General Psychology

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Introduce students to the fundamental concepts, theories, and empirical findings across major subfields of psychology such as neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, and developmental psychology. Help students foster a scientific understanding of human behavior and mental processes along with critical thinking of popular depictions of psychology.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the basic steps and ethical guidelines of the scientific method in psychological research.
• Define core psychological terms, concepts, and major historical perspectives.
• Analyze the scientific method by evaluation experimental and correlational research methodologies used to study human behavior
• Evaluate popular behavioral claims and psychological myths by applying critical thinking strategies.
• Apply evidence based psychological principles to resolve real-world personal, educational, and professional challenges.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

In Critical Thinking and Inquiry competency courses, students acquire a working knowledge of the foundational tools for reasoning, including constructing sound arguments, evaluating the quality of evidence, and forming judgments about the evidence, arguments, and conclusions of others in social and behavioral science disciplines.

The CTI in the Social & Behavioral Sciences SLOs:

• Critically analyze claims, arguments, artifacts or information. In this course, students will complete the MAC SLO 1 by taking quizzes and exams where they must assess which answer to each question best fits with the information provided by the instructor in lectures and in the textbook. They must also critically analyze information covered in lectures and the textbook to provide a discussion post based on the most important take away or a question that remains unanswered.
• Construct coherent, evidence-based arguments. Students will satisfy MAC SLO 2 by engaging in critical thought discussions during lectures to apply psychological concepts to their own lives, other domains, and previously learned information and refer to the material covered in the lecture or textbook to support their response.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Chapter Quizzes	25%
Exams (3 unit exams + 1 cumulative final)	25%
Packbacks	20%
Exit Tickets (attendance & participation)	15%
Research Participation	15%

Grading Scale:

Percentage	Letter Grade
93% and above	A
90-92.99%	A-
87-89.99%	B+
83-86.99%	B
80-82.99%	B-
77-79.99%	C+
73-76.99%	C
70-72.99%	C-
67-69.99%	D+
63-66.99%	D
60-62.99%	D-
59.99% and below	F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance is required and will be monitored through Exit Ticket assignments which are in-class activities/summary/questions based on each lecture. There is a total of 6 excused absences throughout the semester.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

• Textbook: Psychology: Themes and Variations (11th edition) by Wayne Weiten via MindTap
• Packback