Office: DDH/D115	Office Hours:  11:00 AM-12:30 PM, MWF
Phone: 654-2371	e-mail: khartlep@csubak.edu

Text: Brent Slife (2008). Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues (15 ed.) Dubuque, Iowa; McGraw-Hill/ Dushkin  (ISBN 0-07-351510-8)

Purpose of the Course:
l. For any of the majors offered at CSUB, the Senior Seminar is designed as a "capstone experience" in the major. There is no specific definition of what a "capstone" might be for psychology, so we are free to define it for ourselves. Ideally, this course should:

• Give you some idea of the wide range of topics that fall under the rubric of "Psychology".
• Discuss major areas of controversy and research speculation in the field today.
• Help you see where you stand relative to others in the field of psychology.

3. Finally, this course, unlike most you have taken, is a Seminar. This is the most common course format for graduate courses, and gives you a taste for what may come should you decide to go on. In a Seminar:

• Students carry the major responsibility for class activity. You will be presenting papers to one another and commenting on, or criticizing one another's work.
• Discussion rather than lecture is expected. You must learn from each other. You must participate.

1. Three Issues Papers. The Slife book has 18 Issues, with a "yes" and a "no" side to each one. You will be responsible for either the "yes" or the "no" side of three of these issues. You must research your side of these issues, using the CSUB library, and must write a paper on what you find for each one. Further instructions for these papers are included in the handout attached to this syllabus. Each of these papers must be typed, double-spaced, and at least 10 pages of text in length, using APA style. Each will be worth 18% of your final grade. Each is due the day the class is scheduled to discuss that issue. Late papers will be penalized. The discussion in class is also part of this assignment. You will be a discussion leader on each of your three issues. Failure to show up for the discussion will cost you a letter grade on that issue.

3. A Personal Perspective Paper. This is designed to get you to think about your own place in the field of psychology. I want you to think about your own stand on each of the 18 issues discussed in class and relate the "data" to a theory or perspective. What schools of thought are you closest to? Are your ideas consistent with one another, with a particular theory, etc.? A class hand-out attached to this syllabus describes this further. The perspective must be at least 10 pages in length, typed, and double-spaced. It is due on the last day of class and will count 20% of your final grade. Late papers will be marked down.

4. Class Discussion (Participation). Each of the 18 issues will be discussed in class. Those individuals who are doing papers on the "pro" or "con" sides of the issue will be the discussion leaders, but everyone is expected to participate. Class participation will count 15% of your final grade.

5. Issues Quiz. At the beginning of each class I will ask you a question or two on each side of the issue assigned for that day. You will write out an answer to each question and turn them in for a grade. This is to make sure you understand both sides of the issue before trying to discuss it. The quizzes will add up to 11% of the final grade. There will be no "make-ups" for quizzes that are missed.
 

To summarize the assignments and their respective weights:

Issue Papers (3)	54%
Class Participation	15%
Personal Perspective	20%
Issues Quizzes	11%
	100% Final Grade

Final letter grades will be awarded using the following scale:
 

A = 93-100%	C = 73-77%
A- = 90-92%	C- = 70-72%
B+ = 88-89%	D+ = 68-69%
B = 83-87%	D = 63-67%
B- = 80-82%	D- = 60-62%
C+ = 78-79%	F = 59% and below

Policy on Incompletes: Incompletes will be given for written work, such as issues papers or for the personal perspective paper, if the reasons for the request are both serious and compelling. Class Participation and Issues Quizzes, however, cannot be made up. To request an incomplete, you must go to the CSUB Records Office for the necessary form. Bring it to me for permission and signature prior to the end of the quarter. I must turn in a form for you when I turn in final grades at the end of the quarter.

Policy on Academic Dishonesty: Any student caught in an act of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will receive an "F" for the course, and their action will be reported in a letter to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Please refer to the CSUB Catalog for the full details and definitions of what actions qualify under this policy.

Schedule of Events, Issues Papers, and Discussions:

September 15       Issue Assignments

September 17 - 26     Lecture

September 29    Issue #1.    Should Animal Research in Psychology Be Eliminated? 

October 1   Issue #2.    Are Traditional Empirical Methods Sufficient to Provide Evidence for Psychological Practice? 

October 3    Issue #3.  Classic Dialogue: Was Stanley Milgram's Study of  Obedience Unethical?

                   Last day to withdraw from class without a "W" being recorded.

October 6     Issue #4.     Are Humans Naturally Violent?   

October 8    Issue #5     Do Women and Men Communicate Differently?   

October 10    Lecture

October 13     Issue #6.  Do Brain Deficiencies Determine Learning Disabilities?

October 15    Issue #7.  Does the Environment Influence Human Development More than Genes?

October 17    Issue #8.   Does the Divorce of Parents Harm Their Children?

October 20     Lecture 

October 24    Issue #10.  Are Human Activities Determined? 

October 27     Lecture

October 31    Issue #12.  Does ADHD Exist?

