Introduction to Psychology – College Level (Certificate)

This course will assist students in understanding human behavior and acquiring knowledge of psychology to include: theories and perspectives; research methods; basic consciousness concepts; nature, nurture and human diversity; behavior genetics; prenatal development; cultural influences; drugs and society; sensation and perception; learning concepts; classical and operant conditioning; observational learning; memory; thinking and language development; intelligence and IQ scores; emotions; motivational concepts; drives and achievement;  social psychology; and an introduction to abnormal and clinical psychology.

The bonus Study Buddy Episodes provides assistance to students in passing their psychology exam. This course is ideal for: psychology students to take prior to the start of the semester; for anyone working in human services, childcare, the school system/education, or customer service/sales; and for professionals as a refresher when studying for certification and/or a major exam.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1) Define psychology as a science in terms of its history, theories, methods, applied areas, and ethical issues.

2) Evaluate the ethical nature of various modern and historical psychological studies.

3) Compare and contrast the major perspectives of psychology (e.g., behavioral/learning, physiological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, and socio-cultural).

4) Apply the major theoretical perspectives to an understanding of development, personality, abnormal behavior, and psychotherapy.

5) Describe the contributions of the social environment to human behavior (e.g., obedience, conformity, attributions, large and small group effects)

Critical Thinking: Utilize critical thinking skills to analyze psychological theories and research data

· Describe human behavior and mental processes from various theoretical perspectives in the field of psychology

· Identify the manner in which psychological research on memory relates to college study skills

Information Literacy: Assess what information is needed to answer questions as well as evaluate the quality of information.

· Demonstrate the skill of identifying information needed to answer questions pertaining to psychological terms and concepts

· Recognize and evaluate information sources for a specified purpose

· Develop an understanding of psychology as an ever-changing discipline, based on contemporary research data

Systematic Inquiry: Understand social science research methods used in psychological research

· Demonstrate the ability to describe the science of psychology

· Describe different research methods used in psychology

· Acquire knowledge about men and women whose research endeavors made significant contributions to the field of psychology

· Develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different psychology research methods