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BARTON COUNTYCOMMUNITY COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

FALL 2005
  1. GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Course number:PSYC 1000

Course title:General Psychology

Credit hours:3

Prerequisite:None

Division/Discipline:Liberal Arts & Sciences/Social Science/Psychology

Course description:This course will provide a broad overview of the theories research findings associated with the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Topics covered may include research techniques, the biological influences of behavior, development, sensation and perception, motivation and emotion, intelligence, consciousness, learning, memory, the role of psychological factors in health, personality, mental disorders and their treatment, and social influences on behavior.

  1. CLASSROOM POLICY

Students and faculty of BartonCountyCommunity College constitute a special community engaged in the process of education. The college assumes its students and faculty will demonstrate a personal code of honor that is based upon courtesy, integrity, common sense, and respect for others both within and outside the classroom.

The College reserves the right to suspend a student for conduct that is detrimental to the College's educational endeavors, as outlined in the College Catalog.

Plagiarism on any academic endeavors at BartonCountyCommunity College will not be tolerated. Learn the rules of, and avoid instances of, intentional or unintentional plagiarism.

Anyone seeking an accommodation under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act should notify Student Support Services.

  1. COURSE AS VIEWED IN THE TOTAL CURRICULUM

Psychology is an approved general education course at BCCC, which can be used to fulfill degree requirements as a breadth behavioral science course in the social/behavioral sciences. In addition, this course transfers for credit to all Kansas Regent Universities, and may be used to help fulfill a general education requirement at many. General education requirements and the transferability of all college courses will vary among institutions, and perhaps even among departments, colleges, or programs within an institution. Institutional requirements also change without prior notification. Students are responsible to obtain relevant information from intended transfer institutions to insure that the courses the student enrolls in are the most appropriate set of courses for a transfer program.

Completion of this course with a C or better is a prerequisite to successful completion of more advanced and specialized courses in the psychology department. These courses include Human Growth and Development, Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology, and Theories of Personality.\

The learning outcomes and competencies detailed in this syllabus meet, or exceed the learning outcomes and competencies specified by the Kansas Core Outcomes Project for this course, as sanctioned by the Kansas Board of Regents.

  1. ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING/COURSE OUTCOMES

BartonCountyCommunity College is committed to the assessment of student learning and to quality education. Assessment activities provide a means to develop an understanding of how students learn, what they know, and what they can do with their knowledge. Results from these various activities guide Barton, as a learning college, in finding ways to improve student learning.

Once the course in General Psychology is completed with a C or better, the student will be able to:

  1. Access information on principles and principle proponents of psychological theories using accepted methods of scientific inquiry.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of the biological bases of behavior including physiology of the brain and nervous system and accompanying sensory systems and perceptual processes.
  3. Explain learning theories and cognitive processes.
  4. Describe theories and applications of motivation and emotion.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of human life-span development and discriminate among its domains.
  6. Identify and describe the major theories of personality, and the major psychological disorders, their treatment and/or therapy.
  7. Specify how individuals, groups, and their environment influence social interaction.
  1. COURSE COMPETENCIES

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Core Competencies:

