INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology 104 Spring, 2000
Dr. John M. Morgan Tu and Th, 12:30 - 1:50
Natural Resources Bldg, 201
REQUIRED TEXT: The World of Psychology
by Samuel and Ellen Woood
Allyn & Bacon, 1999
ISBN #0-205-27467-6
Outline of classroom activities:
The course is designed to insure that the students as well as
the professor are active in the learning process and classroom
activities. The students will form themselves into groups based
on the student's interest and group spokesperson will report on
the group's discussions on the following class period.
The professor and/or his teaching assistants will lecture at the
beginning of the class period and the group activity will take
place in the later portion.
Student groups will met during class time and each group
will prepare a 1 page group report detailing the group's
view on the following questions concerning the week's discussion:
1) Is the explanation of human behavior complete with only
the explanation of the orientation or theory under discussion?
2) What does the group's orientation add to the explanation
of human behavior in addition to the orientation or theory
under discussion?
Each student will select a group based on the orientation in
Psychology that he/she wants to 'defend' and promote. Examples
of group orientations are:
Biological explanations of Behavior,
Learning explanations of Behavior,
Developmental explanations of Behavior,
Social explanations of Behavior,
Other explanations of Behavior as students desire and
professor approves, e.g. Gender or Cultural.
During the first portion of the course, the professor will
lecture over and present some 'Introductory Thoughts'
concerning the following orientations in Psychology:
Jan 18 - Jan 20 2 Introduction-Fundamental Questions in Psychology,
Cause & Effect versus Correlation,
Jan 25 - Jan 27 2 Biological explanations of human Behavior,
Feb 1 - Feb 3 2 Sensation and Perception in human Behavior,
Feb 8 - Feb 10 2 Learning explanations of human Behavior,
Feb 15 - Feb 17 2 Developmental explanations of human Behavior,
Feb 22 - Feb 24 2 Social explanations of human Behavior.
During this introductory period each group will present their
orientation's view of the topic's explanation of behavior.
This is introductory and none of the members of any group are
expected to have mastered the intricacies of any of
Psychology's orientations. But each group will begin the
process within the second week of the course.
Following this introduction to each orientation, the professor
will lecture over the following topics and a representative of
each group will present in class their orientation's view of
the psychological process under discussion:
Feb 29 1 Midterm Examintation
Mar 2 - Mar 7 2 Memory
Mar 9 1 Human thinking & Problem Solving
Mar 14 - Mar 16 Spring Break
Mar 21 - Mar 23 2 Consciouness
Mar 28 - Mar 30 2 Motivation & Emotion
Apr 4 1 Human sexual/gender orientation
Apr 6 - Apr 11 2 Psychological Disorders, e.g. definitions of
Schizophrenia, depression, compul-
sive disorders, anxiety, etc.
Apr 13 - Apr 18 2 Psychoanalytic orientation of Psychological Therapy,
Apr 20 - Apr 25 2 Biological orientation of Psychological Therapy,
Apr 27 1 Humanistic orientation of Psychological Therapy,
May 2 - May 4 2 Learning orientation of Psychological Therapy,
May Final examination
(30)
At the end of the semester the members of each group will rate the per-
formance of each member of the group on a confidential rating form
provided by the instructor.
There will be a total of ten (10) short, multiple-choice type
examinations over designated chapters of the textbook.
There will be essay-type midterm and final examinations over
the material presented during the class sessions by the professor
and by each group. The professor will pass out a list of possible
essay questions before each exam.
Class grades will be calculated on the following basis:
Each weekly exam is worth 10 and 2 can be missed or the 2
lowest scores will be dropped 80 pts
Midterm essay exam 50 pts
Final essay exam 50 pts
Recommendations by the members of your group: 30 pts
Your group's report/performance in class
(professor's subjective ratings) 30 pts
---------
Total 240 pts
I encourage students to talk with me concerning this course or anyother
matter. My office hours are M & W 12 - 2 and Tu & Th 2 - 4. If these
times do not fit in your schedule, speak to be after class and we will
set up a time that is mutually agreeable. Our class's web site is
users.humboldt.edu/jmmorgan/p104_s00.htm.
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Copyright © 1998, Dr. John M. Morgan, All rights reserved
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This page last edited 31 - Dec, 2000
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