PSYC 105 - Introduction to Psychology

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

This course is designed to introduce the student to fundamental psychological processes, their nature and development, and contemporary methods for their study through a survey of the major research areas in the field. Areas covered include the biological and evolutionary bases of thought and behavior, motivation and emotion, learning, memory, thinking, personality, developmental, and social psychology. Some sections of this course are taught as a traditional introductory survey. Other sections may take a more topical focus to their survey. In all sections, students are expected to participate in three hours of psychological research during the semester. The department.

Topic for 2018/19a: Health and Happiness. This is an introductory psychology course. The processes by which we think, feel, and behave are inextricably linked, and together, they play important roles in explaining health and well-being. Students learn a variety of scientific approaches to understanding the mind/body connection. We take a biopsychosocial approach and consider research on stress and coping, and focus on empirical evidence to investigate what makes people flourish and thrive.

The goal of Introduction to Psychology is to allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse areas of psychology and the methods employed by psychologists. Students gain a basic understanding of psychology as a biopsychosocial science, the aim of which is to understand, predict, and control behavior. In addition, students are exposed to basic quantitative and critical analysis skills important to psychological science. Through class discussions and study, students learn how psychological principles operate in their own lives. Michele Tugade.

Topic for 2018/19b: Sex on the Brain. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the science of psychology via an exploration of contemporary research and theory on sex and sexuality. Special attention is devoted to scientific methodology in the study of sex and sexuality in order to give you a solid understanding of how psychologists and other scientists conduct their research and build theories about phenomena associated with sex.

Please note: This is not a human sexuality course; it is a psychology course that uses the study of human sexuality to introduce you to psychology. You leave the course not only with an understanding of the physiological, evolutionary, learning, developmental, personality and social psychological perspectives on human sexual behavior, among other topics, but also with the necessary knowledge and conceptual tools to continue your explorations in psychology and other experimental sciences. Randy Cornelius.

Open to all classes.

Enrollment limited.

AP credit is not accepted as a substitute for this course in Psychology.

Two 75-minute periods.