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Psychology Course Outcomes

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PSYC101 General Psychology  (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to identify the major fields of study and theoretical perspectives within psychology and articulate their similarities and differences.
  2. Students will be able to differentiate between the major observational, correlational, experimental, and quasi-experimental designs used by developmental psychologists and articulate the benefits and limitations of each.
  3. Students will be able to critique various studies and theories based on this information.
  4. Students will be able to identify and discuss the biological bases of behavior on both the micro (e.g. neurocellular, neurophysiological, and neurochemical) and macro (e.g. central and peripheral nervous system) levels.
  5. Students will be able to articulate the basic principles, major theories, and research concerning learning and cognition.
  6. Students will be able to discuss the major theories of development, critical research on development, and developmental concepts from across the life course.
  7. Students will be able to discuss the symptomatology, possible etiology, and proposed treatment for the major categories of psychological disorders.
  8. Students will be able to identify and discuss the major theories and research from the area of social psychology.
  9. Students will be able to read current literature related to a specific psychological topic and write a paper discussing and evaluating this research.
  10. Students will be able write their paper in APA format.         

PSYC201 Abnormal Psychology (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to define abnormal behavior and explain the rationale behind it.
  2. Students will be able to discuss procedures used to evaluate and diagnose abnormal behavior.
  3. Students will be able to compare, contrast, and integrate biological, psychological, and sociocultural explanations of abnormal behavior.
  4. Students will be able to discuss the role of psychological and behavioral factors in the causation of physical problems.
  5. Students will be able to explain the rationale behind psychological interventions for physical conditions such as migraines.
  6. Students will be able to describe symptoms of principal mental disorders.
  7. Students will be able to describe the main factors involved in the cause of the mental disorders discussed in the text.
  8. Students will be able to identify treatments for mental disorders and compare their efficacy in treating such disorders.
  9. Students will be able to discuss efforts to prevent psychopathology, giving examples of prevention programs.
  10. Students will be able to apply, to selected case examples, what they have learned about mental disorders.

PSYC202 Child Psychology (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to identify the basic concepts and theories related to child development.
  2. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of prenatal development and its impact on the child.
  3. Students will be able to identify the stages of physical, perceptual and cognitive development.
  4. Students will be able to explain the theoretical perspectives common to child psychology.
  5. Students will be able to explain each of the various developmental theories (Piaget, Freud, Erikson, and Kohlberg).
  6. Students will be able to identify the stages of language development.
  7. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of intelligence theories and measures.
  8. Students will be able to identify factors that influence the development of self-esteem.
  9. Students will be able to apply principles of operant and classical conditioning to illustrative examples.
  10. Students will be able to identify major categories of mental illness found in children.

PSYC203 Adolescent Psychology (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to explain the nature of developmental psychology, in particular, development during adolescence.
  2. Students will be able to explain the major research methods utilized in adolescent psychology.
  3. Students will be able to identify the interaction between basic research in adolescent psychology and applied questions that are often asked by people who work with adolescent children in schools and real world environments.
  4. Students will be able to identify the cognitive, emotional, social, and biological changes that take place across adolescence.
  5. Students will be able to demonstrate how interaction among physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development contribute to favorable versus unfavorable outcomes during adolescence.
  6. Students will be able to demonstrate how race, gender, sexual orientation, and social status contribute to an adolescent’s well-being.
  7. Students will be able to demonstrate how roles change during adolescence within family, peer groups, school and culture.

 PSYC205 Human Growth and Development (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that affect conception and prenatal development either positively or negatively.
  2. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the infant’s early development.
  3. Students will be able to explain the following theoretical perspectives: Psychodynamic, Behaviorist, Humanistic and Cognitive.
  4. Students will be able to explain the concept of developmental theory.
  5. Students will be able to outline the contributions made by various developmental theorists, including: Piaget, Freud, Erikson and Kohlberg.
  6. Students will be able to identify primary, secondary, and stimulation needs in terms of motivation.
  7. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major developmental periods in the life span including physical, cognitive and psychosocial issues.
  8. Students will be able to apply principles of operant and classical conditioning to illustrative examples.
  9. Students will be able to identify assessment instruments and concepts for assessing intelligence, personality, mental illness and creativity.
  10. Students will be able to identify mental illness issues and treatment options throughout the life span.

