Psychology

Course summary

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Another way of defining Psychology is the science of people and, as people are so varied and complex, this is a broad subject with links to a range of other subjects and a wide choice of future career pathways too. If you’re fascinated by why people think and behave the way they do then Psychology is most definitely for you. Throughout the course, you will look at the explanations of conformity, obedience, and resisting social influence, minority influence, and the role of social influence in social change. As well as types of memory, stages of attachment, and the various studies that look into the subject in depth. You will also look at the origins of Psychology, the nervous system, abnormality, and the behavior approach to phobias as well as mental health and analyzing data. Modules: Social Influence, Memory, and Attachment - Explanations of conformity, obedience and resisting social influence, minority influence, and the role of social influence in social change. Models of memory, types of long-term memory, explanations for forgetting, factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, and improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, including the use of the cognitive interview. Caregiver-infant interactions in humans. Stages of attachment, explanations of attachment, and animal studies into attachment. Types of attachment and cultural variations in attachment. Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation, Romanian orphan studies, and effects of institutionalization. The influence of attachment on later relationships. Approaches to Psychology, Psychopathology, and Research Methods - Origins of Psychology. Learning, cognitive and biological approaches. Biopsychology includes the nervous system, neurons, synaptic transmission, and the endocrine system. Definitions of abnormality. The behavioral, emotional, and cognitive characteristics of phobias, depression, and OCD. The behavioral approach to explaining and treating phobias. The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression. The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD. Experimental and non-experimental research methods. Scientific processes and research designs. Quantitative data, data collection techniques, and calculating data. Presentation and display of quantitative data in graphs and tables. Introduction to statistical testing.