Course Information
Class Meeting
North Office Annex (NOA) 1.124
MWF 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Professor
Kathryn Paige Harden, Ph.D. (please address me as Dr. Harden)
Office: SEA 3.246
Phone: (512) 471-1124
Email: harden@psy.utexas.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-2 p.m.
Teaching Assistant
Corey Pallatto, B.A.
Office: SEA 3.318C
Phone: (512) 232-4805
Email: cpallatto@mail.utexas.edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10-11:30 a.m.
Course Overview
This is an introductory undergraduate lecture course on abnormal psychology. We will discuss major forms of adult psychopathology, including mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. Course topics include definitions of “normal” versus “abnormal” behavior; biological and environmental risk factors for psychopathology; symptoms and diagnostic criteria; types of pharmacological and behavioral treatment; and current controversies in the field of abnormal psychology.
Course Policies
Textbook
The required text is:
Butcher, J.N., Mineka, S., and Hooley, J.M. (2009). Abnormal Psychology. (14th Edition.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Be sure to purchase the correct edition! In addition, there will be six articles posted on the class website on Blackboard. These are listed in the course schedule with the abbreviation [BB].
Prerequisites
The Psychology Dept. will drop students who do not meet the following prerequisites: (1) PSY 301 and PSY 418 (or equivalent listed in course schedule) with a C or better, and (2) upper division standing (60 hours completed). Dropped students will be notified by the 12th class day.
Important Dates
• January 22, 2010: Last regular Add/Drop day
• February 15: Last day to Drop a course without academic penalty
• March 15-20: Spring Break
• May 7: Last Day of Class
• May 12: Final Exam (7:00 – 10:00 p.m.)
Attendance
Regular attendance is crucial. More than three unexcused absences will result in an automatic half grade-step deduction in your FINAL grade (e.g., B to B-) for each absence. Chronic lateness will also impact your participation grade.
Grading
Your overall grade will be based on exams, quizzes, and class participation. There will be four 100-point exams (including the cumulative final exam) that together will account for 2/3 of your final grade. There will also be four 40-point quizzes, plus an additional 40 possible points for class participation, that will account for the remaining 1/3 of your final grade.
Questions about an exam or quiz must be raised during office hours in the week immediately following the class meeting when you received that grade. You may ask the TA or Professor to explain why a particular answer was correct or incorrect, or to review the underlying concepts, but your grade will NOT be changed under any circumstances.
UT has switched to the plus/minus system:
A = 93 – 100
A- = 90 – 92
B+ = 87 – 89
B = 83 – 86
B- = 80 – 82
C+ = 77 – 79
C = 73 – 76
C- = 70 – 72
D+ = 67 – 69
D = 63 – 66
D- = 60 – 62
F = Less than 60
Under NO circumstances (e.g., if you are just below a cut-off point; if you “need” a particular grade, etc.) will additional points be given to your final grade. Please note that it is against UT policy to discuss your grades by email or by phone.
Make-Up Exams
A make-up exam may be scheduled only with ADVANCE permission from the professor. The following are acceptable reasons to schedule a make-up exam: (1) Illness or injury, with a note from a medical professional; (2) Death or serious illness in the family, or other family emergency; (3) Travel for a scientific meeting or with an official UT organization. If you will be missing a scheduled exam, please email the TA (with the professor CC’ed) as soon as possible.
Academic Honesty
University policies on academic integrity (Office of the Dean of Students, 2008) apply to this course. “At a minimum, you should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty, which requires you to:
• Acknowledge the contributions of other sources to your scholastic efforts;
• Complete your assignments independently unless expressly authorized to seek or obtain assistance in preparing them;
• Follow instructions for assignments and exams, and observe the standards of your academic discipline; and
• Avoid engaging in any form of academic dishonesty on behalf of yourself or another student.”
Office of the Dean of Students. (2008). The Standard of Academic Integrity. Retrieved July 26, 2009, from http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php
Required University Notices and Policies
University of Texas Honor Code
The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
Documented Disability Statement
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with dis¬abilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone) or http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd.
Use of E-Mail for Official Correspondence to Students
E-mail is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are responsible for reading your e-mail for university and course-related information and announcements. You are responsible to keep the university informed about chang¬es to your e-mail address. You should check your e-mail regularly and frequently—I recommend daily, but at minimum twice a week—to stay current with university-related communications, some of which may be time-critical. You can find UT Austin’s poli¬cies and instructions for updating your e-mail address at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.php.
Religious Holy Days
By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a reli¬gious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.
Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL)
If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal.
