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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
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