Daniel Messinger, Ph.D.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 305-284-8443. Office: Flipse, Room 308
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 - 2:30, and by appointment.

Course Description: This course will provide an orientation to research in psychology and opportunities for research in the Department with an emphasis on social, emotional, neural, genetic, psychopathological, and other components of development. Career opportunities in the field of psychology will also be discussed. Students, faculty, and support staff will discuss original journal articles selected from the psychological literature. This course is the second part of a two semester sequence (FACT FORUM) designed to provide orientation, advising, and mentoring to psychology and neuroscience majors in order to facilitate their integration into the community of scholars at the University of Miami.

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. Students missing more than 3 classes will not pass. Exceptions will be made for documented medical or legal reasons 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: In addition to a final assignment, 9 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 and on the topic. At the end of each paper, you should also include a question about the reading. In addition, please give a rating to each article we read from 1 (Terrible) to 5 (Excellent). The papers must be type-written, one page, single spaced with spaces between paragraphs response (1” margins, 12 point font). There are 11 opportunities to write papers, so you have only one paper you can miss. Only papers turned in on time in class will be accepted. Papers must also be submitted on BlackBoard’s SafeAssign but these papers will not be graded. The goal is 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 undergraduate honor code here