MEMORANDUM
TO:
ALL PSY 120 INSTRUCTORS
FROM:
PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY
SUBJECT:
PSY 120 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
DATE:
NOVEMBER 10, 2014
CC:
GINNY BOROLOV, SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT SECRETARY
Effective Spring 2015, all instructors who teach PSY 120 for Purdue University North Central will
need to include the following catalog description, course description and goal in their syllabi and
cover the primary objectives listed below. Primary objectives are viewed as critical for future
application overall, as well as future courses within the discipline. Secondary objectives, although
important, can be discussed in a more general manner. This way, instructors can target core
concepts, theories, and applications, as well as not feel rushed in discussing many chapter objectives.
Also, these changes reflect new wording and objective formatting within the Cicarelli & White 4th
edition text. For assessment purposes of the new B.S. in Psychology degree, the full-time psychology
faculty asks all instructors to cover these objectives so that our students can be assessed and will be
prepared for their upper division courses in the major.
We greatly appreciate your help in this matter.
**********************************
Catalog Description: Introduction to the fundamental principles of psychology, covering
particularly the topics of personality, intelligence, emotion, abnormal behavior, attention, perception,
learning, memory, and thinking.
Course Description and Goal: This course surveys the science of psychology. The primary goal is
for students to demonstrate an understanding of theories, research methods, and major concepts of
the subject. To meet this goal, the following topics are addressed: historical overview, biological
basis of behavior and emotion, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning, memory,
intelligence, human development, motivation and emotion, sexuality, stress and health, social
psychology, personality, psychological disorders, and psychological therapies. There is no
prerequisite for this course.
Objectives derived from: Ciccarelli, S. & White, J. (2015). Psychology (4th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
The Science of Psychology
Primary Objectives to be covered:
1.1 What defines psychology as a field of study, and what are psychology’s four primary goals?
(page 4)
1.4 What are the basic ideas behind the seven modern perspectives, and what were the
important contributions of Skinner, Maslow, and Rogers? (page 13)
1.6 Why is psychology considered a science, and what are the steps in using the scientific
method? (page 20)
1.9 What is the correlational technique, and what does it tell researchers about relationships?
(page 27)
1.10 What are the steps involved in designing an experiment? (page 29)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
1.5 How does a psychologist differ from a psychiatrist, and what are the other types of
professionals who work in the various areas of psychology? (page 17)
1.7 How are naturalistic and laboratory settings used to describe behavior, and what are some of
the advantages and
disadvantages associated with these settings? (page 22)
1.8 How are case studies and surveys used to describe behavior, and what are some drawbacks
to each of these methods?
(page 24)
The Biological Perspective
Primary Objectives to be covered:
2.1 What are the nervous system, neurons, and nerves, and how do they relate to one another?
(page 46)
2.2 How do neurons use neurotransmitters to communicate with each other and with the body?
(page 51)
2.6 How do psychologists study the brain and how it works? (page 67)
2.7 What are the different structures of the hindbrain and what do they do? (page 72)
2.8 What are the structures of the brain that control emotion, learning, memory, and motivation?
(page 74)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
2.4 How do the somatic and autonomic nervous systems allow people and animals to interact with
their surroundings and control the body’s automatic functions? (page 60)
