Psychology can be broadly defined as the study of human behavior. However, this covers a number of different areas. In this course, we will examine human behavior as it can be described by looking at the brain, at the mind, and at social interactions.
This is a lot of material, and so necessarily will involve a very broad survey of these areas. We have further courses that you can take to acquire more depth in any areas that interest you.
Course Goals
The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to the scientific study of human behavior.
In so doing, we hope to explore a number of different ways that human behavior can be understood. By the time we are done, you should have at least some understanding of:
- Social behavior: What guides the way that people behave in social situations? How do we scientifically examine what those influences are?
- Cognition: How does the mind process information? How do we think, problem, solve, use language, etc.
- Neuroscience: How do the physical units we call neurons combine together to allow the types of complex behaviors humans are clearly capable of?
Grades
Grades will be based on the following criteria:
- Quizzes: There will be 10 quizzes, worth 10 points each. Quizzes will be at semi-random intervals, though they will average roughly once a week. They will be about whatever reading was assigned for that day.
- Midterm Exams: There will be two exams worth 100 points each.
- Final Exam: The final will be worth 150 points.
- Paper Assignment: The Paper assignment will be worth 50 pts.
There are 500 total points. Your final grade will be based on your total points earned divided by 5.