Each examination will be multiple-choice format and will be computer graded. Please remember to bring with you an Opscan scoring sheet (8.5 x 11 inches) and a number 2 pencil with a good eraser. I recommend that you check out my Tips for Students Taking Multiple Choice Tests before taking multiple choice examinations.  Please be sure properly to code your name on the optical scanning answer sheet.  If you fail to code your name properly, I may not be able to determine which score is yours, and if I can, I will deduct five points from it before recording it.

    Each exam will be scored on a 95 point basis, with scores adjusted so that the student(s) with the top score get(s) a 95 (or 96 if that student correctly answers every question on the exam) and all other scores are adjusted upwards by the same means. The adjustment will involve adding a constant to each raw score and/or multiplying each raw score by a constant.

    The first exam will cover material from the chapters assigned and lectures given from the second class of the semester through the class immediately preceding the first exam. On each of the other three exams the focus will be on material covered since the preceding exam, but I typically include a few review items on each of these exams. On the first class day after an examination I discuss with the class items that were missed by an unusually large proportion of the students. Review items will cover the content of those post-examination discussions.

    Makeup examinations will be given during the second hour of our scheduled examination period during final exam week. If you miss an examination, you do not need to tell me why you missed it, just be sure to stay that second hour to take your makeup examination. Questions on the make-up examination will be drawn from the material that was tested on the first three examinations. If you have not missed any of the examinations but wish you had missed one of them, because your performance was below what you know you are capable of, you can elect to take the make-up examination during the second hour of our scheduled final examination period. In this case, your score on the make-up examination would replace the one lowest score you made on the first three exams. To take advantage of this option, complete the Make-Up Exam Request Form and deliver it to Dr. Wuensch no later than 2:00 PM on the 10^th of April, 2008. If you miss one or two of the first three exams, you do not need to complete this form, you will automatically be registered for the make-up exam and your score on the makeup exam will replace the zero you got on the one missed exam.  If you were to miss all three of the first three exams, there would be no way you could possibly pass the course, even if you had perfect scores on the final exam and the make-up exam and earned the maximum possible extra credit.  The makeup exam can replace two or more missed exams only if the student can present a documented and valid university-approved excuse for each exam which was missed.

    Exam 4 is given during final exam week, but it is not cumulative (other than for a few review questions, as on exams 2 and 3) and it is not weighted differently than the other three exams.

    Be sure to check your email the day before each exam. I may send out hints and tips designed to help you with last-minute studying. For example, I may send out copies of a few of the items which will be on the examination.

    Examination Regulations.  To preserve academic integrity, I have, with a heavy heart, prescribed the following regulations for student behavior during examinations in this class:

• The use of electronic communication equipment during exams is strictly forbidden.  This includes cell phones, text messengers, pagers, audio playback equipment, and similar devices.  Such devices should not be brought to class on examination day.  If you must bring such devices to class, they must be turned off and stowed in a closed container (such as a book bag) during the examination.  Students who are observed with such an electronic communication device in class and not properly stowed on an examination day will be considered to have violated the stated regulation, will be dismissed from the examination and considered to have missed the examination, and the incident will be reported to the chair of the Department of Psychology with a recommendation for disciplinary action.
• Have you ever noticed that everybody wears their baseball caps with the brim to the back almost all of the time, but on exam day they show up with the brims to the front.  Students in my classes will be asked to remove such caps or rotate them so the brims are to the back.
• Students must put their names on both the question sheet and the answer sheet, and code it on the answer sheet by darkening the appropriate circles for each character in their names (last name first).  After having completed the examination, students must bring both question sheet and answer sheet to the proctor and present them with side 1 up, answer sheet on top of the question sheet.  Students should have with them at this time all materials they brought into the classroom.  After turning in the exam they should immediately exit through the north door of the room (the door near the front of the classroom).
• Students must bring to class on examination days their ECU photo identification cards and must, if requested by the proctor, present that card for inspection.

    University Policy On Final Examinations:  Read this statement.

    All students enrolled in PSYC 1000 are required to complete 4 credits of research activities.  You can earn extra credit by completing more than 4 credits (up to a maximum of 8 credits).  This requirement can be fulfilled by: (1) participating in research studies conducted by faculty and students in the Psychology Department (1 credit for every 30 minutes); (2) reading reports of research findings (1 credit per research article); or (3) any combination of the two. In all cases, you will take a quiz assessing your understanding of each research activity. This requirement counts as 5% of your final grade in PSYC 1000 and must be completed at least two weeks before the end of classes. Students will not be given extensions or allowed to take an incomplete in the course in order to finish this requirement. Credits for research participation or article quizzes must be completed by midnight on the 14^th of April, 2008.  Experimenters must assign credit by the 17^th of April, 2008. Instructors may download the final Summary Report from Experimentrak by 5 pm on the 18^th of April, 2008.  For each research credit earned, 5 points will be added to your total course points, up to a maximum of 40 points.  Start by going to the Psychology Research Participation Web Page.

    If you are having problems with the Research Participation Web Sites, do not email Karl Wuensch about that.  Do email experimentrak@ecu.edu .  Also, you may meet with my graduate assistant for help.

    Please note that I shall not be posting to BlackBoard points earned by research participation until near the end of the semester, when the Experimentrak team has sent me a final report of number of credits earned.  That date is expected to be the 18^th of April, 2008.  To determine how many research credits you have earned,  log in to Experimentrak and click : "View studies I've participated in," and see if credit has been granted and "View other credits I've earned."

