This course's primary objective is to provide you with an overview of the major areas of study in psychology. This course will introduce you to concepts and critical thinking skills used in psychology, which will help you learn to think like a psychologist. You will learn about significant approaches and perspectives in psychology, research methods, and concepts from different content areas such as physiological, developmental, social, and cognitive psychology. Understanding some of the central concepts in psychology is beneficial for understanding people's mental processes and behavior and provides a framework for future studies in this field. This course should help you develop insights into understanding psychological processes such as learning, memory, personality, stages of human development, stress and its effects, behavior in groups, and psychological disorders. Thus, the course will expose you to information that is not only interesting but also useful in "the real world."
Orienting Question: How do biological, psychological, and social factors influence human behavior and mental processes?
Learning Outcomes:
- Familiarity with major psychological concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends
- describe the basic processes underlying a variety of psychological phenomena, including development, emotion, motivation, learning, memory, and consciousness
- Understand the ways that environmental and biological processes contribute to psychological phenomena
- Knowledge to identify and differentiate among the basic methods of scientific psychology
- Familiarity with the fundamental changes in behavior and mental processes that occur during the lifespan
- Understand how groups and individuals influence behavior and attitudes
- Knowledge to identify factors that contribute to an individual's personality and attitudes
- Knowledge to recognize psychological disorders and describe treatment options
- Understand how to apply psychological concepts to general descriptions of human behavior as well as your own experiences and attitudes to effectively communicate in writing
Waymaker Introduction to Psychology from Lumen Learning.
In this course, you will use Waymaker Introduction to Psychology instead of a traditional textbook. Waymaker provides your course materials digitally inside Canvas. You can access all readings, videos, a study plan, quizzes, and other activities through Canvas.
PURCHASING
Directly in Canvas: You will be prompted to enter an activation code or make an online payment on your module quiz.
Your performance in the class will be evaluated based on:
- Three Exams (~36% of grade)
- Study Plan (~16% of grade)
- End of Chapter Quizzes (~32% of grade)
- Course Participation (~16% of grade)
Your grades are based on the percentage of the number of points earned and follow the standard grading scale for assigning letter grades.
- A: 90 – 100%
- B: 80 – 89%
- C: 70 – 79%
- D: 60 – 69%
- F: 59% or less
Attendance will not be collected, but there will be graded unannounced quizzes or in-class activities.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Experience analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information
- Research & Analytical Skills: Understanding the scientific method and research methodologies; Ability to critically evaluate information sources
- Ethical Reasoning and Professionalism: Knowledge of ethical standards in behavioral science, including confidentiality, informed consent, and professional conduct.
- Intercultural Competence: Awareness of cultural influences on behavior and mental processes; Explores Prejudice and Stereotyping.
- Perspective-Taking: Theory of Mind, Covers Empathy and Social Cognition, Discusses Developmental Milestones in perspective-taking ability.
- Persuasion: Foundational models like the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Cognitive Dissonance Theory; Attitude Change; Techniques of Persuasion; Applications of Persuasive Communication; Critical Evaluation of Persuasive Messages.