Main Content
Syllabus
PSYCH 260: Neurological Bases of Human Behavior (3)
Prerequisites: None, but PSYCH 100 is recommended.
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 bases 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 requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in your course navigation, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and search for your instructor's last name.
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.
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
- 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 refer to Graduation at the Chaiken Center for Student Success.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
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.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. 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 that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim 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 by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities, including World Campus. The Disabilities and Accommodations section of the Chaiken Center for Student Success website provides World Campus students with information regarding how to request accommodations, documentation guidelines and eligibility, and appeals and complaints. For additional information, please visit the University's Student Disability Resources website.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services 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.Privacy
In order to protect your privacy, course access is limited to those individuals who have direct responsibility for the quality of your educational experience. In addition to the instructor, a teaching assistant or college administrator may be provided access in order to ensure optimal faculty availability and access. World Campus technical staff may also be given access in order to resolve technical support issues.For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Reporting bias
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.
Mental Health Services
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Veterans and Military
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Student Responsibilities and Conduct
- Students are responsible for online course content, taking notes, obtaining other materials provided by the instructor, taking tests (if applicable), and completing assignments as scheduled by the instructor. As a general rule, students should plan on logging into the course at least three times per week and spending at least three hours per course credit per week on the course, e.g., if the course is three credits, the student should plan on spending at least 9-12 hours per week on the course, just as they would in a residence course.
- Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester.
- Students are responsible for monitoring their grades.
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Students must contact their instructor (and teammates when working on any collaborative learning assignments) as soon as possible if they anticipate missing long periods of online time due to events such as chronic illnesses, death in the family, business travel, or other appropriate events. The instructor will determine the minimal log on time and participation required in order to meet course responsibilities. In the event of other unforeseen conflicts, the instructor and student will arrive at a solution together.
- Requests for taking exams or submitting assignments after the due dates require documentation of events such as illness, family emergency, or a business-sanctioned activity.
- Conflicts with dates on which examinations or assignments are scheduled must be discussed with the instructor or TA prior to the date of the examination or assignment.
- Students are responsible for following appropriate netiquette (network etiquette) when communicating with their instructor and classmates. For reference, see the Academic Success Kit.
- Behaviors that disrupt other students’ learning are not acceptable and will be addressed by the instructor.
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For severe and chronic problems with student disruptive behavior, the following will be applied for resolution:
- Senate Committee on Student Life policy on managing classroom disruptions: Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
- Penn State Values.
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.