Shaw 734 SyllabusFALL 2014

PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p
Hanover Hall L003
SYLLABUS
PSYCHOLOGY 734-003: Cognition, Stress, and Individual differences in
Performance
Instructor: Tyler Shaw, Ph.D.
Office: 2059 David King Hall
Phone: 993-5187
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Monday 12p-1:30p or by appt.
Course Description: This course reviews the psychology of human performance, i.e. the factors
that influence people's efficiency and style of response in performing laboratory and real-world
tasks. The course will cover both theory, derived primarily from cognitive science, and aspects of
human factors practice. It also covers general methodological principles in studies of
performance, including the use of experimental studies to test information-processing models of
performance. Performance depends on various factors, including the nature of the task
performed, the environment in which performance takes place, and the human performer. The
course will have three major themes. The first theme focuses on task induced factors.
Performance is controlled by a variety of different component processes, associated with
functions such as attention, memory, response selection and so forth, and we will begin with a
review of these models. The second theme for the course considers environmental factors that
can cause stress. The third and major theme of the course is concerned with individual
differences in performance, covering factors such as emotional intelligence, personality, errorproneness, mood, evaluation anxiety, and the relevance of these concepts to real-world problems
such as occupational selection. At the end of the course, you should have a deeper understanding
of psychological theories of performance, the use of experimental methods in testing these
theories, and the relevance of laboratory performance studies to human factors and occupational
psychology.
Course structure: This course will be predominantly taught in a seminar format -- the instructor
will lead the discussion for the first portion of class, and students will lead the discussion of the
papers assigned for each week for the remainder of the class. I expect everyone (especially the
discussion leaders!) to read the assigned articles before class.
Reading Assignments: Matthews, G., Davies, D.R., Westerman, S.J., & Stammers, R.B. (2000)
Human Performance: Cognition, Stress and Individual Differences. London:
Routledge.+ reading list
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Hanover Hall L003
The following texts may be helpful but are not required:

Anderson, J.R. (1999). Cognitive psychology and its implications (5th ed.). New York : W.H.
Freeman. Publisher's website: http://www.bfwpub.com.
Hancock, P.A., & Desmond, P.A. (Eds.) (2001). Stress, workload, and fatigue. Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Wickens, C.D., & Hollands, J.G., Parasuraman, R., & Banbury, S. (2012). Engineering
psychology and human performance (4th ed.) New York: Pearson. Publisher's
website: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/
Attendance Policy Although I do not grade on or take attendance, this is a graduate level course
and I expect to see you in class each week. Furthermore, your absence does not allow you to
participate in course discussion and will therefore affect your participation grade.
Grading & Evaluation:
Your course grade will be based upon facilitation of class discussions, a final term paper, a takehome midterm, 2 reaction papers, and participation in class discussions. Each of these will
contribute the following percentage toward your final grade:
Discussion leads (2 @ 10% each): 20%
Take-home Midterm: 25%
Final Paper: 25%
Reaction papers (2 @ 10% each): 20%
Participation: 10%
Grading scale: I use a 10-point grading system (e.g., 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, etc.) with +/- (e.g.,
79.5-82 = B-, 88-89.49= B+, etc.).
Discussions/Readings (20%): Students will be assigned to lead 2 class discussions of the
assigned readings. It may be necessary to prepare a handout or a few PowerPoint slides to help
organize the discussion. All students must read the article/chapter ahead of time and be
prepared to take involvement in the class discussion. Your grade for your discussion is not
based solely on your presentation/ discussion lead, but is also based on your contribution to
discussions in general.
Some tips on a great discussion: Ideally, what I would like to see is an interactive session that
actively engages members of the class. PowerPoint slides are certainly an acceptable format for
facilitating discussion, but it is recommended that you pose interesting questions to the class at
various points during the discussion. Additionally, the more creative your discussion, the better!
Creativity can be induced through the use of videos, demonstrations, anecdotes, a consideration
PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

Hanover Hall L003
of real-world applications, other literature, etc. Since were together for almost 3 hours every
week we may as well have some fun!
Reaction papers (20%). You are required to write a short reaction paper (300 words) based on
two readings. Your paper should describe your views on what is important and challenging about
the topic. The purpose of these papers is to give you the opportunity to express your own ideas
regarding the readings for that week. The paper must be submitted to me AND THE
STUDENT(S) leading the discussion that day at least 24 hours before the topic to be discussed
and CANNOT overlap with your discussion days. You will receive full credit for your paper
provided that it is relevant to the topic, clearly expresses your views, and is of adequate length.
Points will be deducted only if these criteria are not met.
Paper (25%): You are required to write an 8-10 page paper. The paper should be a unique
performance/real-world application of one of the major topics weve discussed (EXAMPLE:
evaluation anxiety in sports performance). Though this paper is not meant to be a
comprehensive literature review, the use of multiple references is ideal. To ensure that the topic
youve chosen is appropriate, you should submit your topics to me at least 2 weeks before the
due date of the paper. Paper will be due on Monday, November 10.
Take-home midterm (25%): There will be one take home exam that you will have 1 week to
complete. The format of this exam will be a mix of short answer and essay questions.
Make-up policy: If you miss the due date for the take-home midterm or paper, a well
documented excuse will be required, unless you received the OK from me beforehand. The takehome exam will be due on October 14.
Other Policies:
Special needs:
Every effort will be made to accommodate students with a disability or special needs. If you are
a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact
the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations must be
arranged through that office.
University Honor policy:
Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. I will deal with academic dishonesty in
accordance with George Mason Universitys Student Code of Conduct. I recommend that you
familiarize yourself with the policies set forth by GMU. The instructor for this course reserves
the right to enter a failing grade to any student found guilty of an honor code violation.
Important Dates:
First day of classes: August 25, 2014
Last day to add course: September 2, 2014
Last day to drop: September 26, 2014
PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

Hanover Hall L003
Course Schedule
Note:Thisschedulemaybesubjecttochange.

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PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

Hanover Hall L003

PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

The following texts may be helpful but are not required:

PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

PSYC-734-003, Fall 2014, Mon 1:30-4:10p

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