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.

    Following instructions.  On each exam I will give you two points for following these instructions:  Put your name on the question sheet and both sides of the answer sheet -- last name first, first name last.  On the back side of the answer sheet bubble in the circles corresponding to the characters in your name.  Answer item 48 with the letter provided on the question sheet.

    The first exam will cover material from the chapters assigned and lectures given from the first class of the semester through the class immediately preceding the first exam. On each of the remaining two 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 two 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 lower score you made on the first two 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 8^th of November, 2011. If you miss one or both 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 one of the missed exams. The makeup exam can replace two missed exams only if the student can present a documented and valid university-approved excuse for each exam which was missed.

    Exam 3 is given during final exam week, but it is not cumulative (other than for a few review questions, as on the second exam) and it is not weighted differently than the other two 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.
• Each student is permitted to bring to class, on exam day, and to use during the exam, a one-page executive summary of the material being tested (some call this a "cheat sheet," but since it is permitted, it not cheating).  The page must be 8.5 x 11 inches and may contain only hand-written text.  Word-processed material is not permitted.  You are permitted to write on both sides of the page.

    University Policy On Final Examinations:  Read this statement.

    A total of 95 multiple-choice questions will be divided into approximately ten quizzes given throughout the semester.  These quizzes will be administered via BlackBoard.  Each question is worth one course point, so you could earn a total of 95 course points by taking the quizzes.  I shall announce the availability of each quiz in class, in a BlackBoard announcement, and/or by email.  Many of the questions on each quiz will be randomly selected from the publisher's test bank.  You are encouraged to practice taking quizzes on the content of this course -- you can do so within the Psych Portal.

    You are strongly encouraged to read the documents "Test Taking Tips" and "BB Exam Tips," which can be found in BlackBoard, under Quizzes.  Reading these documents should prepare you to take online quizzes without making the sort of mistake that results in your getting kicked out of the system before completing the quiz.

    All students enrolled in PSYC 1000 are required to participate in research as part of their educational experience in PSYC 1000.  Five percent of the final grade will result from earning 5 research participation credits.  There are four ways that you can earn these credits:

• Completion of the Start of Semester Survey, online, earns one credit.  This survey is available for a limited time at the start of the semester.
• Participation in approved research earns one credit for each hour of participation.
• Reading an approved research article and passing a quiz on its content earns one-half of a credit.
• Completion of the End of Semester Survey, online, earns one credit.  This survey is available for a limited time at the end of the semester.

     For each research/survey credit earned, 4 points will be added to your total course points, up to a maximum of 20 points (5% of the total points possible).  Start by going to the Psychology Research Participation Web Page.

    As noted in the table above, there are three periods for earning research participation points.  From 8/23/2011 through 9/5/2011, only the start of semester survey is available.  From 9/6/2011 through 12/6/2011 you may earn credits through research participation or reading and passing a quiz on research articles.  From 12/7/2011 through 12/13/2011 only the end of semester survey is available.

    You can check on how many research/survey/article participation credits you have earned via the Sona site.  See my tutorial.  Please note that I shall not be posting to BlackBoard points earned by research participation until near the end of the semester, when the Sona team has sent me a final report of number of credits earned.

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

    You may earn extra credit by accumulating more than the required 5 research/survey credits.  For each extra credit, four points will be added to your total course points.  The maximum number of credits that may be converted into course points is 10, the 5 required and 5 extra.  No course points will be earned by accumulating more than 10 research/survey credits.  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.

    The top score on each exam will be a 95 (96 is possible but unlikely).  Each survey credit and research credit earns you an additional 4 points added to your total points earned.  At the end of the semester I total your three examination scores, your quiz scores, and your research participation points. Each of the three examinations is weighted 23.75% of your final grade, the quizzes, collectively, are weighted 23.75%, and research/survey participation is weighted 5%.  Here is how to translate end-of-semester total points to a letter grade:

    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 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."

    Please notice that the deadline for the end of semester survey is on the ??^th of April, the day after the last exam for this course.  Since completion of the end of semester survey can affect a student's grade, I shall not be able to compute final grades until ??? at the earliest.

    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.

    If you are having problems with your computer, you can take it to the ACE computer support center in Rawl 108.  They will help you set it up properly and resolve any problems you are having with it.

    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, WuenschK73) 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 grades.

    You can send me email through Blackboard, but it may 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.

    I respond promptly to class-related emails that are properly formatted.  When I believe that the entire class would benefit from seeing my answer to a query emailed to me, I will copy my response to the entire class.  Frequently this is an attempt on my part to avoid answering the same question many times in individual replies to individual students.  When I think the student who posed the question might be embarrassed by being personally identified, I will change the name of the student to something anonymous, like "Ima Student."  Distressingly, some students whose name is not "Ima Student" will misconceive these emails as having been directed to them personally.

1. Be familiar with what psychologists and others have learned about behavior and the mind.  This will include a broad overview as well as more detailed study for a few of the sub-disciplines of psychology.

2. Understand the methods employed by psychologists to conduct research.  This includes the role of theory in research, generating questions that can be empirically addressed, gathering data relevant to the questions posed, the analysis of the data, drawing conclusions from the analysis, relating the results to theory and practice, and disseminating the results.

3. Be able to relate the findings of psychological research to a variety of everyday problems.  Just about every problem you will ever encounter is, at least in part, a behavioral or mental problem.  Since we are a highly social species, these problems very often involve our relationships with others.

    Please read this document about goals that are appropriate for courses that earn foundation credit.

• Please read this document:  Academic Etiquette

• Cheating is penalized by a grade of 'F' for the course and may lead to further disciplinary action. Plagiarism is considered cheating.  See

  • Academic Integrity -- policy revised in 2011
  • Power Point Presentation

• 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).  

• Wuensch Teaching -- Before registering for one of his classes, watch him teaching stats.

• How to Address a Professor -- Don't Call Me 'Mister.'

• View Lecture Notes for this Course -- hopefully these will be available even if BlackBoard goes down.

• PSYC Portal -- how to register/purchase/login -- Flyer -- PowerPoint Show -- Login

• Obtain Assistance with Computing Skills Needed in This Course

• Psychology Research Participation Web Page

• Retention Standards -- These have been changed, effective Autumn, 2011.  Read about it here.

• 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 Autumn, 2011 -- includes exam schedule

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

• Wait-Listing -- when a class you want is full, you can get on a waiting list for it, if the instructor has enabled that feature.

• ECU Emergency Information.

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

This page most recently revised on 31. October 2011.