Psychology 515: Capstone Seminar, Ecological Psychology
Spring, 2008
Instructor: Michael E. Mills, Ph.D.
Office: University Hall, Room 4757
Office hours: Tuesday: 12:00 - 1:00, Wednesday: 1:00 – 4:15
Phone: (310) 338-3017
Email: memills@gmail.com Note: Please put “LMU” in your subject heading if you email me, otherwise I may think it is junk mail and delete it.
Class website: http://www.DrMillsLMU.com
Class wiki: http://drmillslmu.wikispaces.com/
The Capstone Seminar focuses on a faculty-selected topic to be investigated using the biopsychosocial perspective. Students will review and integrate their learning in psychology. Course fulfills the psychology major capstone requirement.
This course examines human behavior and human nature in the context of ecological factors. The focus of the course will be on how psychology might help contribute to solve, or to mitigate, ecological problems that are likely to occur in this century, including depletion of natural resources (especially fossil fuels), human population overshoot of the planetary carrying capacity, global warming, and species extinction.
As shown in the graph below, all species suffer population collapse or species extinction if they overshoot and degrade the carrying capacity of their ecology.
Source: http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3188
A typical population collapse scenario is noted below. This is the population graph for yeast cells in a 10% sugar solution. Note that their population first explodes exponentially, and is then followed by population decline as the finite nutrients are exhausted and their own waste products pollute their environment.
Population Growth and Decline of Yeast Cells in a 10% Sugar Solution
Source: http://dieoff.org/page137.htm Price, D. (1995). Energy and Human Evolution. Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 16, 301-19. Growth of yeast in a 10% sugar solution (After Dieter, 1962:45). The fall of the curve is slowed by cytolysis, which recycles nutrients from dead cells.
This is how yeast turns grape juice into wine. The next time you say “cheers” over a glass of wine, remember that you are drinking the waste products of a collapsed yeast colony with poor ecological management skills!
The primary question to be investigated in this course is this: “Are humans smarter than yeast?”
That is, given that we live on a planet with finite resources, can humans be the only species that can successfully prevent ecological overshoot and population collapse? Given that the problem is psychological (e.g., how can humans cooperate to live sustainably on a finite planet?), can psychological science offer possible solutions or policy recommendations to help to achieve sustainably? And, even if humans have the knowledge needed to avoid ecological overshoot, can we successfully implement the needed behavioral changes? If so, can we do so in time?
The human population explosion.
Source: http://dieoff.org/page137.htm
Course Objectives / Student Learning Outcomes
Students will work collaboratively to research and write a formal scientific review article, as well as a more informal “wiki book” website, that will examine possible solutions to human ecological overshoot from the perspective of psychological science.
Students will also contribute to a class blog and class email group.
In particular, students will be able to explain ecological constraints imposed by the environment, identify theoretical and empirical resources developed by psychological science that might be used to help to solve or mitigate impending ecological problems, and to develop arguments regarding whether humans have the capacity and time to avoid overshoot and collapse.
Course Content and Informed Consent
Before you take this course, you should be aware that some of the content will include controversial topics, including evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, peak oil theory, anthropogenic climate change theory, speculations regarding the possibility of a human Malthusian catastrophe occurring in this century, and general issues of ethics and morality. For example, if the theory of evolution conflicts with your religious beliefs you may feel uncomfortable with some of the lectures that will be presented. (However, most Catholic and non-fundamentalist Christian theologians find no incompatibility with evolutionary theory and their religious faith.) Should any of the above present a potential problem for you, then please contact me as soon as possible for clarification of the issues, terms, and materials that will be part of the class.
In addition, we will examine several conflicting scenarios for alternative futures that may play out in this century, ranging from optimistic “techno-fixes” to “doomeristic” scenarios that posit that it is already too late to avoid overshoot and a Malthusian catastrophe. Some of this latter material can be a bit depressing (in fact, most people find it so on first reading). Should you find the material especially disturbing or depressing, please feel free to contact me. And, without trying to sound alarmist, keep in mind that confidential counseling is free at the campus Student Psychological Services office. Also, to help you keep some perspective and optimism about the future, please keep in mind that predicting the future is extremely difficult, and no one has been very good at it. As Yogi Berra (and other various authorities) said:
“Prediction is very hard, especially when it is about the future….”
CLASS PROJECTS
Class assignments and materials will be online. You will need access to a computer with an internet connection to perform the assignments in this class. Class project will include:
1. Write a collaborative Academic Review Article
Students will work collaboratively via a wiki to write a formal article, using APA style, appropriate as a review article for a professional academic journal. This article will review the problems of human ecological overshoot and will review what psychology may have to offer to help to solve ecological problems.
2. Write a collaborative “Wiki Book”
We will also work collaboratively to write a “wiki book” that is suitable for reading by non-professionals on these topics.
3. Write a Class Blog
Each student will write a weekly blog entry discussing their personal reactions to the material covered that week, as well as to discuss questions and issues with each other. Students will insert their weekly writings both to their own personal class blog (included in their class portfolio), as well as copy their posts to an overall class blog.
