PSY 303: Physiological Psychology -- Spring 2003

Class:

T&Th

9:35am-10:55am

Office Hours:

T&Th

11:00am -12:00pm

Required Texts:

Kalat, J. (7th Ed). Biological Psychology. Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Available at College
Bookstore and Kraftees.

COURSE OBJECTIVE:

Understand the biological foundations of behavior.

COURSE FORMAT: This course consists of integrated lectures and discussions. This is a psychology course, but one in which we will spend a considerable amount of time learning about the relationships between brain anatomy, physiology, and neurochemistry on one hand and behavior on the other. You must be willing to put forth the effort to learn about the central nervous system, neuroanatomy, neurons and synapses, and transmitter-receptor interactions. I will make every effort to ensure that these topics are presented in an informative, clear and interesting way. If you are not interested in these things then you are not interested in biological psychology.

ATTENDANCE: Attendance for this class is important, given the cumulative nature of the material covered in class. It is assumed that everyone is a mature adult and thus there is no mandatory attendance policy. However, I have found a very strong and positive correlation between attendance and class performance. In my experience, students who skip classes fail in large numbers. Most, if not all, of the more complex topics are very difficult to learn about from the text alone. For these reasons and others, attendance is strongly encouraged.

QUIZZES/EXAMS: There will be 4 exams (3 exams and a final). Each is worth 20% of your grade. In addition, a term paper, due towards the end of the semester, is worth 20% of your grade. The term paper is a minimum of 15 pages, APA-style literature review of a topic area in physiological psychology. Both the professor and the student must agree on the topic. There are no make-up exams. No late papers are accepted. There is no extra credit.

PLAGIARISM/CHEATING: Please be familiar with the college's policy on plagiarism and cheating. Read the SUNY-Oswego Undergraduate Catalog or the Student Handbook. Any student who plagiarizes material or cheats on an exam will fail the course.

SEMESTER SCHEDULE: