Objectives | Course Format | Orientation | Course Requirements | Texts and Materials | Exams

Objectives

Once you have completed this course you will be able to:

1. Summarize written material by; describing the central idea and key points,analyzing important definitions and identifying psychological evidence (Critical Evaluative Reading).
2. Notice, understand, analyze and evaluate psychological information in the mass media (Critical Evaluative Thinking).
3. Apply Critical Thinking and psychological concepts to your own experiences (Application).
4. Describe the problem of defining mental illness, some of the types of mental illnesses and the major treatment methods.
5. Explain the influences and limitations on how we perceive.
6. Explain how to modify and change attitudes and behaviors.
7. Describe the heredity-environment issue.
8. State what you have learned about selected topics in psychology.
9. Describe important concepts related to psychological research.
10. Describe selected topics from social psychological research.
11. Compare the major perspectives in psychology:
12. 1. The Learning perspective
    2. The Psychodynamic perspective
    3. The Cognitive perspective
    4. The Humanistic perspective
13. Demonstrate skills as a researcher and apply the scientific method.
14. Use the Internet to gather information pertaining to the various psychological concepts that this course will cover.

Course Format

This course is not self-paced. This course does require three on-campus meetings -- once for a face-to-face orientation, and again for  a midterm and final exams. The communication in the coursewill take place through emails and threaded discussions.

Orientation

Please check the list of scheduled orientations to see if this course has a face-to-face orientation. If a face-to-face orientation is scheduled, the list will provide specifics about date, time, and location.

Course Requirements

1. Review the "Characteristics of Successful Online Students" and the "Minimum Hardware and Software Requirements" to be sure that you should be enrolling.
2. 4 Papers
3. Evaluating Psychological Information Booklet (to be distributed at orientation; exam required in on-campus test center)
4. Quizzes
5. Comprehensive final exam
6. Participation in weekly threaded discussions

Texts and Materials

Required:

Santrock, John W. Psychology Essentials with Psych Plus CD-ROM & PowerWeb, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Dr. Bell. Evaluating Psychological Information (Workbook). HCC.

Recommended:

Buy your textbooks from HCC's Online Bookstore or visit our Campus Bookstore.

Exams

For purposes of verification and assessing learning outcomes, this course has online quizzes and an online final exam. A proctored exam on the Evaluating Psychological Information workbook will be given at the HCC Test Center for students in the local region or at a regional institution for remote students. The exam will have a flexible window of time during which it needs to be taken rather than a single date and time.

If you have questions about this class, send a message to Allison N.  Burns, aburns@howardcc.edu.

© Howard Community College, 1998 Last revised: 15 January 2008