Psychology

def. Psychology: the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes

How often do you feel that you are really personally involved in a subject that you are studying in school?  Well, prepare to be, because unlike many other fields of study, the Psychology portion of this course is first and foremost about you.  Psychology will help you understand why you and others act as they do, at different times and in different situations.  In this course you will develop new ways of thinking about yourself, others, and problems important to you and our society. 

One of the most important things to understand about Psychology is that it is a scientific discipline.  We all think we know a lot about the ways that human beings act and interact, and maybe we do, but you will find probably more often than not that scientific research can challenge and even contradict commonly held notions that we all have, and that this scientific knowledge base is growing all the time.  Some other things you will be doing include:

• Developing a beginning knowledge base in psychology.  Learn basic facts, concepts, and historical developments, and understand psychological arguments on different sides of psychological issues.

• Identifying the various branches of psychology and their unique assumptions.

• Learning how to ask and answer questions like a psychologist.  Appreciate how psychologists conduct research, and how they use experimental data.  Begin to understand why psychologists sometimes disagree.

• Applying psychological thinking to issues in your daily life.  Look for insights from each area of psychology that can lead to increased personal awareness and opportunities for personal growth.

Course Outline

General Psychology Resources

 ·        Psych Web by Russ Dewey

·         Social Psychology Network

·         PsychLinks from the University of Calgary

·         Psychology Organizations on the Web

·         American Psychological Association (APA)

·         American Psychological Society (APS)

·         Psychology Tutorials and Demonstrations

·         UC, Santa Cruz list of departmental home pages

·         Rutgers University Psychology Department

·         Hanover College Psychology Department

·         And for some really good advice, try ELIZA

·         An interactive psychology textbook from Dushkin/McGraw Hill can be found at Psychology A ConnecText, fourth edition.

·         Kalat's Introduction to Psychology Companion Site

Psychology Organizations

• American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/

• Association for Psychological Science (good website for articles) www.psychologicalscience.org/

• American Psychiatric Association http://www.psych.org