Clinical Psychology (PSY 241-1) Syllabus

Ashoka University
Class Timing and Location: Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:50- 4:20 pm (AC 01-LR 105)

Instructor
Disclaimer: Everything in this syllabus is tentative and we can deviate from it contingent on
Simantini Ghosh, PhD student feedback and instructors perception about improving learning inside or outside the
classroom.

Phone
Course Overview
0130-2300664
This course focuses on understanding the phenomenology (description), etiology (causes), and
treatment of abnormal behavior. Major psychological syndromes will be discussed along with the
Email (Preferred method of
current APA classification system (DSM-5) and other classification systems. Genetic, biological,
communication)
social, and psychological parameters implicated in the etiology of these syndromes will be
Simi@ashoka.edu.in introduced

Course Objectives
Office Location
 Understand the merits and limitations of research methods and assessment techniques for clinical
New Academic Block psychology
AC 351  Learn basics of critical and analytical skills required to read an article on clinical psychology
 Understand and be able to describe the current APA classification system (DSM-5) and show
Office Hours appreciation for other classification systems internationally
 Understand and be able to describe the major psychological disorders
Wed : noon to 1 pm or by  Describe the genetic, biological, social, and psychological influences on these disorders
appointment  Understand the influence of societal, cultural, historical, and environmental influences on these
disorders
Teaching Assistant: Surabhi Katyal  Appreciate the concept of comorbidity
surabhi.katyal@ashoka.edu.in  Discuss mental health services historically, and in today’s USA, and appreciate international
differences
 Understand ethical issues involved with mental health services
 Learn the importance of vocabulary, empathy and nuances in abnormal behavior
 Be able to navigate and think through elementary clinical problems in practice
 Learn to write an interview questionnaire based on a clinical case study

Course Reading

Text : Butcher J.N, Mineka S, Hooley J.M (2013) Abnormal Psychology (15th ed) Pearson

Reference: Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2015). Abnormal psychology (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

In Addition to text chapters, occasionally, there will be sections from the reference, other book chapters, or articles. All chapters, articles, readings,
lectures, will be uploaded on Piazza.
Link to the class webpage

PSY241 Clinical Psychology Spring 2018 Ashoka University

Course structure and class layout

 Class will consist of four parts 24/1/2018 onwards.

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 o Resolution of doubts/comments questions from previous class or readings 5 minutes
o Instructor or Instructor-TA led modules : Lectures or various group activities 60- 85 minutes
o Quiz (details follow) 20 minutes
o Quiz answers and discussion by the TA-5 minutes
o This will be the central layout for most classes. We might readjust timings for longer/shorter lectures.
 Mondays will typically not have a quiz and have a longer lecture.
 The quiz will be conducted on Wednesdays on the relevant text chapter (Readings on the course Schedule). All students will require to
bring a laptop or google form enabled phone to class for quiz. The questions will be in the MCQ format with 8-10 questions. There will
be a balance of analytical and declarative questions.
o Class quizzes 30% of the course grade.
o Q1-Q4 will be 4% each towards the final grade: 4X4=16%
o Q5-Q12 will be 2% each. Best 7 out of these 8 quizzes will be counted 7X2=14%
 Readings can be book chapters, and in addition to book chapters some other articles which will be decided by the instructor as the
course continues
 There will be 1 exam- 50% of the course grade.
 There will be 1 group practicum amounting to 20% of the course grade
 Each week on Wednesday, a discussion thread will be opened in the course page by Surabhi where the students are urged to post their
questions about their readings. Anonymous posts are allowed on Piazza. Please try to have your doubts posted by Saturday 5 pm. This
helps both the TAs
o Surabhi will be able to structure the discussion thread around your doubts
o If there is a chunk of students not clear on any one concept, Surabhi will be able to keep it out of the class quiz if she cannot
resolve the doubt, and I will take it up next class
o Therefore it is in your overall interest to post in the discussion thread
 Student workload: You should be spending 9 hours on the course every week, 3 hours of which will be in the class. That leaves 6 hrs of
study time per week. For this course, you are responsible for one chapter of the textbook for the quizzes every week. Please plan your
reading and preparation such that your workload doesn’t become unbearable before the exam.

