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*** Tentative syllabus ***

Introduction to Psychology
(Psychology 110A)

Spring, 2014
Monday & Wednesday, 1:00 2:15
Location TBA


What do your dreams mean? Do men and women differ in the nature
and intensity of their sexual desires? Can you trust the testimony of a
young child? Why do we find some things disgusting? Can people
repress terrible memories? Why are some people depressed? Can apes
learn sign language? Why cant we tickle ourselves? Are humans
inherently evil?

This course will try to answer these questions, providing a
comprehensive overview of the scientific study of thought and
behavior. We will explore topics such as perception, communication,
learning, memory, religion, persuasion, love, lust, morality, and art.
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
Dr. Paul Bloom
Office: SSS 202
Office hours: Monday, 2:30 3:30 PM and by appointment
Email: Paul.Bloom@Yale.edu
Webpage: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~pb85/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulbloomatyale


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Teaching fellows

There are no sections for this course, but every student will be assigned to a
teaching fellow (TF). Your TF will grade your reading responses, exams, and
book reviews.

If you have any questions or problems, please talk to me or to your TF. Feel
free to approach us with a question (or just introduce yourself) before or
after class, or drop by during office hours, or set up an appointment.

Office Office Hours

-- TBA --

Class Website
https://classesv2.yale.edu

Log in with your net ID. This site will contain all sorts of relevant
information, including an up-to-date syllabus, copies of handouts, and pdf
version of the slides corresponding to each lecture.

Readings

The required textbook is Psychology, by Schacter, Gilbert and Wagner, 2
nd

Edition. [ISBN: 9781429237192.] It is available at the campus bookstore.

BUT you can instead use the 1
st
edition of the same textbook. This was
used in previous classes at Yale, and might be easier to find a cheap copy.
When I post pages and chapters for readings, Ill do so using both editions
you can choose which one.

There will be other readings and videos; I will provide links in class and will
make files available for download.


Format

Sometimes the lectures will match the readings but sometimes they will not.
Exams will cover both lectures and readings -- to do well in the course,
you must attend all lectures and do all the readings. There will be
copies of the lecture slides available online, but these are not substitutes for
attending the lectures.
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Requirements

Exams: (60%) There are two in-class exams. There will be no exam
during the final exam period. You must have a Deans Excuse to take a
makeup exam. Your best exam will count for 35%; your other will count for
25%.

Reading responses: (20%). Starting on the second week of class, you will
submit a short reading response every week. Details will be discussed in
class.

Book review: (20%). There is a book review due in late March. Details will
be discussed in class.

Experimental participation: All Introductory Psychology students serve as
subjects in experiments. Details will be discussed in class.

Academic honesty

The exams are closed-book. Obviously, use of any written materials, or any
form of collaboration is forbidden. For the written assignments, any use of
words or ideas from other sourcesincluding online sources such as
wikipediahas to be explicitly and clearly acknowledged. For a useful
discussion, see:

http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/cheating-plagiarism-and-documentation

Any case of suspected cheating will be referred to the Executive Committee
of Yale College. The consequences can be severe, including suspension and
explusion. In my experience, many episodes of cheating are due to stress and
panic. If you find yourself in a difficult situation, there are always better
options than cheating. If you are having problems in the course, you should
always feel comfortable talking to me or your TF.

Wired

Students are encouraged to bring their laptops to take notes. But you cannot
check email or surf the web during my lectures. No shopping for shoes, no
facebook, no porn; you cannot live-tweet Intro Psych. The TFs for the
course will occasionally wander the lecture hall and take photos of
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violatorsrepeat offenders will be dropped from the course. This rule is
based on concerns about civility, both to me and to the other students.

The Good News

Psychology is the most exciting topic around. Who isn't interested in sex, food,
dreams, amnesia, multiple personalities, and the nature of evil? In this course we
will discuss scientific research that will astonish you. Understanding this
research will require a lot of reading and a lot of thinkingbut the intellectual
rewards will be considerable.


TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
These are subject to change.
Additional readings and videos will be assigned in class.


Date Topic Readings
Jan 13
Introduction to
Introduction to Psychology
Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 2-30
2
nd
edition: pp. 2-31

Watch TED Talk Video:
Robert Sapolsky
(http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_un
iqueness_of_humans.html)

(Google: ted talk sapolsky)
Jan 15 This is your brain
Textbook:
1
st
edition: Ch. 3 (but skip 79-82)
2
nd
edition: Ch. 3 (but skip 83-86)

Watch TED Talk Video:
Vilayanur Ramachandran
(http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandra
n_on_your_mind.html)

(Google: ted talk ramachandran three rules)
Jan 17 Freud
Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 462-470
2
nd
edition: pp. 480-486

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Jan 22 Skinner
Textbook:
1
st
edition: Ch. 6
2
nd
edition: Ch. 7

Jan 27 The development of thought
Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 410-421
2
nd
edition: pp. 423-447

New Yorker Article: The Baby Lab
(http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/
2006/the_baby_lab)
Jan 29
Language in the brain, mouth,
and the hands
Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 253-267
2
nd
edition: pp. 348-362
Feb 3 & 5
Perception, experience, and
memory
Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 141-149, Ch. 5
2
nd
edition: pp.125-126, 147-156, Ch. 6

Feb 10 Sex

TBA

Feb 12
Neuro-ethics
(guest lecture by Prof.
Marvin Chun)
TBA
Feb 17 & 19 Emotions
Textbook:
1
st
edition: Ch. 10
2
nd
edition: Ch. 8

Atlantic article: First Person Plural
(http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/200
8/11/first-person-plural/307055/)
New Yorker Article: Later
(http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10
/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki?currentPage=1)
Feb 24 First Exam
Feb 26
Psychopaths
(guest lecture by Jon Ronson)
TBA
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March 3
Personality, intelligence, and
individual differences

Textbook:
1
st
edition: Ch. 2, Ch. 9, pp. 449-462
2
nd
edition: Ch. 2, Ch. 10, pp. 467-480

March 5 Self and Other
Textbook:
1
st
edition: finish Ch. 12 & 16
2
nd
edition: finish Ch. 12 & 13


-- Spring recess --



March 24
Comparative Cognition
(Guest lecture by Professor
Laurie Santos)
TBA
March 26
Love
(Guest lecture by President
Peter Salovey)
No readings
March 31
Mysteries Textbook:
1
st
edition: pp. 309-318
2
nd
edition: pp. 190-200
April 2 & 7
Good and evil NYT article: The moral life of babies
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09
/magazine/09babies-
t.html?pagewanted=all#
(or google: Bloom moral life)

Edge Master Class: A history of
violence
http://edge.org/conversation/mc2011
-history-violence-pinker
(or google: Pinker edge violence)




April 9



Religion TBA

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April 14



Mental Illness Textbook:
1
st
edition: Chapters 13 and 14
2
nd
edition: Chapters 14 and 15
ALSO:
Watch online lecture by
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW
79ZwDPKsY



April 16



The Good Life
(Tamar Gendler)
TBA

April 21



Happiness and the Good
Life
TED Talk Videos:
Dan Gilbert
(http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_a
re_we_happy.html)

Dan Ariely
(http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_on_our_bugg
y_moral_code.html)

Daniel Kahneman
(http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_rid
dle_of_experience_vs_memory.html)

April 23




Second Exam