2.5 How do the hormones released by glands interact with the nervous system and affect behavior?
(page 63)
2.9 What parts of the cortex control the different senses and the movement of the body? (page 77)
2.11 How does the left side of the brain differ from the right side? (page 82)
Sensation and Perception
Primary Objectives to be covered:
3.1 How does sensation travel through the central nervous system, and why are some sensations
ignored? (page 92)
3.2 What is light, and how does it travel through the various parts of the eye? (page 96)
3.4 What is sound, and how does it travel through the various parts of the ear? (page 104)
3.8 What is perception? (page 118)
3.10 What is depth perception and what kind of cues are important for it to occur? (page 120)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
3.3 How do the eyes see, and how do the eyes see different colors? (page 99)
3.5 How do the senses of taste and smell work, and how are they alike? (page 109)
3.7 What allows people to experience the sense of touch, pain, motion, and balance? (page 113)
3.9 What are the Gestalt principles of perception? (page 118)
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Consciousness
Primary Objectives to be covered:
4.2 Why do people need to sleep, and how does sleep work? (page 138)
4.3 What are the different stages of sleep, including the stage of dreaming and its importance? (page
142)
4.8 How do stimulants and depressants affect consciousness, and what are the dangers associated
with taking them, particularly alcohol? (page 160)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
4.1 What does it mean to be conscious, and are there different levels of consciousness? (page 136)
4.4 How do sleep disorders interfere with normal sleep? (page 146)
4.6 How does hypnosis affect consciousness? (page 154)
4.7 What is the difference between a physical dependence and a psychological dependence on a
drug? (page 158)
Learning
Primary Objectives to be covered:
5.2 How was classical conditioning first studied, and what are the important elements and
characteristics of classical conditioning? (page 176)
5.5 What are the important concepts in operant conditioning? (include discussion on Thorndike
and Skinner) (page 187)
5.12 What is observational learning, and what are the four elements of modeling? (page 209)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
5.3 What is a conditioned emotional response, and how do cognitive psychologists explain classical
conditioning? (page 183)
5.6 What are the schedules of reinforcement? (page 190)
5.7 What is punishment and how does it differ from reinforcement? (page 194)
5.8 What are some of the problems with using punishment? (page 196)
Memory
Primary Objectives to be covered:
6.1 What are the three processes of memory? (page 220)
6.3 What is short-term memory, and how does it differ from working memory? (page 225)
6.5 What are the various types of long-term memory, and how is information stored in long-term
memory organized? (page 230)
6.8 How are long-term memories formed, and how can this process lead to inaccuracies in memory?
(page 242)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
6.1 What are the different models of how memory works? (page 220)
6.2 How does sensory memory work? (page 222)
6.6
What kinds of cues help people remember? (page 235)
6.7 How do the retrieval processes of recall and recognition differ, and how reliable are our
memories of events? (page 236)
6.10 Why do we forget? (page 245)
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Cognition: Thinking, Intelligence, and Language
Primary Objectives to be covered:
7.1 How are mental images and concepts involved in the process of thinking? (page 262)
7.2 What are the methods people use to solve problems and make decisions? (page 266)
7.3 Why does problem solving sometimes fail, and what is meant by creative thinking? (page 270)
7.4 How do psychologists define intelligence, and how do various theories of intelligence differ?
(page 274)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
7.5 How is intelligence measured, how are intelligence tests constructed, and what role do these tests
play in neuropsychology? (page 276)
7.6 What is intellectual disability and what are its causes? (page 285)
7.7 What defines giftedness, and how are giftedness and emotional intelligence related to success in
life? (page 286)
7.8 What is the influence of heredity and environment on the development of intelligence? (page
290)
7.9 How is language defined, and what are its different elements and structure? (page 294)
Development Across the Life Span
Primary Objectives to be covered:
8.1 What are some of the special research designs used to study development? (page 306)
8.4 What happens during conception and prenatal development and what are some prenatal
hazards? (page 312)
8.5 What kind of physical changes take place in infancy and childhood? (page 317)
8.6 What are two ways of looking at cognitive development, and how does language develop, and
what is autism spectrum disorder? (page 320)
8.7 How do infants and children develop personalities and form relationships with others, and what
are Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development for children? (page 328)
8.9 What are the physical, cognitive, and personality changes that occur during adulthood and aging,
including Erikson’s last three psychosocial stages, and patterns of parenting? (page 339)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
8.2 What is the relationship between heredity and environmental factors in determining
development? (page 306)
8.3
How do chromosomes, genes, and DNA determine a person’s characteristics or disorders?
