Psychology Syllabus
Psychology Syllabus
Michelle L. Fenwick
Room 3114
Phone 618-798-5112x3114
Office Hours: 7:45-8:30 M-F
10:03-10:36 M-F
2:30-2:45 M-F
Block 1 M-F
Chapter 1
Psychology’s Roots, Big Ideas, and Critical Thinking Tools
Psychology’s Timeline
Psychology’s Roots pp 1-5
Objective 1 Describe the growth of scientific psychology from its early pioneers to contemporary concerns
Objective 2 Describe psychology’s current perspectives and identify some of its subfields
Four Big Ideas in Psychology pp 5-9
Objective 3 Identify four big ideas that run throughout psychology
Why Do Psychology? Pp 9-11
Objective 4 Wxplain how hindsight bias and overconfidence can make research findings seem like mere common sense
Objective 5 Explain how the three key elements of the scientific attitude make scientific inquiry so useful
How Do psychologists Ask and Answer Questions pp 11-19
Objective 6 Describe how psychological theories guide scientific research
Objective 7 Compare and contrast case studies, surveys and naturalistic observation and explain the importance of random sampling
Objective 8 Describe positive and negative correlations, and explain how correlational measures can aid the process of prediction but not provide evidence of cause-effect relationships
Objective 9 Describe how people form illusory correlations, and explain the human tendency to perceive order in random sequences
Objective 10 Explain how experiments help researchers isolate cause and effect, focusing on the characteristics of experimentation that make this possible
Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology pp19-21
Objective 11 Explain the value of simplified laboratory conditions in discovering general principles of behavior.
Objective 12 Explain why psychologists study animals and discuss the ethics of experimentation with both animals and humans
Objective 13 Describe how personal values can influence psychologists’ research and its application and discuss psychology’s potential to manipulate people
How to be a Better Student
Objective 14 Describe several effective study techniques
Chapter 3 Developing Through the Life Span
Introduction pp 64
Objective 1 State three areas of change that developmental psychologists study, and identify the three major issues in developmental psychology
Prenatal Development and the Newborn pp 64-70
Objective 2 Describe conception and define chromosome, DNA, gene, and genome, noting how they relate
Objective 3 Discuss the course f prenatal development and the destructive impact of teratogens
Objective 4 Describe some abilities of the newborn, and explain how twin and adoption studies help us understand the effects of nature and nurture.
Infancy and Childhood pp 70-80
Objective 5 Describe some developmental changes in brain and motor abilities during infancy and childhood
Objective 6 State Piaget’s understanding of how the mind develops , and outline Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development, noting current thinking regarding cognitive stages
Objective 7 Explain how the bonds of attachment form between parents and infants
Objective 8 Contrast secure and insecure attachment, and discuss the roles of parents and infants in the development of attachment and an infant’s feelings of basic trust
Parents and Peers pp 80-84
Objective 9 Assess the impact of different parenting styles, culture, and peer influence on development
Adolescence pp 84-90
Objective 10 Define adolescence, and identify the major physical changes that occur during this period
Objective 11 Describe adolescents’ reasoning abilities and moral development, according to Piaget and Kohlberg
Objective 12 Identify Erickson’s eight stages of psychological development and their accompanying issues
Objective 13 Contrast parental and peer influences during adolescence and discuss the characteristics of emerging adulthood
Adulthood pp 90-98
Objective 14 Identify the major changes in physical and sensory abilities that occur in middle adulthood and later life
Objective 15 Assess the impact of aging on memory and intelligence
Objective 16 Discuss the importance of love, marriage, children, and work in adulthood
Objective 17 Identify the range of reactions to the death of a loved one, and describe trends in people’s life satisfaction across the life span
Chapter 5 Sensation and Perception
Introduction p 125
Objective 1 Contrast sensation and perception
Sensing the World: Some Basic Principles pp126-128
Objective 2 Identify the three steps basic to all sensory systems, and distinguish between absolute and difference thresholds, noting whether we can sense and be affected by subliminal or unchanging stimuli
Vision pp 128-133
