Psychology 1: Introduction to Psychological Science

Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 9:00-10:15am

Science Center A
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/98444

The success of Homo sapiens clearly results from the amazing things the human brain can do,
and yet our brains are almost completely isolated from the outside world. How does the human
brain give rise to the thoughts and behaviors that enable everyday life? How is the brain
organized? Why is it “programmed” the way it is? Where does consciousness come from? What
happens when our brain malfunctions? This course tries to answer these kinds of questions
through an overview of foundational concepts from psychological and related mind sciences
including neuroscience, evolutionary biology, philosophy, linguistics, and behavioral economics.
It explores specific topics such as perception, learning and memory, language, social relation-
ships, emotions, decision-making, well-being, and mental health. We will look at how these
aspects of the mind develop in children, how they differ across people, how they are wired-up in
the brain, and how they break down due to illness and injury.

INSTRUCTOR
Prof. Jason Mitchell Office hours
William James Hall 1530 Mondays, 10:30-12:30pm
Tel: (617) 905-9860 https://jason-mitchell.youcanbook.me/

PRECEPTOR
Dr. Nicole Noll Office hours
William James Hall 960 Wednesdays, 3:00-4:30pm in WJH 960 (drop-in)
noll@wjh.harvard.edu If you cannot meet during my office hour, sign up for
a Zoom appointment at https://drnoll.youcanbook.me/

HEAD TEACHING FELLOW

Siobhan Greatorex-Voith sgreatorexvoith@g.harvard.edu

TEACHING FELLOWS (a full calendar of TF office hours is available on the course website)
Peter Aungle peter_aungle@fas.harvard.edu
Joan DeGeorge jldegeorge@gmail.com
Alison Hui alisonyhui@gmail.com
Dan Janini daniel_janini@g.harvard.edu

READINGS
• Psychology (2020, 5th edition) by Schacter, Gilbert, Nock & Wegner. Worth Publishers. ISBN
9781319190804. This is the main textbook and is available at The Coop and online. Copies are
on reserve at Lamont. You may also use any earlier edition; it should be easy enough to figure
out the page numbers that correspond (chapters are numbered the same way across editions).

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 • You may want to consider renting the textbook, which is available from several on-line sources
(e.g., chegg.com; textbooks.com; campusbookrentals.com). If acquiring the textbook
represents a financial burden, I have several personal copies that I can loan.
• A number of shorter readings will be distributed electronically.
• You will better understand the lectures if you come to class having already read the material
assigned for that week. For example, before class on January 28th, you should read Chapter 3
in the textbook.

ELECTRONICA
• Course website: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/98444
• Laptops and other electronic devices are strongly discouraged. Many studies have now shown
that students who take notes on laptops learn less than students who take notes in more
traditional ways (e.g., in a notebook). We have repeatedly observed the same pattern in this
course, as reflected in exam grades. You will both learn more and do better on the exams if you
take hand-written notes. Studies have also shown that devices not only affect the user’s
learning, but the learning of surrounding others. That is, your colleagues sitting behind you or
next to you will also learn less if you use your device during class.
• If you insist on using a laptop in class, you are required to sit in the back three rows of the
lecture hall.
• Video/audio recordings of the lectures will not generally be available, except in cases of
students who have received accommodations from the Accessible Education Office or miss
class due to illness. Email the Preceptor and Head TF to request recording access.
• You may not record lectures or any other class activities unless you have received such an
accommodation from the Accessible Education Office. Per Harvard College policy, any student
who digitally records any aspect of the class—whether in video or audio format—will be
referred to the Honor Council for violation of the College’s honor code.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Discussion Sections
• This course includes discussion sections that meet once per week for 60 minutes. The main goal
of discussion section is to discuss course material in greater depth, and to give you first-hand
experience with some of the interesting phenomena in psychology. For example, this term we
plan to handle real human brains; test whether you are a supertaster and consider what that
means for perception; and discuss the implications of human memory for the law.
• In general, discussion section meetings will have readings that are in addition to the textbook
readings. These were selected to be some of the most interesting and thought-provoking pieces
in the field. Care has been taken to ensure a consistent total amount of reading from week-to-
week. On weeks for which there is a large amount of section reading, there will generally be
correspondingly less reading from the textbook. You are expected to come to section having
carefully read the assigned material.

