| Abnormal Psychology |
PSYC 19 |
- Identify and analyze major psychological disorders using signs and symptoms from the current DSM.
- Identify and apply theoretical perspectives used to describe the causes of mental disorders.
- Explain the criteria for defining abnormal behavior.
- Compare and contrast the major theoretical perspectives in abnormal psychology.
- Explain the history, structure, use and limitations of the DSM 5.
- Compare various research methods that are used to study abnormal behavior.
- Identify symptoms of disorders, incl. adjustment, anxiety, mood, somatoform, psychotic, personality, dissociation, eating, sleeping, gender, sexual, & substance-related.
- Evaluate legal definitions of insanity and incompetence.
- Analyze ethical issues in treatment of disorders.
- Apply diagnostic criteria to suggest possible diagnoses and treatment for disorders to case studies.
- Explain sociocultural issues in diagnosis and treatment.
- Students will analyze the relationship between social institutions and human behavior.
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Biological Psychology |
PSYC 1B |
- Identify the major anatomical structures, and their functions, of the nervous system.
- Identify the major structures and main sequence of events of neural chemical transmission.
- Students will apply biopsychological principles/ findings to their own lives.
- Identify the major structures of the brain from coronal, mid sagittal, and horizontal views.
- Describe the effects of various types of brain damage and disease (i.e., strokes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, etc.) upon the nervous system.
- Describe the research on pre/post natal development of the brain and neuroplasticity.
- Explain the role of natural selection in nervous system functioning
- Explain the neural impulse in terms of the voltage and chemical changes that occur in the neuron.
- Explain the process of synaptic transmission and the hypothesized effects of neurotransmitters on behavior.
- Analyze the different methods of investigation of the nervous system.
- Classify the different types of neurons and glial cells in the nervous system.
- Evaluate the research evidence concerning the role that different brain areas play in the following behaviors and/or functions: perception, biological rhythms, motivation and emotion, sexual behaviors, response to stress, learning and memory, lateralization and languages.
- Appraise the role of genetics in understanding behavior and/or nervous system functioning.
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Developmental Psychology |
PSYC 14 |
- Apply major theories in developmental psychology. (changed from identify to apply - 7/3/13)
- Evaluate the relative contributions of nature and nurture to human development.
- Analyze the developmental changes that take place during the prenatal, infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood stages, and later adulthood, and death.
- Analyze the attachment process and its impact on psychological development throughout the lifespan.
- Analyze the stages of bereavement and death with an understanding of cultural differences.
- Compare the major development theorists including Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, Ainsworth, Lorenz, Levinson, Watson, Skinner, Kohlberg, Gilligan, White and Freud.
- Evaluate scientific research methods (longitudinal, cross-sectional, sequential, twin method) used in developmental psychology.
- Evaluate the historical and current traditional approaches to the study of developmental psychology.
- Evaluate the Nature versus Nurture Controversy as it applies to developmental psychology.
- Evaluate the implication of cultural processes on the psychological development of the individual.
- Students will demonstrate meaningful self-evaluation related to increasing their lifelong personal well-being.
- Students will analyze the relationship between social institutions and human behavior.
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Introduction to Child Psychology |
PSYC 15 |
- Compare theories of child psychology.
- Apply physical (including changes in the brain), cognitive, and psychosocial (social, emotional and personality) changes throughout childhood (infancy through adolescence) to explain children's behavior.
- Compare theories of child psychology.
- Describe and evaluate methodology used to assess child psychology (including cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential).
- Recognize ethical issues concerning research with minors.
- Analyze key physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes from the birth through adolescence.
- Explain child and adolescent psychological disorders and therapies
- Define the process of conception and the prenatal period.
- Analyze the psychological implications of the developmental stages.
- Students will analyze the relationship between social institutions and human behavior.
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Introduction to Human Services |
PSYC 17 |
- Evaluate how the following factors affect services clients receive: culture, language, financial status, intellect, educational level, physical ability, mental health, age, gender, sexual orientation.
