Psychology is the study of human behaviour with the goal of maximising human well-being.
This course is a “survey” of psychological concepts, approaches and frameworks. You will be required to apply your learned knowledge and skills towards real world contexts.
| Semester 1 | |
| Unit 1: Psychology as a science | Guiding Questions: What makes psychology a science?To what extent do cognitive biases affect knowledge construction? Topics Covered: Correlation vs. Causation, The scientific method, Validity, Reliability, Descriptive and inferential statistics, Pop psychology myths, Popper’s falsification principle, Schema, Cognitive Bias, Autism redacted, and Psychological Perspectives. |
| Unit 2: Social Psychology | Guiding Questions: To what extent does the environment impact human behavior?What is the bio/psycho/social approach to understanding human behavior? Topics covered: Social identity theory: Social cognitive theory, Observational learning, Stereotypes, Attribution, Motivation, Operant conditioning, Classical conditioning, Attribution theory, Conformity, Group think, and Obedience |
| Unit 3: Neuroscience | Guiding Questions: To what extent does biology impact human behavior? How is biology impacted by our environment?Topics covered: Hormones, Neurons, Neurotransmission, Neural networks, and emotion, Structure of the brain. |
| Unit 4: Cognition | Guiding Questions: How does our experience impact our cognition? How do schemas affect knowledge construction? To what extent is our cognition determined by our biology? Topics covered: The structure and process of memory, Multi-store mode, Working memory, Forgetting, Memory bias, False memory. |
| Unit 5: Human development | Guiding Questions: Is development universal? What makes me, me?Topics covered: Epigenetics, Twin studies and heritability, Biological, Psychological development, Attachment, Personality, and Intelligence. |
| Semester 2 | |
| Unit 6: Abnormal Psychology | Guiding Questions: What is “normal” and “abnormal”? To what extent does the environment impact our well-being? How do we know if a treatment is effective?Topics covered: Abnormal psychological conditions, Diagnosis, ICD-11, DSM-V-TR, Etiology of mental disorders, Treatment of mental disorders, Psychiatry vs Psychology, limitations of reductionism. |
| Unit 7: Research methods | Guiding Questions: How do different research methods impact the construction of knowledge within psychology? Topics covered: Ethical considerations, Sampling Methods, Threats to validity, Measurement, Experimental and correlational design, Researcher bias, Descriptive and inferential statistics testing. |
| Unit 8: Health and Well-being | Guiding Questions: To what extent are we in control of our own health and happiness? Topics covered: Stress, Positive psychology, PERMA, Happiness, Wellness, Consciousness, Sleep, Meditation, and Effects of technology. |