Psychology 111

1
Psychology 111

• Grading and Course Conduct

2
Course Objectives

• Introduction to psychological content and
  perspective
• Familiarity with scientific methodology and
  reasoning
• Awareness of the relationship of theory,
  research, and generalizations
• Ethics and inclusiveness
• Communication skills

3
Student Assessment

• Unit Exams (60) best 3 of 4
• Final Exam (15) take-home critical thinking
  essay
• Writing Assignments (15)
• Experiencing Psychology Labs and Discussions (10)

4
Letter Grade Determination

• At mid point and course close, weighted average
  will be computed, e.g.,
• Weighted age (.50 x exam average)
• (.15 x final score) (.20 x Assign. avg.)
• (.15 x lab average)
• Weighted age then translated into letter grade
  by 90-80-70-60 criteria

5
But what does a grade mean?

• A distinctly superior performance
• B consistently above average performance
• C average performance
• D consistently below average performance
• F failing performance
• Grades are not a reflection of your personal
  worth, but my assessment of your performance

6
Important Class Policies

• First Amendment-level protections of free speech
• Question, Question, Question (Skeptical Inquiry)
• This class first, illness, sports, debate, choir,
  music, travel, friends, family second
• Not that these things are unimportant
• Performance, not effort, is measured and evaluated

7
Some Intangibles for All Your Classes

• Civility enhances learning.
• Your enthusiasm is contagious
• Be involved in class.
• The "too cool for school" posture is unacceptable
  and offensive
• When a fellow student speaks, it is not an
  opportunity to "tune out," take a break, or start
  a conversation

8

• Dress appropriately for class.
• Never close your books or rustle your papers to
  signal the end of class
• Don't wait until it's "too late" to seek help
• Come to my office hours with definite questions,
  concerns, or problems in mind
• Never ask "Did I miss anything important in class
  the other day? Of Course You Did!
• Regardless of what you might think, grading is
  not easy, nor do Profs take sadistic pleasure in
  it

9
What is Psychology?

• Psychology as a Natural Science and a Social
  Science

• As a natural science, psychology involves the
  study of the laws of nature.
• As a social science, psychology involves the
  study of the laws of the thoughts, feelings, and
  behavior of humans and other organisms.

10

• The Evolution of Ideas
• Dialectic
• Thesis
• Antithesis
• Synthesis

11

• Psychological Perspectives The 1850s and Beyond
• The Merging of Philosophy and Physiology Into
  Modern Psychology (18501900)
• Psychologys Youth A Study in Diverging
  Perspectives
• Structuralism, Functionalism, Pragmatism, and
  Associationism Studying Behavior, Not Mental
  States

12

• Evolving Twentieth-Century Perspectives on
  Psychology
• From Associationism to Behaviorism
• BehaviorismA Search for Rigor and Reduction
• Gestalt Psychology The Whole is Different
• Cognitivism Returning to Mental Acts
• Current Frontiers Biological and Evolutionary
  PsychologyThe Brain and Body Reunited (Sort Of)
• Psychodynamic Psychology Conscious Behavior as
  the Tip of the Iceberg
• Humanistic Psychology

13

• Interest in psychological topics is ubiquitous
• 1879 Establishment of 1st laboratory for
  Psychological Study in Leipzig
• Wm. Wundt Goal was the identification of
  mental elements a periodic table of sensory
  events
• Structuralism

14
Functionalism

• Typically American emphasis on purposes and
  application
• Key Question What is consciousness for?
• Emphasis on adaptation
• Conceptually related to Evolutionary theory
• Wm. James
• stream of consciousness

15
Behaviorism

• Even more typically American in its emphasis on
  practical applications
• Restricted psychological topics to observable
  events
• Brought psychology away from speculative
  treatises to observing measurable events
• John B. Watson

16
Psychoanalytic

• Sigmund Freud
• Emphasis on unconscious processes evidenced
  through behavior
• Used a clinical method in which hypotheses are
  evaluated by patient behavior

17
Gestalt

• Emphasized the unity of consciousness and
  perceptual events
• Focused on identifying perceptual rules such as

18
Good Continuation
19
Closure
20
Proximity
21
Where are the schools now?

• No psychologist would be an adherent to any
  particular school
• Best seen as progenitors to current psychological
  interests
• Psychoanalysis? Clinical Practice
• Behaviorism?Learning
• Gestalt, Structuralism? Sensation and Perception
• Functionalism?Cognition