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Syllabus
PSYCH 260 Neural Basis of Human Behavior (3)
Prerequisites: None, but PSYCH 100 is recommended.
“Most of us have spent some time wondering how our brain works. Brain scientists spend their entire lives pondering it, looking for a way to begin asking the question: How does the brain generate mind? The brain, after all, is so complex an organ and can be approached from so many different directions using so many different techniques that studying it is a little like entering a blizzard, the Casbah, a dense forest. It's easy enough to find a way in - an interesting phenomenon to study - but also very easy to get lost.”
-Geneticist, Susan Allport
Course Description
PSYCH 260 is designed to be an introduction to and overview of the general field of biopsychology. Theoretical perspectives and empirical research specific to the neurological basis of behavior will be presented and discussed. Students will be exposed to both classic and contemporary research in the field as well as the "real world" application of many of these studies. In addition to increasing your knowledge and understanding of the brain, its structures and functions, this course will challenge and encourage you to think critically about the information presented.
Objectives
After taking this course, students should have acquired the following skills and/or met the following goals:
- Acquired an overarching framework of the brain and its various functions, both at the cellular and structural levels.
- Gained an understanding of the various methodologies utilized in the field of biopsychology
- Developed the ability to critically evaluate and integrate information from empirical research to specific concepts within the field.
- Apply their knowledge of brain and behavior to their own real-life experiences.
Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.Additional Materials
- This course also requires that you access Penn State library materials, specifically electronic reserve readings for this course.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
One of the benefits of being a registered Penn State student is that you are eligible to receive educational discounts on many software titles. If you are interested in learning more about purchasing software through our affiliate vendor, please visit the Technology and Software page.
Technical Specifications
For this course we recommend the minimum World Campus technical requirements listed below:
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
World Campus Help Desk
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Expectations
Students are expected to manage their time wisely in order to maintain an appropriate pace to complete all of the requirements before listed deadlines. This is especially true in regards to the term papers, as these assignments have multiple components that often take students a significant amount of time to complete. Additionally, students are expected to keep up with assigned readings, accompanying lessons and discussion boards. By going over the required readings ahead of time, you’ll be more informed and have more that you can contribute to assignments.
This is a semester-based course with deadlines. Students are expected to complete work by posted deadlines. Please check the course schedule for the times and dates that assignments are due in this course (times are listed in Eastern Time in North America). Please contact your instructor to discuss legitimate and unavoidable situations that may cause lateness (such as illness, injury or family emergency). If you know that you are going to miss a deadline, please contact your instructor in advance of that deadline to discuss an extension (or if you are not able to contact the instructor before the deadline, as soon as you are able). Decisions regarding extensions will be made at the discretion of the instructor on a case-by-case basis.
In the absence of a legitimate and unavoidable situation, late work will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor and will be penalized up to 10% of the total assignment points for each day of lateness. Unless there is a legitimate and unavoidable situation that causes prolonged lateness, work more than 1 week late will not be accepted.
Grading
Your course grade will be based on 4 main components: 1) lesson quizzes, 2) a series of brain exercises (brainstorms), 3) two term papers and 4) two time management assignments for the term papers.
1. Lesson Quizzes: Just about every other week an open-book/open-note (but not open-friend) quiz will be posted. These quizzes are designed to test your knowledge of the material presented in the lecture slides, and assigned readings for those weeks. Availability to complete each quiz lasts from the first day of the lesson until 11:59 pm Eastern Time the last day of the assigned week as outlined in the course schedule. You will have 40 minutes to complete the 20 questions for each quiz. The format of these questions will typically be in multiple-choice. Each quiz will be worth 30 points and there will be a total of 7 quizzes across the semester. Thus together, your quizzes equal 210 points.
Please note: once you’ve logged in and started the quiz the timer continues to run. Thus for example, you cannot save your responses one night and decide to return later to complete the remaining items. Also, while you have up until the last day of the assigned week to complete the quiz, I would highly suggest taking the quiz earlier, just in case you run into computer issues such as internet access complications or computer crashes.
2. Brainstorms: Students will also be required to complete a series of 6 brain exercises over the course of the semester. Each of these short assignments will consist of a series of application questions for you to answer related to a particular topic of the course. In some cases they will include a short reading or video to supplement the assignment. The goal of these assignments is to engage the student in thinking critically on the concepts and theories presented in the lessons. Each brain exercise will be worth 15 points, equaling a total of 90 points altogether. Brain exercises are due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time the last day of the week they are assigned.
