PSYC 32303 (PSY 3233) CRITICAL & ANALYTICAL THINKING
Summer II, 2026 – fully online

Professor: Dr. Travis Langley
Contact:   langlet@hsu.edu 

Required textbook: None.
Required readings: Plenty

OVERVIEW AND COURSE TOPICS: 

PSYC 32303 Critical & Analytical Thinking. This course introduces the principles of critical and analytical thinking as they apply to psychology and everyday decision-making. Students examine logic, scientific reasoning, cognitive biases, argument evaluation, and evidence-based thinking while developing skills to analyze information, assess research, and communicate reasoned conclusions.

Critical thinking seeks truth through objective evaluation. It involves questioning assumptions, identifying biases, examining evidence, and weighing different perspectives rather than accepting information at face value.

Analytical thinking methodically figures out how facts and ideas fit together. Careful analysis breaks down complex problems or concepts into their parts, systematically evaluates their relationships, and uses logic and data to reach a sound conclusion.

These types of thinking overlap and can work together but are not the same thing. We will also discuss other types of thinking as they relate to or differ from critical and analytical reasoning.

GRADES

30% – assignments
20% – first four quizzes
20% – next four quizzes
30% – cumulative final

If you do everything you’re supposed to do and follow instructions correctly, you should go into the final with an A for assignments. If you miss a couple of Internet assignments or do several assignments incorrectly, you should go into the final with a B for the assignment grade. Each assignment you miss is worth negative credit, and some students underestimate how much each missed assignment can damage the grade. To have a lower grade before the final, you could do every assignment but do the work poorly and repeatedly fail to follow instructions OR miss more assignments after the last time the professor drops students (and you won’t know when that will be). If you miss three or more assignments, you are likely to get DROPPED FROM THE CLASS WITH NO FURTHER WARNING. This is your warning.

Assignments get tallied at midterm and again at the end of the semester. Every semester, there are people who get dropped for missing assignments and they do not manage to plead their way back into the class. These are easy assignments. Do them.

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.

FINAL EXAM

The final is 60 minutes long instead of 2 hours because the other hour is for you to complete any last assignments.

Final Exam (60 minutes – NOT open notebook)

• July 31, Friday of week 5, any time between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Students who have a conflicting final in another class at that specific time may make arrangements with Dr. Langley to take it that day at noon. Make arrangements now to have an hour when you can take the final that day. Notice that these are not the same hours as when the quizzes are available because the final must be completed by the end of the business day.

That time is not negotiable. The deadline cannot be extended into the evening, unfortunately. Canvas will lock you out at 5:00 p.m. on the last day of class.

In summer, FINAL IS ONLINE.
Any student who would prefer to take the same test on paper instead may make arrangements to do so.

You are NOW responsible for making sure you can and will take your test at the scheduled time. Do not ask to take it early or late unless you have other finals at both time(s) listed above, and if so, tell me as soon as possible. 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. If you have a conflict with another final, tell me immediately. Otherwise, you might not be allowed to take the final at another time. You already know your course schedule. Check RIGHT NOW when all your finals will be held.

The scale on the 40‑point final is simply this:

F <‑‑ 20.0          D 20.1 ‑ 25.0          C 25.1 ‑ 30.0          B 30.1 ‑ 35.0        A 35.1 ‑‑>

This same scale is used for everything in this class. Do not let the grade percentage shown in Canvas confuse you because this is not 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% scale. Look at the actual number of point you make out of 40.

There can be essay questions to assess your understanding of material.

QUIZZES

Quizzes 1 & 2 – Monday of week 2
Quizzes 3 & 4 – Monday of week 3
Quizzes 5 & 6 – Monday of week 4
Quizzes 7 & 8 – Friday of week 4
Quiz 9 – Wednesday of week 5 [This is not the final.]

Instead of 20-point tests, you will take 10-point quizzes over the course material you’ve had during the previous week. These quizzes are mainly designed to help you reinforce your knowledge and prepare for the final exam. The majority of questions will be multiple choice. Many of these quizzes (but not the final) will be open notebook, but your notes must be handwritten on paper in your own handwriting.

Quiz grades: The quizzes use the same scale as the final. Quizzes 1 through 4 add up to 40 points potential value. Quizzes 5 through 6 add up to another 40 points potential value. Quiz 9 will replace either one missing quiz or your lowest score on any previous quiz. If it happens to be the lowest, it will be the quiz that gets dropped without affecting your grade.

There will be NO makeup quizzes, so do not even ask. Seriously, do not even mention it to the professor unless you miss two and have clearly excused absences for both. Quiz 9 effectively serves as a makeup quiz already.

