(This syllabus was used at the time I took this course and is NOT guaranteed to stay the same it is only posted as an example of what you might see if/when you take this or any other course at City U. So DO NOT Rely on this!) 

PSY 313

Ethics

5 Credit Hours

Effective: January, 2006 

Required Resources

Cooper, D.E. (2004). Ethics for professionals in a multicultural world. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall.

Fisher, C.B. (2003). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Access to a personal computer and the Internet is required. All written assignments must be word-processed.

Copyright 2005-2006 by City University

This document provides an overview of the course foundation elements, assignments, schedules, and activities. For information about general City University policies, please see the City University catalog. If you have additional questions about the course, please contact your instructor.

Attendance Requirement

Students must take part in weekly online activities or at least contact their instructors once a week. Failure to report for three consecutive weeks may result in being dropped from the class. (Loss of complete Financial Aid will result.)

Notification to Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability and you require an accommodation, please contact the Disability Resource Office at 1.800.426.5596 ext. 7620 as soon as possible.

Scholastic Honesty

Students are responsible for understanding City University’s policy on Scholastic Honesty and are required to adhere to its standards in meeting all course requirements. Violations of the policy include, among other practices:

1. Cheating;
2. Plagiarizing;
3. Submitting substantially the same work for two different courses without prior permission from the instructors;
4. Collaborating on assignments without prior permission of the instructor;
5. Submitting papers written wholly or partly by someone else;
6. Helping someone else commit an act of scholastic dishonesty.

Common violations are copying from someone else’s test paper, using unauthorized books or notes during a test, and using previously published material without clear citations to identify the source. Cases of suspected scholastic dishonesty are referred to the University Scholastic Honesty Board, which can apply a variety of penalties ranging in severity, including assigning a zero grade for the course, suspension, and dismissal from the University. In cases of suspected violations, a paper may be submitted to an online service that checks the content of the paper against a database of source material. The submitted paper may be added to a permanent archive.

For more complete information, students should read the section on Scholastic Honesty (under the heading of Student Rights and Responsibilities) in the University catalog, available in print or online at http://www.cityu.edu. When in doubt about applications to a particular course or situation, students should ask the instructor for guidance.

Course Description

An overview of various philosophical approaches to ethical decision making and practical applications involving ethical problems that arise in contemporary society such as crime and punishment, marriage and the family, biotechnology, and workplace. Prerequisites: PSY 201, Introduction to Psychology, and PSY 202, Understanding Human Development, or their equivalents.

Learning Goals

Upon the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1.       Compare and contrast various philosophic approaches to ethical decision-making;

2.       Analyze professional and personal codes of ethics;

3.       Evaluate moral development;

4.       Construct an ethical argument with appropriate supporting data and logical consistency;

5.       Apply ethics and ethical analysis to contemporary social issues.

Core Concepts

To achieve the goals of this course, you will need to master the following core concepts:

1.       Ethics;

2.       Morality;

3.       Moral autonomy;

4.       Moral development;

5.       Moral agents;

6.       Moral accountability;

7.       Professional ethics;

8.       Ethical egoism;

9.       Consequentialism;

10.   Nonconsequentialism;

11.   Virtue Ethics;

12.   Kant Duty Ethics;

13.   Code of ethics;

14.   Prima facie ethics;

15.   Methaethics.

Recommended Supplementary Resources

As a City University student, you have access to library resources regardless of where you are taking this class. For more information, visit the library menu in the My.CityU portal at http://my.cityu.edu.

·         Help from a librarian is available by e-mailing library@cityu.edu or calling 800.526.4269 (U.S. or Canada), or 425.709.3444.

·         Questions may be submitted to a librarian by clicking the “Ask a Librarian” link.

·         Databases on many topics are available online and many include full text articles. See the electronic resources section of this syllabus for a list of relevant databases.

·         Articles not available online may be delivered electronically.

·         Books-by-mail are available within the U.S. and Canada. Search the online catalog for titles.

·         Books and articles from other libraries are available through interlibrary loan.

