Psych 56L/ Ling 51: Assignments

Homework

There will be three homeworks throughout the quarter, based on the material covered in class. You can download them by clicking on the relevant link in the schedule page. These are due after we have covered the material in class, and are usually available more than a week beforehand so you can be working on them as we discuss the relevant material in class. A hard copy of the homework assignment must be turned in during class the day it is due for full credit, unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor through email. Typed assignments are strongly preferred.

Late assignments will be accepted, but will lose 10% of the total score possible on the assignment for every class session late (not every day late). This is to encourage you to do the assignments, as it is far preferable to work through the material late than never. Moreover, homework comprises a hefty portion of your grade, so please do it - even if it's late. Late assignments may be emailed to the TA and Prof. Pearl (in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).

You should feel free to work together on homework (and in fact this is encouraged), and you can turn in one assignment per homework group. If you work in a group and turn in a single assignment, please make sure to include the name and student id of everyone that worked on the assignment. There will be one grade given per homework assignment, and everyone whose name and student id is on a given assignment will receive the same grade as everyone else whose name and student id is on that assignment.

Midterm

There will be a midterm in class on 2/09/12. This will cover the material up until that point. The midterm questions will come from the review questions posted on the website for the topics covered, as well as the homework questions.

The midterm is open-note (including your book, the lecture notes, and any notes of your own you wish to bring), but it is non-collaborative (no group efforts, please). If you are caught collaborating during the midterm, you will all receive a 0 for the midterm.

In addition, there will no makeup for the midterm unless you have an emergency (family, medical, etc.) that day, at which point you should contact the instructor as soon as possible afterwards and make arrangements. A doctor's note or some other form of "proof of emergency" will be expected in that situation. If you know ahead of time that you cannot take the midterm that day, you should contact the instructor beforehand to make arrangements to take it at some other time.

Midterms will be given as online exams through EEE. This means that you will only be able to access the exam using a computer that has internet connectivity between 2pm and 3:20pm (normal class time). You can take the exam in one of two ways:

(1) You can take it in SSL 270 if you have your own laptop, or in the computer lab in SBSG G241 if you do not have your own laptop. The instructor or TA will be present at each location, which has the following benefits:

The instructor or TA will remind you how much time you have remaining.
The instructor or TA will be available to answer questions you have about exam questions.
If you have trouble accessing the exam, the instructor or TA will be present to help.
If you have trouble submitting the exam, the instructor or TA will be present to help.

(2) You can take it anywhere else that has a computer with internet connectivity. This has the following downsides:

You must keep track of the time remaining yourself.
You will not be able to ask someone knowledgeable about questions you have about exam questions.
If you have trouble accessing the exam or submitting the exam, you will have to work it out yourself - the instructor will be considerably less sympathetic to any "technical difficulties" that occur.

If you submit an exam late (that is, after the time limit is up), the following late submission policy will apply:
For every full minute late, one percentage point will be subtracted from your exam score.

Final

There will be a final on 3/22/12, from 1:30pm - 3:30pm. This will cover the material presented throughout the quarter, with a focus on the material presented after the midterm. The final questions will come from the review questions posted on the website for all the topics covered, as well as the homework questions.

The final is open-note (including your book, the lecture notes, and any notes of your own you wish to bring), but it is non-collaborative (no group efforts, please). If you are caught collaborating during the final, you will all receive a 0 for the final.

In addition, there will no makeup for the final unless you have an emergency (family, medical, etc.) that day, at which point you should contact the instructor as soon as possible afterwards and make arrangements. A doctor's note or some other form of "proof of emergency" will be expected in that situation. If you know ahead of time that you cannot take the final that day, you should contact the instructor beforehand to make arrangements to take it at some other time. Please note that having more than 2 finals on that day is a valid reason to schedule the final for another time (most likely sometime earlier in the week).

Finals will be given as online exams through EEE. This means that you will only be able to access the exam using a computer that has internet connectivity between 1:30pm and 3:30pm. You can take the exam in one of two ways:

(1) You can take it in SSL 270 if you have your own laptop, or in the computer lab in SBSG G241 if you do not have your own laptop. The instructor or TA will be present at each location, which has the following benefits:

The instructor or TA will remind you how much time you have remaining.
The instructor or TA will be available to answer questions you have about exam questions.
If you have trouble accessing the exam, the instructor or TA will be present to help.
If you have trouble submitting the exam, the instructor or TA will be present to help.

(2) You can take it anywhere else that has a computer with internet connectivity. This has the following downsides:

You must keep track of the time remaining yourself.
You will not be able to ask someone knowledgeable about questions you have about exam questions.
If you have trouble accessing the exam or submitting the exam, you will have to work it out yourself - the instructor will be considerably less sympathetic to any "technical difficulties" that occur.

If you submit an exam late (that is, after the time limit is up), the following late submission policy will apply:
For every full minute late, one percentage point will be subtracted from your exam score.

Extra credit

You may earn up to a total of 3 extra credit percentage points in one of three ways:

(1) You can participate in an online language science experiment in a webgame format, called WordSleuth. You will receive 0.5 points for every 30 items that you complete (either creating or guessing), with your maximum credit for this class limited to 180 items (either creating or guessing) (3 points). You will receive credit for items completed at any difficulty level.

Procedure: Register an account on WordSleuth, and play whenever you like. Make sure to email the instructor with your WordSleuth username so that you can receive the extra credit from playing WordSleuth.

(2) You can participate in laboratory experiments. As subjects in experiments, you have the opportunity to learn how experimental research in psychology is conducted today, and you help provide the necessary subjects for the School's extensive research program. You will receive 0.5 points for each half hour that you participate, with your maximum participation for this class limited to 3 hours (i.e., 3 points).

Procedure: Sign up online using this link to the scheduling program called experimetrix

https://experimetrix2.com/uci

Contract: When signing up to participate in research through Experimetrix as a way to earn extra course credit, please be aware of the Human Subject Lab's policy:

1. Be sure that you meet the eligibility criteria for the research study before signing up.
2. Arrive on time since many studies begin exactly at the scheduled time.
3. If you need to cancel your appointment, do so no later than one hour before your scheduled appointment by either clicking on the "cancel" button next to your name in Experimetrix or by calling the researcher for the study or the lab manager (949-824-8083).

Students who do not comply with the above policy statements will not earn the extra credit points. Moreover, students who fail to follow the above policies twice during a quarter will not be permitted to use the Human Subjects lab as a means to earn extra course credit for the remainder of that quarter.

Your attendance at the experiment will be recorded by the laboratory assistant. Also, the experimenters may run out of experiments before the end of the quarter, so early participation is the safest way to ensure that you don't miss out on this easy way to accumulate points. In addition, please note that you will need to allocate your earned credits to your selected classes before the end of the quarter if you want your credits to show up for this class (and all other classes you allocate them to).

(3) You may volunteer to write a 4-page (double-space typewritten) paper for up to 3 points of extra credit. You must get approval from Prof. Pearl for the topic of the paper, and then she or the TA will grade the paper and decide, based on its quality, how many points of extra credit it receives. Papers are due by the end of class on Thursday, March 15, 2012. Late papers receive no credit.