(page 308)
8.8
What are the physical, cognitive, and personality changes that occur in adolescence,
including concepts of morality and Erikson’s search for identity? (page 334)
Motivation and Emotion
Primary Objectives to be covered:
9.1 How do psychologists define motivation, and what are the key elements of the early instinct and
drive-reduction approaches to motivation? (page 354)
9.2 What are the characteristics of the three types of needs? (page 356)
9.3 What are the key elements of the arousal and incentive approaches to motivation? (page 359)
9.4 How does Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explain motivation? (page 361)
9.5 What happens in the body to cause hunger, and how do social factors influence a person’s
experience of hunger? (page 365)
9.6 What are some biological, social, and cultural factors that contribute to obesity? (page 368)
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9.7 What are the three elements of emotion? (page 371)
9.8 How do the James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories of emotion differ? (page 376)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
9.9 What are the key elements in cognitive arousal theory, the facial feedback hypothesis, and the
cognitive-mediational theory of emotion? (page 377)
Sexuality and Gender
Primary Objectives to be covered:
10.2What is gender, and how can biology and learning influence gender-role development? (page
390)
10.3How do gender roles develop, and how can they be influenced by stereotypes or an emphasis on
androgyny? (page 396)
10.4How do men and women differ in thinking, social behavior, and personality? (page 397)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
10.7 How do different sexual orientations develop? (page 404)
Stress and Health
Primary Objectives to be covered:
11.1How do psychologists define stress? (page 420)
11.3What are some psychological factors in stress? (page 425)
11.4How does stress affect the physical functioning of the body and its immune system? (page 430)
11.5How do cognitive factors and personality differences affect the experience of stress? (page 435)
11.6What social factors influence stress reactions? (page 441)
11.7
What are some ways in which people cope with stress reactions? (page 445)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
11.2What kinds of external events can cause stress? (page 421)
11.8
How is coping with stress affected by culture and religion? (page 447)
Social Psychology
Primary Objectives to be covered:
12.1What factors influence people to conform to the actions of others, and how does the presence of
others affect individual task
performance? (page 454)
12.2
How is compliance defined, and what are some ways to gain the compliance of another?
(page 458)
12.3What factors make obedience more likely? (page 461)
12.4What are the three components of an attitude, how are attitudes formed, and how can attitudes
be changed? (page 465)
12.5 How do people react when attitudes and behavior are not the same? (page 468)
12.9Why are people prejudiced, and how can prejudice be stopped? (include discussion of difference
between prejudice &
discrimination) (page 477)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
12.7How do people try to explain the actions of others? (page 473)
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12.10 What factors govern attraction and love, and what are some different kinds of love? (page
482)
12.11 How is aggressive behavior determined by biology and learning? (page 487)
12.12What is altruism, and how is deciding to help someone related to the presence of others? (page
490)
Theories of Personality
Primary Objectives to be covered:
13.1What is personality? (page 502)
13.2How did Freud’s historical view of the mind and personality form a basis for psychodynamic
theory? (page 504)
13.7What part do biology, heredity, and culture play in personality? (page 521)
13.8What are the advantages and disadvantages of various measures of personality? (page 525)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
13.3How did the Neo-Freudians modify Freud’s theory, and how does modern psychodynamic
theory differ from that of Freud’s?
(page 508)
13.4How do behaviorists and social cognitive theorists explain personality? (page 512)
13.5How do humanists such as Carl Rogers explain personality? (page 514)
13.6
How does the trait perspective conceptualize personality? (page 518)
Psychological Disorders
Primary Objectives to be covered:
14.1How has mental illness been explained in the past and how is abnormal behavior and thinking
defined today? (page 538)
14.4What are the different types of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and stressrelated disorders, and what are their symptoms and causes? (page 547)
14.5What are the different disorders of mood and their causes? (page 552)
Secondary Objectives to be covered:
14.2
What are some of the models used to explain psychological disorders? (page 541)
14.3What are the different types of psychological disorders, and how common are they? (page 543)
14.6 What are different types of eating disorders, how do they differ, and who are they
most likely to affect? (page 556)
14.8 What are the main symptoms and causes of schizophrenia? (page 562)
14.9
How do the various personality disorders differ, and what is thought to be the cause of
personality disorders? (page 565)
Psychological Therapies
Objectives to be covered:
15.1How have psychological disorders been treated throughout history, and what are two modern
ways they are treated today? (page 576)
15.5What are the goals and basic elements of cognitive therapies such as cognitive–behavioral
therapy and rational–emotive behavior therapy? (page 588)
15.8What are the various types of drugs used to treat psychological disorders? (page 598)
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Secondary Objectives to be covered:
15.2What were the basic elements of Freud’s psychoanalysis, and how do psychodynamic approaches
differ today? (page 577)
15.3What are the basic elements of the humanistic therapies known as person-centered therapy?
(page 579)
15.4How do behavior therapists use classical and operant conditioning to treat disordered behavior,
and how successful are these therapies? (page 584)
15.6
What are the various types of group therapies and the advantages and disadvantages of
group therapy? (page 590)
15.9How are electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery used to treat psychological disorders
today? (page 602)
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