Topic 1 - Introduction to Psychology: Definition, Theoretical Perspectives, & SubfieldsThis course utilizes the OpenStax Psychology textbook provided by Rice University.  The book is available for free in many formats.  Use the links below to access the textbook in a format best suited to your needs.Textbook readings: pp. 5–7; pp.10-25.Watch:  Past, Present, and Promise is the first program in the DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY series. It provides an introduction to and overview of psychology, from its origins in the nineteenth century to current study of the brain's biochemistry. You'll explore the development of psychology in general and some of the paths scientists take to determine relationships among the mind, the brain, and behavior.©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation All Rights ReservedLearning objectives:1.      Define psychology.2.      Describe how psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and multicultural perspectives view human behavior and mental process.3.      Define these current “subfields” in psychology: biopsychology, evolutionary, developmental, industrial-organizational, health, clinical, and forensic.

Topic 2: Psychological ResearchTextbook readings: pp. 35-36; pp. 42-48; pp. 52-56; pp. 60-63.Watch: Understanding Research, Discovering Psychology Series - This program examines how we know what we know. You'll explore the scientific method, the distinction between fact and theory, and the different ways in which data are collected and applied, both in labs and in real-world settings.[©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation All Rights Reserved]Learning objectives:1.      Describe the purpose of research.Describe these common types of research “methods” in psychology: case study, naturalistic observation, surveys, correlational studies; and experimental studies.Identify and define important terms related to the “experimental” method, especially hypothesis, random assignment, sample, population, independent variable, dependent variable, experimental group and control group.Describe ethical principles that should be applied when conducting research.

Topic 3: BiopsychologyTextbook readings: p. 73; p. 76; pp. 80-101.Watch: The Mind - Series Homepage  Produced by Colorado State University. 1999, all descriptions are from series website.Unraveling the Mysteries of the Mind (module 1) - Explores such fundamental questions as "What is the mind?" and "What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?" Summarizes various views on the brain/mind connection. Endorphins: The Brain's Natural Morphine (module 5) - Provides diagrammatic action graphics of neural networks, synaptic junctions, and neurotransmitter sites. Also touches on topics of consciousness, drug addiction, withdrawal symptoms, and nerve functioning.The Frontal Lobes: Cognition and Awareness (module 7) - Explains the importance of the frontal lobe in human functioning, and covers brain function, diagnostic assessment, cognitive function, evolution, and comparative behavior.Watch: The Brain - Series Homepage  Produced by Colorado State University. 1997, all descriptions are from series website.Organization and Evaluation of Brain Function (program 1) - This module introduces the general external topography of the brain. To illustrate the relationship between specific behaviors and brain function, the module begins by showing a racecar driver exercising his skill, and then presents graphic illustrations of the internal activity of his brain. The module reviews several methods of studying brain activity including the CAT scan, PET scan, EEG, and MRI.The Divided Brain (program 5) - This module begins with graphic representations of the cerebral hemispheres' specialized functions. It continues with a description of the brain's asymmetry, showing diagrams of how the two halves communicate. The extreme case of a patient who has undergone split-brain surgery for treatment of epilepsy illustrates the role of hemispheric organization in sensory perception and verbal skills.Learning objectives:1.      Neurons are the basic cell of the “nervous system”. Identify the basic parts of the neuron, and explain how neurons communicate with one another.2.      Define neurotransmitters and describe how some neurotransmitters (specifically, acetylcholine, dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine and serotonin) affect behavior.3.      State the difference between the central and peripheral nervous system.4.      Explain the functions of the spinal cord, and of the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex (outermost layer of the brain).5.      Label the 4 lobes of cerebral cortex and identify the function(s) of each lobe.6.      Explain why the brain’s limbic system (which includes the structures hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) is important.7.      Describe how these methods provide images of the brain: CT scan, PET scan, MRI, and EEG.8.      Explain how hormones of the endocrine system affect the body.

