I'm not exactly sure how much this course has changed over the years, but this year, Psych 1A03 got renamed to Psych 1X03.

So this course introduced you to some of the most basic concepts and theories in psychology. I'd say this a pretty unique course in the fact that all lectures were...

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Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Ohh, really?! So none of the material in the textbook is on tests/exams?

It's probably in there, but everything you need to know is in the web modules and the lecture/tutorials (whatever they are calling it) with the TA.

Originally Posted by jhan523

It's probably in there, but everything you need to know is in the web modules and the lecture/tutorials (whatever they are calling it) with the TA.

yeah, i didn't buy the textbook either! and i barely referred to the custom courseware... i know some people used to it write down all their notes and stuff, but i didn't find it necessary. they might be changing it for this year though, because i know in 1XX3, they had questions on the exam that referred to specific readings in the CCW...

About the Experimetrix 5%, how exactly are you marked on just participating in a research study, or is there a written component to it ?

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

About the Experimetrix 5%, how exactly are you marked on just participating in a research study, or is there a written component to it ?

You sign up for the experiment through the experimetrix website and once you have completed it, the student running the experiment will take care of the rest. You basically just need to sign up and attend.

It's somewhat of a difficult course until you get used to the way questions are asked and whatnot.

The "professor" Dr. Kim is fine, it's especially helpful that the online discussion boards are frequented by TA's and Dr. Kim to help out students who don't understand concepts.

It's a good course, but it could use some work.

- I found sometimes there was a lot of lecture to watch for the week, and covered a lot of material... but the NOTES tab really helped when it came to the lecture. It took a lot of time, but I actually typed out the lectures from the notes tab, this allowed me to pay attention to what was being talked about... and also... let me refer back even when I didn`t have access to a computer (ie. at work)... I believe this may have been the only reason I did well on the midterm (and hopefully the final as well).... AND HELPED ME STUDY WHEN ELM AND INTROPSYCH WAS DOWN RIGHT BEFORE TESTS FROM PEOPLE TRYING TO ACCESS ONLINE LECTURES AT ONCE. *I suggest doing this... or making sure you take good notes when you do watch the lecture*

- I thought the online format was great, with a heavy courseload it gave me the freedom to do the lectures when I had time, or even split them up into smaller portions here and there... but this format may not be the best for everyone, so if you are not that great at self directed learning, know that going into it you may have to really work at it.

- I bought the textbook and found it REALLY helped me... it explains things in a different perspective, and there are readings listed in the courseware to help go through concepts more thoroughly. The website associated with the book also has a lot of additional videos and activities (good quizzes) to prepare for the midterm and final.

- Tutorials are good to get involved in, they really help to cement some concepts into your head by getting you involved in different activities that utilize that weeks concepts.

- Know going into this course that it`s definately NOT a bird course, the questions on the midterm and final CAN be difficult of you don`t really know the concepts. The questions are not just straightforward, theyre a story that you have to pick the important parts out and decide which concept its dealing with... I would suggest not even looking at the answers, try to come up with a few ideas first, and see if any of those are in the answers... but you WILL NOT do well if you don`t study...

good luck to anyone looking to take this course... it was interesting, and I find myself referring back to concepts in my head all the time now in my everyday life lol.

Psych 1X03 is an introductory psychology course and is the biggest first-year course offered at McMaster. It covers general topics such as research methods, learning, cognition and psychopathology, which is the study of abnormal behaviour.

This course does not contain any traditional lectures - the lectures are found online, and are released on a weekly basis. I found that most people, including myself, enjoyed the flexibility of watching the modules anytime. It takes around an hour per module to take notes. Keep up with the modules, or else, you'll fall behind, and catching up is a pain in the ass. There is a one-hour tutorial every week, in which you, and a group of 29 other students get together with a TA, and discuss what was covered in the modules in the previous week.

The instructor of the course, Dr. Kim, is very good. He is able to describe concepts very clearly, and provides many resources for the intropsych student, such as the Learning Lab, which is open everyday for students to drop in, and ask questions, as well as offering 'Discover Psychology' lecture series, in which Dr. Kim would bring in people to talk about their research in the field of Psychology. As well, Dr. Kim and the TAs would answer any questions students had on the ELM discussion board.

The courseware for this course is useless. I did not purchase it at all. I also found that even though Dr. Kim said that the material in the courseware was testable, there were no questions about it during the midterm or the final. Save $50~ and just write out your own notes.

The course breakdown is as so:
Tutorial Participation: 10%
These marks are awarded by your TA based on how well you participate, and how often you come to tutorial. Keep in mind that this also includes participation on the ELM system, which I took full advantage of. My TA was amazing, as she was able to answer any questions based on the material, and she made tutorials fun to go to.