- Achieve more clarity in one's own desire to pursue a career in Human Service.
- Apply modalities to interacting and communicating with clients.
- Differentiate models of human service delivery.
|
Introduction to Psychology |
PSYC 1A |
- Differentiate the major theoretical perspectives of psychology.
- Demonstrate psychology is a science by explaining how psychology utilizes the scientific method.
- Apply psychological principles to personal observations and / or experiences.
- Identify the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, core empirical findings, and historic trends in psychology.
- Compare and contrast major theoretical perspectives of psychology (e.g., psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, etc.)
- Apply concepts and theories from the following general domains: (a) biological bases of behavior and mental processes, (b) sensation and perception, (c) consciousness, (d) learning and memory, (e) cognition, intelligence, and language (f) lifespan development (g) motivation and emotion, (h) gender and sexuality, (i) stress and health, (j) social psychology, (k) personality, and (l) psychological disorders and approaches to treatment.
- Apply psychological principles to personal experience.
- Compare and contrast research methods in psychology, including advantages and disadvantages of each (e.g., observation, case study, survey, correlational method, experimental method).
- Distinguish between scientific and non-scientific methods of understanding.
- Students will analyze the relationship between social institutions and human behavior.
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Introduction to Psychology - Honors |
PSYC 1AH |
- Be able to differentiate the major theoretical perspectives of psychology.
- Explain how psychology utilizes the scientific method
- Apply psychological principles to personal experiences.
- Students will analyze the relationship between social institutions and human behavior.
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Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology |
PSYC 3 |
- Compare and contrast the various research designs and describe their relative strengths and weaknesses.
- Describe the process of answering psychological questions from a scientific perspective.
- Identify the goals of science and the goals of research
- Compare and contrast research designs used by psychologists
- Determine appropriate statistical analyses for designs.
- Describe and discuss statistical validity.
- Perform original psychological research using American Psychological Association (APA) code of ethics
- Use APA style correctly in writing empirically-based reports and literature reviews.
- Perform literature searches and reviews using standard resources.
- Evaluate published research.
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Introduction to Social Psychology |
PSYC 20 |
- Evaluate the reciprocal impact of the individual on social contexts, including social cognition, interpersonal attraction, discrimination, attitudes, conformity, obedience, aggression, and group dynamics.
- Describe the ways in which principles gleaned from social psychological research apply to real world problems and issues.
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Psychology for Effective Living |
PSYC 33 |
- Understand the processes by which psychological factors influence physical health.
- Students will demonstrate meaningful self-evaluation related to increasing their lifelong personal well-being.
- Compare and contrast major theories of personality and apply them to daily life.
- Analyze how attitudes, social perception, and social influence affect views of self and others.
- Describe sources and moderators of stress in one's own life and evaluate healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
- Explain how psychological factors, nutrition, exercise, sleep and drug use influence physical and mental health
- Distinguish various psychological disorders as described in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and the specific therapeutic techniques used to help people who demonstrate psychological disorders.
- Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills and conflict resolution techniques.
- Analyze ways gender and sexuality affect thinking and behavior.
- Identify various aspects of interpersonal attraction such as the meaning of friendship, definitions of love, loneliness, and predictors of marital and relationship success.
- Identify personal issues that relate to career planning and job satisfaction.
- Demonstrate meaningful self-evaluation related to increasing lifelong personal well-being.
- Identify stressors in your own life and evaluate the effectiveness of your coping strategies. (replaces previous SLO #1)
- Explain stressors in your own life and generate a list of effective and ineffective ways of coping.
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Psychology of Reasoning and Problem Solving |
PSYC 5 |
- Identify correct and erroneous cognitive processes.
- Apply critical thinking skills to solve intra personal and interpersonal problems using psychological principles.
- Distinguish between emotional and logical problem solving and how they relate to different situations.
- Apply problem solving and decision making skills from a psychological perspective.
- Analyze cognitive and reasoning processes of individuals in a practical setting.