                Last day to withdraw from classes for a "serious and compelling reason".  See the CSUB Catalog for

                a definition  of serious and compelling".   

November 3     Issue #13.  Does Taking Antidepressants Lead to Suicide? 

November 5    Issue #14.  Does Low Self-Esteem Lead to Antisocial Behavior?

November 7     Lecture

November 10    Issue #15.   Should Psychologists Be Able to Prescribe Drugs? 

November 12    Issue #16.  Is Treating Homosexuality Ethical?

November 14     Lecture

November 17     Issue #17.   Do Video Games Lead to Violence?   

November 19    Issue #18.   Can Sex Be Addictive?

November 21    Last Day of Class.  Personal Perspective Papers are due.    

You are responsible for three separate Issues from Slife. You will discuss one side of each of these issues in class. In order to prepare for in-class discussion, you are to become an "expert" on the issue by reading as much as you can on the topic before class, creating a bibliography of at least two pages, and writing a summary paper of at least l0, double-spaced, typed pages, in APA style.

I. Create a Bibliography.

l. Start with the Slife articles. Each article, pro or con, should have some references at the end. List what sounds relevant from these references.

2. Look in standard reference works for magazine and journal articles on the Issue, and list what, on the surface, seems relevant. Suggested reference sources include:

• The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
• Psychological Abstracts.
• The Social Science Citation Index. Look for articles which cited one of the Issues articles from Slife.

For each of the articles you find in this way, write out the author's name, the title of the article, the name of the journal in which it appears, the date of publication, the journal's volume number, and the page numbers, in APA style.

Avoid on-line references from personal Webpages, that are only to be found on the Web. Such sources change too rapidly to be reliable documentation.

4. Finally, list all of your references from steps l & 2 in alphabetical order, and type them up in a bibliography. This should be, at a minimum, at least two full pages in length, APA style.

II. Prepare an Issue Paper of at least l0 pages of text.

l. I assume that your Bibliography will include everything relevant to your topic and will be very extensive. It should be so extensive that you could not reasonably be expected to read all of the works listed therein. Therefore, in preparing your paper, you must read what you consider will be your "best bets". Remember, this is a preparation for a class discussion.

• Criticisms of theory or of points of view should help your argument.
• Literature review articles are useful.
• Read what seems to be most often mentioned or cited by others on the topic.

• Assume your side is the correct point of view on this Issue, and gather evidence to prove it from these readings.
• Cite what you have read in a written defense or summary of you viewpoint.
• Try to counter the opposition's main points. What evidence can you find to refute them and thereby strengthen your own side?

4. Avoid stringing together direct quotes. Especially avoid long quotes that must be indented. Instead, put the information in your own words and cite the source by author's last name and date of publication, APA style.

5. At the end of your paper, include a list of the references you actually used for writing the paper. What, out of all of your Bibliography did you cite or refer to in your paper? That you actually read?

6. This paper with references should be typed and handed in, with your Bibliography attached to the end. It is due on the day you are scheduled to discuss the Issue in class. 

The l8 issues from Slife are popular topics of debate within the field of Psychology. They have roots in the history of the discipline and reflect basic concerns and matters of theory. By examining how you stand on these issues, this paper should help you see where you stand with others in the field of Psychology. We will try to find your psychological "roots" and match you with famous names in the field who thought as you do.   This paper must also be in APA style.

Part I: First you must look at your stand on each of the l8 issues from Slife.

• Which side did you favor on each issue?
• Try to group them in some way, e.g. How many were from a "Free Will" perspective versus a "Deterministic" stance; from Environmental determinism versus Biological determinism, or Nature/Nurture?
• Think about how you came by your opinion on each issue. Did it come from what you've learned in coursework in Psychology, etc.? Did you go with the research evidence, were you scientific in your approach, or did you use some other criteria? Is it something that was "common sense" to you... that you knew before you ever started college? Is it something you believe because of your own personal experience?
• Were you consistent?

Part II: Try to relate each issue to what you have learned in your Psychology courses.

• Think about Developmental, Abnormal, or Social Psychology, for example. Did any of these courses mention issues? You may want to dig out some of your old texts and look. The CSUB library has a few.
• Is there a Psychology point of view on any of these issues? That is, do your texts choose a side on any of the issues?
• Think of the theories of human behavior you have had to learn in your Psychology coursework; names like Skinner, Bandura, Freud, Erickson, Piaget, Maslow, Rogers, etc. Do you have one psychologist or theory you particularly admire?. What sort of stand in general would he/she/it take on these issues?

Part III: Compare your view in Part I with what you think might be the Psychologist's view in Part II.

• How well do they match up?
• Where do you differ and why?
• Finally, are you a Psychologist? I want you to think about it here. Have you been studying the field from an outsider's point of view? What do you want to do with your major? Are you planning a career in the field? If you differ from the mainstream, do you think the field is likely to change toward your views? Are you happy about it?

This Perspective is due on the last day of class.