Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
PSYCD001.
Course Title (CB02)
General Psychology
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This course examines the factors influencing human behavior including biological and neurological basis of behavior, gender, life span development, cognition and consciousness, attention, sensation, perception, learning, memory, intelligence, motivation, emotion, stress, personality, psychological disorders and psychotherapy, social psychology, and applied psychology.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is a major preparation requirement in Psychology and is CSU and UC transferable. It also meets °®¶¹´«Ã½ GE, CSU GE, and IGETC. This course introduces the basic theories and concepts and is a broad survey course in all areas of Psychology. As such, it is included in the Psychology ADT as well.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
Yes
Foothill Course ID
PSYC F001.

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
PSYPsychologyApprovedC-ID PSY 110

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

In-class essays

In-class polling and surveying

Homework and extended projects

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Discussion of assigned reading

Guest speakers

Collaborative projects

Other: LMS-based facilitated discussions

Other: LMS-based visual aids, including videos and visual aids

Other: LMS-based narrated videos and slide presentations

Assignments

  1. Assigned readings from required text and references.
  2. Mid-term and final examination.
  3. A research paper that examines a significant contemporary issue or problem in general psychology selected by the student or instructor.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Collaborative discussion which critically analyzes and evaluates a problem from within the course, selected by the student or instructor (may be facilitated in-person or online.)
  2. Mid-term examinations using a combination of objective, short answer and essay questions to evaluate the student's grasp of the theories, core concepts, methods of inquiry and significant empirical data that comprise the course content. The essay component will require critical thinking and analysis and/or synthesis.
  3. A two-hour comprehensive final exam including multiple-choice questions and an essay component that will require students to summarize, integrate, and critically analyze the major theoretical perspectives, modes of inquiry, and the important core concepts examined throughout the course.
  4. A research paper that examines a significant contemporary issue in general psychology, selected by the student or instructor. The focus of the research paper will be on the summary, integration, critical analysis and/or synthesis of the theoretical perspectives and/or body of empirical data germane to the explication of the issue examined. The majority of the source material for the research paper must be derived from primary sources and relevant psychological journal articles. The research paper should be 3 to 5 pages in length and follow the style and format of the American Psychological Publication Manual or other standard research paper format, and graded according to a standardized rubric.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Spielman, R. M. (2018). "Psychology". Houston, TX: OpenStax CNX.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. "The Developing Person Through the Life Span". 10th ed. New York: Worth: 2017.
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Sommers, S. R. "Social Psychology". 10th Ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2018.
Allport, G.W. "Pattern in Growth in Personality". New York: Rinehart & Winston, 1961.
American Psychiatric Association. "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" DSM V. American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
Bandura, A. (2010). Social cognitive theory of personality,3rd Ed. In L. A. Pervin, & O.P. John (Eds.), "Handbook of personality: Theory and research". New York: Guilford Press.
Bem, Sandra (1993) "The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality." New Haven, CT: Yale Univesity Press.
Rojas, Raul. Neural Networks: A Systematic Introduction. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Harvard Press, 1996.
Lindzey, G. and E. Aronson (eds.). "The Handbook of Social Psychology". New York: Random House, 1989.
Maxwell, Scott E. and Harold D. Delaney. "Designing Experiments and Analyzing Data". Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2004.
Rice, L.N. and L.S. Greenberg. "Humanistic approaches to psychotherapy." In D.K. Freedheim. (ed.). History of Psychotherapy: A Century of Change. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1992.
Corey, Gerald. "Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy ". 10th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2016.
Schwartz, Barry. "Psychology of Learning and Behavior". 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2002.
Stangor, Charles, & Crandall, Christian(Eds.) "Stereotyping and Prejudice". New York: Psychology Press, 2013.
Barlow, David H., Durand, Vincent M., & Hofmann, Stefan G. "Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach", 8th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2017.
Padder, Tanveer A. "Practical Guide to Psychiatric Medications: Simple, Concise, & Up-to-date." Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.
Fadiman, James, and Frager, Robert. "Personality and Personal Growth". 5th ed. Harper Collins, NY, 2009.
Galantar, M., Kleber, H.D., & Brady, K. T. (eds.). "Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment". 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2017.
Matlin, Margaret W. Cognition. 5th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 2006.
American Psychological Association. Stressed in America. January 2012. Available online

