Psychology in Film Undergraduate Course Syllabus

Objectives: After successful completion of this course, the student should have:

• an understanding of basic psychological principles related to human behavior across major fields of psychology;
• an awareness of the impact of popular film on society;
• the ability to critically evaluate the accuracy of portrayal of psychological topics in film;
• and, an appreciation for techniques used in film to illustrate psychological concepts.

Students with Disabilities: Marywood University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should advise the instructor and submit documentation of the disability at the Office of Disability Services, Liberal Arts Center 202, in order for reasonable accommodations to be granted. The Office of Disability Services will determine the appropriate accommodation and in cooperation with the instructor, will work to ensure that the student has a fair opportunity to perform in this class. To best service the needs of the student, he/she should notify the instructor and the Office of Disability Services of special accommodation needs by the last day to register for semester classes. Contact the Academic Excellence Center, LAC 202 (340-6045). More information is available at www.marywood.edu/disabilities/disabilityservices.html.

Required Materials: There is no required textbook. You will, however, be required to watch a total of 21 movies across the semester (1-2 movies per week), complete worksheets, and read assigned readings. PowerPoint slides and readings will be posted on Moodle.

At least one copy of every movie is available for borrowing. Movies required for all students will be shown on Thursday evenings and a copy will put on reserve in the library (after the showing, if a copy is not already on reserve). Movies required for each group will be borrowed from me, with some also on reserve in the library. It is up to the group to arrange how the movie will be viewed. You may watch it together, but analysis questions MUST be completed separately. Or, you must make arrangements for passing the movie among yourselves, ensuring that everyone sees it by the due date. Each week a different group member will be in charge of the DVD and the scheduling.

Depending upon the required movie, all movies can be seen by borrowing them from the library reserve (if available), watching the group copy borrowed from me, or attending the weekly showing. Of course, you could also purchase or rent them on your own.

PLAN AHEAD: It is best not to watch the group required movie before the topic is covered in class and related readings are completed. If you have already seen a movie, watch it again.

Movies on Reserve: Some movies will be on reserve in the library for 4 hour check-out periods.

Attending Weekly Movie Showing: One required movie per topic will be shown each week school is in session on Tuesday evenings (6:30 pm). Location to be announced. See course schedule.

Purchasing Movies: Buying movies ahead will remove the possibility of not being able to get the movie when you need it. Amazon.com typically has great prices on DVDs and some downloadable movies. Blockbuster.com also sells new and used DVDs, as well as downloads. If you chose to purchase all the required movies that are not available on reserve in the library, it would most likely cost you about the same as a textbook, or even less if you luck into DVD sales.

Renting Movies: It might be worth your while to sign up for Blockbuster by mail or Netflix or movies on demand programs and to queue up your movies to have them when you need them. Personally, I have a Blockbuster Total Access Premium account ($19.99 per month) which allows me to have 3 movies mailed out to me at a time and each of those movies can be turned in to a Blockbuster store for a movie from the store.

REQUIREMENTS: 

1. Examinations (25% each): There will be a midterm and a final examination covering material in the assigned readings, lecture notes, required movies, and lecture. Format will be objective test items and short answer. Should an emergency necessitate a make-up exam, the resulting raw score will determine the grade; that is, the student will not benefit from the modified curve based on class performance. Therefore, there is a distinct advantage to taking the exam as scheduled.

2. Film Analyses (40%): Across the semester, you will complete 10 film analysis worksheets related to your assigned movies. These questions will be posted on Moodle on or before the date the topic is covered in class. These analyses are to be completed in Microsoft Word and then uploaded to Moodle by noon on the due date (typically 5 days later). Turn it in on time – the grade will be reduced by 5% for each day that it is late. These are to be completed INDEPENDENTLY (see paragraph below re academic dishonesty).

3. Class Discussion Participation (10%): It is expected that you will be present for all scheduled class discussions. Both whole class and small group discussions will occur.

GRADING: Assignments will be graded for content and quality, according to the essential components of each requirement. Grading of exams will be based on a modified “curve,” with the top grade on each exam determining the “A,” or 100%. The A range will be from 95-100%, A- range from 90-94%, B+ range from 87-89%, B range from 83-86%, B- range from 80-82%, C+ range from 77-79%, C from 73-76%, C- from 70-72%, D+ from 67-69%, D from 63-66%, and F<63%.

PLAGIARISM/ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED: Any written or orally presented material must be in your own words, with appropriate citation for the proper paraphrasing of another’s work. Any direct quotes from another source must be designated with quotation marks and cited according to the most recent APA Publication Manual; also see this manual for additional information about plagiarism. Direct quotation should be minimal, i.e., no more than a few words or phrases which cannot be paraphrased adequately. Any assignment completed through plagiarism or other form of academic dishonesty will result in a failed grade on the assignment and formal charge of academic dishonesty (for the University policy, seehttp://cwis.marywood.edu/www2/policy/4Academic/AcademicHonesty.html).

NOTE: Some of the movies you will be required to view may contain instances of violence, sexual content, and/or foul language as would be consistent with an R rating. If this is offensive, or if you are otherwise unable to view such movies, please discuss this with me no later than the last day to withdraw from the course with full tuition refund, to determine if there is a possible accommodation.

Required Readings: (all readings will be posted on, or linked from, Moodle):

Bleach, A. C. (2010). Postfeminist cliques? Class, postfeminism, and the Molly Ringwald-John Hughes films. Cinema Journal: The Journal of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, 49 (3), 24-44.
Bischoff, R. J., & Reiter, A. D. (1999). The role of gender in the presentation of mental health professionals in the movies: Implications for clinical practice. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training, 36, 180-189.
Cannon, B. J. (2009). Bereavement in Ordinary People. Psinema, 6, http://www.psinema.org/dergi6/dergi.htm.
Cannon, B. J. (2008). Motivations for suicide in the movies: External and internal forces.Psinema, 5, http://www.psinema.org/dergi5/dergi.htm.
Cannon, B. J. (2007). Leadership in the movies: Applying a trait-based model. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, 67 (11), 10, 12.
Carr, D. (2006). Moral education at the movies: On the cinematic treatment of morally significant story and narrative. Journal of Moral Education,35, 319-333.
Cox, M., Garrett, E., & Graham, J. A. (2004-2005). Death in Disney films: Implications for children’s understanding of death. Omega, 50, 267-280.
Lampropoulos, G. K., Kazantzis, N., & Deane, F. (2004). Psychologists’ use of motion pictures in clinical practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 535-541.
Lawson, A. & Fouts, G. (2004). Mental illness in Disney animated films. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 310-314.
Renner, K. (2006). Repeat viewings revisited: Emotions, memory, and “Memento.” Film Studies, 8, 106-115.
Robinson, T., Callister, M., Magoffin, D., & Moore, J. (2007). The portrayal of older characters in Disney animated films. Journal of Aging Studies, 21, 203-213.
Szasz, T. (2000). Curing the Therapeutic State: Thomas Szasz on the medicalization of American life. REASON Online .http://www.reason.com/0007/fe.js.curing.html
Tompkins, J. (2010). What’s the deal with soundtrack albums? Metal music and the customized aesthetics of contemporary horror.Cinema Journal: The Journal of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, 49 (1), 65-81.
Wahl, O., Wood, A., Zaveri, P., Drapalski, A., & Mann, B. (2003). Mental illness depiction in children’s films. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 553-560.
Waterman, A. S. (1982). Identity development from adolescence to adulthood: An extension of theory and a review of research. Developmental Psychology, 18, 341-358.
Wedding, D., & Niemiec, R. M. (2003). The clinical use of films in psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59, 207-215.