4. Contribute to a Class Email Group
A class email group will be created for the class to share ideas, information, research leads, discuss issues, etc. between weekly class meetings. You will be expected to email a new post, or a reply to other posts, via the class email group at least once every two weeks.
5. Panel Presentation
Seminar panels will be composed of a group of two to three students. The panel will research a particular topic of relevance to the class. The panel will prepare a PowerPoint presentation, make a presentation to the class, and lead a class discussion.
More specifics regarding each of these assignments will be given in class, and will be available on the class website.
Copyright issues: Because most of the products of this course will represent collaborative work, with multiple revisions by multiple people, students acknowledge that, by their participation, their contributions will be un-copyrighted, and in the public domain. Should any of these works be subsequently published, students agree that the copyright will revert to the publisher. In any published works, students will be identified by name as contributors to the publication. Please let me know if you do not agree to the above.
STUDENT PORTFOLIO
Each student will keep a portfolio of all of their written work in the class, including their contributions to the academic review article, the wiki book, and their weekly blog posts, and their contributions (posts/replies) to the class email group. All of this material will copied to your own personal “portfolio page” of the class wiki. (Again, more specifics on the logistics of doing this will be given in class, and/or will be available on the class website.) A preliminary outline of the formal article and wiki book will be available. While you are encouraged to contribute to the current topics we are discussing, you are free to contribute anywhere in the collaborative works at any time.
Avoid duplicating the work of your fellow students (e.g., researching the same materials and writing about identical or overlapping topics). You can tell your peers what you are working on in-class, or via our class email group, to avoid duplication.
The quality of the written material in the portfolio will be the primary basis for your grade in this class. (See section on grading, below.)
HOW THIS CLASS WILL BE DIFFERENT
As a seminar designed to create collaboratively authored publications, you will be expected to be a very active participant in this class. It will be different from most of your other undergraduate courses.
Typical class | This class |
Instructor led and taught. | Collaboratively led and taught by both students and instructor. |
Information is pre-summarized and “pre-digested” in textbooks and readings | Students will search for original relevant materials, and do the summarizing, digesting, and writing themselves. |
Readings selected by the professor. | Readings selected by both the professor and students. |
Fixed weekly topic schedule. | Somewhat flexible topic schedule. |
Class tasks and projects are structured and well defined. | Class tasks and projects will be far less structured and well defined. More student autonomy and self-direction. |
Class products (e.g., term papers) are not collaborative and are generally not available to public. | Class products will be collaborative and will be made available for professional and public consumption. |
Grades based on tests of mastery of existing material. | Grades primarily based on creative integration and synthesis of new material into new written products. |
EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Important class announcements will be provided to you weekly via email. By default, I will use your LMU email address. However, if you prefer email to go to a different email provider (e.g., Gmail, YahooMail, etc.), email me with that email address. If you do not receive my emails, or should you change your email address, please contact me.
CLASSROOM CONDUCT
Please turn off beepers and cell phones before coming to class. Regular attendance is and active class participation is expected.
If you bring a laptop to class please use it only to take class notes. Please do not surf the web, IM, or email during class -- it is distracting both to you and your classmates. (If this becomes a problem, I may prohibit laptop use during class.)
TESTS
There will be no midterms or final exam given in the course. There will be quizzes (about 10 multiple choice / short answer questions) most every week. These quizzes will cover reading material that I have assigned. You will be notified if there will be a quiz the next class session via email several days before class.
GRADING POLICIES
In most of my classes I try to make grading as objective as possible, wherein the final grade cutoffs are pre-determined. Because the primary focus of this seminar will be on your thorough review of existing literature to develop creative production of new material, your grade will be mostly based on my evaluation of your writing based on the following criteria established by the Psychology Department.
The Psychology Department faculty have established the following guidelines for grading written materials by students.
Grade: A
The student clearly demonstrates:
1) knowledge of the concepts and theories of psychology;
2) critical analysis of the subject/topic;
3) correct/accurate application of psychology’s principles,
concepts, facts, theories, and empirical data to the paper’s subject/topic;
4) ability to synthesize and integrate information and ideas;
5) ability to see the whole and think holistically; and
6) conclusions are based on fact rather than just opinion.
For example, in papers using the research literature, students demonstrate an accurate understanding of a research study, synthesize and integrate it with other relevant research literature, and critically apply it to the conclusions drawn in the paper.
The paper is written well and in correct APA style.
In addition, for this course you will also be evaluated on the following.
· the relevance of your contributions to the topic to our projects
· creative and original thinking that reveals a good conceptual grasp of the material and its possible implications and limitations
· writing that engages the reader with good argumentation and conceptual flow – not just a regurgitation of facts thrown together without much structure, direction or integration
· how well your writing is integrated into our overall projects
· your editing work to improve the overall articles (by editing other students contributions so that the prose follows clearly and smoothly from section to section, and so that there are no sections without any contributions)
· the degree to which you conducted a thorough search of relevant literature (and, you were able to find some “gems” that no one else has uncovered).