Objective 3 Describe the characteristics of visible light and explain the process by which the eye converts light energy into neural messages
Objective 4 Discuss the different levels of processing that occur as information travels from the retina to the brain’s cortex
The Other Senses pp 133-142
Objective 5 Describe the auditory process, including the stimulus input and the structure and function of the ear and how sounds are located
Objective 6 Describe the senses of touch and pain
Objective 7 Describe the senses of taste and smell, and briefly explain the nature of sensory interaction
Objective 8 Distinguish between kinesthesis and the vestibular sense
Perceptual Organization pp 134-147
Objective 9 Describe Gestalt Psychology’s contribution to our understanding of perception, and identify principles of perceptual grouping in form perception
Objective 10 Explain the binocular and monocular cues we use to perceive depth
Objective 11 Explain how perceptual constancies help us to organize our sensations into meaningful perceptions
Perceptual Interpretation pp148-151
Objective 12 Describe how research in restored vision, sensory deprivation, and perceptual adaptation contributes to our understanding of the nature-nurture interplay in our perceptions
Objective 13 Define perceptual set and explain why the same stimulus can evoke different perceptions in different contexts
Perception Without Sensation pp 151-153
Objective 14 Identify the three most testable forms of ESP, and explain why most research psychologists remain skeptical of ESP claims
Chapter 6 Learning
How Do We Learn pp158-159
Objective 1 Define learning and identify two forms of learning
Classical Conditioning pp 159-164
Objective 2 Explain how classical conditioning demonstrates associative learning
Objective 3 Describe the processes of acquistition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination
Objective 4 Explain the importance of cognitive processing and biological predispositions to classical conditioning
Objective 5 Describe the importance of Pavlov’s work to our understanding of learning, and give several examples of applications of classical conditioning
Operant Conditioning pp 165-172
Objective 6 Identify two major characteristics that distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning
Objective 7 Describe the process of operant conditioning including shaping
Objective 8 Identify the basic types of reinforcers
Objective 9 Contrast the effects of continuous and partial reinforcement schedules on behavior
Objective 10 Discuss how punishment affects behavior noting how it differs from negative reinforcement, and list some of its drawbacks
Objective 11 Give several examples of how cognitive processing and biological predispositions affect operant conditioning
Objective 12 Describe the controversy over Skinner’s views of human behavior, and identify some ways to apply operant conditioning principles at school, at work, and at home
Objective 13 Identify the major similarities and differences between classical and operant conditioning
Learning by Observation pp 173-177
Objective 14 Describe the process of observational learning and explain how it differs from associative learning
Objective 15 Discuss the impact of prosocial modeling and the relationship between watching violent TV and antisocial behavior
Chapter 7 Memory
Introduction and Studying Memory: An Information-Processing Model pp181-183
Objective 1 Describe the updated version of Atkinson-Shiffrin’s classic three-stage processing model of memory
Encoding: Getting Information In pp 183-185
Objective 2 Describe the types of information we encode automatically, and contrast effortful processing with automatic processing, giving examples of each
Objective 3 Explain the most common and effective ways of encoding information
Storage: Retaining Information pp 185-189
Objective 4 Describe the duration and working capacity of short-term memory
Objective 5 Describe the capacity and duration of long-term memory, and discuss the biological changes that may underlie memory formation and storage
Objective 6 Distinguish between implicit and explicit memory, and identify the main brain structure associated with each
Retrieval: Getting Information Out pp 189-192
Objective 7 Contrast the recall, recognition, and relearning measures of memory, and explain how retrieval cues can help us access stored memories
Objective 8 Describe the impact of environmental contexts and internal emotional states of retrieval
Forgetting pp 192-195
Objective 9 Explain why we should value our ability to forget, and discuss the roles of encoding failure and storage decay in the process of forgetting
