Daniel Messinger, Ph.D
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://local.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/
Phone: 305-284-8443
Office: Flipse, Room 308 and virtually
Office Hours: Thursdays 1:50 - 2:50, and by appointment.

Course Description: This course will provide an orientation to research in psychology and opportunities for research and service in the Department of Psychology with an emphasis on social, emotional, neural, and genetic features of typical and atypical development. Career opportunities in the field of psychology will also be discussed. We will discuss original journal articles selected from the psychological literature. This course is designed to provide orientation, advising, and mentoring to psychology and neuroscience majors to facilitate their integration into the Department of Psychology. I welcome all students to this class irrespective of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or veteran status.

Course Requirements: Credit: Upon completion of this course, students will earn 1 credit hour applicable to the total number of credits to graduate from UM. This credit will not apply to the Psychology major or minor. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Based on their needs and concerns, students may opt to attend virtually via zoom or in person. Students missing more than 3 classes will not pass. Exceptions will be made for documented medical or legal reasons, religious celebrations, or University sponsored events (ex. participation on a sports team or musical performance). This is a participation class. Grades will be assigned according to the student’s knowledge of the material as demonstrated in weekly papers and contributions in class.

Readings: Weekly readings are listed below. Please come to class prepared to participate in discussion of the weekly readings.

Papers: Ten 10 short papers will be required. These papers will require approximately 2 paragraphs – one consisting of a summary of the reading for the day, and another giving your comments on the topic. At the end of each paper, you should also include a question about the reading, and rate each article we read from 1 (Terrible) to 5 (Excellent). The papers must be one page maximum, single spaced with spaces between paragraphs response (1” margins, 12 point font). There are 13 opportunities to write papers, so you can miss three papers. Only papers turned in before class on the day they are due will be graded. Papers must also be submitted on Blackboard SafeAssign as an originality check. Please to come to class with the reading and your paper done ready to discuss and participate.

Quizzes: Extra credit pop quizzes may be given from time to time to assess student preparation for the class.

Honor Code: You will be required to abide by the University of Miami honor code pledge on each assignment. This pledge states: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any aid on this exam/paper/etc.” Cheating and/or plagiarism will be considered sufficient reason to assign a failing grade for the course. Please review the Academic Integrity Policy.

Resources and dates. A Student Well-Being and Resiliency website is available at miami.edu/well-being. The last day to add a course is January 26, and the last day to drop a course without a W is February 2.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Full COVID-19 vaccination reduces your risk and your risk to those around you. Everyone—including faculty, staff, and students—is required to wear a face mask on campus. Single-layer cloth masks are not considered protective against the omicron variant and hence do not meet our current standard for campus safety. No food or drinks are permitted in classrooms to ensure that students wear masks for the entirety of class periods. Faculty have the right to restrict a student from participating in class if the student does not follow University COVID-19 policies. The class will meet entirely virtually through Jan 31. After Jan 31, students may opt to attend virtually via zoom or in person based on their needs and concerns regarding COVID-19.