Except for the final, you will have a window of ten hours during which you can take each quiz, so you may start it at any time between 2 p.m. and about 11 p.m. in order to conclude it before 11:59 p.m. on the quiz day. You are responsible now for making sure you can take each test on its scheduled date and time. A 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 either, so keep track of your own schedule. “My Internet went out” would mean you need 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 (from the next room because your phone must not be anywhere near you when you take a test). When a test uses Respondus, your phone may not be an option even for a hotspot. 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.

INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS

Grades for the first half of your Internet assignments will be totaled and adjusted to the 40-point scale shown earlier. Grade for the last half of your Internet assignments will be totaled and adjusted for another 40 points.

To do your assignments, check the forum in the Assignments section for this class regularly. 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 weekday. 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.

During the first four weeks of the summer class, the deadline for each assignment is 5 minutes until midnight at the end of each Saturday except when clearly stated otherwise. You can get half credit for up to three assignments completed Sunday – three, no more. No later work will be accepted. Meet the deadlines. Some of them cannot be done late at all. Most Week 5 assignments are due by the end of that Wednesday, however, and they must not be late.

During summer, most assignments refer to a specific weekday. That is just to help you pace yourself. The deadline is determined by which week it is.

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 normally 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 can probably use your 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. Internet access is your responsibility.

If you are unable to post your assignment on time for any reason, do not email it to your professor. Emailing it does not count. When it comes time to grade your assignments, your professor will only look in the place where the instructions told you to put it. Nobody gets special treatment for failing to follow instructions or extra time for waiting until they did not have enough time left to complete and post by the deadline.

If you need to stay in the class in order to keep a scholarship or membership in any group (team, club, etc.), that should provide motivation for you to take things seriously and do your work, not reason for your professor to play favorites by giving you a break when other students would be dropped for the same thing.

You will complete the syllabus quiz through Canvas as soon as you begin your work for this course. Take it repeatedly until you score 100% on it.

The Canvas system currently cannot open .heic images. If an assignment requires you to post a photo, make certain it is posted in .jpg, .png, .tiff, or other standard image format. Never post pdf files.

REQUIRED WEBCAM

For test security purposes, you will be required to download the Respondus lockdown browser and to have a functioning, movable webcam in order to record you and track your eye movements while you’re taking the quizzes and final. Your monitor’s built-in camera will not be sufficient because it cannot be moved about to show the entire area around your computer or your computer monitor itself during the environment check. If you do not use a movable webcam or your environment check does not satisfy the professor for any reason, your score for that test or assignment will not count when grades are figured at the end of the semester. If that happens, you will be required to retake a version of the test in person or your final will weigh more heavily, depending on circumstances.

At the moment, Amazon and Walmart.com have webcams for about $10 to $20, so this requirement is still cheaper than supplies you must buy for many other courses. Make sure you have such a webcam before taking quizzes. Be careful about ordering online because of shipping time. You are responsible for making certain you get this in time to take the quizzes.

A note about Respondus updates: Due to updates, students often have to uninstall and then reinstall the Respondus lockdown browser at the start of a new semester.

ACADEMIC 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. Any assignment may be reevaluated, regraded, or rescored if necessary due to suspected violation of academic integrity, data entry error, or related reasons.

Anyone caught cheating will receive a course grade of F and will be referred for University disciplinary measures. A single instance of plagiarism, impersonation, or having another person or software to do your work in any task counts as cheating. For more on academic integrity, follow the link to part II of this syllabus.

You will complete an academic honesty quiz through Canvas right after you complete the syllabus quiz. Take it repeatedly until you score 100%.

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. Follow instructions and complete all your work before the deadlines.

CONTACTING YOUR PROFESSOR

For an online course, the easiest way to contact me with questions or comments is by e-mail. Write me at langlet@hsu.edu (not via the Canvas message system or I might not see it) any time and I will respond after I see the message if a reply is necessary. If you cannot e-mail me, you will need to leave a message on my voicemail at  (870)230-5222. E-mail works best, though. Every time you send me a message without saying who you are or which course you’re talking about (not just in your subject line because that doesn’t immediately show in some apps) and whether you’re in section 01 or 02, you can lose a point from your grade for Internet assignments, just as you can 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 keep those points.

I will need to send messages to the class sometimes through the Canvas message system. However, do not use that system to message me because I might not see them. If you need to contact your professor, email me directly: langlet@hsu.edu

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, Academic Integrity, Computer Tips, Disability Services

Also: How Those Online Assignments Get Graded

Any information in this syllabus may be subject to change, correction, or other revision.