Standard

R State Standard £ Institutionally Developed College: N/A

PSY 1101 – Introduction to Psychology

Course Description

This course emphasizes the basics of psychology. Topics include: science of psychology; social environments; life stages; physiology and behavior; personality; emotions and motives; conflicts, stress, and anxiety; abnormal behavior; and perception, learning, and intelligence.

Competency Areas	Hours
Science of Psychology	Class	5
Social Environments	D. Lab	0
Life Stages	P. Lab/O.B.I.	0
Physiology and Behavior	Credit	5
Personality
Emotions and Motives
Conflicts, Stress and Anxiety
Abnormal Behavior
Perception, Learning, and Intelligence

Prerequisite:	Program admission
Corequisite:

Course Guide

Competency	After completing this section, the student will be able to:	Hours
		Class	D.Lab	P.Lab/ O.B.I.

Science of Psychology		5	0	0
Definitions	Define psychology.
History and methods	Identify the founders of the major schools of psychology.
Careers in psychology	Describe methods used in psychological research.
	Identify career options in psychology.
Social Environments		5	0	0
Definitions	Define social psychology and attitude.
Attitudes	Differentiate between types of conformity to social norms.
Attribution theory	Relate attitudes, reputations, and stereotypes to person perceptions.
Attraction	Describe factors that link attraction and liking.
Conformity, compliance, obedience, altruism, and deindividuation	Describe how the attribution theory explains behavior and some of its errors.
Communications	Identify the four main factors in the communication process.
	Differentiate between verbal and nonverbal communication.
	Provide examples of the use of effective and ineffective communications.
	Practice active listening and nonjudgmental paraphrasing of statements.
	Define personal space and tell how it affects behavior.
Group processes	List factors in group effectiveness.
	List stages of group performance.
Life Stages		5	0	0
Physical development	Identify stages of growth and development throughout life span.
Moral development	Identify theories of moral development.
Cognitive development	Identify theories of cognitive development.
Physiology and Behavior		6	0	0
Nervous and endocrine systems	Describe roles of the nervous and endocrine systems on behavior.
Altered states of consciousness	Identify altered states of consciousness.
Personality		7	0	0
Definition	Define personality.
Theories	Match major theorists with their approaches to personality.
Assessment	List three methods of assessing personality.
	Differentiate between objective and projective personality tests.
	Name and describe personality disorders and types of therapy for each.
Emotions and Motives		4	0	0
Definitions	Define motive and emotion.
Needs theory	Relate needs and motives.
Theories of emotion	List Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Expression of emotion	Relate motivation to study habits and career choices.
Conflicts, Stress and Anxiety		7	0	0
Definitions	Define stress, anxiety, and adjustment.
Locus of control	Define locus of control and recognize own characteristics as internal or external locus of control.
Types of conflict	Identify the major types of conflict.
Effects of stress	Relate conflict to pressure and frustration.
Coping mechanisms	Identify three stages of stress and physiological changes in each.
Abnormal Behavior		5	0	0
Abnormal behavior	Identify direct and defensive coping mechanisms.
	Name four criteria for labeling behaviors abnormal.
	Name disorders that result from stress or anxiety and treatments for them.
Perception, Learning, and Intelligence		6	0	0
Definitions	Differentiate between sensation and perception.
Classical conditioning	Identify perceptual constancies.
Operant conditioning	Identify observer characteristics in perception.
Memory	List examples of sensory, short term, and long term memory.
Cognition	Define learning.
Theories of learning	Identify theories of learning.
	Define insight and observational learning.
	Define information processing functions such as encoding, storage, and retrieval memory.
	Define cognition, image, and concept.

Suggested Resources

Media Print Audio/Visual Web Other
Print	Benjamin, L. T., et al. (1999). Psychology. (2^nd ed.) New York: Macmillan.
	Calhoun, J. F., & Acocella, J. R. (1990). Psychology of adjustment and human relationships. (3^rd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
	Carver, C., & Scheier, M. (2007). Perspectives on personality. (6^th ed.) Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
	Dworetzky, J. P. (1991). Psychology (4^th ed.) St. Paul: West.
	Morris, Charles G. & Maisto, Albert. (2005). Psychology: An introduction. (12^th ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
	Scarr, Sandra & Zanden, J. V. (1987). Understanding psychology. (5^th ed.). New York: Random House.
	Shaffer, D. R. (1998). Social and personality development (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole.
	Spear, Peter. D., et al. (1998). Psychology: Perspectives on behavior. (1^st ed.) New York: John Wiley & Sons.
	Stanovich, K. E. (1999). How to think straight about psychology. (2^nd ed.) Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
	Verderber, R. F., & Verderber, K. S. (1999). Interact: Using interpersonal communication skills (5^th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Posted: 10/08/08