Grading

 Class quizzes (11 out of 12 total)- 30%

o Each quiz will have 10 MCQ questions (Each worth 2 points) and will be administered and scored real time in class by a
combination of google forms and Flubaroo. Total points possible on every quiz- 20
o The quiz will be conducted on Wednesdays on the relevant text chapter (Readings on the course Schedule). All students will
require to bring a laptop or google form enabled phone to class for quiz. The questions will be in the MCQ format with 10
questions. There will be a balance of analytical and declarative questions.
o Class quizzes 30% of the course grade.
o Q1-Q4 will be 4% each towards the final grade: 4X4=16%
o Q5-Q12 will be 2% each. Best 7 out of these 8 quizzes will be counted 7X2=14%
o The sum of your weighted scores from the individual quizzes will add up to the final score out of 300 and then scaled back to
30.
o There will be a class blog. The articles will be posted by either TA or the instructor to keep a discussion ongoing about the
material of the week. Students who have missed a quiz and want to make up for their grades will have to write a 700 word
blogpost about the topic of the week’s lecture, usually a journal article assigned by the instructor. This will be graded by the
TA (Each blog post in lieu of a missed quiz will be 4% or 2% depending on the quiz missed. Only up to 3 blog entries are
permitted for each student. Beyond that if you miss class, you will lose the quiz grade for that day.
 Exam (25/4/2018)- 40%
o This will be a combination of MCQ, True or false, fill in the blanks, and short answer type questions to test understanding of
concepts and reasoning.
o The exam will be an open book test.
o Most questions will address your critical and analytical thinking.
o The exam will be administered in google forms and graded with flubaroo.
o The exam will be conducted on 100 points. Your score will be scaled down to 50 for the final course grade calculation
o The exam will be conducted online with google forms and scored via flubaroo

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  Group practicum- 30%
o Instructor will create a spreadsheet with provision for 7 groups of 6 students each
o & case studies will be uploaded into separate sheets on the google spreadsheet by the end of the midterm break.
o The class will be divided into groups and each group will be pick a case presentation with a mental status examination report
(Deadline 11:59 pm; 11.4.2018; end of week 12)
o The last day of class will be dedicated to case discussions (25/4/2018)
o Based on initial presentation each group will collaboratively write a preliminary questionnaire on the sheet. (Due Friday,
11:59 pm 4.5.2018 ; End of Week 15)
o After receiving answers to the questionnaire, they will write a second, more focused questionnaire with interval scales. (Due
11:59 pm; Monday 7.5.2018, Beginning of Exam week)
o Finally, upon receiving a second round of answers, each group will write a diagnostic report with further recommendations.
(Due 11:59 pm; Friday 11.5.2018, End of Exam week, Last day of Semester)
o This will be graded on 100 points. Each Questionnaire-25 points. Diagnostic assessment report 50 points. Will be scaled
down to - 30%
o This entire Assignment will be done on a google spreadsheet.
o ALL DEADLINES WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. Each 24 hrs of late submission will lead to a reduction of the FINAL
course grade by 2% for the entire group.

 Calculation of final grades

o Your weighted scores from each section above will be summated to generate a final score out of 100
o E.G. Student X Scores
 27 on class quizzes (270 out of 300)
 40 on Exam 1 (80 out of 100)
 16 on practicum ( 80 out of 100)
 Total score = 83 out of 100
o A class grade curve will be constructed and you will be finally graded on the curve based on relative cluster grading.
o Sample Grade Curve from a previous class

o Please remember, A- Outstanding, B- Very Good, C- Adequate, D- Less than Adequate and F-Fail. No student is entitled
to an A just by turning up for the class. Your work truly needs to stand out among your peers to get an A. There is no
point cut off for any grade- the class curve will determine how good or bad you have done in comparison to your peers and
that gets you your final letter grade. Find the updated Ashoka University Grading system here.
https://lms.ashoka.edu.in/Contents/Masters/OrientationMaterial_View.aspx. This is quoted from the grading policy document
from the Ashoka University Grading policy Document:

 A, A– Excellent quality and full mastery of the subject. A grade of A means extraordinary distinction.
 B+, B, B– Good comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the
course material, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.
 C+, C, C– Adequate comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course material.
Indicates the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class
activities.
 D+, D, D– Barely satisfactory work indicating minimal command of the course materials and minimal participation in
class activities.

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  F unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit towards the degree.
o Grade appeals are not allowed carte blanche. The class quiz and the exam will be in MCQ or objective format, so their
grades cannot be appealed. Grades for Blogposts in lieu of quizzes (Limit of 3 per student) cannot be appealed as well.
For the practicum if the entire group has consensus that the assigned scores need a re-evaluation, they must bring it to the
notice of the instructor in writing as a grade appeal. There is no guarantee that your scores will increase. They might remain
same or even reduce after re-evaluation.

