PSYCHOLOGY (Course Code: UWS101)

Faculty Name: Sumitava Mukherjee Sections: 2

Contact: Sumitava.mukherjee@ahduni.edu.in Office Room 334, SEAS building
Hours: MON-FRI (via appointment)
School: AMSoM
Semester: Winter Credits: 3
Lecture time & Monday and Friday Location: To be decided
Weekdays: 8:00 am (Batch 1) and
5:00 pm (Batch 2)
Pre-requisites: None
Course This is an introductory level course on human psychology which will cover some
Description: fundamentals of human behavior and thinking. The scope of the course will be limited
to introductory knowledge about how the mind functions, how we process information
and deal with people around us. Such an introduction would help students in possible
future courses in related/applied areas of management and sciences. The course is
based on findings using methods from scientific experimental psychology.

Course Abstract: * In most facets of work and life, across the disciplines of engineering, management, arts
and sciences; we work with and for people and hence it becomes important to
understand how people think, act and behave. The introductory course in psychology
will cover fundamentals about cognitive processes. More importantly, it will ask
intriguing questions while discovering our minds and brains so that we can consider
being not just informed, but also more critical and more sensitive to people around us.

Course To make students appreciate the basic building blocks of human behavior.
Objectives: Lay down the fundamental ideas on which applied subjects are better understood.
Immerse them into exercises that connect the readings with measurement.

Learning Demonstrated understanding of basic cognitive processes.

Outcomes: Ability to conduct rudimentary (pilot) projects in future courses and projects.

Pedagogy: * Class lectures, lab sessions, group based learning.

Expectations from Attend all sessions unless there is a very significant reason (but make up from
Students: * classmates)
No plagiarism or copying from classmates in any assignment
 Read through chapter before coming to class
Feel free to setup discussion times at my office during office meeting hours mentioned
Work in study groups ensuring everybody does fairly equal amount of work

Assessment / (i) Written closed book class quizzes (40%)

Evaluation: (ii) Memos in class and experimental tasks (25%)
(iii) Project report [group component] (10%)
(iv) Individual submission (25%)

Quizzes: There will be four class quizzes as mentioned in session plan.

Memos: In each class, after the instruction, students will be asked to write 3 to 5 major
things that they learnt in the class (within 5 mins) or complete lab experiments in lab
sessions.
Project report is a group component.
Individual submission is a booklet.

Attendance Students are expected to attend all classes (100%).

Policy: Upto 65% of grades are based on what is covered in class and hence missing classes
will have serious negative effects on overall evaluation. If a student is absent, it is the
responsibility of the student to acquire notes from classmates. Reading materials are
mentioned however which can be used by the student.

Project / [Group component] Project: In small groups, students will take up any question they
Assignment want and do a small project which will be submitted in form of a report that contains
Details: * the following sections: introduction, literature review, problem statement/question,
data collection, data analysis, conclusion. In the last session, a presentation about the
project done needs to be given.

[Individual submission] Booklet : The summary of all topics covered would be

presented in any way that covers a brief summary of all the topics covered in any form
text and graphic, audio, video or in a hybrid form in form of a small book. The book
can contain informative research findings or quotes and any other interesting material
that the student finds. More extensive search, coverage of new findings, report f
controversies, media articles etc. will be rewarded. The total text of the booklet should
not exceed 20 A4 sized pages (written in Times New roman, 11 font-size, single line
spacing).
Course Material: Main text:
Banyard, P., Davies, M. N. O., Norman C., & Winder, B. (2012). Essential Psychology: A
concise introduction. Sage South Asia Edition. New Delhi: Sage. ISBN 978-81-321-1030-
9. (Please note that it is mentioned as EP in the session plan).

Additional Elective course. Open to all schools.

