Psychology 100: Principles of Psychology
6.0 units; Fall & Winter 2021-2022
Queen’s University
Instructors: Jeffrey Wammes, PhD (he/him; Fall); Jeremy Stewart, PhD (he/him; Winter)
Faculty Coordinator: Meghan Norris, PhD (she/her)
PSYC100 Program Associate: Jenalee Dymond, B.Ed, B.A.H. (she/her)
PRE-REQUISITES AND EXCLUSIONS
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Note that this course has the following exclusions:
EXCLUSION(S): PSYC 101/3.0; PSYC 102/3.0; PSYC 103/3.0
COURSE LOCATION
Lectures and labs in this course are delivered on-campus in Kingston, Ontario. If you are in need of a
remote (online) course option, please email for assistance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY
We would like to acknowledge that the Queen’s campus upon which this course is being hosted from is
situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory. We are grateful to be able to be live,
learn and play on these lands.
To acknowledge this traditional territory is to recognize its longer history, one predating the
establishment of the earliest European colonies. It is also to acknowledge this territory’s significance for
the Indigenous peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it and whose practices and spiritualties
were tied to the land and continue to develop in relationship to the territory and its other inhabitants
today. The Kingston Indigenous community continues to reflect the area’s Anishinaabek and
Haudenosaunee roots. There is also a significant Métis community and there are First people from other
Nations across Turtle Island present here today.
To read more about the history of the land, see the Queen's Encyclopedia.
We encourage you to learn about the history of the lands upon which you are currently living, working,
and playing.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introductory survey of basic areas of psychology including perception, cognition, learning and
motivation and their biological substrata. Also reviewed are child development, individual differences,
social psychology, and clinical psychology. Research participation experience is provided for students on
an individual voluntary basis. Students are encouraged to participate in up to five hours of research
experimentation.
,This is the blended, on-campus version of this course. In this version of the course, students will have
weekly lectures, online lessons, and weekly lab sessions. We have included these components to help
you keep up with course content, and to promote deeper thinking and better learning through working
with your classmates. This course requires your active participation throughout the course.
During the year, should you experience an illness or serious personal problem, it is your responsibility to
contact as soon as possible (see the Accommodation for Disability, and Academic
Consideration sections below for more information). Please note that there are over 2000 students
currently taking PSYC100--we do our best to get to know each student, but to help us quickly look up
relevant information, please be sure to include your student number, and that you are in the
oncampus (Blended) version of this course in every email correspondence.
This course requires you to have access to high-speed internet to submit course requirements, and to
watch course videos where posted. For students who will be out of Canada for any part of this course,
please note that we have had instances in the past where certain websites that are required to complete
course requirements, including onQ, have been blocked intermittently in some countries (e.g., China). It
is your responsibility to make sure that you will have adequate high speed Internet coverage for the
entirety of the course.
We are living in a time of Covid-19 when many of us are working in new environments, and when
technology glitches at the worst possible times. We encourage you to submit your work ahead of the
posted due dates to prevent last-minute glitches. There is a Universal Design Policy that provides grace
periods to help offset life circumstances, described below.
Please note: Consistent with best practices in privacy, updates concerning your course will be sent to
your Queen’s email account ONLY.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing PSYC 100, students should be able to:
1. Summarize the major areas and themes of psychology.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of genes and environment in determining behaviour
and mental processes.
3. Describe the major psychological theories and the empirical evidence upon which they are
based.
4. Apply the scientific method to the formulation and answering of questions related to
psychology.
5. Assess the validity of, and provide accurate interpretations of, psychological findings.
, SUGGESTED TIME COMMITMENT
Students can expect to spend, on average, about 10 hours per week in PSYC100. Your time will be spent
preparing for and attending lectures, preparing for and completing labs, studying relevant
readings/videos, and preparing for assessments.
CONTENT COVERED IN THIS COURSE
This course addresses many of the major areas in the broad discipline of Psychology. All dates are
specified in the Course Timeline found in OnQ.