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 • Attendance in discussion section is mandatory. You will receive a section grade based on your
attendance and engagement. If there is a week when you absolutely cannot attend your
discussion section, you must arrange with your teaching fellow and the Head TF to find a
suitable alternate discussion section to attend.
• The exams will include questions about the readings, activities, and discussions associated with
discussion sections.
• Sectioning will take place after the course registration deadline. Discussion sections will begin
meeting during the week of January 31st.

2. Exams
• There will be three exams in this course. Each exam will specifically cover the course material
from the weeks immediately preceding the exam (e.g., Exam #2 will specifically cover material
introduced after the first exam). However, terms and concepts that were introduced during
earlier parts of the course may appear on later exams.
• The dates of the exams are: February 23rd, March 30th, and April 27th. Exams will take place at
the same time and in the same location as lectures. Students who have accommodations from
the AEO will be informed of any alternative location for the exam.
• An absence from an exam will not be excused unless…
… you are unable to appear because the regularly scheduled exam falls on a religious
holiday. Please look at the calendar now. If you will be unable to appear for a regularly
scheduled exam because it falls on a religious holiday, you must notify the Preceptor
(noll@wjh.harvard.edu) by February 4th. If you follow this procedure, the Preceptor will
determine the best way to ensure that you are not penalized for your absence.
… you are ill on the day of a regularly scheduled exam and you present a signed form from
Harvard University Health Services to your Freshman or Resident Dean who then provides a
letter of excuse to the Preceptor. If you follow this procedure, the Preceptor will determine the
best way to ensure that you are not penalized for your absence.
• No make-up or alternative exam will be available for students traveling on the date of the exam.
Please check your travel schedule to ensure that you will be able to take the exams on the
scheduled dates. Exceptions to this policy will not be granted. If you cannot take one of the
exams because of upcoming travel, you should not enroll in this course.

3. Final Project
• For the final project, you will be asked to identify a psychological finding and construct a
“translation” of it suitable for non-scientific audiences. This translation will take the form of a
white paper (10-15 pages) that makes recommendations to policy-makers, such as on how to
reform the prison system or on the need for changes to psychiatric care.
• Details of the project requirement are provided under “Guidelines for the Final Project” and will
be discussed in section. Examples of successful projects from earlier semesters will be made
available.
• The final project will be due on May 4th at 11:59pm.

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4. Grades
• Grades are based on exam scores + your final project + your section grade + any extra credit
points (see below). Your Total Percentage will be calculated as the average of your scores on
the three exams, final project, and section attendance.
• Your final grade will be determined using the following Total Percentage cut-offs. We may curve
grades upwards as appropriate given the distribution of grades.

A 95%
A- 90%
B+ 85%
B 80%
B- 75%
C+ 70%
C 65%
C- 60%
D+ 55%
D 50%

5. Study pool participation for extra credit

• You may earn extra credit towards your Total Percentage by participating in research studies
conducted by Harvard University faculty. Qualified studies have been approved by the Harvard
University Committee for the Use of Human Subjects, and by the Department of Psychology
Study Pool Committee.
• For each hour of study participation, you will receive 0.5 extra point on your Total Percentage.
For example, if you participate in 5 hours of research, you will receive 2.5 points on your Total
Percentage (e.g., move from 93% to 95.5%). Extra credit points will not affect the distribution of
scores—if you participate in the study pool, you will receive a higher final grade regardless of
whether or not other students also participate. Conversely, if you opt not to participate in any
research, you will receive the same final grade even if everyone else participated. In other
words, there is no penalty for choosing not to participate, and only a potential benefit to your final
grade if you do.
• You may complete up to five (5) hours of research participation for a maximum of 2.5 extra
points (studies that are less than one hour earn 0.25 point). However, at least two hours of
participation must be completed before the beginning of Spring Break (that is, no later than
March 11th). After this date, no more than three hours of participation will be counted as extra
credit. You may complete all five hours before this date, but if you complete more than three
hours after this date, only three hours will be counted. The final day for study pool participation is
April 27th; no extra credit points can be awarded for participation after this date.
• If you plan to participate in research for extra credit, you are strongly advised to complete your
hours as soon as possible. Not all experimenters are recruiting all the time, and study pool
availability may be limited, especially towards the end of the term. Distributing participation
evenly throughout the term is the best strategy for ensuring that you can participate as much as
you’d like. If you tell us during the last week of the semester that you cannot find enough
remaining credit hours, we will not be able to help. On the other hand, if you are having trouble
finding any studies in which to participate, please alert the teaching staff as well as the Study
Pool coordinator at studypool@wjh.harvard.edu.

