PSYC 1001 General Psychology

About the Course

There are a number of misconceptions about psychology and about the people who claim it as a profession. For example, less than 50% of all psychologists are clinical psychologists, and there still are not enough therapists and counselors to meet the present needs of people with disorders and problems of daily life. More researchers are always needed to explore some very important problems, such as how to increase safe sex practices to help reduce the risk of AIDS, or how to reduce the incidence of head injuries among children and adults, or how to understand the low reliability of an eye witness when the subject and the witness are from different ethnic groups.

Psychologists study humor and laughter and tears, and the effect of poverty on families, and the effect of racial or sexual discrimination on self-esteem, and different reasons that people cite for hurting and for helping each other. Psychologists also study the brain, and how our perceptions influence our thoughts and behaviors.

Objectives/Outline

Introductory psychology courses are designed to give students an overview of all areas of psychology, including Social, Developmental, Abnormal, Personality, Biological, Health, Motivation, and others, including Clinical Psychology!

Additionally, you should have an understanding of the scientific methodology that is responsible for much of what psychologists know.

Grade Breakdown

Grades are based on a system of accumulated points. Your two exams are each worth 100 points, or one point per question. Questions in your assignments are worth 10 points each. Thus, each assignment is worth ten times the number of questions. Unit One has five questions, for a total of 50 points. Unit Two has seven questions, for a total of 70 points, and so on. The total possible points is 690.

Required Text

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2008). The World of Psychology, 6th edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; ISBN: 0205499414.

Recommended Text

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., Boyd, D., Whitford, F.W., & Overstreet, L. (2008). Grade Aid Workbook for the World of Psychology. Boston: Allyn & & Bacon; ISBN: 0205570763.

Instructor Contact

Email: diane.martichuski@colorado.edu

Diane Martichuski earned her PhD in Social and Environmental Psychology from Colorado State University. She is currently conducting research on teaching, specifically studying the effectiveness of different types of clicker questions on student learning. Her teaching interests include General Psychology, Statistics and Research Methods, and Social Psychology.