Transcript title
Mind and Brain
Credits
4
Grading mode
Standard letter grades
Total contact hours
40
Lecture hours
40
Recommended preparation
WR 060 (or higher) or minimum placement Wr/Comm Level 5.
Course Description
Introduces psychology as a scientific study of the biological bases of behavior. Includes history of psychology as a science and surveys methods of inquiry, statistics, sensation, perception, states of consciousness including drug effects, motivation, emotion, learning, memory, language, thinking and intelligence. The major theoretical approaches to psychology are included.
Course learning outcomes
1. Articulate the philosophical basis for the major approaches to psychological inquiry (behavioral, cognitive, physiological).
2. Exhibit knowledge of the historical evolution of psychology as a science.
3. Label and explain the steps of the scientific method, including control conditions, quantifiable dependent measures, identification of independent variables with operational definitions, sampling techniques, subject selection and assignment, and basic procedures; apply these steps to the main varieties of empirical methodology.
4. Understand the use of basic descriptive and inferential statistics in the analysis and interpretation of data.
5. Discuss the legitimate and ethical uses of results.
5. Analyze the interactions among anatomy, physiology, and environment in the production of behavior.
6. Describe the major approaches to understanding behavioral processes involved in learning and memory, including the empirical techniques of each, as well as the philosophical similarities and differences.
7. Discuss the historical and contemporary bases for determining intelligence (testing and evaluation).
8. Incorporate notions of validity, reliability and significance.
9. Evaluate the impact of the various methods and approaches to understanding the concept of intelligence and discuss the potential individual, educational, societal and political impacts.
10. Elaborate on the various proposed types of intelligence.
11. Present the evidence for the evolution of emotions in humans and non-humans.
12. Include cross-cultural evidence for primary and secondary emotions and their uses as communication.
13. Provide a workable definition of language, with arguments for and against its existence any species but humans.
14. Discuss the components of a functional language system (morphemes, phonemes, syntax).
15. Evaluate the various theories for determining the motivational state of an individual, with attention to the various types of motivation.
16. Include a thorough presentation of the importance of understanding the biological, emotional, social and cultural contributions to individuals' motivations and subsequent behavior.
General education/Related instruction lists