PSYC206 Psychology of Learning (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to define and identify the goals of a psychology of learning.
  2. Students will be able to identify and describe the scientific method and research methods used in the psychology of learning.
  3. Students will be able to describe the essential ideas and indicate the founders of the variety of theoretical perspectives in the psychology of learning.
  4. Students will be able to describe how biology influences human and nonhuman animals as it applies to the psychology of learning.
  5. Students will be able to discuss the components of learning, the major theories of learning, and their influence on human and nonhuman behavior.
  6. Students will be able to accurately propose a method by which they can show the various techniques in the psychology of learning in a hands-on way.
  7. Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to use the various methods in the psychology of learning.

PSYC207 Biopsychology (3 Credits)

  1. Students should be able to define and identify the goals of the science of psychology.
  2. Students should be able to identify and describe the scientific method and research methods used in psychology.
  3. Students should be able to describe the essential ideas and indicate the founders of the variety of theoretical perspectives in psychology.
  4. Students should be able to describe how biology influences human behavior.
  5. Students should be able to describe behavioral and cognitive processes.
  6. Students should be able to discuss the components of emotions, the major theories of emotions, and their influence on motivation.
  7. Students should be able to describe human development and the factors that influence it.
  8. Students should be able to describe the various concepts and principles of social psychology.
  9. Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the biological, psychodynamic, learning, humanistic-existential, cognitive, and sociocultural models of behavior to reference the norm.
  10. Students should be able to describe the complexity and variety of psychological disorders.
  11. Students should be able to describe the benefits and limitations of various psychological and biological treatments used in the treatment of psychological disorders.

PSYC208 Psychology of Personality (3 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major theoretical approaches to understanding personality.
  2. Students will be able to compare and contrast the major classical theories of personality (i.e. Psychodynamic, Behaviorist, Humanistic and Cognitive and Social-Cognitive).
  3. Students will understand the neurobiological, physiological, social and cultural factors in the development of the individual.
  4. Students will understand the Psychoanalytic and Neoanalytic Perspectives (Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, Erikson).
  5. Students will be able to comprehend the Trait Perspectives (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck).
  6. Students will be able to know Humanistic and Existential Perspectives (Maslow, Rogers, May, Frankl)
  7. Students will understand Social-Behavioral Perspectives (Skinner, Rotter, Bandura).
  8. Students will be able to demonstrate the importance of the biological/evolutionary perspective that influence personality.
  9. Students will be able to demonstrate applications of personality theories.
  10. Students will develop a working knowledge of personality assessment including projective, empirical and observational techniques.

 PSYC209 Social Psychology (3 Credits)

  1. Students will understand the major theories, concepts, perspectives and empirical findings in social psychology.
  2. Students will be able to explain how psychological theory and empirical research are used to help explain human behavior in individuals and groups.
  3. Students will be able to demonstrate how researchers utilize methods and techniques to investigate empirical questions in social psychology.
  4. Students will develop critical thinking skills to dissect and integrate scientific information.
  5. Students will be able to compare and contrast the major theories, concepts, empirical findings, methods and techniques used in social psychology (assessed by in-class exercises, assignments, quizzes, and exams).
  6. Students will be able to critique the major theories, concepts, perspectives, and empirical findings in social psychology (assessed by in-class exercises, assignments, quizzes, and exams).
  7. Students will be able to implement major theories, concepts, perspectives, and empirical findings in social psychology to explain human behavior (assessed by in-class exercises, assignments, quizzes, and exams).
  8. Students will be able to integrate different perspectives discussed in class to explain human behavior in everyday life (assessed by in-class exercises and assignments).

PSYC220 Statistics for Psychology and Social Sciences (4 Credits)

  1. Students will be able to implement statistical analyses commonly used in Psychology and other social sciences.
  2. Students will be able to use SPSS-type software.
  3. Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in the statistical techniques.
  4. Students will be able to think critically about appropriate statistical techniques for the problems they will face in and out of academic settings.
  5. Students will be able to integrate different analytic strategies for statistical decision-making.