Course Schedule
Week Date Topic Readings
Week 1 Jan 20 Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Jan 22 What is “Abnormal” Behavior? AP Chapter 1 (pp. 1 – 28)
Week 2 Jan 25 Clinical Assessment AP Chapter 4 (pp. 105 – 138)
Jan 27 Demons to Genes: Historical Changes in Causal Explanation AP Chapter 2 (pp. 29 – 56)
Jan 29 When You Say One Thing but You Mean Your Mother: The Legacy of Psychoanalysis
Week 3 Feb 1 Nature vs. Nurture (and Why I Hate that Phrase) AP Chapter 3 (pp. 57 – 73)
Feb 3 Learning and Cognition: White Rats and White Bears
Quiz #1 AP Chapter 3 (pp. 73 – 104)
Feb 5 Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the Phobias AP Chapter 6 (pp. 175 – 189, 201 – 206)
Week 4 Feb 8 Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: There is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself? AP Chapter 6 (pp. 190 – 201)
Feb 10 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder AP Chapter 6 (pp. 206 – 218)
Sedaris, D. (1998). A plague of tics. In Naked (pp. 7-18). New York, NY: Back Bay Books. [BB].
Feb 12 Exam #1
Week 5 Feb 15 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder AP Chapter 5 (pp. 157 – 174)
Feb 17 Major Depressive Disorder AP Chapter 7 (pp. 219 – 247)
Feb 19 Major Depressive Disorder Solomon, A. (1998). Anatomy of melancholy. The New Yorker, January 12, 1998. [BB].
Week 6 Feb 22 Antidepressants and Suicide AP Chapter 7 (pp. 262 – 272)
Feb 24 Mania and Bipolar Disorder AP Chapter 7 (pp. 247 – 262)
Feb 26 Schizophrenia
Quiz #2 AP Chapter 13 (pp. 457 – 497)
Week 7 Mar 1 Schizophrenia Finish reading AP Chapter 13
Mar 3 Schizophrenia Finish reading AP Chapter 13
Mar 5 Anorexia Nervosa AP Chapter 9 (pp. 305 – 339)
Week 8 Mar 8 Anorexia Nervosa Noden, M. (1994, August 8). Dying to win. Sports Illustrated. [BB].
Mar 10 Bulimia Nervosa Finish reading AP Chapter 9
Mar 12 Exam #2
Week 9 SPRING BREAK
Week 10 Mar 22 Interplay between Mental and Physical Health AP Chapter 5 (pp. 139 – 156)
Mar 24 The “Wandering Uterus”: Hysteria and the Somatoform Disorders AP Chapter 8 (pp. 272 – 288)
Mar 26 Dissociative Disorders and the DID Controversy AP Chapter 8 (pp. 288 – 304)
Week 11 Mar 29 Guest Lecture by Corey Palatto: Sexual Disorders and Sexual Dysfunction AP Chapter 12 (pp. 418 – 456)
Mar 31 Gender Identity Disorder Hiltzik, M.A. (2000, November 19). Through the gender labyrinth. Los Angeles Times Magazine. [BB].
Apr 2 Insomnia and Sleep Disorders
Quiz #3
Week 12 Apr 5 Substance Use Disorders and Addiction AP Chapter 11 (pp. 381 – 417)
Apr 7 Addicted to Love?: Other Impulse-Control Disorders Finish reading AP Chapter 11
Apr 9 Substance Use in Adolescents and College Students Finish reading AP Chapter 11
Week 13 Apr 12 Conduct Disorder and Juvenile Delinquency AP Chapter 15 (pp. 529 – 536)
Apr 14 Attention Deficit – Hyperactivity Disorder
Apr 16 Exam #3
Week 14 Apr 19 Introduction to Personality Disorders AP Chapter 10 (pp. 340 – 363)
Apr 21 Borderline Personality Disorder Wheelis, J. & Gunderson, J.G. (1998). A little cream and sugar: Psychotherapy with a borderline patient. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 114-122. [BB].
Apr 23 BPD and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Week 15 Apr 26 Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Apr 28 Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopathy AP Chapter 10 (pp. 365 – 380)
Apr 30 Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopathy
Quiz #4 Seabrook, J. (2008, November 10). Suffering souls: The search for the roots of psychopathy. The New Yorker. [BB].
Week 16 May 3 Legal Issues and Quandaries AP Chapter 17 (pp. 605 – 632)
May 5 Does Therapy Work? AP Chapter 16 (pp. 567 – 604)
May 7 “Everybody Has Won and All Must Have Prizes”: Comparing Types of Therapy Finish reading AP Chapter 16
FINAL May 12 FINAL EXAM (7:00 – 10:00 PM)
AP = From the Abnormal Psychology textbook
BB = Posted on Blackboard.
