Preface

This course is designed to introduce the listener to the basis of college psychology. Simply put, psychology is the study of the mind. There are elements of psychology that have biological origins, such as learning, memory, sensation, and perception. Psychological wellness is important to overall health. In the course, we talk about stress and illness, states of consciousness, and personality. The different mental illnesses are important to learn about when you study psychology as well as the different ways that many of these disorders are treated by psychologists and other mental health professionals. When you finish the course, you should feel competent in your understanding of psychology as it is presented in a typical college psychology course.

Chapter one in the course introduces psychology as a health discipline. In the chapter, you will learn about what psychology means as a discipline, the history of psychology throughout the world, and the practice of modern psychology. Psychology has many applications. Whether you are studying psychology to become a psychologist or using psychology as part of your career, this chapter will help you understand both the different careers in psychology and the various fields of applied psychology.

The focus of chapter two is psychological research. All good research starts with an understanding of the scientific method, which is the foundation of all research processes. There are different types of psychological research studies that differ in their design and interpretation, as well as ways to interpret the findings determined to be fact in the different psychological experiments. There are certain ethical principles that must be considered when performing research on human subjects, which are covered as part of this chapter.

Chapter three in the course delves into the subject of biology in the study of psychology. Genetics are an important part of the biology of a human being, so this is covered in the chapter. The cells and structures of the nervous system need to be understood before you can understand the interplay between biology and psychological phenomena. An important aspect of this are the neurotransmitters that have different effects on the

nervous system. All of these things are put together in the study of biopsychology, which is a major research field in psychology.

Chapter four is about lifespan development. There are several researchers who have developed theories on lifespan development, which are explained in the chapter. The different stages of development, from the prenatal stage to stages of advanced age, are covered in this chapter. Finally, issues related to death and dying as well as the different stages of grief are explained as part of the chapter.

The focus of chapter five in the course is consciousness, which is the awareness of one s internal and external environment. There are different states of consciousness experienced every day, the most common of which is the sleep state. There are different stages of sleep that can be identified and a range of sleep-related disorders that can affect a person. Altered states of consciousness are covered in this chapter, including ways of inducing an altered state, such as meditation and hypnosis.

Chapter six discusses the principles of sensation and perception. Sensation can involve several things because there are multiple sensory organs in the body. The typical sensory functions covered in this chapter are vision, hearing, olfaction, taste, and several different tactile perceptions. Each of these depends on certain receptors that pick up details from the environment. Perception is related to sensation. Because Gestalt psychology is based on perception, this is discussed in this chapter as well.

The topic of chapter seven in the course is learning theories. Learning involves the acquisition of new information but it also involve acquiring behaviors, values, preferences, or skills. There is learning throughout life and different ways in which learning can happen. Some of the most historically significant learning strategies are classical conditioning and operant conditioning, although there are other ways of learning new things, such as through operational learning or modeling, which is covered in this chapter.

Chapter eight is about intelligence, thinking, and cognition. Part of the understanding of intelligence involves the understanding of things like creativity and language. Where intelligence comes from and how it is tested for are also covered in this chapter.

Everyone, regardless of their intelligence, has the ability to problem solve so this is included in the chapter.

The focus of chapter nine in the course is personality. Personality involves the traits a person has that are consistent over time. There are multiple theories on what personality is all about and theories on personality development, which are discussed in the chapter. Specific personality tests can be used to evaluate a person s personality. Finally, there are personality disorders covered in the chapter, which represent deviations in what can be called a normal personality.

Chapter ten in the course introduces the subject of memory. Memory is not just a single thing as there are several types of memory. Memory is largely biological, with certain parts of the brain contributing to the experience of memory. Some people have memory deficits, which are discussed in the chapter. In order to combat memory impairment, many individuals will use specific memory enhancement techniques in order to improve memory.

Chapter eleven is about emotion and motivation. Motivation explains why a person does what they do. There are specific motivations that are universal to all humans. These include the drives to eat and the drives related to sexuality and sex. The chapter talks about the different disorders related to eating and sexuality, such as eating disorders and gender identity disorder. Finally, the basis of emotions is covered in the chapter.

Chapter twelve in the book talks about issues related to social psychology. Social psychology is about those behaviors, thoughts, and feeling brought about by interactions with other people. There are certain things that occur mainly in the group environment, such as conformity, obedience, aggression, and prosocial behavior. This chapter is basically about groups and group dynamics as they exist only in a social environment.

The topics in chapter thirteen include stress from a psychological viewpoint and the pursuit of happiness. Stress comes in many forms; there can be relatively positive stressors and negative stressors. People regulate stress in relatively predictable ways, which are covered in the chapter. Negative stress can lead to a variety of disease states. The pursuit of happiness is an uplifting aspect of psychology, which is also covered as part of this chapter.

The focus of chapter fourteen in the course is clinical psychology or the study of psychopathology. There are many different types of mental disorders in the realm of psychology, which are briefly covered in the chapter. These include mood disorders, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, and somatic disorders. The different psychological disorders that primarily affect children are also discussed in the chapter. The chapter also explains how different psychological disorders are diagnosed in clinical psychology.

Chapter fifteen is about the treatment of mental health disorders. Mental health treatment has been around for centuries but is currently more humane than it originally was. There are several approaches to treating mental illness and several specific psychological treatments, which are covered in the chapter. There are many types of providers that help people with mental health problems, which are described as part of the chapter.