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Drugs & Individual Behavior PSYCH 3102/5102 Spring 2019 12:30-1:45 T Th Sabin 23 Dr. Linda L. Walsh |
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Table of Contents
Requirements/Assignments
Grading
Scale
Links
to other Walsh Pages Meet My
Family A sample of my
garden
Julien Study Aids
Meet Our
T.A.
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Dr. Linda L. Walsh |
Office: Bart
1075 Office Hours:1:30-2:30
MW; 11:30-12:30 TTh; Mailbox: Bart 1068 other times by appointment; drop-bys welcome. |
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Phone:
273-2690 Email:
walsh@uni.edu Course online syllabus at: http://www.uni.edu/walsh/drugs99.html |
This course will help you understand the relationship
between drugs, the body, and behavior and allow you to
better evaluate drug use and abuse, including use by you and
your loved ones. It will increase your awareness of
controversies in the drugs field and enable you to make
better decisions, backed by critical thinking, when you face
personal or social issues concerning the use of drugs in the
future.
Some
of
the background material we cover applies to any type of drug
(factors such as dose, route of administration, time course,
side effects, etc.). Once we have laid that groundwork we
will concentrate on the major categories of psychoactive
drugs, why they are used, their common effects and side
effects, risks such as overdose and dependency, and
treatment in cases of abuse. It's a fascinating
subject, but not the easiest of courses because we
cover so many different drugs and their characteristics.
You'll have to work hard to keep them all straight in your
head, but I can almost guarantee that you will make use of
this information time and time again in the years ahead.
Course Requirements
Realizing
that
this course draws students from many different majors and with
varying commitments outside of the class, I have tried to
design a flexible set of assignments that gives you some
freedom of choice. A few assignments I consider important
learning experiences for all students. These are labeled
REQUIRED below. Other assignments may be of interest to
students with particular career goals/interests or to students
who prefer to have a greater percentage of their grade based
on assignments and a smaller percentage of their grade based
on tests. Many students feel like they have more control over
how well they do on assignments vs the uncertainty of how well
they might do on exams. These assignments are labeled OPTIONAL
below. Note that OPTIONAL does not mean extra credit: if you
choose to do optional assignments your "points possible"
increases and the relative importance of tests decreases
somewhat. In the end your grade will be based on the
percentage of points you earned but note that you must achieve at least a passing average
(60%) on exams. Our 4 exams will be worth about
125 each or 500 points total. The remaining will come from the
assignments below. Please note that late submissions will
lose points.
Occasional In-Class
Activity Points - may not be made up if
missed
ASSIGNMENT
1 - Notes to prepare for Jeopardy and Test 1. Due 1/31. 10 pts
Completion of this linked assignment before class on
1/31 is necessary to earn any Jeopardy points and will help
you prepare for our first exam. I will be
collecting this homework, so you may want to make a second copy for yourself to
study for the exam the next class period. Or test yourself - see if you can fill
out a second copy of the assignment
from memory only - no notes or book. Testing yourself or having
someone else test you (from our PowerPoints for instance) is the
best way to determining if you are remembering the details
necessary for the exam. If you are not passing your self-tests
you must change your study strategies until you can pass!!
ASSIGNMENT 2 -
REQUIRED-Using Drug Info Resources Due 3/12. 75 pts I believe that everyone should know how to
find information on the medications they or their loved ones
are taking. Today's physicians rarely take the time to fully
inform patients about their meds and often don't ask what
other drugs, herbs, or supplements are being used. Pharmacists
make mistakes. It is up to us to take an active role in
monitoring our health care and watch out for ourselves - even
if it means wading through some medical jargon. For this assignment
you must find key information on brand name prescription
drug of your choice, using one drug resource
providing the full "FDA-approved" prescribing information
( either the official
professional (for doctors) Physician's Desk
Reference, the official manufacturer's package insert, or
the online FDA approved package insert information at
DailyMED) and
at least 1 other detailed general
consumer oriented drug reference. If you don't have a
medication in mind I'd suggest choosing one of the medications
included in our text to get a head start on a drug category we
will be covering. Assignment must include clear
proof that you have used the relevant sections of the
"official" source or it will only earn half credit or less.
ASSIGNMENT 3 -
REQUIRED- Critical evaluation of a OTC drug commercial or ad
Due 4/16. 25 pts Videotape a
drug commercial, find one online, or copy a drug ad from a
magazine for one of the OTC
analgesic or cold or allergy medications discussed in
class. Using class information and drug references evaluate
everything that is said, everything that seems to be
suggested, the way the drug is portrayed or referred to, sale
pitch, and the accuracy, honesty & completeness of the
info presented. Is the manufacturer being totally straight
forward with the consumer? Or does the ad mislead consumers
with what it says, implies, or what it fails to say? Would you
praise or "tsk tsk" their advertising?
Optional
(not Extra Credit) Assignment. Do a 2 day Addiction
Simulation . This simulation is recommended for future
teachers and is not recommended for anyone who has had a
substance abuse problem. It is only an educational experience if
you commit to truly following the instructions. It does involve
deceiving friends, family, and employers for the 2 day period.
It makes the most educational sense to do this assignment while
we are discussing the most addictive drugs (alcohol, nicotine,
amphetamine/cocaine, or narcotic analgesics, but at the very
latest this assignment is Due no later than
4/25.
(up to 25 pts)
Optional (not Extra Credit) Assignment. Arrange to go out into the community (Waterloo-Cedar Falls or your hometown area) and interview an individual or individuals who are currently working living in areas affected by drug-use (police, substance abuse counselors, school counselors, health care providers, court officials are some that come to mind). Plan for your interview carefully, doing some reading to help prepare a good list of questions. Prepare a report on the individual(s), the setting, your questions, and the interview responses. If you feel you and your interviewee are up to it, a videotape of your "investigative report" could be an alternative.(up to 25 pts) Due no later than 4/19.
10 pt
Extra Credit. Search online for, or keep a blank
videotape/DVD handy in your recorder at home to record any
educationally valuable shows, segments, or news reports on the
drugs/drug issues we cover in this class. Turn the url/tape/DVD
in to me with a summary
of the program , why you think it's relevant to the
class, and a critical evaluation of the value of segment on that
form. Realize that brief segments are the most useful for
class. (Tape/dvd will be returned). May be done once for
credit. Due no later than 4/19.
There will be
occasional extra credit points available throughout the
semester. Because the number of extra credit points available
can provide significant benefit to student grades during the
semester, there will be no "rounding up" of the percentages in
the grade chart below or last minute extra credit at the end
of the semester.
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About Your
Prof
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Education: B.S. (Psychology) University of
Illinois, Chicago;
M.A.
(Biopsychology) University of Chicago;
Ph.D.
(Biopsychology) University of Chicago
Married: James Walsh (attorney)
Children: 3 girls (Jennifer, Sara,
& Annie)
Hobbies: Gardening, gourmet cooking,
travel, concert-hopping, reading
Most unusual experiences: Performing brain
surgery on rats, riding an elephant (twice!), climbing the Great
Pyramid, wearing a live python around my neck, flying in a
blimp, visiting ancient Greek ruins, giving birth
Goals: Continue to learn for the rest of my
life, enjoy my professional and private lives, help others
discover psychology (especially the biological side of
psychology)
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This
page was prepared by Linda
Walsh, Dept. of Psychology,
University
of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0505.