Sanchez 1
Application of Psychology
Two learning outcomes remain in order to complete the Lego masterpiece (obtaining
my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology). The fourth Lego piece I would need is the fourth major
learning outcome; Application of Psychology. This major learning outcome is defined as: By
applying psychological training, the interdisciplinarity of the program becomes evident.
Students understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social and organizational
issues. Outcomes include identifying psychology's major applications, articulating how it can be
used toward social understanding and public policy, and recognizing the ethical complexities of
applying psychology. The two courses where this major learning outcome is reflected the most
on are in Experimental Psychology and Human Assessment (PSY 300) and Psychology Capstone
(PSY 400).
Experimental Psychology ( PSY 300) is the capstone process for juniors who are
Psychology Majors beging in PSY 300. In Experimental Psychology, students develop a broad
understanding of the science, ethic and application, and social responsibilities of psychologists.
In this course, we planned our academic careers and goals for attaining the entry-level
qualifications for using the psychology theories and undergraduate skills we obtained while
attending CSUMB. In the description to this course, it states, “Together with a faculty advisor, a
scholarly individual Learning Plan is developed for attaining future professional and career
goals.” That piece of description sticks true to its word. My instructor was completely hands-on
when it came to her students. She allowed for us to explore different ideas and presented
important information throughout the semester.
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My Experimental Psychology instructor stressed the importance of open-mindedness as
psychologists. One topic we spoke a lot about in this course was cultural differences. While I
previously knew the importance of understanding different cultural backgrounds; this course
emphasized the importance of knowing which social factors could hinder an understanding as
psychologists. I remember at the beginning of the semester, my instructor asked my classmates
and I which field in Psychology we wanted to go to. My instructor then incorporated a lot of
guest speakers in her teachings from different Psychology fields and allowed for class
discussions. This allowed for my classmates and I to understand the different fields in
Psychology and to speak with experts straight from the fields and helped us acquire any
information we needed. I recall we had a guest speaker from the Developmental field of
Psychology and this guest provided a lot of information on the field and the proper steps we
should take as juniors to go into the field in a graduate program. Oddly enough, that guest
speaker ended up being my Cognitive Psychology instructor.
Another course that I took that fulfilled this major learning outcome is Psychology
Capstone (PSY 400). In this course, each student is to produces a capstone project or compiles
an academic portfolio that highlights their course-based and experimental scholarly
achievements including internships, field studies, and civic service as volunteers. Both of these
options help demonstrate that the students have experiences their education through a variety
of modern learning techniques and have acquired their knowledge through best practices in the
field. Student mastery is demonstrated by an individual scholarly research presentation that
demonstrated knowledge of theory, methods, and application of chosen specialty area in
psychology. For my Capstone, I chose to do the portfolio. Choosing to do the portfolio required
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me to take each Major Learning Outcome in the Psychology Major and write about how I
fulfilled all five learning outcomes.
At first, my reasoning in choosing option 1, the portfolio was obvious to choose. My
reason was having a full-time job, working over 50 hrs a week at times, and being a full-time
student as my last semester at CSUMB made it difficult to balance time. Therefore, I knew
choosing this option would work best as it would be difficult to conduct an experiment with so
little extra time I had at my hands. However, I realized that not only was it obvious for me to
choose this option, it was beneficial. Going through old assignments allowed me to view all of
my accomplishments here at CSUMB and there’s no better feeling than going through old work
and seeing the improvement over these past few years.
This learning outcome allowed me the chance to view the perspectives of experts from
different fields of psychology. Thanks to my Experimental Psychology instructor, my classmates
and I were to discuss first-hand the experiences dealt with through different fields of
psychology. It not only allowed me to gain a better understanding of the field, but it allowed
many of my classmates assure their decisions in the field of study of their choice; I already was
assured of my choice since 8th grade.