Psychology 206: Psychological Statistics

Psychology 206: Psychological Statistics

Psychology 206: Psychological Statistics

Syllabus – Spring, 2014

Instructor: Dr. William Tooke

212 Beaumont Hall

Phone/Voicemail: 564-3380

Office Hours: M 2-3; TR 11-12

Mail to:

Website:

Required Text: Gravetter & Wallnau (2012). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. (9th Edition).

Reading Assignments: Reading assignments will be made on an on-going basis as we proceed through the various topics covered in the book. Topics will be covered and readings assigned according to the listings near the end of this syllabus.

Attendance Policy: Except to verify that you are officially enrolled in this class, attendance will not be recorded nor directly considered when assigning grades. However, there is a positive relationship between regularity of attendance and your performance in the course (take my word for it)!

Testing Policies: In this course, there will be four (4) exams during the course of the semester and a cumulative final exam during finals week. Each of the four (4) semester exams will be equally weighted (each worth 15% of your grade). The final exam will be worth 20% of your grade. Each of these exams will be open book and will include a number of statistics problems. Ample review time will be provided the class period before each exam so that any questions that you may have can be addressed.

Homework/In-Class Performance: This portion of the course will be evaluated via various exercises and assignments focusing on problem-solving. Assignments will be given out regularly at times to be determined by the material covered. These assignments are designed to be initiated and worked on in class when they are assigned. You must be in class and work on the assignment for the entirety of the period to receive credit for the assignment. If extra time is needed, you may take your unfinished work with you after class. Assignments will be due by the next class period. Assignments will be turned in to your teaching assistant who will grade your work and return it to you in a timely manner, usually by the class period following the homework due date. These assignments will account for 20% of your total course grade.

Hand Calculator: Because of the nature of the work that will be done in class, each of you must have access to a simple hand calculator. It is highly recommended that you obtain a Texas Instruments calculator (Model TI-30) as this is very easy to use and will do everything you need it to do. They cost about $15.00 or less.

Grading Policies: Allletter grades will be computed by 1) averaging the top five grades in the class and 2) assigning “A’s” to students whose total score is 90% of this average or above, “B’s” for 80% or above, “C’s” for 70% or above, “D’s” for 60% or above and “F’s” for anything lower. I will discuss this policy further in class or whenever you have a question about it.

Schedule of Topics and Readings

Topic/Reading

Introduction to Statistics and the Empirical Method/ Chapter 1

Frequency Distributions and Graphs/ Chapter 2

Descriptive Statistics/ Chapters 3 and 4

Standard Scores and Standardized Distributions/ Chapter 5

Probability/ Chapter 6 (Sections 6.2 & 6.3)

Sampling Distributions/ Chapter 7

(Review)

First Examination

Introduction to Hypothesis Testing/ Chapter 8

The t Statistic/ Chapters 9, 10, 11

(Review)

Second Examination

Introduction to the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)/ Chapter 13

Repeated Measures ANOVA/ Chapter 14

Two-Factor ANOVA/ Chapter 15

(Review)

Third Examination

Correlation/ Chapter 16

Regression/ Chapter 17

Nonparametric Tests/ Chapters 18

(Review)

Fourth Examination

Final Examination

Additional Information: As necessary, we will spend more or less time on any given topic listed. Therefore, I have not placed dates on the preceding list of topics and readings since it is difficult to determine exact dates corresponding to classes covering the various topics. Exam dates will be announced at least 2 full weeks prior to the exam. You will be responsible for knowing the dates for each exam!! As you can see, attendance will help in this regard! Also, I teach this course from a conceptual viewpoint. I will not throw formulas at you without first discussing and explaining whatthey do and why they are used. Don’t let the symbols and “math-stuff” make you nervous. Everything will be explained in plain English before we do any “figuring”.

No make-up exams will be available in this course unless documentation is provided to me by doctors or other relevant authorities. No homework/in-class assignments will be accepted late (no as in none). IMPORTANTNOTE: All exams and quizzes must be taken by everyone at the designated time in the classroom. If you have documentation on file through Student Support Services that makes you exempt from this requirement or if English is your second language and you have been approved through the LearningCenter to take exams there, please let me know.

It is expected that all students enrolled in this class supportthe letter and the spirit of the Academic Honesty Policy as stated in the college catalog. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and may result in 1) failing an assignment. 2) failing the course, and/or 3) dismissal from the university. Please see the university’s academic dishonesty policy at:

A word about “math phobia.” It’s been my experience that “math phobia” usually boils down to a simple dislike of mathematics due to some people finding it difficult, obscure, and irrelevant. This is understandable. Mathematics requires a degree of conceptualization and precision of thought not found in other disciplines—and it is extremely unforgiving of sloppy thinking. However, mathematics is clearly relevant since no science would exist without it (including, contrary to popular opinion, psychology). All that we know about human behavior has come from the statistical evaluation of that behavior through experimental and clinical research. Oprah may be a good talk show host but, since she knows nothing about psychological research and probabilistic thinking, she knows nothing about the real forces that shape human behavior. You are required to be exposed to this material because it is absolutely central to the science of psychology. And, hopefully, as a result, you will then be able to say smarter things about why people do what they do than Oprah.