Psychological Science: Intro to Psychological Science

Introduction to the entire field, emphasizing the behavior of the normal adult human being.

Open to Degree and PACE students

This course is designed to introduce you to the science of psychology. We will explore the theories, research, and applications of psychology to understanding human behavior. We will learn about psychological research, neuroscience, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning, memory, cognition, language, intelligence, development, personality, health psychology, and psychological disorders and their treatment, and social psychology. This course should provide a strong foundation for you to take into other psychology courses at UVM! Learning objectives: At the end of this course, you should be able to… 1. Understand the principles of research methods in psychological science and be able to apply these methods to understanding basic questions of human functioning; 2. Identify the components of our nervous system and how they relate to our cognitions, emotions, and behaviors; 3. Associate specific parts of the brain with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning; 4. Describe the basics of how we sense and perceive the world around us; 5. Apply an understanding of consciousness to things that alter consciousness, such as drugs and meditation; 6. Differentiate between classical and operant conditioning and apply these types of learning to psychological processes; 7. Describe the basics of language and its importance as a tool for humans to share thoughts; 8. Discuss situations in which we may underestimate people’s intelligence; 9. Understand the basics of human emotions and the primary theoretical perspectives of emotion; 10. Understand the impact of stress and coping, psychological aspects of illness, and well-being, and apply this knowledge to promoting health and wellness; 11. Be able to discuss the key questions that developmental psychologists seek to answer; 12. Discuss the tenants of the Big Five Model of personality; 13. Define psychological disorders and how they are treated; and 14. Be able to explain how we understand and are influenced by others, the foundations of prejudice, liking and loving, aggression, and prosocial behavior.

Attendance and participation required

1. Inquizitive Quizzes These Inquizitive quizzes are meant to be an adaptive learning tool. These “quizzes” have gaming elements built in that will help you actively process the course material in a fun way. You must answer a minimum number of questions correctly to earn a passing grade. You may answer questions until you reach the grade you want! You will take a “How to Use Inquizitive” quiz to familiarize yourself with how to take these quizzes. 2. ZAPS lab assignments These ZAPS labs are interactive computer-based experiments that allow you to engage with the course content in an active manner. In each lab you will be introduced to a topic, conduct a mini-experiment, and then reflect on your experience. 3. In-Class Activities (ICAs) Individual and small group activities will be assigned periodically and will be completed during class time. Assignments are not limited to but may include brief writing assignments done at the start of class to reflect on the assigned readings for the day, mini-reports done during the middle of class based on group work or lecture, or comments and questions on the day’s topic turned in at the end of class. These will be unannounced, so please bring paper and a writing utensil to every class. Legible, well-written responses are expected. Attendance for the entire class period is required to receive credit for the ICA on that day. Please note that if you arrive late to class, you may miss the ICA for the day. 12 of these ICAs will be collected for credit randomly throughout the term. Grades for each response paper will range from 0-2. A 0 corresponds to an inadequate or illegible response. A 1 corresponds to a sufficient, but not well-formulated, response. A 2 corresponds to a strong response that clearly demonstrates critical thinking. ICAs are NOT attendance points – they will be graded based on the quality of your answers. To earn high scores on ICAs you should complete assigned readings before class and take notes during lecture and class discussions. 4. Diverse Figures in Psychology Project Psychology has an extensive history of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and many other "isms". Historically, individuals that were not white, heterosexual, cis-gender males were largely excluded from the academic psychology sphere. However, individuals from marginalized groups have persisted in this field to be groundbreaking researchers, teachers, therapists, and academics. For this project, you will pick a figure in psychology (historical or current) and create an informational poster, video, or social media clip about this person and their contributions to psychology. You will also write a brief reflection. There will be a list of individuals that are commonly discussed that you cannot choose (e.g., Freud) but otherwise you are free to choose your individual. 5. Big Problems Paper Why did Facebook become so popular? Why can’t Congress work together to pass a federal budget? Why was I not invited to the party last Saturday night? Human behavior has multiple causes, sometimes involving interactions among two or more factors from different areas of psychology. This is the case for everyday behavior and for the big problems society faces today. Pollution, global warming, education, poverty, terrorism, natural resource depletion, population growth, nuclear proliferation, pandemics, social injustice, hunger, and crime all involve behavioral processes shaped by factors moderated by or in interaction with other factors, ranging from biological to sociocultural perspectives. Because human behavior plays such an important role in each of these problems, psychology as an integrated, hub science has much to contribute to understanding and controlling them. The purpose of this assignment is to show how different psychological theories, processes, and/or factors can influence an important issue in our world. You will do this by writing a 5-7