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Upon completion of this course, students will able to:
1. Define psychology; outline its historical roots; identify what
psychologists do; and apply the critical thinking process to
psychological phenomena and research outcomes.
2. Describe and apply with examples the various psychological research
methods used to study behavior; include description of case studies,
naturalistic and laboratory observations, correlational studies,
surveys and tests, the experimental method, and longitudinal and
cross-sectional studies.
3. Diagram the structure of the brain and its neuron cells; include
descriptions of hemispheric specialization, location of important
structures and their functions, and male/female differences.
4. Discriminate among the following body rhythms and mental states:
circadian rhythm and the sleep cycle, infradian rhythm and the
premenstrual cycle, and ultradian rhythm and the stages of dream.
5. Analyze the processes of sensation and perception and relate how
abilities, beliefs, and emotions can affect sensory perception.
6. Summarize the principles of classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and social-cognitive learning and apply these principles
when explaining the origins of phobias, fetishes, and aggression.
7. Determine how societal roles and rules, authority figures, and group
opinions and behaviors affect an individual's opinions, actions, and
emotions; generate a plan on how to decrease stereotypes, prejudice,
and discrimination.
8. Distinguish among the different theories of intelligence, including
Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence and Gardner's Theory
of Multiple Intelligence.
9. Discuss how the body, the mind, and culture influence the experience
and display of emotions; assess the components of stress and describe
how to cope and manage stressful events.
10. Compare and contrast the following theories of personalities:
biological (genes and heredity), environmental (parents, peers,
situations), cultural (values and traits), psychodynamic (unconscious
conflicts and desires), and humanistic (present inner self).
11. Analyze and describe the following categories of psychological
disorder: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders,
personality disorders, dissociative disorders and schizophrenia.
12. Apply the following treatment strategies and therapeutic styles to
their appropriate psychological disorders: lobotomy, ECT,
antianxiety, antidepressant, antipsychotic, psychodynamic,
cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, humanistic, group, and family.
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1. What is Psychology?
2. How Do Psychologists Research?
3. Evolution, Genes, and Behavior
4. Neurons, Hormones, and the Brain
5. Body Rhythms and Mental States
6. Sensation and Perception
7. Learning and Conditioning
8. Behavior in Social and Cultural Context
9. Thinking and Intelligence
10. Memory
11. Emotion
12. Motivation
13. Theories of Personality
14. Development over the Life Span
15. Health, Stress, and Coping
16. Psychological Disorders
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