COURSE CALENDAR

Spring 2024

Department of History & Philosophy

School of Humanities & Social Sciences
North South University
Bashundhara R/A
Block # B, Dhaka 1229
BANGLADESH

Faculty: DR. A.K.M. REZAUL KARIM

Faculty Initial: ARK3
Designation: Professor
Office: NAC1157
Office Hours: RA: 12:15 pm – 01:30 pm, 01:40 pm – 02:55 pm
Email: rezaul.karim03@northsouth.edu

Sections: 13, 14, 15 & 16

Class Time: Thursday (R)

Sec 13: 09:25 am – 10:40 am NAC513
Sec 15: 10:50 am – 12:05 pm NAC601

Saturday (A)
Sec 14: 09:25 am – 10:40 am NAC513
Sec 16: 10:50 am – 12:05 pm NAC601

Course Code & Title: PSY 101L: Introduction to Psychology Lab

Credits: 1
Course Type: GED

Course Description
This is an experimental laboratory course on psychology designed to provide students with
knowledge about and hands-on practice with psychological experiment and testing. The course
intends to familiarize students with the concepts basic to psychological experiment and testing.
Instructor will introduce a couple of interesting topics to work on in a laboratory setting. Thus
students will learn how to design and conduct a psychological experiment or test, and how to
write a report on its results.

Course Objectives
According to Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Bloom et al., 1956, 1994), there
are knowledge-based goals (understanding, recall), affective goals (values, attitudes, and
interests) and skills-based goals (how to do something practically). PSY 101L course is designed
to achieve a number of integrated knowledge-based goals, affective goals and skills-based goals
that are important to understanding and conduction of a psychological experiment or test in a

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laboratory setting. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate the
following outcomes:
1. Gain basic knowledge of a psychological experiment and psychological test.
2. Distinguish between a psychological experiment and a psychological test.
3. Become aware and care about research ethics for human/animal participants.
4. Design and conduct a psychological experiment and a test with human participants.
5. Analyze simple behavioral or psychological data.
6. Write a report on experimental or testing results.

Instructional Strategies
This course follows lectures using multimedia projector, discussions, practicum, and
observations in a physical setting during normal situation, or using CANVAS during an unusual
or pandemic situation. In either instructional mode, active participation in my class is the central
requirement for this course. Students are encouraged to seek help whenever they run into
problems with this course. For a help over and beyond in-class questions, students can have an
appointment with the instructor during office time.

Assessment
Each student’s course grade will be determined by his/her performance in two quizzes, lab
activity, two lab reports, comprehensive viva voce, class attendance, and a cumulative final
exam. Each quiz can be a combination of both objective (true/false and multiple choice) and
essay type questions, and the final exam will comprise essay type questions only that will
require students to conduct a psychological experiment and write a report on the findings.

Scoring Procedure
1. Quiz (the better one out of two) : 15 %
2. Lab Activity (5 % × 2) : 10 %
3. Two Lab Reports (10 % × 2) : 20 %
4. Comprehensive Viva Voce : 10 %
5. Class Attendance : 5%
6. Final Exam
(a) Experiment/Test Conduction : 10%
(b) Report Writing : 30 %

Total : 100 %

Scoring Class Attendance

Each student’s class attendance will be scored based on the percentage of classes attended.

Grading Scale
A student’s course grade will be determined by the following scale. In doing so, any decimal
score will be converted to the next upper whole number (for example, a 92.4 is a 93 and 92.8 is
also a 93), irrespective of the conventional mathematical rounding rule.

Score Letter Grade GP

> 92 A 4.0
90 – 92 A– 3.7
87 – 89 B+ 3.3
83 – 86 B 3.0

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 80 – 82 B– 2.7
77 – 79 C+ 2.3
73 – 76 C 2.0
70 – 72 C– 1.7
67 – 69 D+ 1.3
60 – 66 D 1.0
< 60 F 0.0

Exam Policy

Each quiz or exam will be closed book and closed notes in a physical setting during normal
situation and in CANVAS during pandemic situation. No electronic or digital devices (e.g., cell
phones, laptop computers) except non-programmable calculators will be allowed during exams.
Calculators cannot be shared with friends. Nobody will be allowed to go outside the exam hall
until finishing the exam. Because there will be two quizzes Tests and the better one will be
counted for grading no make-up quiz will be administered. You will earn a score of zero on any
missed quiz. Academic dishonesty, such as cheating or copying in an exam/test, may result in an
‘F’ grade.

Code of Conduct

Class attendance: I am extremely strict in scoring class attendance. If a student leaves the
classroom after punching the ID card his/her attendance will be manually updated, resulting in
absence.

