Professor David Moore
Office: Broad Hall 108
E-mail: dmoore@pitzer.edu

Pitzer College
Psychology 10, Section 2
Introduction to psychology
Fall, 2011

Classes meet in Broad Hall 210

My OFFICE HOURS will be on:

Tuesdays from 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., and
Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

If I need to change these as the semester's schedule becomes clearer, I'll obviously let you know. Also, if by any chance this turns out not to be enough, I'll certainly arrange for others. In addition, I'm free to be scheduled -- in fact, if you'd let me know that you'd like to come in to talk, that would be even better for me. Under any circumstances, I'll be in my office or lab lots, so you can just drop on in. If you want to ask me something, come see me, don't just send me an email. I'm unlikely to respond to an email from someone I've not yet met in person.

The TEXTBOOK is:

Kowalski, R. & Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.

A note about the construction and scoring of TESTS:

All of the tests given in this class will be cumulative, because there's no reason to forget what you've just learned the minute a particular test is over. So, any material covered earlier in the course (in either the textbook or in the lectures) will be fair game on a later test. That said, in every case, the bulk of the questions on each test (approximately 80%) will be about the most recently covered material (i.e., that covered since the preceding test), and the rest (about 20%) will cover material we learned earlier in the course.

Also, note that I will grade using both a curve and non-curve, depending on how everyone is doing. This will benefit everyone; if everyone does well on an exam (say greater than 90% correct), everyone (to my mind) deserves an "A" and that is what everyone will get. It is, however, possible that there will be a wide range of scores, and that they will not be particularly high (my examinations might be somewhat difficult for those not yet accustomed to college level standards). Even if no one does better than, say, 90%, I will NOT downgrade everyone; rather, the students whose scores are RELATIVELY high will do well, and those whose are not, will not.

Be aware that I do not like to categorize students until the last possible moment, which is my way of saying that you should not expect bold letters ("A", "D", etc.) on your returned exams. I am not aware of any good reason to label Hendrix's 90 an "A-" but Morrison's 89 a "B+". Rather, I will attempt to make clear to everyone where they stand among the continuum of students that make up the class (I will do this by scoring tests numerically). By the end of the semester, when I am forced by this institution to draw lines, it will be clear (both to me, and to each of you) who is deserving of what grade.

Finally, please note that I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate students with disabilities; if you need to request accommodations or need additional assistance, feel free to contact the Academic Support Services Office at campus extension 73553.

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