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PSYA01Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology
Fall 2023 Syllabus
General Course Information
The study of human behaviour, and the processes and structures giving rise to it, is actually extremely broad. It ranges
from issues such as basic brain structure and communication, to issues such as the way the behaviour of those around us
affects our own behaviour. In general, the goal of our two Introduction to Psychology courses is to give you an
introduction to research and ideas across the entire field of psychology.
PSYA01 provides a general overview of topics including research techniques in psychology, evolutionary psychology, the
biology of behaviour, learning and behaviour, sensation, perception, memory and consciousness. The most influential
findings from each of these areas will be highlighted.
The course is what is often described as a survey course, meaning we will try to give you a general sense of some different
approaches to the study of Psychology highlighting some of the most interesting findings within each approach. The hope
is that after taking this Introductory course you will be in a good position to (a) know which sub-areas of Psychology you
find most interesting, and (b) begin your studies of these sub-areas with a good general knowledge of that sub-area and
how it relates to other approaches within Psychology.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, our students will have:
• begun learning about the breadth of psychological inquiry, a journey that will continue in PSYA02
• learned about foundational work in several specific areas of inquiry including the history of psychology, the
scientific method, neuroscience, sensation, perception, memory, consciousness and language
• received repeated structured practice thinking critically and creatively in a context that also exercises
communication skills and enhances students’ awareness of how their work compares to that of their peers
• acquired a deep understanding of the scientific method
Course Team
Course Instructor
Dr. Dwayne Paré
Contact
Email: psya01.utsc@utoronto.ca
Office Hours
Wednesdays 10-11am in-person: Room: SW415
By appointment via Zoom
Note: Dwayne’s office hours are for questions about course content (i.e. lecture or textbook content). For
administrative concerns, please email the course staff.
Course Staff
Alyssa Rai Course Coordinator
Ainsley Lawson Undergraduate Program Administrator
Contact
Email: psya01.utsc@utoronto.ca
Note: Course staff should be contacted with administrative questions (missed deadlines, accommodations,
technical issues, etc.) For course content questions, please visit Dwayne’s office hours.
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, Course Communication
From us, to you!
Important course information will be communicated to you via announcements on Quercus, and/or via email.
This course uses the University's learning management system, Quercus, to post information about the course. This
includes posting readings and other materials required to complete class activities and course assignments, as well as
sharing important announcements and updates. The site is dynamic and new information and resources will be posted
regularly as we move through the term, so please make it a habit to log in to the site on a regular, even daily, basis. To
access the course website, go to the UofT Quercus log-in page at https://q.utoronto.ca. Once you have logged in to
Quercus using your UTORid and password, you should see the link or "card" for PSYA01. You may need to scroll through
other cards to find this. Click on the PSYA01 link to open our course area, view the latest announcements and access your
course resources. There are Quercus help guides for students that you can access by clicking on the "?" icon in the left side
column.
You are expected to monitor email and course announcements on a frequent and consistent basis. Students have the
responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical.
Make sure that the email you have associated with your account in ACORN is your official UofT email. If you want to set
up forwarding to another account, here are the instructions: https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/ic-faq/36244
From you, to us!
If you need to contact us, you can do so via either of the following methods:
1. Visiting office hours (detailed on the previous page),
or
2. Emailing the course account: psya01.utsc@utoronto.ca
Use only this e-mail address! If you send messages to any address other than this one, there is no guarantee that you will
get a response. Please do not send emails to our personal accounts or via the direct messaging system in Quercus.
Please include your student number and a meaningful subject line in all communication. You can expect a response
within 1-2 business days.
Textbook
The textbook for this course is online, via a platform called Top Hat. There is no physical copies of the textbook available,
but PDFs are available to download after you purchase the book. Information on purchasing the textbook can be found in
Quercus. We will cover the following modules in PSYA01:
Module # Topic
Module 1 .............................................. What is Psychology?
Module 2 .............................................. Methods
Module 3 .............................................. Biology & Neuroscience
Module 5 .............................................. Sensation and Perception
Module 6 .............................................. States of Consciousness
Module 7 .............................................. Learning
Module 8 .............................................. Memory
Module 9 .............................................. Language & Thought
Lectures
PSYA01 is a “web-optioned” course. This means that the live classroom lectures are recorded and posted online later
that same day. Note that both the LEC01 and LEC02 students can access these recordings, but only LEC01 students may
attend the in-person lectures. Students registered in LEC02 should watch the lectures online.*
You are responsible for learning all of the content in the textbook AND all of the content in the lectures.
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