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Psychology 3NO3E Fall Term 2005 Abnormal Psychology—Fundamentals

Course Instructor: Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt Office: Psychology Building, 309 E-mail: vaillat@mcmaster.ca It is my policy to answer all e-mails so if you haven’t received a reply within a reasonable time frame, please send your e-mail to me again. Office Hours: By appointment. It has been my experience that students rarely attend pre-scheduled times for office hours. As such, I am happy to meet with you anytime during the day (by appointment) and after class (without an appointment). Extension: 27866 or 26243 (lab) Course Description and Objectives: Fundamentals of clinical psychology, including viewpoints on the nature of behavioural disorders, diagnostic systems, clinical judgments, and treatment approaches. In addition, an introduction to selected categories of psychological disorders and treatment efficacy will be covered. Required Text: Davison, G.C., Neale, J.M., Blankstein, K.R., & Flett, G.L. (2005). Abnormal Psychology (Second Canadian Edition). Mississauga, ON: John Wiley and Sons Canada, Ltd. Class Notes and Attendance: There has been a growing demand from university students to have lecture notes be made available on the web. While it is understandable that meeting such a request considerably eases the burden of taking detailed notes in class, it is nevertheless incompatible with what researchers have shown about optimizing learning. Indeed, researchers have shown that students tend to retain 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, 30% of what they see, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they say and demonstrate. As such, it is my policy to not provide complete lecture notes as they discourage class participation and encourage class absenteeism which, in turn has been shown to be related to poorer grade performance. Having said this, I strongly encourage class attendance and participation. Note that approximately 30% of lecture material will be found on the exams and not in the text book. I will, however, post ‘skeletons’ for each lecture that will list the topics of discussion per class, and associated keywords and the like.

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Topics by Week (tentative): Date Topic

Reading and Exams

Sept. 13th

Introduction to the Course Definition of Abnormal

Syllabus Chapter 1

Sept. 20th

History of Psychopathology

Chapter 1

Sept. 27th

Paradigms

Chapter 2

Oct. 4th Classification & Diagnosis

Chapter 3

Oct. 4th Midterm Examination Chapters 1-3

Oct. 11th Legality & Ethics

Chapter 18

Oct. 18th Legality & Ethics cont. Clinical Assessment

Chapter 18 Chapter 4

Oct. 25th Clinical Assessment cont. Chapter 4

Nov. 1st Midterm Examination

Chapters 18 & 4

Nov. 8th Psychophysiology & Health Chapter 8

Nov. 15th Substance-Related Disorders Chapter 12

Nov. 22nd Schizophrenia

Chapter 11

Nov. 29th Schizophrenia continues

Chapter 11

Dec. 6th Exam Review

Chapters 1-4, 8, 11, 12, 18

Missed Class/Exam: Should you miss class it is your responsibility to obtain the notes from another class member, or to make arrangements in advance to have the lecture taped and/or noted for you. Class notes will be provided by me when a written medical certificate explaining your absence is provided. Make-up exams are not permitted unless there is a valid medical reason which is supported by a written medical certificate.

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Evaluation: Evaluation will be based on two in-class multiple choice exams worth 25% of your final grade on October 4th and November 1st. For the first midterm that will take place in class you are responsible for chapters 1, 2 and 3, as well as all lecture material covered to that date. For the second midterm that will take place in class you are responsible for chapters 4 and 18, as well as all lecture material covered to that date (cumulative). The format of the final exam will be multiple choice and short answer and will be worth 50% of your final grade. The date of the final exam will be scheduled by the registrar. For the final you are responsible for all chapters and lecture material delivered in class. Please note that you are required to present your student I.D. for all exams. All marks will be consolidated and grades assigned according to the following conventional scheme:

90-100 A+

85-89 A

80-84 A-

77-79 B+

73-76 B

70-72B-

67-69C+

63-66C

60-62C-

57-59 D+

53-56 D

50-52D-

0-49 F

Teaching Assistants: You will have 3 terrific TAs for this course. Each will be responsible for specific tasks throughout the term, so please contact ONLY the appropriate TA specific to your inquiry.

1. Jessie Miller: millej6@mcmaster.ca - e-mail correspondent; send ALL e-mail inquires to Jessie for reply; should you need

further clarification, please send them to me as I am more than happy to answer any of your questions ☺

- also available to meet students for office hours (by appointment)

2. Aanchal Sharma: sharma27@mcmaster.ca - primary class TA representative; available to answer questions before and after class

3. James Akrong: akrongja@mcmaster.ca

- class TA representative; available to answer questions before and after class - also available to meet students for office hours

Policy Reminder on Academic Dishonesty: “Academic dishonesty is not qualitatively different from other types of dishonesty. It consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means. In an academic setting this may include any number of forms such as: copying or the use of unauthorized aids in tests, examinations and laboratory reports; plagiarism, i.e., the submission of work that is not one's own or for which previous credit has been obtained, unless the previously submitted work was presented as such to the instructor of the second course and has been acceptable for credit by the instructor of that course; aiding and abetting another student's dishonesty giving false information for the purposes of gaining admission or credit; giving false information for the purposes of obtaining deferred examinations or extension of deadlines; improper collaboration in group work; and/or forging or falsifying McMaster University documents” (Author: McMaster University, Academic Integrity Officer). Such misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means can result in serious consequences: e.g. the grade of zero, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty.” For information on the various kinds please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.htm.