• Contact Info & Student Office Hrs

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    Instructor: Dr. Greta Valenti
    *office: Harbert 313 
    *email: gvalenti@bsc.edu


    Student Office Hours

    *Student office hours are specific hours I set aside each week to chat with students. I encourage you to book frequent appointments during student office hours throughout the semester to ask questions about the syllabus, course material, assignments, or even to discuss becoming a psychology major. PY 101 is a challenging course for many students, but I promise you’ll find office hours visits helpful. Things do not get easier by avoiding me. smile

    My weekly student office hours are:

      • Mondays 1:30 - 3:10 pm
      • Tuesdays 2:10 - 3:10 pm
      • Thursdays 8:00 - 9:30 am, 2:00 - 2:30 pm
    Book a time slot here: https://gvalenti.youcanbook.me/
      Please see the syllabus (pp. 2-3) for more info about student office hours.


    • Important Course Documents

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      Please carefully read the syllabus and ERO documents at the beginning of the semester, and continue to refer back to these documents throughout the semester. (Yes, they are long, but long and informative!)

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        Syllabus

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        ERO requirement information - please read

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        How to write a professional email to your professor

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        Required Materials

        Textbook – Gazzaniga, M. S. (2018). Psychological Science. (6th ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.

        You do not need to bring the textbook to class and there will be no written or online homework that comes from the textbook. Read the assigned textbook pages (see syllabus p. 9) prior to the class in which we start that chapter, and also use the textbook as an additional resource for studying.

         Moodle Access – Here on Moodle, I will post lecture outlines for you to print out and use to take notes on during class. You will also use Moodle to access instructions for assignments, to post discussion responses, and to upload reflection assignments. I will also post to Moodle key terms/key people sheets, practice exam questions, and optional practice exercises with answer keys. Finally, I will post general information about how to memorize and understand information from your courses (see Moodle section on “Resources on the Science of Memory”). Contact the BSC helpdesk at helpdesk@bsc.edu (and Cc me on the email) right away if you have trouble with your Moodle account. You absolutely need reliable Moodle access to take this course.

        (OPTIONAL) Binder – Consider purchasing a three ring binder (1- or 1.5-inch should be sufficient) to keep your lecture outlines organized. Also, please place some loose leaf paper in your binder so that you’ll have an easy place to write down class reminders and answers to practice questions during class. Feel free to use another system if you’d rather not use a binder; whatever best keeps you organized works for me. smile

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        PY 101 Final Course Grade Estimator

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      • Forum

        Syllabus/ERO/First Day Questions (optional)

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        If you'd like, anytime before our second day of class (8/30), please post a question or two about the information in the course syllabus, the information in the ERO document (posted here on Moodle), or anything discussed in class on the first day. 

        Dr. V will answer some questions in class, and reply to the others separately. So if your question isn't answered in class on day 2, check back here!

        I will not be checking this message board throughout the semester, so if you miss the deadline for asking a question, just email or ask in class. smile

      • Quiz

        Syllabus & ERO document Quiz - Due Sunday, August 29

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        Knowing and understanding the syllabus and ERO document are crucial to performing well in this course. This optional, extra credit quiz allows you to test your knowledge and understanding, and also to see how I write quiz questions.

        You may refer to your syllabus and the ERO document when answering this quiz (i.e., it's "open book"). This quiz is not timed. You have two chances to take this quiz. Make sure to "submit all answers" prior to logging off of Moodle.

        You will earn 5 extra credit points on your first exam for a perfect score (20/20). You will earn 3 extra credit points for a score of 80% or greater (at least 16/20). Scores lower than 80% earn nothing, but I know all of you can earn at least an 80% if you carefully read the syllabus and ERO document prior to starting the quiz.

    • Lecture Outlines

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      Starting in week 2 of the semester, print these out before coming to class on the day we start a new chapter. Also note that in some cases we may not get to all of the topics covered on each outline; I plan more than we can usually cover.

    • Extra Practice Questions

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      These are worksheets, along with answer keys, for extra practice with certain concepts. If you're having trouble with a particular course concept, practice it some more. If you are still having trouble after going through your notes, textbook, and these worksheets, please book an office hours appointment (https://gvalenti.youcanbook.me/) and I'd be happy to answer questions. Thanks!

    • Exam Preparation

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      Here I will post, for each exam, a document that contains a list of key terms and key people, as well as practice exam questions and an answer key.

      PLEASE NOTE that these sheets are not comprehensive review sheets. For example, we discuss ideas and concepts that do not have specific “terms” associated with them; we often discuss the terms in a lot of detail, details likes pros/cons or strengths/weaknesses, which are not covered in a simple definition; and, we generate examples of concepts, do activities, watch videos, and have class discussions, which are also not covered on these sheets but which you should review when preparing for the exam.

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        Exam1

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        Exam2

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        Exam3

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        Remember that Exam 4 will test the new topics from Ch. 12 and Ch. 14 (~2/3 of the exam questions), but will also retest the topics from Exam 3 (~1/3 of exam questions).

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        Exam4 - Key Terminology - Ch 12 Social & Ch 14 Disorders

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    • (Some) videos shown in class

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      This section will be updated with links to and files of videos shown in class. Please note that not all videos are able to be posted here on Moodle (due to size restrictions), so make sure to ask your classmates for notes on all videos shown on days that you miss.

    • Podcast Assignment #1 - 9/20

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      Below I will post a document containing instructions for this assignment. Use the discussion board below that document in order to post your response for credit. Remember that posts submitted late do not earn any credit, so start your assignment early and double check that your post was successfully submitted!