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 • You can make appointments to participate at the study pool website: https://husp-credit.sona-
systems.com/. Students enrolled in the course by the deadline for course registration will have
an account assigned to their HarvardKey; any student who joins the course after 11:59pm on
January 20 is responsible for emailing the Study Pool coordinator to request an account. Please
note that anyone under the age of 18 will need parental permission to participate. Questions
about the study pool can be directed to the Study Pool coordinator, Wendy Erselius, at
studypool@wjh.harvard.edu.
• Your rights as a participant in psychological research are paramount and will be fully explained
to you when you arrive for a study. One of those rights is the right to decline to participate. If you
agree to participate in a study and decide at any time after the study begins that you do not wish
to continue participating, you may withdraw. If you either decline to participate or withdraw after
agreeing to participate, you will still receive full credit for your participation. However, you must
show up on time for a study to receive credit.

6. The Relation Among Parts of the Course

The course includes material from three sources: (1) lectures, (2) the textbook and other readings,
and (3) section readings/activities. These three sources of information are largely independent and
non-overlapping. Although sometimes we will cover the same material in different venues, lectures
will typically introduce information that supplements¾but does not directly review¾the material
covered in the readings. In other words, we will not typically review the readings in lecture,
although you are welcome to ask questions during the review sessions about the readings. To
succeed in this course, you must complete the reading, attend lecture and discussion sections,
take notes, and actively relate new information to what you have already learned in the course.

7. Accessibility
If you need adjustments or accommodations, please present your letter from the Accessible
Education Office (AEO) to the Preceptor (cc’ing the Head TF) by February 4th or as soon as
possible. All discussions will remain confidential, although the AEO may be consulted to discuss
appropriate implementation.

8. Academic Integrity and Collaboration

Plagiarism is any attempt to “present as one’s own an idea or product derived from an existing
source” (including another student). Plagiarism is tantamount to academic theft, and with the
development of web-based search engines and software for comparing electronic documents, it is
now remarkably easy to detect. Plagiarism can be accidental and to avoid it you should read
Harvard’s policy on academic integrity in the Handbook for Students. Accidental or not, plagiarism
is grounds for referral to the Honor Council.
You must work alone on the final project. Although you may discuss general approaches to the
project (including with your teaching fellow) and seek assistance with proofreading, written
assignments must be entirely your own work. You may, of course, study for exams with other
students, but no form of collaboration is permitted when taking the exams.

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SCHEDULE

LECTURE SECTIONS &

WEEK DATE TOPIC
READINGS PROJECT
24 Jan Introduction Chapter 1; Chapter 2
Week 1 26 Jan Evolution & the human brain Lieberman† NO SECTIONS
28 Jan Evolution & the human brain Chapter 3
31 Jan Evolution & the human brain “
Chapter 5 pp 171- Human brain
Week 2 2 Feb Modularity & perception
186 demonstration
4 Feb Modularity & perception Chapter 4
7 Feb Modularity & perception “
Perception
Week 3 9 Feb Learning Chapter 7
demonstration
11 Feb Learning “
14 Feb Memory Chapter 6
Memory
Week 4 16 Feb Memory Loftus†; Dunlosky†
demonstration
18 Feb In-class review —
21 Feb [University holiday: No class] —
Week 5 23 Feb Exam #1 — NO SECTIONS
25 Feb [No class] —
Chapter 5 pp 186-
28 Feb Sleep
197 Paper prep I:
Week 6 2 Mar Sleep Walker† Topic choice
Chapter 9 pp 350- and search
4 Mar Language
372; Pinker†
7 Mar Language “ Paper prep II:
Week 7 9 Mar Intelligence & individual differences Chapter 10 How to read a
11 Mar Intelligence & individual differences Chapter 12 research article
21 Mar Social cognition Chapter 13 Paper prep III:
Week 8 23 Mar Groups, persuasion, & influence “ Academic
25 Mar Groups, persuasion, & influence “ integrity
28 Mar In-class review —
NO SECTIONS
Week 9 30 Mar Exam #2 —
1 Apr [No class] —
4 Apr Developmental psychology Chapter 11
SECTIONS TBA
Week 6 Apr Emotions Chapter 8; Damasio†
DRAFT PAPER
10 Chapter 9 pp 372-
8 Apr Emotions, Decision-making DUE APR 8
391
11 Apr Decision-making “
Week Emotions
13 Apr Happiness and well-being TBA
11 discussion
15 Apr Disorders of the Mind Chapter 15
18 Apr Disorders of the Mind Chapter 16
Week Mental disorders
20 Apr Disorders of the Mind
12 discussion
22 Apr [no class] —
Week 25 Apr In-class review —
NO SECTIONS
13 27 Apr Exam #3 —

