Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 9.68 Affect: Neurobiological, Psychological, and Sociocultural Counterparts of “Feelings” as it was taught by Professor Stephan L. Chorover in Spring 2013.

This course studied the relations of affect to cognition and behavior, feeling to thinking and acting, and values to beliefs and practices. These connections were considered at the psychological level of organization and in terms of their neurobiological and sociocultural counterparts. The course was organized into a collaborative learning system with weekly class sessions, small study groups and several field trips.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

The central aim was to study the organization and development of human social systems using a collaborative learning system of the highest possible educational quality and of the greatest possible personal and social value to those who comprise it.

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

9.00 Introduction to Psychology

Requirements Satisfied

HASS-S

Offered

Professor Chorover is an emeritus professor and is no longer teaching this course.

 

Instructor Insights

Professor Chorover described various aspects of how he taught 9.68 Affect: Neurobiological, Psychological, and Sociocultural Counterparts of “Feelings” extensively in the course syllabus.

The following sections particularly illustrated Prof. Chorover's approach:

 

Student Information

On average, about 30 students take this course each year.

Breakdown by Year

Roughly 1/3 sophomores, 1/3 juniors and 1/3 seniors, with a small number of grad students.

Breakdown by Major

1/6 Brain and Cognitive Science majors, but most students were from other departments. A few students were from Wellesley College.

 
 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

In class

2 hours per week
  • Met 1 time per week for 2 hour per session; 14 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
  • In class problems based on readings or viewings and discussions from study groups.
  • Two sessions were replaced by a field trip to the MFA and a ‘walk-around-the-block’ assignment.
 

Study group meetings

2 hours per week
  • Met 1 time per week for 2 hours per session; 14 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
  • Randomly assigned membership in groups of 6-8 students.
 

Out of class

8 hours per week
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. Class meeting. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
2 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
3 No classes throughout MIT. Assignment due date. Field trip; assignment due date. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
4 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
5 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
6 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
7 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
8 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Study group meeting scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
9 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
10 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
11 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
12 Study group meeting scheduled. Field trip; assignment due date. No classes throughout MIT. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
13 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
14 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled.
15 Study group meeting scheduled. Class meeting; assignment due date. No session scheduled. Study group meeting scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class meetings are held. Class meeting
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when field trips are held. MFA Field trip or 'walk-around-the-block' assignment
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when study group meetings are held. Study group meeting
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when assignments are due. Assignment due date