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        Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 1

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      • Section A - Discussion Post for Season 1, Ep 1 of The Happiness Lab

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        • This post is due by class time on Monday, September 20th. 
        • Type your post into a Word document first, save that document, and only once you have finished, open up this discussion forum. (Otherwise, Moodle may time out.)
        • See the "Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 1" document for important information about what should go into your discussion post to earn full credit.

      • Section C - Discussion Post for Season 1, Ep 1 of The Happiness Lab

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        • This post is due by class time on Monday, September 20th. 
        • Type your post into a Word document first, save that document, and only once you have finished, open up this discussion forum. (Otherwise, Moodle may time out.)
        • See the "Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 1" document for important information about what should go into your discussion post to earn full credit.

    • Podcast Assignment #2 - 10/4

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      The document below contains instructions for this assignment. Use the discussion board below that document in order to post your response for credit. Remember that posts submitted late do not earn any credit, so start your assignment early and double check that your post was successfully submitted!

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        Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 2

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      • Section A - Discussion Post for "The Happiness Lab" Assignment #2

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        • This post is due by class time on Monday, October 4th. 
        • Type your post into a Word document first, save that document, and only once you have finished, open up this discussion forum. (Otherwise, Moodle may time out.)
        • See the "Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 2" document for important information about what should go into your discussion post to earn full credit.


      • Section C - Discussion Post for "The Happiness Lab" Assignment #2

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        • This post is due by class time on Monday, October 4th. 
        • Type your post into a Word document first, save that document, and only once you have finished, open up this discussion forum. (Otherwise, Moodle may time out.)
        • See the "Happiness Lab Podcast Assignment 2" document for important information about what should go into your discussion post to earn full credit.


      • Section A (MW 9:30 am) - choose your episode by Monday 9/27

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        I have selected five episodes from season 1, and you will select among these. Each episode will be listened to by 5 students, so depending on when you choose an episode, there may not be five left. (Luckily, all the episodes are interesting smile)

        Choose an episode, by placing yourself into a group. Don't forget to save your choice!


        Episode 2: The Unhappy Millionaire -- Winning the lottery can ruin your life, while contracting an incurable disease can be "a gift". Dr Laurie Santos hears about dreams come true and nightmares realised, and talks with Dr Dan Gilbert about why human happiness isn't defined by these major events in the way we all assume.
         
        Episode 3: A Silver Lining -- Ice skater Michelle Kwan was all set to win Olympic Gold... but in a major sporting upset came second. Sharing her story with Dr Laurie Santos, Michelle lets us in on a key secret to achieving happiness when life doesn't go to plan.
         
        Episode 4: Mistakenly Seeking Solitude -- Technology allows us to bank, shop and dine without talking to another human, but what toll is this taking on our happiness? The inventor of the ATM and the Talking Heads singer David Byrne join Dr Laurie Santos to explore the ways in which talking to strangers can bring us all genuine joy.

        Episode 8: Choice Overload -- We all make thousands of choices each day. But making even trivial decisions can sap our energy and cause anxiety. Dr Laurie Santos examines why our society wrongly prioritizes choice over happiness, and meets a woman who junked her wardrobe in a bid to improve her life.
         
        Episode 10: Making the Grade -- From school grades to fitness trackers, we're all being ranked and rated on a daily basis. This is having a huge impact on our happiness and preventing us from living our lives to the fullest. Can giving up on grades radically improve our well-being?

    • Self-Compassion - 10/25

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      The Word document below contains instructions for this assignment. Use the "Turnitin" assignment link below that in order to post your actual assignment for credit. Remember to visit student office hours or the Writing Center if you want to discuss the instructions or a draft of your assignment.

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        Instructions for Self-Compassion Assignment

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      • Section A - Self-Compassion Assignment

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      • Section C - Self-Compassion Assignment

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        Below are additional (optional) resources to continue learning about the experimental and correlational research on self-compassion. The last five files are psychology journal articles and will be a challenging read for most introductory psychology students, but take a look if you're interested in what a psychology journal article is like!

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        Self-Compassion Scale

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        Complete the 26-item trait self-compassion scale developed by Neff (2003), and review your results.


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        Podcast episode on self-compassion from the show "Hidden Brain"

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        Synopsis: Self-criticism is often seen as a virtue. But psychologist Kristin Neff says there’s a better path to self-improvement — self-compassion. She says people who practice self-compassion are more conscientious and more likely to take responsibility for their mistakes.

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        Self-compassion for freshmen - review of study (quick and easy read)

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        Neff (2003)

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        Leary et al. (2007)

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        Breines and Chen (2012)

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        Breines and Chen (2013)

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        Zhang and Chen (2016)

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    • Gratitude - 11/22

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      Below is a Word document with instructions for this assignment. Use the assignment link below that in order to post your actual assignment for credit. Remember to visit student office hours or the Writing Center if you want to discuss the instructions or a draft of your assignment.

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        Instructions for Gratitude Assignment

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      • Section A - Gratitude Assignment

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      • Section C - Gratitude Assignment

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        Below is a gratitude letter that I wrote for one of my best friends, Karen.

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        Gratitude letter to Karen

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    • (Optional) Resources on the Science of Memory

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      Researchers have investigated how students learn best. What's interesting is that students' instincts for how to study often do not match what research shows actually works best. For example, re-writing your notes has not been shown to help memory for the material, and can actually give you a false sense of confidence that you know the material!

      The resources in this section discuss techniques to improve how much and how well you learn. Please use them, and share your knowledge with your friends in other classes!

    • Alternative ERO Assignments

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      Please carefully read the instructions in the Word document below. Ask Dr. Valenti if you have questions.


      This assignment is due on Thursday, December 9th, by midnight.

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