Grading

    The maximum possible score on each exam is a 96.  Add to that up to five research points, if you have earned them.  Add to that up to five extra credit points, if you have earned them.  You could get a total of 106 (wouldn't that be dandy).  If the total is 90 or more, your grade on that exam (that quarter of the course, including research and extra credits) is an A, 80 or more a B, 70 or more a C, 60 or more a D, and less than 60 an F.

    At the end of the semester I total your four examination scores, your extra credits, and your research participation scores. Each of the four examinations is weighted 23.75% of your final grade, and research participation is weighted 5%. If your point total is at least 360, you have an A; at least 320, a B; at least 280, a C; at least 240, a D; and below 240 is an F. These grade cutoffs are absolute -- for example, a 319 is a C, not a B. When transforming total scores to letter grades, "close" does not count. To view your grades, enter BlackBoard, PSYC 1000, Student Tools, Check Grade. To see statistics on class performance on exams, use these links: Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3, Exam 4 and Final Grades. If your class has not yet taken the exam, the statistics posted are those for last semester.

    To determine your current standing in the class, follow the instructions in my document What is My Current Grade in PSYC 1000?

    Your grade in this class will be determined solely by your performance on the examinations, research activities, and any extra credit that you have earned prior to the last day of classes. How much effort you think you put into the course is not a factor in the assignment of grades. For example: 1.) If you manage to achieve an 'A' average without putting much effort into the course, I am not going to lower your grade to a 'B' just because it was easy for you, and 2.) If you are only able to earn a 'D' with what you think is great effort, I am not going to raise your grade to a 'C' because of effort.

    Please see the University Catalog for definitions of letter grades.  Do note that the grade of 'C' is defined as "average."

Extra Credit

    You may earn extra credit by completing research activities in excess of the the required 4 credits. For each extra credit activity you complete successfully, five points will be added to your total course points. No student may earn more than 20 points of extra credit.  The Experimentrak team has asked me to restrict your extra credit activities to the reading of articles rather than serving as a participant in research, but the final report that they send me will not indicate whether you earned your credits by reading articles or by participating in research. In other words, if you were to earn 8 credits without ever reading a research article, I would never know it and would give you all 40 points earned.

    I may (this is not a promise) provide one or additional opportunities to earn bonus extra credits by competing in Internet educational games.  Such activities will require some competence at using computers and computer software.

     Extra credit activities must be completed prior to the stated deadline. Activities submitted after the deadline will earn no extra credit. In no case can extra credit be earned after the last day of classes. Please do not embarrass yourself and me by begging for extra credit after final grades have been awarded. Final grades are, well, final. Also, please remember that I grade your performance, not your personal worth.

Computer Assistance

    If you are having problems with your computer, you can take it to the ACE computer support center in Austin 101.  They will help you set it up properly and resolve any problems you are having with it.

BlackBoard

    I intend to post copies of my lecture notes, announcements, and your grades in the BlackBoard system. To enter our course, start by clicking on the door icon near the top of this web page. That will take you to the web portal. Click Login and then enter your username and your password. Your username is your ECU email username (for example, KLW1127) and your password is the same as that you use with your ECU mail. After you login to BlackBoard, you will be given a list of the BlackBoard courses in which you are registered. Select PSYC 1000 and you are in. Use Course Documents to locate copies of my lecture notes and other instructional materials I may post. Use Student Tools to check your grade.

    You can send me email through Blackboard, but it will not put your name on the e-mail. Accordingly, you must remember to type your name in the email or I will not easily know from whom it came.  For help using ECU E-mail, see ECU E-Mail.

    Regardless of which mailer you use to email me, please be sure to provide a subject line that starts out with "PSYC 1000:" followed by a phrase which describes the nature of the communication. For example, "Subject: PSYC 1000: Instrumental Conditioning and Free Will?" Failure to provide such a subject line could result in your email being discarded without being opened.

Honors By Contract

    I do allow honors by contract for students in the honors program. Typically these students will complete, in addition to the standard  requirements of the course, a term paper on a topic in psychology that has been approved by me.  Usually such a term paper is ten to twenty pages in length.  The student needs to meet with me to gain approval of a proposed topic.  I am willing to consider projects other than term papers.

Assorted Notes

• Cheating is penalized by a grade of 'F' for the course and may lead to further disciplinary action. Plagiarism is considered cheating.
• For every hour of instruction two hours of outside preparation are expected.
• Class attendance is your responsibility. I neither reward mere attendance nor punish absences. However, you are responsible for the content of my lectures whether or not you are attending classes and whether or not that material is also covered in the textbook.

• East Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on a disability must be registered with the Department for Disability Support Services located in Slay 138 (252) 737-1016 (Voice/TTY).  

• View Lecture Notes for this Course

• Obtain Assistance with Computing Skills Needed in This Course

• Psychology Research Participation Web Page

• Academic Difficulty -- First year students should read this

• Study Tips for Students in This Course

• Expect this Course to be Easy? -- think again

• Publisher's Web Site for Our Textbook -- lots of useful resources here

• ECU E-Mail - Help and resources for students.

• ECU Counseling Center - Get help for text anxiety and assorted other personal problems.

• Ombudsman - Get help with most any sort of problem you are having at East Carolina University.

• Tutors in Psychology - Need help with this course?  Find a tutor here.

• Letters From Karl's Former Students

• Visit Karl's Index Page

• University Calendar for Spring, 2008 -- includes exam schedule

• Building Abbreviations -- official abbreviations for buildings on campus.  "R" stands for "Rawl."

• The Dog Ate My Disk -- amusing article from The Chronicle of Higher Education

• ECU Emergency Information.

Contact Information for the Webmaster,
Dr. Karl L. Wuensch

This page most recently revised on 11. January 2008.