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Instructor
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Teaching Assistant
Shaikat
Hossain
Email: shossa3@gmail.com
Office: GR
4.404
Office
hours: Mon 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Tel:
281-686-5081
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Dr.
Peter Assmann
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Email:
assmann@utdallas.edu
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Office: GR 4.126
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Office
hours: Tue 11:00AM -12:00 PM
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Tel:
972-883-2435
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Course
Prerequisites
PSY 2301 or CGS 2301.
Course Description
This course examines the historical and philosophical antecedents of
our present conceptual frameworks in psychology. Beginning with the 17th
century, when the foundations of our contemporary approaches were laid down,
the course looks at the philosophical discussion of issues central to our work
as psychologists: What is it that psychology studies? What counts as data? Is
psychology ultimately reducible to biology, chemistry, and physics? Are humans
mere deterministic machines, and do they possess a free will? Central issues in
the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind that are pursued into the
20th century include the synthesis of rationalism and empiricism, the mind/body
problem, the problem of free will, and the scientific status of mental events.
Twentieth century developments include ethology, behaviorism, Piaget, Freud,
human information processing, connectionism, and artificial intelligence.
Required textbook:
R.E. Fancher
& A. Rutherford 2012.
Pioneers of Psychology.
4th
edition.
© 2012 W. W.
Norton & Co., Inc.
Supplemental texts (choose one):
(1) S.
Pinker (2011). The better angels of our
nature. Viking Press.
(2) D.
Kahneman (2011). Thinking: Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
(3) R.F.
Baumeister & J. Tierney (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human
Strength. Penguin Press.
(4) P.
Miller (2010). Smart Swarm: How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can
Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done.
Avery.
Course
Requirements
Lecture Notes
Topics and
dates (subject
to revision)
Midterm
study guide (final version)
Midterm
exam study review benefit
Books on
reserve
Submitting your
term paper to turnitin.com
Final
exam study guide (final version)
Final
exam study review benefit
Student Conduct & Discipline
The University of Texas System and The
University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and
efficient conduct of their business. It
is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and
activities. General information on
student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all
registered students each academic year.
The University of Texas at Dallas
administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and
established due process. Procedures are
defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter
VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of
the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules
and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting
the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
A student at the university neither loses
the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state,
and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and
administrative rules. Students are
subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such
conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties
are also imposed for such conduct.
Academic Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a high
level of responsibility and academic honesty.
Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute
integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative
that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her
scholastic work.
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not
limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for
enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a
general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or
falsifying academic records.
Students suspected of academic dishonesty
are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Plagiarism, especially from the web, from
portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable
and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general
catalog for details). This course will
use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email Use
The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value
and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through
electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security
and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official
student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only
if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to
maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual
corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email
account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The
Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for
students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
Withdrawal from Class
The administration of this institution has
set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. These dates and
times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration
procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle
withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or
withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will
not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to
attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student Grievance Procedures
Procedures for student
grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of
the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures.
In attempting to resolve any
student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of
academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a
serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor,
administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter
called “the respondent”). Individual
faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be
resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the
respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written
response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to
the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal
to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint
and convene an Academic Appeals Panel.
The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process
will be distributed to all involved parties.
Copies of these rules and
regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students,
where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules
and regulations.
Incomplete Grade Policy
As per university policy,
incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the
semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within
eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and
to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the
incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.
Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services
is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to
those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The contact information for the
Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at
Dallas, SU 22
PO
Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
Essentially, the law requires
that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to
eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove
classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog
guides) for students who are blind.
Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing
impaired). Classes enrolled students
with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide
special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.
It is the student’s
responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services
provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the
student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation
should contact the professor after class or during office hours.
Religious Holy Days
The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a
student from class or other required activities for the travel to and
observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.
The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or
activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in
advance of the assignment. The student,
so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within
a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the
absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and
completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed
period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If a student or an instructor disagrees about the
nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day]
or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a
reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer
of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or
designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and
the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive
officer or designee.