ELM Quizzes: 10%
These quizzes are completed online, and there are 6 of them throughout the course. Quizzes were based on the previous 2-3 weeks of material. You had 20 minutes to complete 6 questions. These quizzes are pretty easy, compared to the midterm, and the lowest one gets dropped at the end of the term (top 5 of 6).

Written Assignments: 15%
There were 3 assignments that we had to complete online. These assignments did not related to psychology however - they were more geared in developing research skills needed for future courses, such as looking up research articles, or using APA to cite a particular journal article. Another source of easy marks, and you usually had a week to complete them.

Midterm Examination: 25%
Ah yes, the midterm. Even though I did all right, I found that many people did poorly as they were not able to APPLY their knowledge. Dr. Kim stresses on understanding the material, rather that regurgitating it. Focus on understanding the general ideas and concepts, rather than memorizing small details. Some questions were tricky - you have to read them very carefully. Do not be fooled by the ELM quizzes, as they are not representative of the difficulty of the midterm. Consisted of 35 multiple-choice questions, 1.5 (or was it 2?) hours to complete it. Class average was 62%.

Final Examination: 40%
Very much like the midterm. I found it easier since I knew what to expect. Dr. Kim also chose 3 student-submitted questions, and put them on the on the exam, which was a nice touch. 45 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours.

Research participation (optional):5%
You can choose to reduce the weight of the final from 40% to 35% by doing 2 hours of research, or if you're not comfortable with the prospect of being a lab rat, you can do 2 hours of observations as well.

All in all, I found Psych 1X03 to be good. Loved the minimal workload, and the flexibility of the modules. Not a bird course, by any means, and I wished Dr. Kim prepared us better for the midterm by giving us questions that were similar to those found on the midterm. Great course nonetheless!

Originally Posted by Inferno

Midterm Examination: 25%
Ah yes, the midterm. Even though I did all right, I found that many people did poorly as they were not able to APPLY their knowledge. Dr. Kim stresses on understanding the material, rather that regurgitating it. Focus on understanding the general ideas and concepts, rather than memorizing small details. Some questions were tricky - you have to read them very carefully. Do not be fooled by the ELM quizzes, as they are not representative of the difficulty of the midterm. Consisted of 35 multiple-choice questions, 1.5 (or was it 2?) hours to complete it. Class average was 62%.

The midterm was only one hour, a possible reason why many people did poorly. I agree that the course content is fantastic and interesting, but I'm not sure if we were well prepared for the midterm. Especially for those who were coming out of high school, they were mostly used to factual questions on test, and usually had one or two application-style questions. Practically all the questions that Dr. Kim asks are application-style, so yeah, it is important to understand. Even other classes that I had in first year never really focused on a lot of application style questions.

With that said, the midterm was good preparation in the final and it seemed easier, plus we were allotted more time.

I'd say that Dr. Kim's MC questions were actually somewhat fun to write. They really tested you, and made you think. He does indeed stress application and understanding. I personally love his test style. (It's much better than the Bio midterm where they asked you things straight out of the textbook that required no real understanding. Very dull.)

The difficulty of the exam is comparable to the midterm. Most people said it was easier, but I found it to be more challenging.

Don't procrastinate expect to effectively watch 3 lectures in 2 hours the day before the ELM quizzes. If you stay on top of things, this course is not bad at all. Very interesting topics.

This was one of my favourite courses during first-year. Although some of the material was rather dry, there were some cool modules (such as psychopathology), so it all balanced out. I would say that this course is definitely more social science-y than scientific-based, so a lot of science students found this course difficult -- I think it was just because it didn't compliment their talents, as opposed to the course itself actually being hard. That being said, the evaluations were tricky at times -- you really had to know how to apply the concepts, rather than just being able to spew out facts. The one drawback of this course is that it is difficult to study for, as you are taught all the facts, but have little practice when it comes to actually applying the material. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this course, but beware, it's NOT a bird course by any means.

Originally Posted by shleyaa

In addition to what Davey's said, Psych lectures are only up for a limited time so you should definitely make sure you don't fall behind. I found the core sessions kind of pointless to be honest. You watch the lecture on your own time, then you go to class and talk about what you watched, do the quiz, then go to tutorial and again talk about what you watched...it's so unnecessary (i don't see why they can't just distribute the quizzes during tutorial).

Anyway, tutorials are actually really fun with all the activities the TAs plan to enhance your understanding of that week's lecture...to be frank, psych tutorials along with anatomy labs were the 2 classes out of my entire week that I looked forward to going to. You can probably tell that I thoroughly enjoyed this course as well. I still find myself applying all the concepts I've learned to many situations I encounter...

How long are the lectures posted for?

Originally Posted by Dun Baller

How long are the lectures posted for?

In my year it was 2 weeks, just copy the URL and save it in a word document. If it hasn't change then you can still access it even when the link is taken out.