ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY PSY-2023
online
Professor: Dr. Travis Langley
Required textbook: Abnormal Psychology by Oltmanns & Emery.
Optional textbook: Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5-TR, American Psychiatric Association. Highly recommended for psychology majors and at the time of this writing, is less than $25 on Amazon. The reference for the previous edition, DSM-5, is currently $9.99 in Kindle format.
Check with HSU bookstore for the current textbook information.
OVERVIEW:
Coursework covers the origin, identification, treatment, and social implications of abnormal behavior, emphasizing etiology (origin), symptoms, and diagnosis of specific mental illnesses according to DSM-5 criteria. Topics include obsessions, compulsions, addictions, stress, phobias, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, dementia, amnesia, dissociative disorders, sexual disorders, eating disorders, learning disabilities, childhood behavioral problems, and more.
TEST SCHEDULE
UNIT 1 (Wednesday in the middle of week 5)
Chapters 1-4.
UNIT 2 (Wednesday in the middle of week 9)
Chapters 5-7.
UNIT 3 (Wednesday in the middle of week 13)
Chapters 9-12.
UNIT 4 (Wednesday of week 16, last day before Restricted Days)
Chapters 13-16.
FINAL EXAM (40% of the course grade)
The final is a large portion of the grade because it’s when we find out how much you have actually learned from all the other work you’ll do in the class.
You will take the final exam ON CAMPUS at this time. Bring Scantron sheet and #2 pencil. You can purchase a Scantron sheet at the campus bookstore.
SPRING
- Thursday of finals week, 3:00-5:00 (McBrien 311)
- Location: McBrien Hall, room 311
FALL
- TBA
Location: McBrien Hall, room 311
You are NOW responsible for making sure you can and will take the final at the scheduled time. Do not ask to take it early or late unless you have another final scheduled then, and if so, tell me NOW. Find out now when all your finals will be held. It’s no big deal if I need to add an extra time slot, but we all need to know that soon so I can make that time available as an option that anybody in the class can choose.
ONLINE EXAMS (30% of the course grade for those before the final)
Each unit will conclude with a 40‑item exam covering any of the course material. You will take each of the unit exams through Canvas when the time comes. Most of the test will be multiple choice, but a couple of questions at the end of the test will not be. For one question, you will suggest a diagnosis to fit a person described in a scenario and you will explain your choice.
There will be NO makeup tests. If medical or other emergency (and we do mean emergency) will prevent you from taking a test, contact your professor as soon as possible with written confirmation.
Except for the final, you will have a window of at least eight hours during which you can take each test, so you may start it at any time between noon and about 7 p.m. in order to conclude it before 8 p.m. on the test day. You are responsible now for making sure you can take each test on its scheduled date and time. An eight-hour work shift that coincides with the test time is not an acceptable excuse, so make arrangements as needed. Neither “I got my classes mixed up” nor “I forgot” would count, so keep track of your own schedule. “My Internet went out” would mean you need to start earlier with enough time to switch quickly to complete the test through another computer before time can run out. If your wifi goes out, you might then use your phone to create a hotspot the computer can use. When a test uses Respondus, your phone may not be an option. Plan your backup ahead of time.
Once you start it, a timer will begin and will not stop even if you log out. Do not start the test until you are ready to complete it in one sitting. Because it’s online, you can’t simply look the test over and then come back hours later after looking up answers. For test security purposes, you will be required to download the Respondus lockdown browser and to have a functioning, moveable WEBCAM in order to record you and track your eye movements while you’re taking at least some of the tests. Your monitor’s built-in camera will NOT be sufficient because it cannot be moved about to show the entire area around your computer during the environment check. If your environment check does not satisfy the professor for any reason, your test score will not count.
NOTE ON THE FINAL: Half of the final will be multiple choice. Half will consist entirely of suggesting and explaining diagnoses for people described in short scenarios.
GRADING
Test questions range in difficulty to get an accurate idea of exactly how much you know and understand about the course material. They provide a very accurate indication of how much each person does and does not know compared to everybody else in the class. I do not feel it is right to establish a curve based on the highest grade in the class, in which case only one score would determine everyone’s grade. The scale on the 40‑point tests is simply this:
F <‑‑ 20.0 D 20.1 ‑ 25.0 C 25.1 ‑ 30.0 B 30.1 ‑ 35.0 A 35.1 ‑‑>
There can be essay questions to assess your understanding of material.