For a summary of the content covered, please see below:
Content Covered
Week Topics
Week 1 Introduction to Psychology
Week 2 Research Methods
Week 3 Genetics and Evolution
Week 4 Learning
6.0 units; Fall & Winter 2021-2022
Queen’s University
Instructors: Jeffrey Wammes, PhD (he/him; Fall); Jeremy Stewart, PhD (he/him; Winter)
Faculty Coordinator: Meghan Norris, PhD (she/her)
PSYC100 Program Associate: Jenalee Dymond, B.Ed, B.A.H. (she/her)
PRE-REQUISITES AND EXCLUSIONS
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Note that this course has the following exclusions:
EXCLUSION(S): PSYC 101/3.0; PSYC 102/3.0; PSYC 103/3.0
COURSE LOCATION
Lectures and labs in this course are delivered on-campus in Kingston, Ontario. If you are in need of a
remote (online) course option, please email for assistance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY
We would like to acknowledge that the Queen’s campus upon which this course is being hosted from is
situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory. We are grateful to be able to be live,
learn and play on these lands.
To acknowledge this traditional territory is to recognize its longer history, one predating the
establishment of the earliest European colonies. It is also to acknowledge this territory’s significance for
the Indigenous peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it and whose practices and spiritualties
were tied to the land and continue to develop in relationship to the territory and its other inhabitants
today. The Kingston Indigenous community continues to reflect the area’s Anishinaabek and
Haudenosaunee roots. There is also a significant Métis community and there are First people from other
Nations across Turtle Island present here today.
To read more about the history of the land, see the Queen's Encyclopedia.
We encourage you to learn about the history of the lands upon which you are currently living, working,
and playing.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introductory survey of basic areas of psychology including perception, cognition, learning and
motivation and their biological substrata. Also reviewed are child development, individual differences,
social psychology, and clinical psychology. Research participation experience is provided for students on
an individual voluntary basis. Students are encouraged to participate in up to five hours of research
experimentation.
,This is the blended, on-campus version of this course. In this version of the course, students will have
weekly lectures, online lessons, and weekly lab sessions. We have included these components to help
you keep up with course content, and to promote deeper thinking and better learning through working
with your classmates. This course requires your active participation throughout the course.
During the year, should you experience an illness or serious personal problem, it is your responsibility to
contact as soon as possible (see the Accommodation for Disability, and Academic
Consideration sections below for more information). Please note that there are over 2000 students
currently taking PSYC100--we do our best to get to know each student, but to help us quickly look up
relevant information, please be sure to include your student number, and that you are in the
oncampus (Blended) version of this course in every email correspondence.
This course requires you to have access to high-speed internet to submit course requirements, and to
watch course videos where posted. For students who will be out of Canada for any part of this course,
please note that we have had instances in the past where certain websites that are required to complete
course requirements, including onQ, have been blocked intermittently in some countries (e.g., China). It
is your responsibility to make sure that you will have adequate high speed Internet coverage for the
entirety of the course.
We are living in a time of Covid-19 when many of us are working in new environments, and when
technology glitches at the worst possible times. We encourage you to submit your work ahead of the
posted due dates to prevent last-minute glitches. There is a Universal Design Policy that provides grace
periods to help offset life circumstances, described below.
Please note: Consistent with best practices in privacy, updates concerning your course will be sent to
your Queen’s email account ONLY.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing PSYC 100, students should be able to:
1. Summarize the major areas and themes of psychology.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of genes and environment in determining behaviour
and mental processes.
3. Describe the major psychological theories and the empirical evidence upon which they are
based.
4. Apply the scientific method to the formulation and answering of questions related to
psychology.
5. Assess the validity of, and provide accurate interpretations of, psychological findings.
, SUGGESTED TIME COMMITMENT
Students can expect to spend, on average, about 10 hours per week in PSYC100. Your time will be spent
preparing for and attending lectures, preparing for and completing labs, studying relevant
readings/videos, and preparing for assessments.
CONTENT COVERED IN THIS COURSE
This course addresses many of the major areas in the broad discipline of Psychology. All dates are
specified in the Course Timeline found in OnQ.
For a summary of the content covered, please see below:
Content Covered
Week Topics
Week 1 Introduction to Psychology
Week 2 Research Methods
Week 3 Genetics and Evolution
Week 4 Learning