· you contributed approximately an equal amount of effort to both the formal article and the wiki book
· your work is not a duplicate, or overlaps too much, with the work of other students
· you avoid plagiarism and copyright violations (never simply cut and paste materials from another source; give appropriate attributions to references)
· you have referenced all of the material properly in our reference list
· I will also consider to a more minor extent your contributions to in-class discussions
Grade: B
The student clearly demonstrates at least three (3) of the six (6) criteria listed above as required for a grade of A. In papers requiring the use of the research literature, the student clearly demonstrates an accurate understanding of a research study, but shows some deficiencies in synthesizing and integrating it with other relevant research literature, and/or some deficiencies in critically applying it to the conclusions drawn in the paper. For the most part, the paper is written well and in correct APA style—i.e., only minor deviations from correct writing and APA style.
Grade: C
The student clearly demonstrates only one (1) or two (2) of the six (6) criteria listed above as required for a grade of A. The student clearly demonstrates knowledge of the terms and facts of psychology, and applies them to the paper’s subject/topic. The student clearly demonstrates an accurate understanding of the subject/topic, but lacks a critical analysis of it. In papers requiring the use of the research literature, the student clearly demonstrates an adequate but incomplete use of that literature. The student’s writing skills are adequate but in need of improvement. The student’s writing reflects knowledge of APA style that is essentially correct, but in need of improvement.
Grade: D
The student clearly demonstrates none (0) of the six (6) criteria listed above as required for a grade of A. The student’s knowledge of the terms and facts of psychology is either incorrect or inaccurately applied to the paper’s subject/topic. The student’s work reflects an inaccurate understanding of the subject/topic, and lacks a critical analysis of it. In papers requiring the use of the research literature, the student’s use of that literature is inadequate.
Even if the paper is well written and in correct APA style, these qualities cannot compensate for the above listed deficiencies in the paper’s content (i.e., the grade would be D). However, a paper whose content meets criteria for grades of C or higher, qualifies for a grade of D if 1) the student’s writing skills are deficient and in need of substantial improvement, and/or 2) the student’s writing reflects significant and/or multiple errors in APA style.
Grade: F
The student’s work does not meet criteria for a grade of D or higher.
Every two weeks, I will grade your portfolio work for the previous two weeks. I will evaluate more formally and thoroughly your contributions to the formal article and wiki book than your blog and email group posts (which are far more informal). This will give you regular feedback, and a chance for improvement, throughout the course. To give you a chance to get started with the work, I will first evaluate your portfolio contributions at the third week of class.
In addition to your bi-monthly portfolio grades, you will also get a grade for each of the following:
- group panel presentation
- overall class participation (based on my judgment at the end of the course)
- sum total of your quizzes
Points for all quizzes will be summed at the end of the class, and your quiz grade will be calculated as follows.
Overall Quizzes Grade. This grade will be determined by your percentage correct score. The "maximum possible score" will actually be set to halfway between the total points possible and
the highest score actually obtained in the class (this is to your advantage). For example, if the total quiz points possible was 110, and the person in the class with the top score got a 90, then 100 will be setas the top comparison score in the table below.
A >= 93% | A- = 90 - 92 |
|
B+ = 87 - 89 | B = 83 - 86 | B- = 80 - 82 |
C+ = 77 - 79 | C = 73 - 76 | C- = 70 - 72 |
D+ = 67 - 69 | D = 63 - 66 | D- = 60 - 62 |
F+ = 57 - 59 | F < 57 |
|
At the end of the class, I will drop your lowest grade. Your final grade in the course will simply be the average of all of your remaining grades: portfolio grades (about 7 or 8 grades), panel presentation grade, class participation grade, and total quiz points grade.
Because there will be so much emphasis on writing (and on finding relevant original research sources) in this course, if you feel you are weak in these areas, I recommendation that you try to get some assistance. The LMU library has writing tutors available. It might be a good idea to meet with a tutor to review your work before you contribute it to our wikis or your portfolio. Everyone can use a good writing editor and reviewer.
I will do my best to grade fairly and without bias, and I will be happy to give you feedback to help you to improve your writing and contributions. However, although I will be happy to meet with you to give you feedback, once I have given a grade, it will not be up for negotiation, and the grade will not be changed. However, again, I will drop your lowest grade at the end of the semester.
Although normally I encourage collaboration with another student(s) on some projects (e.g., the class panel presentation), I don’t see how that could work in this class. However, I am open to suggestions if you have some ideas re this.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Every week or so I will assign readings for the entire class (and which will be the material covered on the quiz the following class session). These materials will be available online, from me directly, at the library, or available on the library online ERES system.
Other than the readings I assign, there are no required textbooks for this class. The topic we are investigating is rather “cutting edge,” and, to my knowledge, no one has published a book or article that thoroughly reviews the topics of this course.
When you select your topics for investigation and writing, you will need to find your own materials. I may make some suggestions for possible research materials under each wiki topic outline heading.
I own several relevant books that I will make available to students to borrow. However, during the course, you may need to purchase some books yourself (or, borrow them from the library) if you find that they are relevant to the topic about which you are writing.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE
There will not be a strict weekly schedule for the course. In general, we will follow the outline noted in the wikis. We may spend more time on topics that interest us, or that take us longer to research and write about. However, I will generally keep the class apprised of what topics we will be covering the next week via emails or as announced in class.