SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE

ASSOCIATE DEGREE CREDIT COURSE OUTLINE

Department: Psychology

Subject Area and Course Number: Psychology 100H

Course Title: General Psychology, Honors

Discipline: Psychology

Units: 4

Repeatability: None

Catalog Course Description: Survey of psychology as a science. Principles of behavior, maturation, emotions, intelligence, learning, thinking, motivation, and personality are some of the many topics covered. This honors class emphasizes the development of creative application and critical analyses of these behavioral principles.

Description for Schedule of Classes: Survey of psychology as a science. Emphasis on creative application and critical analysis of a variety of psychological principles relevant to human overt and covert behavior.

Lecture Hours per Week: 4

Laboratory Hours per Week: None

Plus Hours: None

Prerequisites: None

Co-requisites: None

Skills Advisories: Eligibility for English 110 or English 110H or English 110GB and Math 107

Course Advisories: None

Limitation on Enrollment: Acceptance into the Honors Program

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, the successful student will be able to:

1. Identify, describe and apply the basic principles of behavior to everyday living.

2. Master the psychological conceptual skills of the methods of science as they apply to the setting-up or the interpreting of psychological research.

3. Explain principles of learning and thinking, and explain how these principles apply to teaching methods and personal study skills.

4. Recognize and assess the principles of personality and emotions, and to illustrate how these principles apply to counseling and to personal mental health.

5. Compare and contrast general principles of human behavior as well as compare and contrast theories, therapies and research findings.

6. Write a research paper that reviews and assesses a relevant psychological topic or issue using APA (American Psychological Association) format.

Course Content and Scope:

1. Nature of Psychology

a. Definition

b. Scope of contemporary psychology

c. "Schools" of psychology (includes exploration of personal preferences and eclectism)

d. Science and research methods

2. Biological Roots of Behavior

a. The Nervous System

1) Major divisions of nervous system

2) Neurons and Neurotransmitters

b. The Brain

1) Structure

2) Function

3. The Developing Person Through the Life Span

a. Factors governing development

b. Major Developmental Issues

c. Early Years

d. Adolescence

e. Adulthood and Aging

f. Application: introduction, exploration and critique of Erikson's theory of development

4. Sensation and Perception

5. States of Consciousness

a. Daydreams and Fantasies

b. Sleep and Dreams

c. Hypnosis

d. Drugs and Consciousness

6. Learning

a. Classical conditioning

b. Operant conditioning: application of "shaping" in class

c. Observational learning

d. Cognitive learning

7. Memory

a. Forming memories

b. Forgetting

c. Improving memory

8. Thinking, Language and Intelligence

a. Creative problem solving

b. Language

c. Intelligence

d. Critical Analysis

e. Application: IQ testing-ethnocentric vehicle for racism?

9. Motivation

a. Biological motivation

b. Social and psychological motives

c. Conflict and the frustration of motives

d. Adjustment

10. Emotion

a. Physiology of emotion

b. Experiencing and expressing emotions

c. Theories of emotion

d. Application: Facial feedback hypothesis

11. Personality

a. Psychoanalytic Perspective

b. The Trait Perspective

c. Humanistic Perspective

d. Social-Cognitive Perspective

e. Application: Assessing our own and others' personality

12. Psychological Disorders

a. Problems of definition and cultural biases

b. Review of current American Psychological Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual's general types of disorders

c. Effects of labeling people

13. Therapy

a. Review of traditional and nontraditional therapeutic approaches

b. Biomedical interventions

c. Preventive approaches

14. Stress and Health

a. Effects of stress on different personality types

b. Distress and Illness

c. Promoting health

15. Social Behavior

a. Social Thinking: Explaining the actions and attitudes of self and others

b. Social Influences: Conformity and compliance

c. Social Relations: Focusing on prejudice, aggression, attraction, conflict resolution and peacemaking

Methods of Instruction: Lecture/discussion and regular small group discussions and presentations. A liberal use of films, slides, videotapes, clips and laboratory equipment illustrating many of the principles discussed. Individual library research paper assignment and group "application" projects offer the students first-hand experience with creative application and critical analyses of psychological principles.

Required Assignments:

1. Appropriate Readings: students are required to read assigned text chapters. Outside readings from selected articles and chapters written by well-known psychologists.

2. Oral Presentation: students are required to apply at least one principle covered in the reading, critically analyze the results, and present their findings within a discussion format.

3. Writing Assignment: each student is required to write one library research paper which reviews a topic of interest. It must be written in American Psychological Association format. This assignment serves to introduce the student to write and explore ideas from a scientific perspective.

Methods of Evaluation:

1. Two Midterms and one Final, primarily multiple choice, objective and short answer questions.

2. Oral Presentation with emphasis on creative format and critical analysis of topic.

3. Term Paper on topic of interest, written in style specified by the American Psychological Association.

Appropriate Texts and Supplies:

Wade, C, & Tavris, C. (2009). Invitation to Psychology (4^th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

RL/mej

Revised April 2006/Update texts May 08

FRC (6/3/08 gb)