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Recognize the historical and philosophical background of psychology
  • Recognize the diversity and contribution of the primary sub-fields of Psychology
  • Distinguish and explain the nature of theory and the methods of inquiry used in psychology as a discipline
  • Evaluate evolutionary and genetic factors underlying human behavior
  • Identify and explain the structure and function of the neuron and the components that makes up the nervous and endocrine systems
  • Identify and explain the major principles, processes and stages of human development throughout the life span
  • Distinguish and evaluate the theories and principles of sensation and perception.
  • Explain the nature of sleep, dreams, hypnosis, drugs, meditation and how they relate to the various levels of consciousness and awareness
  • Learning via classical conditioning, comparisons with instrumental or operant conditioning as they apply to understanding human and animal behavior
  • Describe the nature of the cognitive processes involved in memory reasoning, problem-solving, and decision making
  • Assess the role of motivation and emotion in adaptive and maladaptive behavior in humans and animals
  • Interpret and apply major concepts and research findings of health psychology to the understanding of the role of stress and life-style in physical and mental well-being
  • Evaluate the assumptions, principles and theoretical bases regarding the nature and the measurement of intelligence, personality, psychopathology, vocational interest and attitudes
  • Compare and contrast theories of personality
  • Identify and describe the major psychological disorders and associated biological cultural, gender and environmental factors
  • Compare and contrast the major techniques of psychotherapy
  • Identify and analyze the concepts, principles and research findings of social psychology

CSLOs

  • Describe the ways in which psychology is grounded in the scientific method.

  • Demonstrate, by reference to supporting research, findings that underlie everyday knowledge and beliefs as they relate to psychology.

  • Create real life examples that show how psychology is present in many human endeavours.

  • Contrast the six (6) main models (cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, biological, humanistic/positive, socio-cultural) used to explain psychopathology and treatment.