Objective 10 Explain why interference might cause forgetting, and discuss whether Freud’s concept of repression is supported by current research
Memory Construction pp 196-200
Objective 11 Explain how misinformation, imagination, and source amnesia can distort our memory of an event
Objective 12 Discuss whether young children’s eye-witness reports are reliable and the controversy over reports of repressed and recovered memories
Chapter 8 Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Thinking pp 206-211
Objective 1 Define cognition, and compare algorithms, heuristics, and insight as problem-solving strategies
Objective 2 Explain how confirmation bias, heuristics, fixation, and overconfidence can interfere with problem-solving
Objective 3 Describe the effects of framing, belief perseverance, and intuition on our judgments and decision making
Language pp211-218
Objective 4 Trace the course of language acquisition from the babbling stage through the two word stage
Objective 5 Discuss how children acquire language, and explain why critical periods are an important concept in children’s language learning
Objective 6 Describe the value of thinking in images
Objective 7 List four cognitive skills shared by the great apes and humans, and outline the arguments for and against the idea that animals and humans share the capacity for language
Intelligence pp 218-231
Objective 8 Discuss the difficulty of defining intelligence and present arguments as to whether intelligence should be considered one general ability or many specific abilities
Objective 9 Identify the factors associated with creativity and explain what psychologists mean by emotional intelligence
Objective 10 Discuss the history of intelligence testing and describe modern tests of mental abilities such as the WAIS
Objective 11 Discuss the criteria for judging intelligence tests, including standardization, reliability, and validity
Objective 12 Discuss the evidence for genetic and environmental contributions to individual intelligence, and explain what psychologists mean by the heritability of intelligence
Objective 13 Describe ethnic similarities and differences in intelligence test scores, and discuss some genetic and environmental factors that might explain them
Objective 14 Describe gender differences in abilities
Objective 15 Discuss whether intelligence tests are biased, and describe the stereotype threat phenomenon
Chapter 9 Motivation and Emotion
Introduction and Motivation Concepts pp 235-237
Objective 1 Define motivation as psychologists use the term today, and describe three key perspectives on motivation
Hunger pp 238-246
Objective 2 Describe the physiological factors that cause us to feel hungry
Objective 3 Discuss psychological and cultural influences on hunger and explain how anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa demonstrate the power of psychological influences to overwhelm biological factors
Objective 4 Describe research findings on obesity and weight control
The Need to Belong pp246-148
Objective 5 Describe the benefits of belonging and discuss the consequences of our need to belong
Theories of Emotion pp 248-250
Objective 6 Identify the three components of emotion, and contrast the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and two-factor theories of emotion
Embodied Emotion pp 251-255
Objective 7 Describe the bodily changes that accompany emotions
Objective 8 Describe the relationship between physiological states and specific emotions, and discuss the effectiveness of the polygraph in detecting lies
Objective 9 Explain the role of cognition in emotion and discuss how neurological processes may enable us to experience some emotions prior to conscious thought
Expressed Emotion pp 255-258
Objective 10 Descrobe our ability to communicate non-verbally and discuss gender differences in this capacity
Objective 11 Discuss the culture-specific and culturally universal aspects of emotional expression, and describe the effects of facial expressions on emotional experience
Experienced Emotion pp 386-396
Objective 12 Name several basic emotions and discuss anger in terms of causes and consequences
Objective 13 Identify some causes and consequences of happiness, and describe two psychological phenomena that help explain the relatively short duration of emotions
Chapter 10 Stress, Health, and Human Flourishing
Stress: Some Basic Concepts pp 396-405
Objective 1 Discuss the role of appraisal in the way we respond to stressful events and describe the biology of the fight-or-flight response as well as the physical characteristics and stages of the general adaptation syndrome
Stress Effects and Health pp 396-405
Objective 2 Describe the effect of stress on immune system functioning