·         Cooperative libraries throughout the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and western Canada provide in-person service to City University students. Contact the City University Library for information on the cooperating library near you.

Print Resources

Addelson, K. P. (1992). Impure thoughts: Essays on philosophy, feminism, and ethics. Philadelphia: Temple UP.

Adler, M. J. (1991). The time of our lives: The ethic of common sense. New York: St. Martin.

Bell, J. B. (1991). Cheating and deception. New Brunswick: Transaction.

Bentham, J. (1996). An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. New York: Oxford UP.

Broadhie, S. (1993). Ethics with Aristotle. New York: Oxford UP.

Hock, R. (2005). Forty studies that changed psychology: Explorations in the history of psychological research.(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Hospers, J. (1995). Human conduct: Problems of ethics. 3^rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt.

Kant, I.. (1996). The metaphysics of morals. New York: Cambridge UP.

Mill, J. S. (1998). Utilitarianism. New York: Oxford UP.

Parrot, L. (1999). How to write psychology papers. New York: Addison-Wesley.

Pettigrew, T. F. (1997). How to think like a social scientist. New York: Addison-Wesley.

Scott, M.J., Koch, R., Scott, G.M., & Garrison, S. M. (2002). The psychology student’s writing manual (2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Thiroux, J. (2004). Ethics: Theory and practice (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice.

Electronic Resources

The City University Library provides access to a variety of online databases that contain both abstracts (brief summaries) and full text (the complete text) of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. The following is a partial list of databases that may be of use to you in this course. A complete list can be found by visiting the library menu in the My.CityU portal at http://my.cityu.edu. Contact a librarian by e-mailing library@cityu.edu, calling 800.526.4269 (U.S. or Canada), or 425.709.3444 if you need help searching or logging in.

General Databases:

Expanded Academic ASAP

Abstracts and full text articles from scholarly journals, news magazines,

and newspapers on topics in science and technology, the arts, humanities,

and social sciences.

            Lexis/Nexis Academic

Full text documents from over 5,600 publications including newspapers, magazines, and wire services.

            ProQuest Newspapers - National Newspapers

Abstracts and selected full text articles from The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

            ProQuest Research Library Complete

Abstracts and full text articles from scholarly and popular journals on general topics such as health, the humanities, social sciences, education, and business.

Psychology Databases:

            Mental Measurements Yearbook

                        Contains the most recent descriptive information and critical reviews of new and revised

                        tests from the Buros Institute's Yearbooks.

            PsycARTICLES

                        Full text articles from journals published by the American Psychological Association and

                        the Canadian Psychological Association.

            PsycINFO

                        Abstracts (no full text) from scholarly literature in the behavioral sciences and mental

                        health from 1887 to the present.

            Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

                        Full text journal articles on topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics,

                        psychiatry and psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and

                        experimental methods.

The following Internet resources may be of use to you in this course. Please be aware that Web addresses may change from time to time. Consult your instructor if you have questions about electronic resources.

American Philosophical Association Home Page

            http://www.udel.edu/apa

American Psychological Association Home Page

http://www.apa.org

City University

                        http://www.cityu.edu

Overview of Course Activities and Grading

The grade you receive for the course will be derived using City University’s decimal grading system, based on the following:

Assignments

Please see the current City University catalog or consult your instructor for guidance in determining your decimal grade.

Explanation of Assignments and Grading

Student Introductory Assignment (SIA)

City University requires that you submit a Student Introductory Assignment (SIA). This SIA must be completed during the first week of your course.  The SIA consists of introducing yourself in the Discussion Forum titled: Student Introductory Assignment.  It is designed to begin the online class experience by letting us know you are in class and facilitating interaction.  It is due at the end of the first week.  Your instructor will notify City University at the end of the first week as to whether or not you completed your SIA. 

For students receiving financial aid, the timely submission of the SIA will be used to fulfill financial aid reporting obligations.  If you have any questions or concerns about financial aid requirements, please contact the financial Aid Office at 800.426.5596.

