|
|  |
 |
Introduction
to Psychology
(PSY 256 3.0 Cr)
Arts & Sciences
Course Description
The field of psychology has changed dramatically
over the past century. Psychological "truths"
of twenty-five years ago are considered misguided,
even erroneous, today. Yet, many of the fundamental
questions of psychology remain the same. What
does it mean to perceive? What do our brains
do? Why do people act differently in groups
than when they are alone? How does memory
work? What's going on in my child's mind?
This course will tackle these and other questions
by surveying the work of classical and contemporary
psychologists. Students will be encouraged
to think about the theoretical bases of this
work and to consider how such work can be
relevant to everyday life.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, students will
be able to:
• Understand the unique perspectives
and approaches of psychology among the various
social sciences
• Have an appreciation for the way in
which their lives are shaped by psychological
factors around them
• Understand the basic concepts that
are used by psychologists and be able to explain
them to others
• Be able to apply some psychological
concepts in everyday life
Breadth of Assignments
This course relies on a number of different
assignment types to adequately explore the
topic of Psychology. Students are expected
to use the Discussion board to share opinions
and experiences with their classmates, in
effort to enrich and personalize the course
materials. Students are also assigned textbook
reading, collaborative exercises and writing
assignments, online research and case studies,
and tests and self-assessment quizzes.
Required Resources
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Pathways to Psychology,
(2nd ed.). Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0-15-508047-4
Introduction to Psychology
Arts & Sciences
Module/Topics
Module 1: What is Psychology?
• Defining psychology and how it is
different from other disciplines that study
human nature
• Goals that psychologists work toward
• Issues and questions that psychologists
research
• Logic and purpose of the "experimental
design"
• Ethical issues faced by psychologists
• The history of how psychology emerged
as its own discipline
Module 2: Biological Psychology
• Applying an evolutionary framework
to psychological ideas
• How certain human characteristics
are shaped by the environment rather than
by genetic factors
• Components of the nervous system
• Basic anatomy and physiology of a
neuron
• Differences between the endocrine
system and the nervous system
Module 3: Sensation and Perception
• Differences between sensation and
perception
• Basic anatomy of the eye
• Basic anatomy of the ear
• Explaining how the context in which
we see an object affects the way that we perceive
it
Module 4: Consciousness
• "Selective attention"
• Relation between attention and consciousness
• Different levels of consciousness
• Different stages of sleep
• The effects of sleep deprivation
• Different sleep disorders
• The theories about dreams
• Describing how different drugs affect
states of consciousness
Module 5: Learning and Memory
• Differences between classical conditioning
and operant conditioning
• Differences between implicit and explicit
forms of memory
• Differences between sensory memory,
short-term memory, long-term memory, and working
memory
• Differences between principles of
memory storage and retrieval
• Memory as a constructive process
Module 6: Thought, Language, Intelligence,
and Creativity
• Patterns of thinking that may hinder
successful solutions in everyday life
• Applying specific logical strategies
to different kinds of thinking problems
• Pitfalls that people often encounter
in their reasoning
• Language and the stages of its acquisition
• Nonverbal signals
• Different ways that psychologists
have tried to define intelligence
• Creativity
Module 7: Developmental Psychology
• "Nature vs. nurture"
• Piaget's four stages of cognitive
development
• Attachment, and how psychologists
have measured it
• Explaining what is meant by "temperament"
• Ideas about how one's identity develops
• Approaches to morality
Module 8: Social Psychology
• "Cognitive dissonance" and
how it may potentially lead to changes in
self-concept
• Theories of attraction and love
• Negative consequences that group settings
can have on performance
• Conforming, complying, and obeying
• The nature of stereotypes
• Antisocial behavior and tactics that
might be used to diminish it
Module 9: Motivation and Emotion
• Origins of eating disorders
• Theories about the development of
sexual orientation
• Different kinds of needs, such as
the need for power, need for achievement,
need for affiliation, and Maslow's hierarchy
of needs
• Roles that intrinsic and extrinsic
motivators play
• Different approaches to the study
of emotion
Module 10: Personality
• Different psychodynamic theories of
personality, especially that of Sigmund Freud
• Strengths and weaknesses of psychodynamic,
humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, trait, and
interactionist perspectives of personality
• Ways that humanists believe that people
are motivated to achieve self-actualization
• Trait inventory and a Thematic Apperception
Test (TAT)
• Strengths and weaknesses of different
personality measures
Module 11: Abnormal Psychology and Treatment
• Criteria that psychologists use when
differentiating between normal and "abnormal"
behavior
• Anxiety disorders
• Mood disorders
• Symptoms, origins, and types of schizophrenia
• Personality disorders, somatoform
disorders, sexual disorders and cognitive-impairment
disorders
• Causes of suicide
• Legal issues that psychologists must
consider
• Goals and methods of psychodynamic,
humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, and biological
therapies
• Different types of psychotherapy
Module 12: Health Psychology
• The nature of stressors and the body's
response to them
• Ways in which personality has been
shown to relate to physical health and illness
• How psychologists think about pain
• How people cope with chronic health
problems
• Effects of social support on physical
health
• Current research into the relationship
between emotions and health
|
 | |  |
|