The “total” or “average” shown in Canvas for the class can be misleading when it includes things that do not count as part of your grades and leaves out some things that do. Ignore that number.
INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS (30% of the course grade)
To do your assignments, check the Discussions section for this class several times each week. You will either do each assignment on that discussion forum or learn from the forum where to go to do each task, such as when you have to take some practice quizzes in Canvas (normally the last week before finals). Each response you’re required to make counts as one point simply for following the instructions or minus one point (-1, negative credit) if you don’t do it. You will have several assignments every week. Because missing an assignment in an online class counts as missing class, anyone who fails to do three or more of the assignments may be dropped from the course without further notice.
Do NOT email your work to your professor. Emailing it instead of posting it where it’s supposed to go counts as missing the assignment altogether, plus you’ll lose points from your overall grade.
DEADLINES
Assignments are due at the end of each week, indicated in the assignments’ subject headings. The week’s assignments are posted on the Canvas discussion forum by the end of each Wednesday, and they often appear earlier in the week. If you see no new assignments by Thursday, ask the professor in case of a Canvas error.
The deadline is 5 minutes until midnight at the end of each Saturday except when clearly stated otherwise. For assignments that don’t lock you out at the end of Saturday, you get half credit for up to three assignments completed Sunday – only three, no more. No later work will be accepted. Meet the deadlines.
If you wait until that last day and something goes wrong that keeps you from doing the assignment, well, you should have done it earlier because you’ll have several days to complete each task. If your Internet is out all day, you are responsible for going somewhere with Internet access. If your wifi is out, you could use a phone to create a hotspot with access. The Internet is all around us, the ways to access it are many, and you have chosen to take an online class. Accessing the Internet and keeping track of your schedule are your responsibilities.
ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT AND INTEGRITY
The professor reserves the right to subtract any number of points from the grade of someone who disrupts class, whether online or in person. (This happens very rarely.)
If you do not fully complete the environment check for an online test, you are looking somewhere other than your one keyboard and the one screen browser window that shows the test, you speak to anyone during the test, your phone is active, you are wearing ear buds, video is missing, or anything else about your test performance could suggest a test security problem, then you may have to schedule a time to take a replacement test in person on campus.
Anyone caught cheating will receive a course grade of F and will be referred for University disciplinary measures. A single instance of plagiarism in any task counts as cheating.
PERSONAL COMMITMENT
While you enjoy great flexibility in taking this course online, you and you alone are responsible for your success. It requires motivation and devotion. You must make sure you follow instructions and do your work before the deadlines. Developing the habit of following instructions and doing things when you’re supposed to do them is probably more important in your life than any specific bit of information that any class can teach you.
COMPUTER TIPS
To make sure your computer can interact with our system, you may need (1) the most current version of your Internet browser, (2) Windows updates, and (3) Java updates.
Call the HSU Computer Help Desk at 230-5678 or email helpdesk@hsu.edu if you have non-Canvas account difficulties.
CONTACTING YOUR PROFESSOR
For an online course, the easiest way to contact me with questions or comments is by email. Write me at langlet@hsu.edu any time and I will respond after I see the message if a reply is necessary. If you cannot email me, you will need to leave a message on my voicemail at (870)230-5222. Email works best, though. Every time you send me a message without saying who you are or which course you’re talking about (and in spring of 2022, you need to specify whether you are in section 01 or section 02), you will lose a point from your grade for Internet assignments, just as you’ll lose a point every time you could have found your answer by checking the syllabus instead of cluttering the email. We all get too much email. Be responsible and don’t lose those points.
I will send messages to the entire class via email at times. The email system is set up to send messages to your HSU student email address. If you prefer to use some other address, you must go into your campus email system and set up your mail options so that it will forward email to you. I do not plan to use Canvas’s mail system except for the welcome message.
If I can help you with anything else, always feel free to ask. Every online class is different, so do not be embarrassed when you occasionally goof here or there. That’s part of the learning process, and I’ll endeavor to help you get things running smoothly.
Syllabus Part II: Expected Learning Outcomes, Computer Tips, Disability Services
The schedule and other details in this syllabus may be subject to revision.