Class etiquette: Distracting the instructor or other students in the class is violating rights of
others to be attentive. So, you are strongly suggested to refrain from having food, using cell
phones, laptop computers, and any other electronic devices during class time. If you have any
issue or topic to talk about you have to share it with the whole class. Please refrain yourself from
talking about nonacademic and personal issues. Students who will disrupt the class in such a
way will be asked to leave the class immediately. On the premises of the University or at the
University-Sponsored Program, students must abide by the Student Code of Conduct:
http://www.northsouth.edu/student-code-of-conduct.html

Cheating: University policy states that cheating and plagiarism are scholastic offences. The
commission of a scholastic offence is treated by academic penalties, which might include
expulsion from the program. If you are found cheating, there will be no second warning. For
more information on scholastic offenses, please see: http://www.northsouth.edu/student-code-of-
conduct.html

Grade dispute: If you dispute your score/grade on any test or exam, you have one week from
the date that the scored/graded test script or exam script was returned to you to request a change
in the score/grade. After this time, no request for a change in your score/grade will be
considered. The instructor reserves the right to re-grade or not to re-grade your course
performance.

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Course Contents and Class Schedule

Date(s)
R-Thursday A-Saturday
Contents Lecture(s) (Sec 13, 15) (Sec 14, 16)
Unit 1. Introduction to 1 08/02/2024 10/02/2024
Psychological Experiment
Unit 2. Introduction to 2 15/02/2024 17/02/2024
Psychological Test

Quiz1: Unit 1 followed by a class 3 22/02/2024 24/02/2024

Unit 3. Demonstration on 4 29/02/2024 02/03/2024

Psychological Experiment & Test
1. Laboratory Work 1
(Experiment)
2. Laboratory Work 2
(Psychological Test)

Unit 4. Conduction of a Psychological 5, 6, 7 07/03/2024 09/03/2024

Experiment & Test by Students 14/03/2024 16/03/2024
1. Laboratory Work 1 21/03/2024 23/03/2024
2. Laboratory Work 2

Unit 5. Writing a Psychology Lab Report 8 28/03/2024 30/03/2024

Quiz2: Unit 2 followed by a 09 04/04/2024 06/04/2024

review class
Lab Report Submission Deadline: 18/04/2024 20/04/2024

Comprehensive Viva Voce 10 25/04/2024 27/04/2024

Final Exam: 02/05/2024 04/05/2024

Note. Quiz dates are subject to change depending on circumstances.

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Learning Outcomes

After studying this course students would be able to:

Unit 1:

• Define the scientific method.

• Define psychological experiment and identify its characteristics.
• Describe the different types of variables with examples.
• Explain the sources of extraneous variables and the techniques used to control them.
• Explain the design and procedure of a psychological experiment.
• Discuss how psychological researchers deal with ethical issues.

Unit 2:

• Define the basic concepts of a psychological test.

• Describe essential characteristics of a psychological test.
• Describe the different types of reliability and validity
• Explain the ethical considerations while using psychological tests.

Unit 3:

• Describe how to conduct a psychological experiment in a real world situation.

• Describe the procedure of administering a psychological test.

Unit 4:

• Conduct psychological experiments and collect data.

• Use psychological tests to measure psychological constructs.
• Manage and process data obtained from a psychological experiment or a test.
• Explain experimental data or psychological test scores.

Unit 5:

• Describe the structure and content of a research report.

• Explain the APA style of writing a report.
• Write a psychological lab report and explain findings.

Recommended Readings

Books
Anastasi, A. & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological Testing (7th Ed.). Pearson.
Anderson, B.F. (1971). The Psychology Experiment: An Introduction to Scientific Method (2nd
Ed.). Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.
Andreas B.G. (1972). Experimental Psychology (2nd Ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
McGuigan, F.J. (1996). Experimental Psychology: Methods of Research (7th Ed.). Pearson.
Osgood, C.E. (1964). Method and Theory in Experimental Psychology. Oxford University Press.

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Research Articles
Karim, A. K. M. R., & Begum, T. (2016a). The How I Think questionnaire: Assessing its
psychometric properties in Bangladeshi culture. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 21, 9-16. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2016.02.004
Karim, A. K. M. R., & Begum, T. (2016b). The Parental Bonding Instrument: A psychometric
measure to assess parenting practices in the homes in Bangladesh. Asian Journal of
Psychiatry, 25, 231-239. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2016.11.004
Karim, A. K. M. R., & Nigar, N. (2014). The Internet Addiction Test: Assessing its psychometric properties
in Bangladeshi culture. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 75-83.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2013.10.011

Note. Instructor will provide updated reading materials or references if necessary.

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