Topic 4: States of ConsciousnessTextbook readings: pp. 111-140.Watch: The Mind Hidden and Divided -  is the fourteenth program in the DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY series. Based on the pioneering research of Sigmund Freud, this program explores how the events and experiences that take place in the subconscious manifest themselves in our conscious lives. You'll learn about repression, the distinction between discovered and false memory syndrome, hypnosis, and split-brain cases.  ©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation All Rights ReservedWatch: The Mind - Series Homepage  Produced by Colorado State University. 1999, all decriptions are from series website. Alcohol Addiction: Hereditary Factors  (module 29)Deals with alcoholism, addiction, biological evidence for hereditary traits, and how science progresses through replication and the development of new technologies.Treating Drug Addiction: A Behavioral Approach (module 30)Provides an example of how drug therapies incorporate the results of research on several levels of behavior, and shows how patients learn to deal with environmental triggers for cravings.Watch: The Brain - Series Homepage Produced by Colorado State University. 1997, all decriptions are from series website.The Brain: Sleep and Circadian Rhythms  (module 13) This module covers our natural rhythms and the stages that occur during sleep. It shows the brain's electrical activity over the course of a normal night's sleep, with its REM and non-REM cycles. The remainder of the module is devoted to an experiment conducted by Michel Siffre, a French cave explorer, in which Siffre spends seven months in a Texas cave. Without external cues, the body is shown to have its own built-in clock.The Brain: Sleep: Brain Functions (module 14)What is the purpose of sleep? This module sets out to answer this question by exploring the patterns of a woman's sleep and dream cycles in the setting of a sleep laboratory. Characteristics of the five stages of sleep and the typical 90-minute cycle are explained. The module also covers sleep disorders and the current techniques used to treat them.The Brain: REM Sleep and Dreaming (module 15)This module probes deeper issues relating to sleep and dreaming. The uniquely individual experience of dreaming requires researchers to look beyond conventional methods of study. Dream specialist Dr. J. Allan Hobson discusses the function of dreams, explaining his theory of the biological mechanism behind the phenomenon and reflecting on the contribution of dreaming to human creativity.*All descriptions come from Annenberg LearningLearning objectives:1.      Define consciousness, circadian rhythm, melatonin, and jet lag.2.      Define sleep and describe possible effects of insufficient sleep (sleep deprivation).3.      Describe two theories (“adaptive” & “cognitive function”) about why we sleep.4.      Describe the different stages of sleep.5.      Describe the symptoms of various sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleepwalking, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep apnea and narcolepsy.6.      Explain the difference between physical dependence and psychological dependence in “substance use disorders”.7.      Delineate the different categories of commonly abused drugs. For each category describe potential effects of those drugs on mind and behavior.8.      Define hypnosis and meditation, and explain their relationships to consciousness.

Topic 5 : LearningLearning objectives:1.      Define reflex and learning, as well as these three types of learning: Classical Conditioning; Operant Conditioning; and Observational Learning (also called “social learning” or “modeling”).2.      Explain what happened in Pavlov's dog study; Watson's "Little Albert" study; and Bandura’s observational learning study.3.      Describe the following concepts in Classical Conditioning: conditioned and unconditioned stimuli; and conditioned and unconditioned responses.4.      Describe the following concepts in Operant Conditioning: positive reinforcement; negative reinforcement; positive punishment, negative punishment, shaping and behavior modification.5.      Explain the steps involved in “modelling”

Topic 7: MemoryLearning objectives:1.      Discuss these three functions of memory: encoding, storage and retrieval, and also the role played by the “hippocampus” in memory.2.      Describe these three stages of memory storage: sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory.3.      Differentiate among procedural memory, declarative memory and episodic memory.4.      Differentiate among recall, recognition and relearning (all forms of retrieval).5.      Explain these problems with memory: anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia, reconstruction, suggestibility, eyewitness misidentification, and false memory syndrome.6.      Describe theories of “forgetting”, specifically encoding failure; memory errors, proactive interference and retroactive interference.7.      Explain how these processes can enhance (improve) memory: chunking, elaborative rehearsal, mnemonic devices, level of processing, exercise and sleep.

Topic 9: PersonalityTextbook readings: pp. 367-368; pp. 371-373; pp. 392-393.Watch: [Descriptions taken from the website]Sigmund Freud: Id, Ego, Superego- Psychodynamic- Psychoanalytic Personality Theory Explained! - A summary of Sigmund Freud's theory of mind- the Id, Ego, and Superego, as well as their relationship to the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious levels of the mind. Freud theory: id, superego, and ego - Freud's id, superego, and ego theory relating to Children's books and showsConscious vs. subconscious thinking - The Sentis Brain Animation Series takes you on a tour of the brain through a series of short and sharp animations. The sixth in the series explores how our brain operates -- at conscious and subconscious levels. This helps us to save precious brain energy and is how our attitudes, habits and memories form. This interesting animation demonstrates how relying on our subconscious can be both helpful and unhelpful and how more conscious thinking can benefit us. Learning objectives:1.      Define personality.2.      Describe Freud’s theory of personality, including concepts of “conscious” vs. “unconscious” (“subconscious”) mind; and id, ego and superego parts of personality.3.      Describe the “Five Factor Model” of personality.

Unit 6 - Cognition and IntelligenceLearning objectives:1.      Define cognition and intelligence.2.      Explain these different types of intelligence: crystallized & fluid; the three types of intelligence in Sternberg’s “triarchic” theory; “multiple intelligences” in Gardner’s theory; and “emotional intelligence” according to Goleman.3.      Define “I.Q. score” and explain how it is measured.4.      Explain how “normal” intelligence is identified.5.      Define learning disability.6.      Define “intellectual disability” and describe the different subtypes.7.      Explain how intelligence may be influenced by both “nature” and “nurture”.

