about errors in grading or computation, please contact one of the TAs initially. They will be in charge of maintaining an accurate and up-to-date tally of student scores.

Students occasionally ask questions that we believe are inappropriate. These questions seek special information about the test, such as “will this be on the test?” or “do we have to know this?” During lecture and in handouts to all the class, we will provide information about the tests and what they will cover. We want this information available to all and thus we don’t want to provide additional information about the tests and what specifically they will cover during office hours, review sessions, or in e-mail contact. Also, because this is such a large class, we can not provide individual reviews of drafts of your paper.

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Course Schedule and Reading Assignments

Part Week Dates Chapters Topics I 1-3 9/25-10/16 1-3, 5, Introduction; Definitions 15 (pp 458-465) of Abnormality; Assessment and Diagnosis; Research Methods; Anxiety Disorders; 1st Midterm Exam: Thursday, October 16, 2008 II 4-7 10/20-11/11 6-8, 4, 11 Mood Disorders; Somatoform & Dissociative disorder

Eating Disorders; Stress Disorders & Health

Psychology; Sexual Disorders

2nd Midterm Exam: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 III 8-10 11/13-12/11 10, 9, 12-15 Substance related Disorders Personality Disorders

Schizophrenia Developmental Disorders Cognitive Disorders Contemporary and legal issues 3rd Midterm & Final Exam: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 11:30am-2:30pm