3. “The Life of My Brain” Term Papers: As part of the course, you’ll be required to complete two term papers. With each paper you’ll be asked to investigate and analyze a single life event of your choosing related to a certain point of your typical day. The purpose of these papers is to allow students the opportunity to investigate personal experiences through the lens of a biopsychologist as well as help you gain skills with searching and reading articles related to the field. Each paper is worth 60 points of credit. As with other assignments, the term papers will be due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time the last day of the week they are assigned. Please see the course schedule for the list of due dates.
4. Time Management Assignments: The brain term papers previously described are considered large comprehensive projects that should not wait until the last week before they are due to start writing. To keep you on task and thinking about each paper across the semester, there will be two related time management assignments given (one for each paper). Each of these assignments is worth 10 points. As with other assignments, these time management reports will be due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time the last day of the week they are assigned. Please check the course schedule in the syllabus for due dates
| Assignment | Points Possible | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson Quizzes (x 7) | 210 points | (approx. 48%) | ||
| Brainstorms (x 6) | 90 points | (approx. 19%) | ||
| Time Management Assignments (x 2) | 20 points | (approx. 5%) | ||
| Term Papers (x 2) | 120 points | (approx. 28%) | ||
| Total | 440 points | 100 | ||
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Point Range |
|---|---|---|
| A | = 93-100% | 409- 440 pts. |
| A- | = 90-92.9% | 396 - 408 pts. |
| B+ | = 86-89.9% | 378 - 395 pts. |
| B | = 83-85.9% | 365 - 377 pts. |
| B- | = 80-82.9% | 352 - 364 pts. |
| C+ | = 76-79.9% | 334 - 351 pts. |
| C | = 70-75.9% | 308 - 333 pts. |
| D | = 60-69.9% | 264 - 307 pts. |
| F |
= less than 264 points total |
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
- Course begins:
- Course ends:
- Course length: 16 weeks
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Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity—scholarship free of fraud and deception—is an important educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty can lead to a failing grade or referral to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to
- cheating,
- plagiarism,
- fabrication of information or citations,
- facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
- unauthorized prior possession of examinations,
- submitting the work of another person or work previously used without, informing the instructor and securing written approval, and
- tampering with the academic work of other students.
Students are responsible for maintaining academic integrity. Violations include cheating on exams or quizzes, talking to others during an exam or quiz, getting help from others on exams or quizzes, having notes accessible during exams or quizzes, looking at another student's answers during an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and dishonesty in any aspect of course participation. Also, you may not share any information from this course (including assignments and papers) with others, nor post such information electronically without the permission of the instructor. Violations of academic integrity including charges of plagiarism) and may result in a grade of F for the course as well as other penalties (see Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).
Heads up – several note-taking/note-sharing companies approach students about “jobs” (including Nittany Notes and those that appear to be connected to PSU). If this is something that you want to do, you MUST talk with your instructor first. Unless you have permission, you risk academic sanctions related to charges of plagiarism and disciplinary sanctions.
How to avoid plagiarism in this course
- Always place copied information within quotation marks, cite the source, and include information about the source in a bibliography.
- Always cite paraphrased information and include information about the source in a bibliography.
- When in doubt, cite and include the source in a bibliography.
Please make sure you submit the correct version of your paper. Whatever you hand in will be considered your final version and will be graded, even if you submit a blank document. Please note, claiming that you submitted the wrong file is NOT an acceptable excuse for work containing plagiarism.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, procedure requires an instructor to notify a student of suspected dishonesty before filing a charge and recommended sanction with the college. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.
Additionally, World Campus students are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and others, as well as a civil community.
For More Information on Academic Integrity at Penn State
Please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:
- Penn State Senate Policy on Academic Integrity
- Turnitin (a web-based plagiarism detection and prevention system)
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Additional Policies
The purpose of course communication tools is to provide students with a quick method for contacting faculty, teaching assistants, and other students of the class, in regards to course related questions, comments, and concerns. Please note that, according to University policy AD95/AD96, course communication tools may not be used as a method for emailing unauthorized content including but not limited to: solicitation for businesses, advertisements, selling or distributing personal or class materials, transmitting offensive, obscene, or harassing materials, chain letters, news posts, or other forms of “spam” email. Doing so will be considered a violation of course and/or University policies, and might also violate the student code of conduct and the expectations expressed in the Penn State Principles. Resulting penalties might include the suspension or termination of system access, as well as disciplinary or academic sanctions. When appropriate, information about violators will be passed on to University Police Services. If you have any questions in regards to whether or not a particular email you wish to send would violate University policies, please check with your instructor before sending messages to others through the University system.
The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.