- Identify logical fallacies and cognitive distortions in critical thinking processes
- Dissect and examine components of arguments.
- Differentiate theories related to critical thinking.
- Differentiate methods of hypothesis testing and interpret probability.
- Identify techniques in self-regulation and apply behavior modification techniques.
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Psychology of Sexuality |
PSYC 26 |
- Identify and describe sexual and reproductive anatomy, physiology, and sexual responses.
- Describe differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors based on diversity.
- Demonstrate meaningful self-evaluation related to increasing your lifelong personal well-being.
- Describe historical and current research methods in studying human sexuality.
- Describe dysfunctional and atypical sexual behaviors and therapy
- Describe the sexual marketplace and discuss potentially controversial issues related to prostitution and pornography.
- Describe sexuality from conception, pregnancy, and birth to childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
- Describe the implications of various types of sexual aggression and violence.
- Explain various types of love, communication, and sexual behaviors in relationships.
- Identify various structures of male and female sexual anatomy and discuss their functions in the physiology of human sexual responding.
- Identify symptoms of various sexually transmitted diseases and discuss their prevalence, transmission, and treatment.
- Analyze and evaluate different theories of gender and sexual orientation.
- Compare and contrast various methods of contraception.
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Special Projects in Psychology |
PSYC 99 |
- Evaluate information from a minimum of five sources (professional journals or other sources approved by the instructor) that relate to the project.
- Complete a quality project from start to finish. This includes a proposal, data collection and analysis, and communication of results.
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Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences |
PSYC 10 |
- Perform and evaluate descriptive (e.g., mean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation) and inferential (e.g., Pearson correlation, t tests, z test, and one-way analysis of variance) statistics.
- Using SPSS software, correctly input data, analyze data, and interpret output for descriptive statistics, t tests, correlation, and one-way analysis of variance.
- Define and distinguish basic statistical terms and notation including scales of measurement.
- Chart and interpret simple and cumulative frequency distributions.
- Distinguish the difference between sample and population distributions and analyze the role played by the Central Limit Theorem.
- Compute and describe the effects of various measures of central tendency and variability.
- Describe and explain the normal curve including how z-scores are used and calculated.
- Describe and interpret statistical error, effect size and power.
- Formulate and test research hypotheses through the use of various inferential statistical procedures: t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square.
- Compute and interpret descriptive statistics including correlation and regression.
- Conduct and interpret statistical analyses using statistical software.
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The Psychology of Women |
PSYC 25 |
- Describe, compare and contrast the predominant theories of gender development.
- Identify gender role messages in popular culture.
- Demonstrate meaningful self-evaluation related to the role of gender in your personal experience.
- Explain the concept of privilege as it relates to various minority groups.
- Identify women's psychological and physical health issues and the response of the healthcare system in providing treatment.
- Identify the sources of sex bias in psychological research and discuss gender-fair research methods and interpretations.
- Define sexual orientation and identify issues related to the lesbian, bisexual, and transgender female experience.
- Describe the prevalent theoretical perspectives, including the psychoanalytic and feminist perspectives, on gender identity development and gender differences.
- Describe gender differences in verbal and nonverbal communication patterns and how language treatment differs between genders.
- Describe psychological and physiological aspects of female sexuality and sexual dysfunctions.
- Explain the rationale for the study of the Psychology of Women and define related terms (i.e., feminism, sexism, sex, gender, privilege, gender role).
- Explain how ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic factors impact women's experience in the workplace.
- Analyze how gender stereotypes, discrimination, gender role expectations, and family-related issues affect women.
- Differentiate between real and stereotypic gender differences, such as differences in abilities, achievements, emotions, and motivation, and reasons for those differences.
- Discuss female victimization, particularly in the areas of rape, intimate partner abuse, sexual harassment, and childhood sexual abuse.
- Synthesize course information to develop more critical appraisal and analysis of gender-related issues in contemporary society, and identify future trends that will continue to affect women.
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