Outline

  1. Recognize the historical and philosophical background of psychology
    1. Ancient and Modern Philosophical Origins
      1. Socrates: Socratic method; self-knowledge; uniqueness of the individual
      2. Rene Descartes: the mind-body problem and interactionism; skepticism and "cogito ergo sum"; innate knowledge; and free will
      3. Immanuel Kant: a priori categories as innate mental structures; noumena vs. phenomena; integration of empiricism and rationalism
      4. John Locke: all knowledge is derived from experience; no innate knowledge mind is a blank slate at birth "tabula rasa"; environmental determinism; primary and secondary qualities
    2. Physiological Origins
      1. Charles Bell and Francois Magendie: sensory and motor nerves
      2. Hermann von Helmholtz: Speed of nerve impulse; reaction time; unconscious inference
      3. Charles Darwin: evolution; natural selection; adaptation; heredity; comparative psychology current evolutionary psychology
    3. Experimental Origins
      1. Wilhelm Wundt: first psychology laboratory 1879; Structuralism; introspection and the contents of consciousness
      2. Hermann Ebbinghaus: experimental investigation of memory
      3. Francis Galton: measurement of individual differences; statistics
    4. Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Perspective
      1. Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic theory of personality, psychopathology and the techniques of Psychoanalysis
      2. Carl G. Jung's modifications of Freudian's theory.
      3. Neo-Freudians including Karen Horney, Anna Freud and Eric Erikson and Object Relations theory
    5. Psychology in America
      1. Behaviorism: John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, Clark Hull, and Edward Tolman; stimulus-response associations; conditioned responses extreme emphasis on environmental factors
      2. Functionalism; William James; adaptation; pragmatism; stream of consciousness theory of emotion; habit
  2. Recognize the diversity and contribution of the primary sub-fields of Psychology
    1. Clinical and Counseling Psychology
    2. Biological Psychology
    3. Cognitive Psychology
    4. Developmental Psychology
    5. Educational Psychology
    6. Experimental Psychology
    7. Industrial and Organizational Psychology
    8. Forensic Psychology
    9. Health Psychology
    10. Positive/Humanistic Psychology
    11. Social Psychology
    12. Sports Psychology
  3. Distinguish and explain the nature of theory and the methods of inquiry used in psychology as a discipline
    1. The nature of the scientific approach, research design, and statistics
      1. Empirically-based and statistical/quantitative
      2. Systematic and precise
      3. The use of operational definitions of concepts and variables
      4. Testability and verifiability
      5. Falsifiability
    2. Observational Methods
    3. Case History Method
    4. Surveys and questionnaires
      1. Representative samples
      2. Response bias
      3. Questionnaire design issues and problems
    5. Psychological testing
    6. Correlational Methods
      1. Correlation coefficients and related statistics
      2. Cause - effect relationships
      3. Third variable problems
    7. Experimental Methods
      1. Independent variables, dependent variables and intervening variables
      2. Operational definitions
      3. Problems of confounding
      4. Random selection and random assignment
      5. Placebo effects and experimenter bias
      6. Single blind , double blind and counterbalancing procedures
      7. Research ethics - APA ethical guidelines
      8. Comparative methods
      9. Animal rights
  4. Evaluate evolutionary and genetic factors underlying human behavior
    1. Human evolution/Natural Selection
    2. Basic genetics
      1. Single genes and behavior
      2. Chromosomes and behavior
      3. Behavior Genetics
  5. Identify and explain the structure and function of the neuron and the components that makes up the nervous and endocrine systems
    1. Gross brain anatomy, cerebral cortex, hemispheres and lobes
      1. Left and right hemispheres, individual, gender, and cultural differences
      2. Lobes of the Cerebrum (Frontal, etc.)
    2. Brain Stem
      1. Cerebellum
      2. Pons
      3. Reticular formation
      4. Medulla
    3. Thalamus
    4. Limbic system
      1. Hypothalamus
      2. Amygdala
      3. Hippocampus
    5. Autonomic nervous system
      1. Sympathetic nervous system
      2. Parasympathetic nervous system
    6. Neuron
      1. Dendrites and graded potentials
      2. Cell body (soma)
      3. Axon basic structures
      4. Resting potential
      5. Action potential
      6. All -or-none law
    7. Synaptic mechanisms and neurotransmitters
      1. Major neurotransmitters and their effects
      2. Synthesis
      3. Storage