  1. Define psychology
  2. Distinguish psychology’s perspective from that common to other social sciences (e.g. sociology)
  3. Differentiate the field of psychology from that of psychiatry
  4. Identify the sub fields (specialized areas) of psychology
  5. Identify the major historical influences that contributed to modern psychology
  6. Identify the major theoretical perspectives in psychology
  7. Explain the scientific method as it pertains to studying human and animal behavior (and mental processes)
  8. Define the important features of a) a case study, b) naturalistic observation, c) correlational research, d) classical experiment
  9. Define hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, control group and experimental group
  10. Know which research technique contributes to causal explanations in the study of behavior.
  11. Describe both positive correlation and negative correlations; know the range of correlation coefficients; and know that correlation does not indicate causation.
  12. Describe the major ethical guidelines used when conducting psychological research.
  13. Define social psychology and identify its chief contribution to the study of human behavior.
  14. Identify several variables which contribute to helping behavior(s).
  15. Demonstrate an understanding of the social psychological concepts of: attribution, foot-in-the-door phenomenon, cognitive dissonance, conformity, social facilitation, group polarization, de-individuation, groupthink, and social loafing.
  16. Demonstrate an understanding of classic studies from the field of social psychology (e.g. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority, Zimbardo’s ‘pathology of imprisonment, Asch’s conformity, etc).
  17. Define health psychology and the phenomena it studies.
  18. Identify the top three killers of Americans.
  19. Define stress and demonstrate an understanding of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome.
  20. Define explanatory style and identify the benefits of optimism regarding physical health, mental health, and achievement.
  21. Describe the disorder known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
  22. Identify the behavioral characteristics of Type A and Type B personalities and the contributions of each type to heart disease.
  23. Define psychoneuroimmunology as a distinct field of study within health psychology.
  24. Describe techniques/strategies for successfully managing stress.
  25. Define obesity, body mass index, and setpoint theory.
  26. Define anorexia and bulimia and distinguish the two major eating disorders.
  27. Name the structural components common to all neurons.
  28. Explain the processes which occur when a nerve impulse is generated.
  29. Know the names of at least four (4) common neurotransmitter substances (e.g. dopamine, serotonin) and the role these brain chemicals play in mental disorders.
  30. Identify the major methods used to study the brain.
  31. Identity the major divisions of the human nervous system and describe their functions.
  32. Identify the major structures of the human brain and know their chief functions.
  33. Identify the major components of the limbic system and the chief function of this brain circuit as it pertains to human behavior.
  34. Locate the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and identify the chief function(s) of each lobe.
  35. Describe how the left hemisphere of the brain is specialized for different abilities than the right hemisphere and identify the strengths of each hemisphere.
  36. Define consciousness.
  37. Define hypnosis and identify the chief uses (legitimate) of hypnosis.
  38. Define the concept circadian rhythm.
  39. Identify the effects of sleep deprivation.
  40. Describe the five (5) stages of sleep and identify how these are measured.
  41. Identify the major sleep disorders.
  42. Demonstrate an understanding of the major theories concerning the function of dreams (e.g. information-processing, Freudian, etc.).
  43. Demonstrate an understanding of common psychoactive drugs (their source, their psychological and physiological effects, physical dependence potential, etc.).
  44. Define the concept of learning.
  45. Identify the three (3) major behavioral theories regarding the learning process.
  46. Demonstrate an understanding of the elemental concepts involved in Classical Conditioning (e.g. US, UR, CS, CR).
  47. Identify the major elements in the classic Little Albert study.
  48. Identify the application of classical conditioning concepts to situations outside the laboratory.
  49. Distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning.
  50. Define the following concepts found in operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment, primary reinforcer, negative reinforcer, shaping.
  51. Distinguish negative reinforcement from punishment.
  52. Identify the application of operant conditioning to situations outside the laboratory.
  53. Describe the major schedules of reinforcement used in operant conditioning.
  54. Describe the process of observational learning as theorized by A. Bandura.
  55. Identify the major theorist associated with each theory of learning.
  56. List the criteria for determining psychopathology.
  57. Identify the manual used for diagnosing and classifying the psychological disorders.
  58. Demonstrate an understanding of the major psychological disorders (for instance, anxiety disorders, mood disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, dissociative disorders, and somatoform disorders).
  59. Define the concept of psychosis.
  60. Demonstrate an understanding of the research on suicide.
  61. Explain the development (etiology) and treatment of major psychological disorders.
  1. INSTRUCTOR'S EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS IN CLASS
  1. TEXTBOOK AND OTHER REQUIRED MATERIALS
  1. REFERENCES
  1. METHODS OF EVALUATION
X. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
XI. COURSE OUTLINE