Attendance and Participation

Class attendance and participation are integral components of this course.  Class participation expands the participant’s knowledge and ability to implement strategies learned in the course.  Thus, it is essential that students attend class, read the materials assigned, and participate actively in class activities or discussions. Class attendance and participation comprises 15% of the course grade. Students cannot earn participation points or receive credit for in-class activities when they are absent. Class participation points cannot be made up. All assignments must be submitted on time for full credit. Students in this course are expected to demonstrate a commitment to professionalism, in part through regular attendance and participation. 

Grading Criteria for class participation:

Discussion Assignments

A discussion question or topic from your instructor appears weekly in the Discussion Board. You are to post your answer as well as a response to two other student’s responses in the Discussion Forum by the end of each session. The forum is to help promote student to student discussion. The instructor may not respond to each posting. f you have a question or comment that is specifically for your instructor, email your instructor directly or use the Question and Answer Forum. If you want to talk with other students about issues unrelated to the discussion forums, use the Coffee Talk Forum.

Although the tone of your discussion board postings can be informal, your instructor will expect the content to be on a professional level. In other words, your comments and questions for discussion should be clear and thoughtful, with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. As with written assignments, the quality of your discussion postings will be graded on both content and presentation.

Grading Criteria for Discussion Assignments

Essay #1—Setting Up a Moral System

In a three- to five-pages long paper present and analyze your personal code of ethics. On what principles it is based? Which of those principles are your own and which are universal? What would be the greatest challenge for you as a person to use APA Code of Ethics?

Essay #2—Moral Development

In a three- to five-pages long paper reflect on your personal moral development. How did you change over your lifetime in perceiving ethics and morality? What events in your life initiated changes? How did you learn moral values? Who or what were the major sources of your moral values and beliefs?

Essay #3- Professional Ethics

In a three- to five-pages long paper present and analyze from ethical perspective one of the following psychological studies:

·         D.L. Rosenhan’s study of sanity and insanity;

·         S. Milgram’s study of obedience;

·         A. Bandura’s study of aggression;

·         P. Zimbardo’s Standford prison experiment.

What are the major ethical issues that you would raise while evaluating this study? How this study could have affected its participants? Do researchers have a right to perform such studies?

Grading Criteria for Essays

Research Paper

Select an article from a newspaper or magazine from the past year and think about how ethical theories contribute to your understanding of current events such as the one you selected. For your research paper, choose two approaches from those you have studied in this course, investigate them more thoroughly, and apply them to the selected current event. You should combine your own thoughtful analysis of the topic with information from your sources. Keep in mind, however, that this is to be an analytical paper, not simply a summary of your readings.

Begin doing some preliminary reading for your paper early in the quarter. During the fourth week of the course, you will submit a one- to two-page proposal with annotated bibliography for your research paper to your instructor. The proposal should suggest your topic, propose an arguable thesis, and give your instructor some idea of how you intend to research and develop your thesis. This proposal is ungraded, but you should approach it seriously; it can greatly enhance your chances for writing a successful essay.

For guidance in how to prepare a research paper, consult APA Publication Manual. As you prepare your research paper you also will want to be mindful of the following guidelines:

·         Your topic must be related to the course of study and must be approved by your instructor before submitting a final project.

·         You must cite the sources of all ideas, facts and information used that are not your own, even if you have put the information into your own words. Failure to do so is plagiarism, even if the oversight is unintentional. See APA Publication Manual for a detailed explanation of proper APA documentation format.

·         Supporting your thesis is central to the task of writing a research paper. In scholarly writing, you are not merely copying information from another author, but using evidence to support the contentions drawn from your findings and critical analysis of related literature.

·         All research papers must be word-processed, double-spaced, with 11- or 12-point font and one-inch margins. Your instructor will specify other requirements such as length, number of sources, and how current the publications from which you draw your references must be.

·         You must retain at least one copy of your final research project in case the first copy is lost or misplaced. We recommend that you also retain your research notes and rough notes so that if a question arises as to an actual source and its location, you will be able to address that question in a timely manner.

Grading Criteria for Research Paper

The following schedule has been provided as a general guide to the course. Your instructor may elect to adjust the outline to meet the unique needs of the class.