[Lois]

deCatanzaro, who authored the textbook also teaches the course.He's funny without intending to be funny.

Some of the course material is dry, but overall it's interesting.

I thought deCatanzaro taught this?

Also, I can read the course outline online but it doesn't talk about the assignment specifically. What was it like?

Originally Posted by batman

I thought deCatanzaro taught this?

Also, I can read the course outline online but it doesn't talk about the assignment specifically. What was it like?

Oh shoot, it was deCatazaro, I was thinking of the guy who taught anthro. I'll fix that.

The assignment was easy. Find an article related to the topics, and pick out two of the referenced articles and read them. Then it was an in-class assignment where you basically answered questions.

If you read the articles, you would do well. Plus it's open book.

Has anyone taken this recently?

What is the structure of the course? and how hard are the tests?

Originally Posted by Richa

What is the structure of the course? and how hard are the tests?

Course outlines: http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/psy...-20092010.html

Originally Posted by Richa

What is the structure of the course? and how hard are the tests?

hey i just took this course, some problems i had with it is that he never turns his mic on and it can get boring in class. but man oh man is his textbook a good read. midterms were fairly easy, however for the short answer questions he really wants alot of detail. you don't really need to go to class for this as everything is in the textbook, and it was an 8:30 class when I took it. planning on taking the fourth year one on hormones, neurochemistry and behavior, i think he's teaching it as well. should be fun!

I'm glad to hear such good things -- I'm looking forward to taking this and 4Y03. The aspects of psych that I'm most interested in are behavioural neuroscience, neuropharmacology, and neurochemistry, and I hate that our psych department has such few course offerings in these areas.

Thanks for the input i'm looking forward to this class now

Do you guys have any input as to the textbook readings .. are there questions that you can only answer if you read the textbook or can I do well on the tests just by going to class and reviewing my notes?

I took this course in Fall 2011 with Dr. deCatanzaro. I am biased because I had a strong interest in the subject matter already. We looked at every topic from a evolutionary, physiological, genetic, and social perspective. We began the course with a review of rudimentary neuroanatomy, as well as various hormones and neurotransmitters pertinent to the processes discussed later in the course. Off the top of my head, we discussed hunger, thirst, thermoregulation, reproduction, stress, aggression, attachment, depression, learning, and social emotions. The information we learned was primarily obtained through studies with animals, but we were always shown how it extended to humans as well, and the later topics in the course were more human-centric.

There were two in-class tests for this course, weighted at 25% and 30% respectively. They contained MC, T/F, matching, short answer, and long answer components. Written answers were approximately 100-200 words and they integrated material from several lectures and perspectives. You may be asked to explain a topic from various perspectives or different functions that a given hormone has in the body. A few of the non-written answers could only be answered with knowledge from the text, and although the text overlaps a lot with the lectures, it's almost not worth your time to read it, as the time costs associated are not really worth the reward in marks. The text IS interesting though if you like the material. I'd say that the tests were all very fair, but do require about 3 days of solid studying to do well on.

There was an in-class assignment worth 10%. It involved choosing a recent article from the literature and 3 articles that article cited. You were able to bring the articles and whatever notes you wanted into class, and you answered questions about how they related and the methods used, etc. I think these boosted everyone's grade.

The 35% exam was more writing-intensive than the midterms. Personally, I found this to be beneficial because the topics written about were very much emphasized in the course, so you had a lot to work with, whereas with MC, if you forget a little fact, then you're screwed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this course. It wasn't bird by any means, but the level of challenge was appropriate. Unfortunately, it was at 8:30 a.m. and I skipped a lot of lectures. However, you'll be fine if you just study intensely before the evaluations. I think a double-digit grade is easily attainable but you'll have to go the mile for a 12. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the material and can handle some science (not that you need to be a science geek to do well, by any means!). Probably the most interesting course I've taken so far at Mac.

Is there a lot reading in this course? Can you get a 10 if you do not read the textbook but going to every class?

Thanks

FUN TIP - the course is posted on its own website rather than avenue or something and he has a section entitled 'last years midterms'. If you went on the website right now it is probably not updated and has the midterms from Sept 2010. Once the course starts and he updates the page it will contain a link to the midterm from Sept 2011. With both of these in hand you do not need the textbook.

Originally Posted by Annieloveedw

Is there a lot reading in this course? Can you get a 10 if you do not read the textbook but going to every class?

Thanks

You can get a 10+ by rarely going to class and reading the textbook. Lectures at 99% what's in the textbook. A few times he had a random slide that was new. But that will not amount to much on the midterms/exam.

Originally Posted by Harlequin

You can get a 10+ by rarely going to class and reading the textbook. Lectures at 99% what's in the textbook. A few times he had a random slide that was new. But that will not amount to much on the midterms/exam.

What if you only study his lecture notes, but not reading textbook? I always miss key points when I have to read book on my own
Thanks