Course policies

 Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:

o In view of the rampant instances of plagiarism reported and detected in Monsoon 2016, the instructors and TA will be hyper
vigilant about plagiarism. The University is in the process of obtaining plagiarism detection software, and once the license is
functional, assignment submission will be through the software
o If the software detects plagiarism in your work, you will lose the entire grade component for that assignment and depending
whether this is the first time or a repeat offense, the citation of plagiarism (that includes copying in an examination) will be
reported to the Office of Academic Affairs
o Copying verbatim and including the citation in the references is still plagiarism
o Circulating the same essay for different courses is plagiarism
o For more understanding on this issue here are a few links from the undergraduate writing center of Harvard University. The
last link will take you to the LMS system of Ashoka which contains the official plagiarism policy.
How to avoid plagiarism
Harvard Plagiarism policy
Harvard's guide to using sources in college writing
What constitutes plagiarism?
Why is plagiarism a big deal?
Ashoka University’s policy on plagiarism found here

o The CWC workshops on plagiarisms are also an excellent resource to understand the seriousness of this issue
 Social Media Policy:
o This course requires participation in online quizzes so having laptops and phones are required, but spending time on
browsing the internet on those gadgets if detected by the TA or the instructor will lead to your dismissal from the class that
day and you will lose the quiz grade for the day.
o People have negative feelings about courses and instructors. It is common and no one denies that happens. Student
feedback, anonymous and named, are welcome. However, it is unprofessional to rant on social media about your grievances,
and it doesn’t help anyone. This is an earnest and humble request to approach the TA and the instructor about any issues
you are having with the course before you take matters to social media.
o I am VERY open to student feedback at any time. Shoot me an email and setup a time to come see me about anything that is
bothering you about the course.
 Attendance policy
o Attendance will be taken every day by the TA. Missing more than 5 classes will lead to a fail.
o If you are absent but have taken the quiz remotely, you will still not be graded.
o You have 3 excused absences. Use them wisely.
o If you can’t come to class for an emergency, a medical issue or leave earlier than 30 minutes, email the instructor ahead of
time. Bring a medical certificate to the next class or email it to the instructor or the TA.
 Missed Exam policy:
o If you miss the exam as a no show, you will lose the entire exam grade. NO REXAMINATIONS ARE ALLOWED.
o The exam is open book and conducted online. In case of an emergency that you’re not on campus that day, please arrange
your travel such that you have access to the internet on Wednesday 25.4.2018 between 2:50-4:20pm. I can allow you to take
the exam remotely, only if you arrange it with me at least two weeks in advance
o Emergencies will be determined by the instructor on a case by case basis. Serious illness of the student, or in the student’s
immediate family (with medical certificate from a doctor or a mental health practitioner), Or representing Ashoka in an
outstation event or competition are some grounds for taking the examination remotely.

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 o Traveling for family marriages, vacations, unfortunately will not be entertained as an excuse for a remote examination. Please
plan your travels accordingly.
 Practicum rules and policies
o Each Group will have 6 members. Students will form the groups themselves by the deadline.
o At least one person in each group should have taken SRM1.
o This assignment requires teamwork and collaboration. Although the entire assignment can be done remotely, please form
your groups such that how you convene and come up with the final questionnaire is agreed upon by the whole group.
o The instructor will not entertain complaints such as inadequate participation from some members of the group. Such conflicts
should be decided well before submissions are due. The final score for a group will be what your individual scores are for your
assignment.
o Final submission in on the last day of submission. You can of course coordinate online, but please be available for the entire
group to come together. I would strongly advise that you don’t plan to take off because you have finished all exams and
assignment without informing your teammates well ahead in advance. This is part of professional behavior.
o Understand, and respect contrarian viewpoints, and respond to them rationally and courteously. Every person in the team
might have a separate skill, and a group can use that to their advantage.
 Hold yourself responsible for your work, and carry yourself in a professional manner
 The instructor is generally very approachable and has an open door office policy, however, it is always better to email and setup a
meeting ahead of time
 If you have a chronic illness, have a disability or a learning disability or ESOL issues, please let the instructor know and arrangements
made for your condition.
 The instructor will try for maximum flexibility in meeting with students and help them resolve their issues with the course material,
however, here are few things which are off limits
o Asking me to do your work for you: I will guide you on how to write a questionnaire, I won’t be writing it for you.
o Plan reading and writing ahead of time. I will provide tentative timelines for assignment in class. If you don’t follow them,
please don’t insist to meet with me to discuss your doubts one day before submission.
o Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part

Course Schedule

PSY241 Clinical psychology Spring 2018 Schedule and Practicum spreadsheet

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