Psychology 383 Memory

Psychology 383 Memory

1:10-2:25 Tuesday, Thursday

Science Hall 117

Instructor: Peter W. Foltz

Office: Science Hall 323

Phone: 646-1980

email: pfoltz@crl.nmsu.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-11:00, or by appointment

Course Description

Memory refers to the retention of information we have learned. We a variety of facets of memory in almost every situation. This course will address issues many issues involved in memory including: What are the mechanisms that permit information to be stored in memory? How is information represented in memory? What permits some people to have exceptional memory? How can you improve your own memory? How does memory change over the lifespan?

Required Text: Human Memory: Exploration and Application: Karl Haberlandt, Allyn and Bacon.

Some papers on reserve at the New Library will also be assigned.

Course Web page: The course web page is at: http://www-psych.nmsu.edu/~pfoltz/psy383.html

This web page contains a copy of the syllabus, information about the class, grades, assignments, answers to questions from class, and links to other pages with information about psychology and memory. It will be updated throughout the semester. You are expected to check the web page regularly for updates

Prerequisites: Psy 201 and one of: Psy 310 (Research methods) or Psy 355 (Dev. research methods) and one of: Stat 251 (Statistics) or E-Stat 311 (E-Statistics), or consent of instructor. Students are expected to have taken these prerequisites and those without these prerequisites will find this course very difficult and may be dropped.

Evaluation Procedures:

Exams:

There will be three exams. Each exam will be worth 100 points. The exams will consist of about essay questions and multiple choice questions. Each exam will count for 20 percent of your final grade.

A good deal of the material from the chapters will be discussed during the lecture. Information that is presented both in the text and in the lecture is more likely to form the basis for exam questions than information from a single source. However, some questions will be based solely on material from the text, while others only from lecture topics.

Papers:

Two papers will be assigned in class. The purpose of the papers is to have you read research articles in memory and write a reaction paper as well as to think about the implications of memory in the real world. Each paper is worth 7.5% of your grade.

Homework, Quizes and In-class assignments:

Homework, quizes and In-class assignments will be given out in some classes. These assignments will be worth 20% of your grade. Assignments will be posted to the web page. Some of these assignments will require you to go to a particular web page and complete the assignments. Therefore, you will need access to a computer for this class.

Class participation:

This course will primarily be a lecture course. Nevertheless, the best way to learn about memory is through discussing the ideas presented in the class and through participating in experiments and seeing demonstrations and videos presented in class. Thus, I may end lectures early and pose questions for class discussion. In addition, you will be called upon to participate in a variety of experiments and demonstrations during class time.

Attendance will not be taken in this class, except for in the first few weeks for paperwork purposes. However, your participation will be noted during the class discussions, experiments, and demonstrations. Class participation will count for 5 percent of your grade.

Late papers and assignments:

You are expected to have your assignments turned in on time. Grades for late papers and assignments will be reduced by one grade for every day late. Exceptions will be granted with a note from the health center or your private doctor, or for other extenuating circumstances. If you have such an excuse, you must contact me as soon as possible.

Determining your final grade:

Your final grade will be a weighted average of:

Assignment	Percent
exam 1	20%
exam 2	20%
exam 3	20%
papers	15%
Assignments/HW	20%
class participation	5%

Contacting the professor:

I can usually be reached at my office phone (646-1980) and I check my email (pfoltz@crl.nmsu.edu) regularly. If you can’t make it to the scheduled office hours, please contact me and I’ll be happy to set up an appointment for another time.

Withdrawals: To withdraw from this class, you must complete and turn in a signed withdrawal form. The last day to drop with a "W" is March 7th.

General Policies:

1. The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

2. Make-ups will not typically be permitted for exams. Exceptions will be granted with a note from the health center or your private doctor, or for other extenuating circumstances.

3. If a student is caught cheating, the policies described in the New Mexico State University Handbook will apply. Penalties could range from earning no points for the work to expulsion from the university. Academic misconduct results in a grade of F for the class.

4. If you have, or think you may have, a disability that interferes with your performance as a student in this class, you may wish to self-identify. You can do so by providing documentation to the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Office located at Garcia Annex (phone: voice 646-6840, TTY 646-1918). If you are already registered with the SSD Office and need accommodations please provide your "Accommodation Memo" from the SSD within the first two weeks of class.

If you have a condition that may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency or that may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or the Coordinator for SSD. Feel free to call Ms. Elva G. Telles, EEO/ADA & Employee Relations Director at 646-3333 with any questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All medical information will be held in strict confidence.