Information: *

Session Plan
Topic Title Sessio Topic & Subtopic Readings, Cases, etc. Activities Important
n No. Details Dates
Fundamentals 1 What can we do Memo1
with psychology?
The use of a
scientific approach
to study human
minds
2 How to answer Chapter 1 (EP) Memo2
Who am I?
The evolutionary And
position and the http://www.apa.org/scie
life-span position nce/about/psa/2009/05/s
about how our ci-brief.aspx
minds developed
3 How Psychology Chapter 2 (EP) Memo3
developed and
became a scientific
subject?
Key thinkers and
methods in the
modern history of
last 100 years

Development 4 How do we Chapter 13 (EP) Memo 4

develop? At home:
Human Watch lecture
development in by Paul Bloom
early childhood on babies at
http://oyc.yale
.edu/psycholo
gy/psyc-
 110/lecture-5

5 How do we learn? Handouts Class

Basics of learning discussion
theories about
students
Cognitive 6 Sensation and Chapter 5 (EP) Memo 5
Processes perception

7 Perception (lab Lab 1

task) Memo 6

Perception
experiment on
gestalt principles +
Introduction to
illusion (ex.,
Thatcher illusion)
8 Theories of Chapter 5 (EP) Memo 7
attention

9 Attention (lab task) Lab 2

Memo 8
Attention
experiments
10 Attention in real Simons & Levin (1998) Memo 9
world And ecological
approaches to attention
in driving and sports

11 Feeling: http://open.lib.umn.edu/i QUIZ 1 at start

Theories of ntropsyc/chapter/10-1- of class (15
emotions the-experience-of- mins)
emotion/
Memo 10

12 How do we Chapter 4 (EP) Memo 11

remember?
Findings about
human memory
and its conceptual
association with
computer memory
13 How do we forget? Chapter 4 (EP) Memo 12
Concepts and
models of
forgetting
 14 Memory (lab task) Lab 3

Processing of Memo 13
different types of
information and
remembering it
15 Memory in real life: Handouts Memo 14
What have we
known about
memory of films
16 Class debate Discussion 1
(in randomly
Eyewitness allocated
memory in India group)

17 Thinking and Chapter 6 (EP) QUIZ 2 at start

Reasoning: of class (15
Reasoning about mins)
statements
Memo 15
18 Reasoning about Handout Take home:
prospects: Behavioral
Descriptive theory Finance by
of valuation Robert Shiller
(Prospect Theory) https://www.y
outube.com/w
atch?v=chSHq
ogx2CI

19 Reasoning (Lab Lab 4

task)
Memo 16
Lab tasks about
reasoning and
judgment
Individual 20 Categorizing Chapter 16 (EP) Memo 17
differences individual
differences:
Introduction to
personality
21 Real world Chapter 16 (EP) Discussion 2
applications about (in randomly
personality allocated
theories group)
22 Measuring Chapter 17 (EP) Memo 18
individual
capabilities:
 Views and concepts
of intelligence
23 Different Chapter 17 (EP) last part Memo 19
perceptions of and
intelligence: http://www.mdpi.com/2
Cultural and racial 079-3200/2/4/180/pdf
views about Cultural perceptions of
intelligence human intelligence by
measurement E.A. Cocodia
Also see
http://www.apa.org/mon
itor/feb03/intelligence.as
px

Group behavior 24 How do hang out Chapter 10 (EP) QUIZ 3 at start

together? of class (15
Groups and within- min)
group behavior And
Memo 20
25 How do we behave Chapter 11 (EP) Memo 21
with others outside
our circle?
Between-group
behavior
26 Judging other Chapter 12 (EP) Memo 22
people:
Social judgments
Development 27 Thinking about Chapter 14 (EP) Memo 23
yourself:
Development
during school years
Communication 28 How do we Handouts Memo 24
communicate? Watch Lecture
by Paul Bloom
http://oyc.yale
.edu/psycholo
gy/psyc-
110/lecture-6

Applications of 29 Applying to Links and articles from QUIZ 4 at start

Psychology economical https://hbr.org/2017/10/ of class (15
aspects: Behavioral the-rise-of-behavioral- min)
economics economics-and-its-
influence-on- Memo 25
organizations
30 Applying to own Handouts
life: The science of
happiness and
motivation