Readings marked as † will be available for download from the course website.

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 Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why does this class meet three times a week?

By design, this course includes an unusually large amount of “contact time” between instructor and
students—that is, times when we meet together and can interact in real-time. This extra contact
time allows us time for discussion and active learning. You are invited to interrupt lecture to ask
questions or make connections with other ideas.

Q: Why does this class meet at 9am?

I would have preferred meeting later in the day, but this was the time assigned to us by the
registrar. I recognize that meeting this early—especially on Fridays—will be unappealing to some
students. I will teach this course again in Fall 2022. It will likely still meet three days a week in the
Fall, but may be scheduled later in the day.

Q: Can I take this course Pass/Fail?

Yes. However, to receive a final passing grade, you must receive passing grades on each of the
three components of the course: Exams, Section Attendance, and Final Project. Also, be sure that
you will still meet any outside requirements—for example, for your concentration or for Gen Ed—if
you take this course Pass/Fail. Students intending to concentrate or earn a secondary in
Psychology must take PSY 1 for a letter grade.

Q: How should I study for the exams?

(1) You should take hand-written notes during lecture. Think of note-taking not as passive
transcription of the lecture information, but as a form of intentional learning in which you
actively think about and organize the lecture material so that you can recover the relation
among concepts later. When I was in college, I typically organized my notes hierarchically
with different indentation and bullets (e.g., I, II, III… A, B, C… 1, 2, 3… a, b, c…i, ii, iii). In
general, the lectures are organized in a similarly hierarchical (nested) fashion.

(2) The exams will also cover material from the readings—that is, the textbook as well as the
additional “stand-alone” readings. Any of the ideas covered in lecture or in the readings may
appear on the exams. That said, textbook terms that are highlighted (i.e., bolded or italicized)
are especially important concepts and likely to appear on exams. Research has demonstrated
that “highlighting” or “underlining” one’s reading is a poor way to learn. A much better
technique is to create “flash cards” that comprise one side with the to-be-learned term and an
opposite side with the term’s definition, and then to test yourself “both ways.”

(3) In general, I am more interested in testing for conceptual understanding than nit-picking low-
level details, so it is important to make sure you understand the “big picture.” Concepts that
are covered in both lecture and reading are especially likely to appear on exams. One
powerful way to assess how well one understands a concept is to try explaining it to someone
else—you may want to study with someone else in the course.

Q: There is a lot of reading. Do I have to do all of it?

No, of course not. You are an adult, and you (should) make your own decisions about how to
spend your time and effort; no one has the power to “force” you to do the reading. If the question
actually means “is it necessary to do all the reading to get a ‘good’ grade?,” then my only answer
is that the question misses the whole point of being at college. The readings will explore ideas
that I think will be interesting and relevant to your life. If that appeals to you, then reading the
material will have value independent of any potential grade. If instead your primary motivation for
reading is to avoid getting a ‘bad’ grade, then you should take a different class that covers material
you do find intrinsically interesting—that is, material you would enjoy learning even if no grades or
gold stars or entries on your resumé were available for doing so. I hope you will find the ideas in
this class to be interesting in their own right, but if not, there are (literally) thousands of other
courses offered at Harvard College.

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