Introduction to Psychology

Transcription

1 Introduction to Psychology Instructor: Mr. LaBrache Room: B229 Course objectives/goals: 1. Students will have a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts and theories of psychology. 2. Students will understand the basic skills involved in psychological research. 3. Students will develop critical thinking skills and examine their own bias within several psychological domains 4. Students will understand the controversy regarding ethical issues in psychology 5. Students will begin to understand how psychological concepts apply to the real world 6. Students will begin to develop the ability to examine their decisions and relationships in a reflective manner. 7. Students will begin to understand how the work of psychologists can improve the lives of people in our society through psychological research. 8. Students will become familiar with the major fields of Psychology and the core concepts and theories found within the different fields. Textbook: You will not be responsible for maintaining a textbook for this class, but it is likely that we will take some readings from Spencer A. Rahtus Psychology: Principles in Practice (Holt McDougal, 2010). Psych Binder: You will keep all your work, notes, outlines, activity sheets, vocabulary cards, writing pieces in your Psych Binder. This will be kept in the classroom, because we will need them each week. It will be your responsibility to put all documents in the binder and to keep it organized. Visual resources: In this course we will use a variety of media to reinforce, review and introduce several topics related to psychology. These visual resources include Nova specials, selected motion pictures and YouTube clips. Units of Study (I can supply you with unit overview outlines if you want): Unit I: Introductory Psychology Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior (Neuroscience) Unit 3: States of Consciousness Unit 4: Personality Unit 5: Learning Unit 6: Psychological Disorders (Abnormal Psychology) Unit 7: Social Psychology Sensation and Perception Memory Thinking Intelligence and Testing Therapy The Developing Person Motivation and Emotion Possible Additional Units of study (If we have the time):

2 Course Expectations Overview: It is expected that all students be on task every day in this class. The course will consist of lectures, student presentations, small group and large group activities and discussions, guest speakers, audio-video presentations, role-playing, problem-solving, quizzes, tests, and essay writing. It is my expectation that every student will complete every homework assignment in this class. Homework will be assigned each night. Homework assignments will include reading assignments, study guides, articles, reflections, essays, etc. I expect that all cell phones and electronic devices are turned off during lectures and most other class activities. There will be times when students will be able to use their phones or other devices in learning situations as long as this privilege is not abused. Please drink only water in the classroom. If you need snacks, some are available in the office, but you must get them before class starts and not during class time. Understanding psychological terms and phrases will be essential to do well in this class. It is my expectation that students outline and take notes on the readings which they are assigned and include the important vocabulary word/terms for every unit. This will assist students with quizzes, as well as keep them prepared for unit tests. Students will be expected to revisit the vocabulary of past units throughout the school year. Extra help: Please feel free to contact me about concerns or issues. DO NOT let yourself fall too far behind before asking for help. My address is sojourner2023@yahoo.com. My overall goal is for you to learn about psychology and become engaged in this fascinating subject. Late work: It is your responsibility to get assignments in to me if you are absent. Any work that is missed should be turned in the day you return unless there are special circumstances. It is your responsibility to contact me for test make-up. Please come to class on time. I start class right at 6 oclock. Grading Policy: 1. Summative Assessments 90% (tests, essays, papers, projects, research papers, oral presentations): There will be a test at the conclusion of each unit. The format for the tests consists of multiple choice questions and at least one free response question. You will also be assigned one project for most units to further assess student learning. At the start of several classes there will be short quizzes, these will be used to review assess completed work from the last class, or as a pre-test for the information that is coming up. 2. Formative 10% (quizzes, homework, class assignments) 3. Homework: There will be a wide variety of homework assignments: taking notes/outlining readings, writing personal responses to readings and videos, completing handouts and highlighting articles. 4. Participation: It is expected that you participate in class discussions, with questions, comments and examples related to course material. We will be discussing many controversial, sensitive and personal topics in this class. It is imperative that every student realizes that conversations in this course are confidential. I expect students will preserve and participate in creating an environment that is safe and encouraging for learning; this means listening to the ideas and opinions of others and sharing one s own opinions, but doing all of this in a respectful manner.

