We will introduce you to some of the major issues and discoveries in psychology. These topics include how we perceive the world around us, the mechanisms of learning, the mental processes we use to think and talk about the world, and how these processes develop throughout our lifetimes. Along the way we will also introduce you to some of the research methods we use in psychology and give you some of the research skills necessary for conducting and understanding psychology. In the laboratories you will get a chance to experience a few of the fascinating psychology effects and try out the research methods for yourself. This will include learning some basics of how to analyse experimental data and how to write research reports.

During this course you will:
• Acquire a basic understanding of central topics in psychology and the relationships between them.
• Understand, and be able to use, the language and concepts of psychology.
• Be able to collect and analyse data relevant to psychological questions, and to draw appropriate inferences from the data.
• Experience and appreciate psychological research, as both a researcher and as a participant.
• Communicate your knowledge in concise, grammatically correct sentences.

You will be assessed in multiple ways for PSYCH100: Quizzes, Laboratory reports, a Mid-term Test, and the Final Test.

There are two types of quizzes: Laboratory quizzes which are very short and cover material from both lectures and laboratories. Altogether they will contribute 5% towards of your final mark and you will complete them online in your laboratory sessions. The second type of quiz are the online analysis quizzes. These cover some basic questions on research design and analysis of data and they will be available on Moodle. Altogether they will contribute 5% towards of your final mark.

In order to provide you with exposure to current psychological research, you will have the opportunity to participate in on-going research experiments. You can earn up to 3% towards your final mark by participating (1 hour = 1%) or completing alternative research summaries. You can mix and match these options. More information about these options are presented in the Additional Information section below, and details will be presented on Moodle.

The laboratory reports are written descriptions of the experiments you conduct on yourselves and your classmates in the labs. There are four experiments you will be running in labs, and you can choose to write a report on any three of them. You will hand these in on Moodle via TurnItIn. Together, these three reports will contribute 27% towards your final mark.

There will be a Mid-term Test containing multiple choice questions drawn from the material covered in your lectures. It will contribute 30% towards your final mark.

The Final Test will also contain multiple choice questions, and will be worth 30% of your final grade. It will mostly contain questions on the lecture material from the Mid-term Test onward but questions from some of the important concepts from the early lectures will also be included. The date of the Final Test is still to be announced, but will likely be during exam period.

Sitting the Final Test is compulsory. Because of university regulations, if you do not sit the Final Test you will receive an IC (fail) grade for this paper regardless of your internal marks.

Moodle is a web-based online learning system used here at the University of Waikato, and is available on campus and from any device connected to the Internet. PSYCH100 has its own web-page where the convenors, lecturers, and teaching assistants post the lecture notes, important announcements about things such as tests, laboratories, research participation, your marks, and other information that will be helpful to your studies (such as lecture notes and recordings). It is your responsibility to ensure that you check Moodle and your emails regularly (at least twice a week), as much of the important information for PSYCH100 is disseminated in this way. If an announcement or important information is posted on Moodle it will be assumed that all students have received this information. The login page is: http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz/ and you will need your username and password to gain access.

If you have enrolled, you should already have a username and password and you should see a link to PSYCH100 Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition when you log into Moodle (you were automatically added to the user list when you enrolled). If you are having problems with your username or password, contact Information and Technology Services (ITS) at 838 4466 ext. 4008 or http://its.waikato.ac.nz/. If you can log into Moodle, but you do not have a link to PSYCH100 Brain, Behaviour and Cognition, make sure that you are enrolled and that your fees are paid by ringing Student and Academic Services Division at 838 4466 ext. 6088 or http://www.waikato.ac.nz/sasd/.

When you log on to Moodle for the first time, please go to your “profile” and check your contact details (email and phone numbers) are correct. This is the information the Teaching Assistants will use if they need to contact you, so it is your responsibility to ensure these details are up to date at all times.

The amount of work expected of a typical student in a 15-point paper (offered over one semester) is approximately 8-10 hours per week. This figure is only approximate, as papers vary in their requirements and students vary in both the amount of effort required and the level of grades they wish to achieve. To do well in this paper we think you should expect to do at least three to four hours of study on your own each week (in addition to the scheduled lectures and laboratory sessions).