Objective 3 Discuss why stress may increase our vulnerability to coronary heart disease, and contrast Type A and Type B personalities
Human Flourishing pp 405-417
Objective 4 Identify two ways people cope with stress, and describe how a perceived lack of control can affect health
Objective 5 Discuss the links among locus of control, optimism, social support, stress, and health
Objective 6 Discuss the advantages of aerobic exercise as a technique for managing stress and fostering well-being
Objective 7 Compare the benefits of biofeedback and relaxation training as stress-management techniques and discuss the correlation between religious involvement and health
Chapter 11 Personality
Introduction and the Psychoanalytic Perspective pp 289-297
Objective 1 Define personality and explain how Freud’s treatment of psychological disorders led to his study of the unconscious mind
Objective 2 Describe Freud’s view of personality structure in terms of the id, ego and superego
Objectve 3 Identify Freud’s pychosexual stages of development and describe the effects of fixation on behavior
Objective 4 Discuss how defense mechanisms serve to protect the individual from anxiety
Objective 5 Contrast the views of the neo-Freudians and psychodynamic theorists with Freud’s original theory
Objective 6 Describe how projective tests are used to assess personality and discuss some criticisms of them
Objective 7 Summarize psychology’s current assessment of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis
The Humanistic Perspective pp 297-299
Objective 8 Describe the humanistic perspective on personality in terms of Maslow’s focus on self-actualization and Roger’s emphasis on people’s potential for growth
Objective 9 Discuss the major criticisms of the humanistic perspective on personality
The Trait Perspective pp 299-302
Objective 10 Describe research efforts to identify fundamental personality traits
Objective 11 Identify the Big Five trait dimensions
The Social-Cognitive Perspective pp 303-305
Objective 12 Describe the social-cognitive perspective
Exploring the Self pp 305-309
Objective 13 Explain how psychologists define the self, and discuss the importance of self-esteem to human well-being
Objective 14 Discuss some evidence for self0serving bias
Objective 15 Explain how the self is viewed by individualist and collectivist cultures
Chapter 12 Psychological Disorders
What is a Psychological Disorder? Pp 314-318
Objective 1 Identify the criteria for judging whether behavior is psychologically disordered
Objective 2 Contrast the medical model of psychological disorders with the biopsychosocial approach to disordered behavior
Objective 3 Describe the goals of and content of the DSM-IV-TR and discuss the potential dangers and benefits of using diagnostic labels
Anxiety Disorders pp 318-322
Objective 4 Describe the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder
Objective 5 Discuss the contributions of the learning and biological perspectives to understanding the development of anxiety disorders
Dissociative and Personality Disorders pp 322-325
Objective 6 Describe the symptoms of dissociative disorders and the controversy regarding the diagnosis of dissociative disorder
Objective 7 Identify the characteristics that are typical of personality disorders and describe the behaviors, genetic tendencies, and brain activity associated with the antisocial personality disorder
Substance Related Disorders pp 325-334
Objective 8 Discuss the nature of substance-related disorders, and explain how drug tolerance, addiction, and dependence contribute to these problems
Objective 9 Explain how depressants affect nervous system activity and behavior, and describe the effects of alcohol dependence on thinking and behavior
Objective 10 Explain how the major stimulants can affect neural activity and behavior
Objective 11 Describe the physiological and psychological effects of hallucinogens, and summarize the effects of LSD and marijuana
Objective 12 Discuss the biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors that cause people to abuse mind-altering drugs
Mood Disorders pp 334-339
Objective 13 Define mood disorder and contrast major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder
Objective 14 Explain the development of mood disorders paying special attention to the biological and social-cognitive perspectives
Schizophrenia pp 340-344
Objective 15 Describe the symptoms of schizophrenia, and contrast chronic and acute schizophrenia
Objective 16 Outline some abnormal brain chemistry, functions, and structures associated with schizophrenia, and discuss the possible link between prenatal viral infections and schozophrenia