3 Course/Unit Outline Unit I: Introducing Psychology A. What is Psychology? B. Perspectives and Approaches in Psychology C. The Scientific Method D. Psychological Methods 1. Description 2. Correlation 3. Experimentation 4. Statistical Reasoning E. Ethics in Psychology 1. Define Psychology and become familiar with the various fields in psychology. 2. Trace the historical developments of Psychology. 3. Compare and contrast the different approaches to Psychology. 4. Begin to understand the philosophical issues in Psychology (Mind-body, Nature vs. Nurture, and Free Will vs. Determinism). 5. Become familiar with career options in Psychology and the requirements for entering those careers. 6. Distinguish between good scientific theories and inadequate ones. 7. Compare and contrast the different research methods used in Psychological research. 8. Describe the benefits, drawbacks, and limitations of the different types of research. 9. Identify and describe the elements of an experiment and other research methods. 10. Apply statistical techniques to research and draw conclusions when examining this data. 11. Identify and describe ethical issues in conducting psychological research. Unit II: Biological Bases of Behavior A. The Brain B. The Nervous System C. Neural Communication D. The Endocrine System 1. Identify heredity and the role that genes play in development 2. Identify and describe the influence of heredity and the environment on behavior and different individual characteristics. 3. Evaluate and analyze the evolutionary and sociobiology approaches to behavior. 4. Describe the different techniques used for brain imaging and other biological investigations. 5. Identify the parts of a neuron. 6. Explain how a neural impulse travels 7. Explain how neurotransmitters work. 8. Identify the major divisions of the nervous system. 9. Identify the major parts of the brain and their functions.

4 Unit III: States of Consciousness A. Studying Consciousness B. Sleep and Dreams C. Hypnosis D. Drugs and Consciousness Possible Unit Project: The students will complete a dream analysis project using Faraday s, Freud s, and Jung s methods (1-2 page paper). 1. Identify the major theories of why we sleep. 2. Identify the main sleep disorders. 3. Identify the effects of sleep deprivation. 4. Describe the stages of sleep and the techniques used for studying the stages. 5. Evaluate the content of dreams and possible hypotheses for their meaning. 6. Identify the different theories regarding hypnosis. 7. Compare and contrast the different types of drugs and their effects on humans. Unit IV: Personality A. Historical Perspectives on Personality 1. Psychoanalytic perspective 2. Humanist perspective B. Contemporary Research on Personality 1. The Trait Perspective 2. The Social-Cognitive perspective C. Assessment Techniques Unit Projects: The students will conduct a personality analysis. They can select any person (famous, friend, family) and describe their personality. Analyze the person s personality using the terms and ideas from one perspective. (1-2 page paper) 1. Identify and describe the major theories of personality (Freud, Jung, and Adler). 2. Identify and describe the different approaches to personality (Trait, Psychodynamic, Learning, and Humanistic). 3. Describe the concept of self and identify how it is developed. 4. Compare and contrast the different assessments of personality and identify the benefits and drawbacks of each.

5 Unit V: Learning A. Classical Conditioning B. Operant Conditioning C. Learning by Observation (Social Learning) D. Cognitive Processes in Learning Possible Unit Project: Use conditioning to modify behavior...this could be your behavior or someone you know...the Final product will be a 2 page paper and analysis of your ability to condition behavior 1. Describe and trace the history of the behaviorist approach. 2. Describe the process of classical conditioning and analyze the work of Pavlov and Watson. 3. Identify and describe major learning terms and phrases (acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination). 4. Describe the process of operant conditioning and identify the work of Skinner. 5. Identify the different types of reinforces and the influence of the different types of schedules of reinforcement. 6. Analyze the effects of punishment and avoidance training on learning. 7. Evaluate and analyze the underlying concepts of observational learning and the work of Bandura. 8. Identify the biological factors involved in learning. Unit VI: Psychological Disorders A. Perspectives on Psychological Disorders B. Anxiety Disorders C. Mood Disorders D. Schizophrenia E. Personality Disorders Unit Project: TBD 1. Identify the advantages and purposes of the DSM-V. 2. Identify the disadvantages and the potential dangers of labels. 3. Identify and describe the symptoms and possible causes of the most common psychological disorders (Anxiety, mood, schizophrenia, personality, dissociative). Unit VII: Social Psychology A. Social Thinking B. Social Influence C. Social Relations 1. Prejudice 2. Aggression 3. Conflict 4. Attraction 5. Altruism 6. Peacemaking Unit Project: The students will conduct a social psychology experiment and present their findings to the class.

6 1. Identify and describe attribution processes and common errors. 2. Identify, describe and provide examples of cognitive dissonance. 3. Identify and describe the universal factors involved in interpersonal attraction, as well as factors that are culturally relative. 4. Define conformity, compliance, and obedience and explain major research findings for these terms. 5. Identify and describe the major dynamics involved with group decision making, as well as common errors made due to group dynamics. 6. Identify the significance that specific situations can have on individual behaviors.