      4. Release
  6. Identify and explain the major principles, processes and stages of human development throughout the life span
    1. Definition of development
    2. Quantitative and Qualitative changes over time
    3. Age related changes or stages in life-span development
    4. Methods of studying development
      1. Experimental methods
      2. Correlational methods
      3. Longitudinal, cross-sectional and sequential methods
    5. Areas or strands of development
      1. Physical
      2. Cognitive
      3. Emotional
      4. Social
    6. Developmental aspects of Genes and DNA
      1. Chromosomes - the human karyotype
      2. Autosomes
      3. Sex chromosomes
      4. Chromosomal abnormalities and genetic counseling
    7. The birth process
      1. Gametes and fertilization
      2. Germinal stage
      3. Embryonic stage
      4. Fetal stage
      5. Birth defects
      6. Normal, cesarean and medicated childbirths
      7. Birth trauma concept
    8. Infancy and childhood
      1. Physical development
      2. Maturation and critical periods
      3. Mary Ainsworth's attachment research
      4. Piaget's stages of cognitive development
      5. Language acquisition
      6. Bonding and imprinting
    9. Adolescence
      1. Puberty and sexuality
      2. Social relationships
    10. Adulthood
      1. Erikson's later psychosocial stages
      2. Cognitive changes
      3. Psychopathology
    11. Moral development - Kohlberg's Stages
    12. Old age
    13. Dying - Kubler-Ross Stage Theory
  7. Distinguish and evaluate the theories and principles of sensation and perception.
    1. Sensation
    2. Perception
    3. Classical psychophysics and signal detection theory
    4. The visual system
      1. Gross anatomy of the eye
      2. Structure of the retina
      3. Visual pathways
      4. Theories of color vision
    5. The auditory system
      1. Outer ear
      2. Middle ear
      3. Inner ear
      4. Auditory pathways
    6. Taste, smell and vestibular sense
    7. Theories of perception
    8. Depth and distance perception
      1. The Gestalt principles of organization
      2. Constructive or top-down approaches
      3. Bottom-up models of perception based on information arrived from the stimulus object
      4. Combine bottom-up and top-down theory
    9. Perceptual constancies
  8. Explain the nature of sleep, dreams, hypnosis, drugs, meditation and how they relate to the various levels of consciousness and awareness
    1. Sleep
      1. Stages and the Sleep Cycle
      2. Deprivation
      3. Disorders
    2. Dreams
      1. Freud's theory of dream function
      2. Wish-fulfillment theory
      3. Jung's theory of dream function
    3. Drugs - Major Types of Abused Drugs
      1. Addiction
      2. Tolerance
      3. Withdrawal
    4. Socio-Cultural and gender issues related to drug use
  9. Learning via classical conditioning, comparisons with instrumental or operant conditioning as they apply to understanding human and animal behavior
    1. Learning: Basic processes
      1. Sensitization
      2. Habituation and sensory adaptation
    2. Classical conditioning basic principles and applications (Pavlovian conditioning)
    3. Operant conditioning/instrumental learning and reinforcement (B.F. Skinner and E.L. Thorndike)
    4. Observational Learning, including Bandura's Model
  10. Describe the nature of the cognitive processes involved in memory reasoning, problem-solving, and decision making
    1. Types of memory
      1. Declarative memory - memory for facts and information
      2. Non-declarative (Procedural/Implicit) memory
    2. Sensory register - the first stage of memory
      1. Iconic storage
      2. Echoic storage
    3. Short term memory (STM) Working Memory
      1. Memory size - 5 to 9 chunks
      2. Duration
      3. Encoding mechanism - auditory, visual, central executive, semantic codes
    4. Long term memory (LTM)
      1. Memory size
      2. Duration
      3. Encoding mechanism - auditory, visual, semantic codes
      4. Memory loss - decay, interference and retrieval failure
    5. Depth of processing theory of memory - Craik and Lockhart
    6. Neurobiology of memory
      1. Encoding specificity principle
      2. Context and mood dependent memory
      3. Encoding mechanism - auditory, visual, semantic codes
    7. Judgment, decision-making, and problem solving
  11. Assess the role of motivation and emotion in adaptive and maladaptive behavior in humans and animals
    1. Theories of human motivation
      1. Unconscious motivation
      2. Humanistic - existential theories
      3. Evolutionary (i.e. Sociobiology)
      4. Arousal theory and homeostatic theory (Drives)
    2. Physiological or primary drives
    3. Human or social motives
      1. Achievement motivation cultural and gender differences
      2. Affiliation
