Psychology - Winter 1998

In this course, we will examine the logic, strategies, and fundamental techniques of descriptive statistics, and of inferential statistics. And we will try to show you how research designs and strategies relate to statistical strategies and techniques. This course has also been designed as a prerequisite to intermediate Psychology courses in experimental design, statistical methods, and statistical programs aimed at those psychology majors who will eventually do their own research.

This course is designed to help all prospective psychology majors develop skills and acquire knowledge necessary to comprehend intelligently and evaluate critically reports of psychological research. On the basis of past experience, we strongly urge you to keep up on the reading--read the chapters before they are discussed in class. In this way, the material will make more sense when it is discussed in class. Those of us teaching this course want to help each of you learn as many statistical and methodological concepts as possible so that you can intelligently and independently evaluate psychological research you subsequently encounter. We also want to be able to assure our colleagues on the Psychology Board that when you passed this course you understood concepts necessary to interpret intelligently the research they will be presenting to you in their own courses. Another central goal of the course is to help you understand when to use which statistic and how to apply statistics intelligently.

To this end, we have minimized computation. You will have problems to solve by hand for homework, so that you learn the logic of the statistics. However, there will be only minimal computation required for examinations. You will learn to use computer software to analyze data (Excel). Each of you will acquire your own data set, so that you can see how statistics are applied to real data. We will help you analyze that data set using the various techniques we learn in the course. The goal is to make statistics concrete and even, possibly, exciting.

Now some details:

Sections: to be announced

Exams: four exams of equal value

Introductory Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 4th Edition, Joan Welkowitz, Robert B. Ewen, and Jacob Cohen, Academic Press, 1991.

Study Guide to Accompany Introductory Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 4th Edition, Robert B. Ewen, Academic Press, 1991.

Manual: Manual for Psychology Two. Available at Copy Center.

Attendance at sections is optional but strongly recommended. If your overall performance is weak but you have attended all sections, this will be noted in your evaluation.

Homework is required and whether you complete the homework assignments will be noted on your evaluation.

About the exams. There are no makeup exams. You may miss one exam if you have a good excuse. You cannot pass the course if you miss two or more exams.

The goal of this 30-student seminar is to work toward an understanding of personality and identity that is dynamic and multiply situated. Personality is multifaceted, consisting of many enduring preferences, goals, scripts, identities, and selves. However, these facets are not likely to be manifest constantly, but rather to be accentuated in particular activities, contexts, or communities. The process by which particular manifestations of personality, self, and/or identity shift from one context to the next is the focus of this course.

In order to achieve some understanding of personality dynamics, we will focus on developing an approach to personality that is person-centered, process-oriented, and contextualized in particular situations. The most promising approaches in this regard are those which identify systematic, recurring changes that are linked to some enduring features of the context (e.g., rules, norms) and the person (e.g., enduring motives, goals, identities), and that involve systematic accentuations, reversals, or alternations in behavioral patterns. The final project is to integrate and extend an existing body of work on personality, self, and/or identity in a way that contributes to a situated understanding of personality or identity dynamics.

Senior psychology majors will be given priority in enrollment. Because students need solid familiarity with research methods and theories of personality development, pre-requisites are Psychology 3, 10, and 60. Coursework in social psychology is also highly desirable. Students who seek careers involving systematic empirical research on personality- or self-development, and/or relationships among personal and group (e.g., social or ethnic) identities, are ideal for this course.

Course readings will include Kurt Lewin's classic book, Field Theory in Social Science (1951), and a number of journal articles.

• one thought paper each week based on the readings mini-field projects
• midterm (short essay, in class)
• oral presentation and evaluation of a reading or mini-project
• final project--10-page (minimum) paper which integrates and evaluates a body of work related to the course material. Your paper should identify a gap in this work, and propose a way of bridging the gap that enhances its usefulness for understanding the dynamics of personality change, according to the criteria covered in this course. The paper is due the last day of class.
• consistent attendance and egalitarian participation
• adequate and timely completion of of all assigned projects

This course will be devoted to second language learning in children and adults. It will follow a seminar format in which there will be student presentations as well as presentations by the teacher.

It is expected that all students will have done the reading assignments prior to the class and will be able to participate in the discussion.

• There will be quizzes on the assigned readings. The quizzes will stand in lieu of a final examination.
• Students will complete three projects, which are due on the dates listed in the Schedule below. These projects are intended to provide students with first-hand experience with second-language learning and bilingualism. Each project will entail a three page paper.
• During the quarter, each student will give 10-minute presentation defending one side of a controversial issue in the field. For this, the student will read the article assigned as well as other literature supporting the particular position. This will require library research.
• The final paper should be about 10 pages and should be a critical elaboration of this topic, covering both sides of the controversy. on the selected topic. The final paper is due within 10 days of the class presentation. The paper should be in APA format and should show a good familiarity with the literature on the topic.

Gass, S. M. & Selinker, L. (1994). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Grosjean, F. (1982). Life with two languages: An introduction to bilingualism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Revised 7/12/04.