PSYCHOLOGY 381
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

Spring, 1999 
4:00-5:15 p.m., Mon & Wed
Room 102 CESL

This page has been accessed  times this semester.

Enrollment Information

Schedule of Topics/Exams

Bonus Reading on the DSM

Course Description

This course will provide a broad survey of what is considered to be abnormal behavior.  Emphasis will be placed on a scientific, empirical view.  The primary focus of the course is the description of various symptoms, syndromes and illnesses, but research and theories concerning etiology will also be covered.  Additionally, treatments of abnormal behavior will be briefly discussed.
 

Readings

Most of the assigned reading will be contained in the texts listed below.  The texts should be available at the ASUA bookstore.  A small xeroxed packet of additional readings is also required, and should be available at the bookstore.

• Oltmanns, T.F., & Emery, R.E. (1998).  Abnormal Psychology (2nd Ed.).  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Leon, G.R. (1990). Case Histories of Psychopathology. (4th Ed.)  Newton, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
   

Evaluation

There will be four non-cumulative exams.  From among the first three tests, the test on which you score lowest will not be counted towards your final grade.  Your final grade will be determined by summing the two best of the first three exams, plus the final.  Thus, whereas one of the first three exams will be dropped from your score, the non-cumulative final exam cannot be dropped.  These exams will be primarily in multiple-choice format.  The exams will cover both the readings and the lecture, in approximately equal proportion.  You are responsible for material in any of the readings listed on the syllabus, but only for the chapters or pages listed.  The exams are the property of the instructor.  Do not take exams from the classroom.

In order to do well on the tests, you should keep current on the readings and attend class.  It is very easy to get behind on the readings;  strive to have the readings completed prior to the class period for which they are assigned.

Your letter grade will be determined in the following way:  The highest total score (as described above, after dropping the lowest of the first three exams) attained by any student in the class will become the reference score for grading.  The student(s) with this highest total score will receive a grade of 100%.  All other students will receive a percentage grade based upon this highest score, and the following scale will be applied:

For example, if there were 100 possible total points, and the highest score attained by any student was 90, then 90% of 90 = 81; all students with total points greater than or equal to 81 would receive a letter grade of A. Similarly, 60% of 90 is 54; only those students with less than 54 total points would receive failing grades. This is not grading "by the curve"; with this system, it is conceivable that everyone could receive a letter grade of A. There will be no extra credit options.

Missed Classes and Make-up Exams

In the unfortunate event you should miss a class, you will have to borrow notes from another class member. You will also be held responsible for any changes or additions to the syllabus which are announced in class. There are virtually no satisfactory excuses for missing an exam. No make-up exams will be offered. If you need to miss an exam, it will be counted as your exam with the lowest score and therefore will be the exam which will be dropped before computing your grade. In the extremely unlikely event that travels will keep you from more than one exam, an alternative exam will be given only if prior arrangements have been made with the instructor.

The Virtual Instructor

If you find that you cannot attend office hours, or that you have a question at times outside of office hours, you may contact the me via email (psyc381@listserv.arizona.edu).  I typically check every weekday, so you will likely get a response within the day.  This list service is setup so that any mail you send is routed only to me.  If any posting may be of general interest, I can forward it to all who are subscribed to the list.  I will also post exam scores (identified only by the last four digits of your social security number) via this list service, and will post any announcements or changes to the list service before you might be able to receive them in class.  To subscribe to the list, send a message from your Email account to:

  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU

and include the following in the body of the message:

 SUB PSYC381 Your Full Name

Syllabus on the Web

The Syllabus on the web is linked to http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jallen -- from there follow the link to courses.  The on-line version contains links for each lecture to outlines of the lecture notes for that topic.  If you print these notes ahead of time, you will have considerably less writing to do in class, allowing you instead to focus on the concepts at hand.  This version of the syllabus will also contain specific information concerning exams as it becomes available, and will post exam scores (identified only by the last four digits of your social security number) as soon as they have been obtained and compiled.

Electronic Reserves

Some articles are scanned and available on-line at http://fats.library.arizona.edu/er/data/Allen/index.html , or you can click on the link in the list of readings below to go directly to it. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and/or print the files. If you do not have it, you can download it for free from http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html .

Tentative Schedule of Topics and Readings
 

Note: "O&E" refers to the Oltmanns & Emery Text. "L" refers to the Leon case study book. Any other readings will be found in the xeroxed packet.  

Reading References

This page were last updated ... circa January '99 .

These pages created and maintained by John J.B. Allen

(c) 1996,1997, 1998, 1999 John J.B. Allen.