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COURSE SYLLABUS SPRING, 2000
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND KEEP THE ENTIRE SEMESTER, AS THIS CONTAINS ANSWERS TO MANY QUESTIONS YOU WILL HAVE LATER ON!
COURSE: Psychology 645.01 - Behavior Modification (3 credit hours)
WHEN: TTH 3:00-4:15 p.m., Gibbs Hall, Room 318
INSTRUCTOR: Susan J. Schumacher, Ph.D.
302 G Gibbs Hall
Mailbox in 301 for messages
EMAIL: sschumac@ncat.edu (when working)
379-7970 (PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE DEPARTMENT UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY!)
OFFICE HOURS POSTED ON DOOR; ADDITIONAL HOURS BY APPOINTMENT
TEXT: The textbook is recommended as an overall reference book. You will also have outside readings placed on reserve at the library. There are several books on reserve, and I will give you helpful websites to check.
The text is Spiegler, M. D. & Guevremont, D. C. (1998), Contemporary Behavior Therapy, (3rd ed.)
OBJECTIVES: 1) To provide an understanding of the psychological principles governing human behavior from a
learning perspective and to learn the associated terminology; 2) to learn how normal and abnormal behavior may be
altered, examining various techniques and associated research.
PREREQUISITES: This is an advanced course and assumes a basic knowledge of the elementary principles of
operant and classical conditioning, including the concepts of reinforcement, extinction, discrimination, generaliza-
tion, punishment, and schedules of reinforcement. If you are not confident in your knowledge of these principles,
thorough review of these concepts in the learning chapters of a general psychology textbook is ABSOLUTELY
NECESSARY!
TESTS: There will be four tests scheduled on the textbook, lecture notes and other class material, assignments,
audiovisual aids and the outside readings. Tests will be both objective (multiple choice, matching, etc.) as well as
definitions, short answer and discussion. The comprehensive final multiple choice examination will be on all
material presented during the semester and is required of everyone. If you take all four tests and the final, the lowest
of these grades will be dropped. If you have an unexcused absence from a test, that is the test grade that will be
dropped (NOT TRUE OF THE FINAL EXAM!). If you miss two tests without a university approved absence, you
will receive a ZERO on the second test missed. No makeup tests or examinations will be given unless you can
provide the verification for an excused absence required by the University for the test missed in the time frame
designated, as stated in the University Attendance Policy, a copy of which will be given to you (this means you are
to contact me with your excuse on or before the first day that class is held after you return). I will verify this excuse
before a makeup is allowed. All test papers are due on time, even if you come to class late. All makeup tests will be
given only during the second hour of the time that the final exam is scheduled (the exam will only take the first
hour).
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
1) PRESENTATION: Everyone will be expected to do a presentation with another member of the class on a type of behavior therapy, accompanied by a written summary of the therapy to hand out to the class members. The summary must be 2 pages, plus a reference page with my copy, no cover page, typed, 10 or 12 characters per inch, margins 1" or less, double spaced, with at least three original references cited other than your text and your assigned readings (all of which must be referenced as well), and none of the first three can be from the internet-but additional ones can! The therapy will be selected from the list attached and the process must be described, including the steps given in your textbook on page 48, an explanation of all terminology, and how the therapy would be applied to specific cases. The summary handout is due at the beginning of the class on the day of the lecture topic on the topic. That same day you are expected to present your report in class in a presentation (15-20 min/person) summarizing your therapy and giving case studies, illustrating the various techniques used in the therapy (which are the most important aspects about the therapy to remember). You should also be prepared to answer questions on the therapy and indicate how the therapy can be applied to other specific examples. All references mentioned in the reference list must be cited on the summary handout. The handout and presentation MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS (not those of the sources you used). Please see the section on plagiarism to be certain you reference your work properly! You may be asked to turn in copies of some or all of the material you reference and use in your paper. Typos, misspellings, and poor grammar will lower your grade-PLEASE PROOFREAD CAREFULLY!
2) OTHER: Every student is expected to present orally a summary of one or more assigned readings, participate in all class discussions of all readings, activities, presentations, and videos assigned in or out of class. There may be homework exercises designed to help you understand how to do the therapies. Any written assignments are due on time, regardless of your attendance and will not be accepted late without a University-approved excuse! If you cut class, they may be placed in Dr. Schumacher's mailbox in Gibbs 301 before the beginning of the class during which they are due. Assignments not turned in on time will receive a grade of 0. Videos assigned to be viewed outside of class and readings on reserve are considered homework and will be covered on tests! Class disruptions due to your pagers or cellular phones can result in your being asked to leave or loss of grade points!
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is required for the tests, the final and for any days during which you have material assigned to present to the class (ie., #1 & 2 above). Borderline grades can be affected by your attendance record. Assignments are due on time, regardless of your attendance! NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE GRADED WITHOUT A UNIVERSITY-APPROVED EXCUSE, SO SEND YOUR WORK TO CLASS IF YOU ARE NOT COMING OR PUT IN DR. SCHUMACHER'S MAILBOX IN 301! Remember, zeros do not average well! Attendance will be taken at some time during every class. If you are not present then (come in late or leave early), you will be counted absent. Lectures contain much material not presented in the textbook. Your textbook is an excellent reference guide to elaborate on the material presented in class. You will be notified in class of any change in class assignments and due dates. You are responsible for all announcements, material presented and assignments made, regardless of your attendance. If you come in late or leave early, you may be counted absent! All test papers are due on time, even if you come to class late.
GRADING: Letter grades are determined by the grading scales for that particular test or assignment. Final grades are determined numerically, and the letter grade assigned is based on the total number of points you accumulate compared to the totaled grade scales for all assignments. If you wish to know your class standing, you must copy down each grade scale in class and add these to compare with your total points. The five test grade scales are added and prorated to four. Borderline grades are assisted by good attendance records. The following is an approximation of the contribution of each part of the course to the final grade:
4 highest tests/ final exam 400
Oral presentation/handout 200
Other 100
In essence, you are trying to accumulate as many points out of seven hundred (700) as possible.
BONUS POINTS: You may add points to your total by being prepared in class, as there may be unannounced
quizzes on reading assignments to be certain you stay current with the material covered. These will add bonus
points to your total and IN NO WAY LOWER YOUR GRADE.
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: If you are caught cheating in any way, you will receive a grade of 0 on that
examination or assignment, and there may be possible additional consequences that may be determined by
University administrators or committees. It is your responsibility to seat yourself away from others and keep your
work covered during tests. If you let some copy the answers off your paper (test or homework), then you are
guilty of cheating too. Keep yourself above suspicion and know what use is being made of your work if you
show it to someone else. Everyone is expected to do their own write-ups, and homework. Duplicate papers or
portions of papers and plagiarism will result in either redoing that or another assignment or a grade of 0 for all
involved. If you loan your paper to someone and they copy it, you BOTH have plagiarized and will receive 0's.
Multiple cheating and/or plagiarism offenses will result in an "F" for the course.
Plagiarism defined: If someone else does the work (including information obtained from books, journals or the
internet) and you do not acknowledge the source, you have plagiarized and will receive a 0. Material quoted
verbatim but not put in quotes, even if referenced, is plagiarized. Material copied or used without referencing the
correct original source is considered plagiarized. (This means that, if an idea is not YOUR OWN, it must be
referenced. If you use partial sentences of another author, this must be put in quotes and referenced. You must
reference all ideas of others in the text of the write-up, as well as in the reference list!)
SCHEDULE: Exact assignments and dates will follow on a weekly basis.
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