Introduction to Psychology 1/IPSY100 OERu course specification
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Contents
Part A: Course specification
Metadata
- OERu course name: Introduction to psychology 1
- Level: 1st year Bachelor's degree
- Notional learning hours: 120
- Micro-courses (Three micro-courses of 40 hours each)
- Foundations of Psychological Science (IPSY101)
- Thinking learning and memory (IPSY102)
- Evolution perception and consciousness (IPSY103)
- OERu course codes: IPSY101, IPSY102 and IPSY103
- OERu assessing institutions: Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Micro-credential options: No
- OERu mode of study: Self-directed study or cohort-based independent study with peer-learning support.
Course aim
To become familiar with the history and research methods of psychology and to critically examine topics related to basic psychological processes.
Learning outcomes
- Explain and critically evaluate current topics and research in the field of psychology
- Describe basic psychological processes
- Describe and apply rudimentary research and statistical methods
- Access and comprehend current research
- Utilize effective writing skills in examinations
- Use critical thinking skills through discussion and analysis of psychological issues
Indicative content
- History of Psychology
- Research methods
- Biological bases of behaviour
- Learning
- Memory
- Thinking & Intelligence
- Nature, Nurture & Evolution
- Sensation & Perception
- States of Consciousness
Assessment and credit transfer options
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Assessment type | Learning outcomes | Details | Weighting | Completion requirements |
---|---|---|---|---|
Examination | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 | Multiple-choice and short-answer questions | 33.33% | Must pass with a minimum of 50% |
Examination | LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6 | Multiple-choice and short-answer questions | 33.33% | Must pass with a minimum of 50% |
Examination | LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6 | Multiple-choice and short-answer questions | 33.33% | Must pass with a minimum of 50% |
Pre-requisites
Students must meet the English proficiency requirement of the Faculty of Arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. This may be satisfied in any one of the following ways:
1. Testing Options
- KPU English Placement Test (EPT) with placement into ENGL 1100
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test: overall band of 6.5 or higher, with a minimum 6.0 in each band, taken within the last two years
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): iBT 88 or higher, with no sub score less than 20, taken within the last two years
- Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL): Score of 70 or higher with no sub score less than 60, taken within the last two years
- Pearson Test of English (PTE): Score of 61 or higher, taken within the last two years
- Language Proficiency Index (LPI): Level 5 with an essay score of 30 or higher, taken within the last two years
2. High School Courses
- Completion of BC English 12 or English Literature 12 or English First Peoples 12 with a minimum grade of C+ or Communications 12 with a minimum grade of A (or equivalents)
- As part of the Adult Dogwood Diploma, completion of English 12 with a minimum grade of C+ or completion of Communications 12 with a minimum grade of A
- Completion of IB (International Baccalaureate) English A1/A2 (HL or SL) with a minimum grade of 3 (or C+)
- Completion of AP (Advanced Placement) English Language and Composition or AP English Literature and Composition with a minimum grade of 2 (or C+)
3. Undergraduate Courses
- Completion of 3 credits of undergraduate English (ENGL) with a minimum grade of C- from a recognized post-secondary institution where English is the primary language of instruction
- Graduation from a baccalaureate degree, or two-year diploma program, or successful completion of two years of study (60 credits) at the undergraduate level, with a minimum CGPA of 2.0, at a recognized post-secondary institution where English is the primary language of instruction
4. Courses at Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Completion of ELST 0381 and ELST 0383 (or equivalents) with a minimum grade of B in both or ELST 0381 with a minimum grade of B and a KPU placement score higher than ELST 0383 level
- Completion of ENGQ 1091, ENGQ 1092 or ENGQ 1099 (or equivalents) with a minimum grade of C
Part B: Detailed objectives
Micro-course structure
Learners are required to complete three micro-courses for academic credit.
Micro 1: Foundations of psychological science
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
What is psychology
- Provide both the historical and modern scientific definitions of psychology
- Describe the merits of an education in psychology
History of psychology
- Describe how Wundt’s Structuralism and James’s Functionalism led to the birth of scientific psychology
- Describe major developments in the history of psychology including Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory, Gestalt Psychology, and Behaviourism
- Explain what view humanism rejected and what view it proposed instead
- Explain why the cognitive revolution shifted psychology’s focus back to the mind
Contemporary psychology
- Explain how the American Psychological Association reflects the diversity of psychology
- Summarize each of the major subdisciplines of psychology
Careers in pyschology
- Specify the requirements of a PhD in psychology
- Compare the employment sectors for graduates with a BA in Psychology vs. graduates with a PhD in psychology.
- Contrast the differences between the PhD, PsyD, and MD degrees.
Why is research important?
- Explain how the scientific approach can address questions about behaviour
- Diagram the scientific method
- Define the term scientific hypothesis and explain why they need to be falsifiable
- Explain how scientific research can guide both public policy and personal decisions
Approaches to research
- Describe the different research methods used by psychologists
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys, and archival research
- Compare longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches to research
Analyzing findings
- Define the terms correlation coefficient and illusory correlation
- Explain why a correlation does not indicate a cause-and-effect relationship between variables
- Explain random sampling and random assignment of participants into experimental and control groups
- Discuss how experimenter or participant bias could affect the results of an experiment
- Identify independent and dependent variables in a research design
- Define the concepts of reliability and validity
Ethics
- Discuss how research involving human subjects is regulated
- Summarize the processes of informed consent and debriefing
Cells of the nervous system
- Identify the basic parts of a neuron
- Describe how neurons communicate with each other
- Explain how drugs act as agonists or antagonists for a given neurotransmitter system
Parts of the nervous system
- Differentiate between the central and peripheral nervous systems
- Explain the difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous systems
- Differentiate between the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system
The brain and spinal cord
- Explain the functions of the spinal cord
- Identify the hemispheres and lobes of the brain
- Describe the types of techniques available to clinicians and researchers to image or scan the brain
The endocrine system
- Identify the major glands of the endocrine system, the hormones they secrete, and their functional roles
Micro 2: Thinking learning and memory
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
What is cognition?
