Course Syllabus

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Link to Syllabus: Knight, Sandra Introduction to Psychology Syllabus Fall 2024.pdf

Course Description:

This course is an undergraduate level introduction to the concepts of abnormality, mental health and mental illness. It serves as an introduction to the concepts of normality and abnormality in a cultural context. It also covers current diagnostic categorizations of abnormality and treatment of mental illness along with historical perspectives on these diagnoses and treatments. Abnormal psychology examines the causes, diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and possible prevention of mental disorders, including historical and current theoretical perspectives, classification systems, cultural perspectives and ethical issues.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Describe the history of psychology, including psychological perspectives and research methods.
  • Explain how the nervous system and other biological systems influence behavior.
  • Summarize the stages and major theories of life span development.
  • Describe the processes of perceptual organization and interpretation.
  • Compare and contrast the major learning theories.
  • Discuss memory formation, retention and loss. Explain how memory can be improved.
  • Elucidate the connections between thinking, language, and intelligent behavior.
  • Summarize the major concepts of motivation and emotion and how they relate to behavior.
  • Compare and contrast the major personality theories.
  • Describe the characteristics and causal factors associated with major psychological disorders.
  • Identify and discuss the theoretical underpinnings of approaches to psychotherapy.
  • Describe the stress process and explain the interaction between stress and health.
  • Appraise social psychology research findings related to social thought, behavior, and relations.

Course Structure:

  • This course will include weekly readings, discussion posts, one writing assignment, and two exams (midterm and final; multiple choice).

     

    Introduction Post (1 post x 10 = 10 points)

     

    Introduce yourself to the class.

     

    Discussion Posts (13 in total x 10 points each= 130 points)

     

    You will be given a discussion prompt for a particular week. You will be expected to respond using information from your notes, lectures, textbook, and personal experience. In order to get full points you will also be expected to respond to the discussion question and at least 1 other classmate’s post. Generally, a Discussion Post that gets full points is a minimum of 175 points and clearly answers the questions.

     

    Your response to the discussion question(s) are due by Thursday each week. Your response to another post is due by Sunday.

     

    Writing Assignment (50 points)

    There will be three different prompts regarding information you learned during the course of the class. You may use your notes, lectures, the textbook, and external sources to formulate your answer. You will have 3 options to choose from and you only need to complete 1.

    Length: 300-500 words

     

    Exams (30 points each x 2=60 points)

     

    You will have two exams: a midterm and final. They will each be worth 30 points

Textbook:

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!
Psychology 2e from OpenStax, ISBN 978-1-975076-45-0

You have several options to obtain this book:

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Important Notes:

  • Any student needing accommodations should inform their advisor. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations for this class are encouraged to notify their advisor early so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. All information will remain confidential.
  • Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the assignment. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.
  • Your response to the weekly discussion questions are due on Thursday's. Your response to another post in the discussion is due on Sunday's.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due