      3. Approval and affectional motives or needs
    4. Human sexual motivation
      1. Freud's psychoanalytic perspective and influence
      2. Kinsey's 1940's study
      3. Masters and Johnson's studies of physiological pattern of sexual response
      4. Bem's research on gender roles, sexual scripts, maps
    5. Neurophysiological aspects of emotion
      1. Reticular activating system and emotional arousal
      2. Autonomic nervous system reactions
      3. Hormonal responses
      4. Limbic system and emotion
    6. Bodily changes in emotion involving the striped muscles
      1. Muscle tension
      2. Tremors
      3. Eye blinking and other nervous movements
      4. Vocal expressions
      5. Facial expressions
    7. Theories of emotion
      1. James-Lange theory - body reaction theory
      2. The Cannon-Bard theory - central neural theory
      3. Cognitive arousal theories; interpreting and labeling emotions
      4. Darwin's evolutionary theory
      5. Paul Ekman's research on the universality of emotional expressions
  12. Interpret and apply major concepts and research findings of health psychology to the understanding of the role of stress and life-style in physical and mental well-being
    1. Stress
    2. Adjustive demands and stress
    3. Categories of stressors
    4. Factors influencing the severity of stress
    5. Reactions to life stress
      1. Task-oriented responding
      2. Defense oriented reaction patterns
      3. Effects of severe stress
      4. Selye's general adaptation syndrome
  13. Evaluate the assumptions, principles and theoretical bases regarding the nature and the measurement of intelligence, personality, psychopathology, vocational interest and attitudes
    1. Intelligence tests
      1. Stanford-Binet IQ test
      2. Wechsler's intelligence tests
    2. Models and theories of intelligence
      1. Thurstone's primary mental abilities
      2. J.P. Guilford factor analytic model
      3. Spearman's two factor theory
      4. Gardner's Eight intelligence's (revised)
      5. Sternberg's intelligence triad
    3. Factors influencing intelligence
      1. Heredity
      2. Deprived environments
      3. Age
      4. Occupation
    4. Cultural, ethnic and gender biases and prejudices relating to the assessment of intelligence and personality
  14. Compare and contrast theories of personality
    1. Type and trait theories of personality
      1. Early type theories (humors)
      2. Jung's psychological type theory
      3. Allport's trait approach
      4. Combining types and traits
      5. The Five-Factor Model (Big Five) and Eysenck's three-factor model
      6. Minnesota multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI -2)
      7. California Psychological Inventory A perception Test (TAT)
      8. Projective tests
    2. Psychodynamic theories
      1. Freudian psychoanalytic model
      2. Jungian theory of personality
      3. Post-Freudian theories of A. Adler, Karen Horney, and H. Sullivan
    3. Humanistic-Existential theories
      1. Roger's Person-centered approach
      2. Maslow's Personality Theory
    4. Cultural and gender differences in personality by M. Mead and R. Benedict
  15. Identify and describe the major psychological disorders and associated biological cultural, gender and environmental factors
    1. History and criteria relating to psychological disorders
      1. Historical treatment and views of "abnormal" behavior
      2. Contemporary views of "abnormal" behavior
      3. Classifying mental disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Revision (DSM V) multiaxial classification system
    2. Anxiety Disorders
    3. Dissociative Disorders
    4. Personality Disorders
    5. Mood Disorders and Suicide
    6. The Schizophrenia and Delusional Disorders
    7. Causal factors in Abnormal Behavior
    8. Culture and Abnormal Behavior in DSM V's new classification of culturally related disorder
  16. Compare and contrast the major techniques of psychotherapy
    1. Types of psychotherapy
      1. Traditional Psychoanalysis
      2. Neo-Freudian approaches
      3. Person-centered (client-centered, Rogerian) therapy
      4. Behavior therapies
      5. Cognitive therapy
      6. Biomedical therapies (i.e., Drugs)
    2. Gender and cultural differences involving prejudice and bias in the conduct of psychotherapy
  17. Identify and analyze the concepts, principles and research findings of social psychology
    1. Social Facilitation
    2. Social roles and norms
    3. Conformity and S. Ash independence
    4. Obedience - S. Milgram
    5. Bystander intervention and apathy - B. Lantene
    6. Prejudice - racism, sexism and ageism, culturism
    7. Self-perception theory
    8. Attribution theory
    9. Attraction and persuasion
    10. Sex roles and schemas, scripts and love maps
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