- Define cognitive psychology
- Distinguish concepts and prototypes
- Explain the difference between natural and artificial concepts
- Explain the difference between role schema and event schema
Language
- Define language and describe the components of language
- Create a table describing the stages of language development
- Explain the relationship between language and thinking
Problem-solving
- Describe problem-solving strategies
- Define algorithm and heuristic
- Explain some common roadblocks to effective problem solving including 5 types of decision bias
What are intelligence and creativity?
- Define intelligence
- Explain the triarchic theory of intelligence
- Identify the difference between intelligence theories
- Identify a representative career for each of the 8 types of multiple intelligences
Measures of intelligence
- Explain how intelligence tests are developed
- Describe the history of the use of IQ tests
- Describe the purposes and benefits of intelligence testing
The source of intelligence
- Describe how genetics and environment affect intelligence
- Explain the relationship between IQ scores and socioeconomic status
- Describe the difference between a learning disability and a developmental disorder
What is learning?
- Explain how learned behaviours are different from instincts and reflexes
- Define learning
- Recognize and define three basic forms of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning
Classical conditioning
- Explain how classical conditioning occurs
- Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination
Operant conditioning
- Explain the difference between reinforcement and punishment
- Distinguish between reinforcement schedules
Observational learning (modelling)
- Define observational learning
- Discuss the steps in the modeling process
- Explain the prosocial and antisocial effects of observational learning
How memory functions
- Discuss the three basic functions of memory
- Describe the three stages of memory storage
- Describe and distinguish between procedural and declarative memory and semantic and episodic memory
Parts of the brain Involved in memory
- Explain the brain functions involved in memory
- Recognize the roles of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum
Problems with memory
- Compare and contrast the two types of amnesia
- Discuss the unreliability of eyewitness testimony
- Discuss encoding failure
- Discuss the various memory errors
- Compare and contrast the two types of interference
Ways to enhance memory
- Recognize and apply memory-enhancing strategies
- Recognize and apply effective study techniques
Micro 3: Evolution perception and consciousness
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to: Evolutionary psychology
- Define "evolution"
- Explain the basic principles of the theory of evolution by natural selection
- Describe the differences between genotype and phenotype
- Discuss how gene-environment interactions are critical for expression of physical and psychological characteristics
- Define sexual selection and its two primary processes
- Define gene selection theory
- Give an example of a psychological adaptation
- Identify the core premises of sexual strategies theory
- Identify the core premises of error management theory
- Provide two empirical examples of adaptive cognitive biases.
Sensation and perception
- Distinguish between sensation and perception
- Describe the concepts of absolute threshold and difference threshold
- Discuss the roles attention, motivation, and sensory adaptation play in perception
Waves and wavelengths
- Draw a wave and describe the peak, trough, wavelength, amplitude, and frequency
- Show how physical properties of light waves are associated with perceptual experience
- Show how physical properties of sound waves are associated with perceptual experience
Vision
- Describe the basic anatomy of the visual system
- Discuss how rods and cones contribute to different aspects of vision
- Describe how monocular and binocular cues are used in the perception of depth
Hearing
- Describe the basic anatomy and function of the auditory system
- Explain how we encode and perceive pitch
- Discuss how we localize sound
The other senses
- Describe the basic functions of the chemical senses
- Explain the basic functions of the somatosensory, nociceptive, and thermoceptive sensory systems
- Describe the basic functions of the vestibular, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic sensory systems
What is consciousness?
- Define consciousness
- Explain how circadian rhythms are involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, and how circadian cycles can be disrupted
- Discuss the concept of sleep debt
Sleep and why we sleep
- Describe areas of the brain involved in sleep
- Identify the hormone secretions associated with sleep
- Describe several theories aimed at explaining the function of sleep
Stages of sleep
- Differentiate between REM and non-REM sleep
- Describe the differences between the four stages of non-REM sleep
- Describe the role that REM and non-REM sleep play in learning and memory
Sleep problems and disorders
- Describe the symptoms and treatments of insomnia
- Describe the symptoms of several parasomnias
- Describe the symptoms and treatments for sleep apnea
- Identify risk factors associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and steps to prevent it
- Describe the symptoms and treatments for narcolepsy
Substance use and abuse
- Describe the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders
- Identify the neurotransmitter systems affected by various categories of drugs
- Describe how different categories of drugs affect behaviour and experience
Other states of consciousness
- Define hypnosis and meditation
- Describe the similarities and differences of hypnosis and meditation
Course links (if available)
- Planning page
- Course materials
- IPSY101 (Foundations of Psychological Science) --- IPSY101 Wordpress site
- IPSY102 (Thinking learning and memory) --- IPSY102 Wordpress site
- IPSY103 (Evolution perception and consciousness) --- IPSY103 Wordpress site