Topic 8: Motivation and EmotionTextbook readings: pp. 331-338; pp. 342-343; p. 352.Watch:Discovering Psychology: Motivation and EmotionMotivation and Emotion is the twelfth program in the DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY series. Based on the early research of Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow, this program explores the sources of motivation, causes of behavior, and interplay between motivation and action. It examines societal and individual motivation, sexual motivation, and cumulative effects of optimism and pessimism in human life.©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation All Rights ReservedWatch: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology. It argues that there are five stages of human needs that motivate our behaviour. Learning objectives:1.      Discuss these two types of “motivation”: extrinsic and intrinsic.2.      Explain how these factors can help explain “motivation”: instinct, drive theory, arousal theory, self-efficacy, and Maslow’s theory of “hierarchy of needs”.3.      Describe how hunger and eating are regulated.4.      Define anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.5.      Define emotion.

PSY 104 Workplace Psychology

Focuses on a number of important factors for effective performance in the workplace. Includes interpersonal skill development and communication, understanding individual differences, developing conflict resolution skills, group behavior, problem solving and decision making, becoming an effective leader; motivation, goal planning, diversity, stress management, improving career management skills, enhancing ethical behavior, and managing various work conditions. Covers important workplace laws and regulations in the United States. F, W, Sp, Su.

The first two weeks of this course covers the history of I-O psychology as well as organizational culture. This plan is designed to provide an avenue for teaching these topics in a way that utilizes universal designed and culturally responsive. This is done by providing multiple means for learning about the topics in order to appeal to many different students. In particular, the topic is introduced using three different texts as one may speak to each student better than another. The first assignment is designed in such a way that it allows the student to choose something that is relevant and meaningful to them. Workplace diversity is introduced early on to emphasize the importance of this topic.

This module describes different ways to address questions about personality stability across the lifespan. Definitions of the major types of personality stability are provided, and evidence concerning the different kinds of stability and change are reviewed. The mechanisms thought to produce personality stability and personality change are identified and explained.

This module provides a basic overview to the assessment of personality. It discusses objective personality tests (based on both self-report and informant ratings), projective and implicit tests, and behavioral/performance measures. It describes the basic features of each method, as well as reviewing the strengths, weaknesses, and overall validity of each approach.

The purpose of this module is to define what is meant by a personality disorder, identify the five domains of general personality (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness), identify the six personality disorders proposed for retention in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (i.e., borderline, antisocial, schizotypal, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and narcissistic), summarize the etiology for antisocial and borderline personality disorder, and identify the treatment for borderline personality disorder (i.e., dialectical behavior therapy and mentalization therapy).

Personality traits reflect people’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Personality traits imply consistency and stability—someone who scores high on a specific trait like Extraversion is expected to be sociable in different situations and over time. Thus, trait psychology rests on the idea that people differ from one another in terms of where they stand on a set of basic trait dimensions that persist over time and across situations. The most widely used system of traits is called the Five-Factor Model. This system includes five broad traits that can be remembered with the acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Each of the major traits from the Big Five can be divided into facets to give a more fine-grained analysis of someone's personality. In addition, some trait theorists argue that there are other traits that cannot be completely captured by the Five-Factor Model. Critics of the trait concept argue that people do not act consistently from one situation to the next and that people are very influenced by situational forces. Thus, one major debate in the field concerns the relative power of people’s traits versus the situations in which they find themselves as predictors of their behavior.

This module introduces several major principles in the process of persuasion. It offers an overview of the different paths to persuasion. It then describes how mindless processing makes us vulnerable to undesirable persuasion and some of the “tricks” that may be used against us.

A brief history of the positive psychology movement is presented, and key themes within positive psychology are identified. Three important positive psychology topics are gratitude, forgiveness, and humility. Ten key findings within the field of positive psychology are put forth, and the most important empirical findings regarding gratitude, forgiveness, and humility are discussed. Assessment techniques for these three strengths are described, and interventions for increasing gratitude, developing forgiveness, and becoming more humble are briefly considered.

Most research in the realm of relationships has examined that which can go wrong in relationships (e.g., conflict, infidelity, intimate partner violence). I summarize much of what has been examined about what goes right in a relationship and call these positive relationship deposits. Some research indicates that relationships need five positive interactions for every negative interaction. Active-constructive responding, gratitude, forgiveness, and time spent together are some sources of positive deposits in one’s relational bank account. These kinds of deposits can reduce the negative effects of conflict on marriage and strengthen relationships.

People are often biased against others outside of their own social group, showing prejudice (emotional bias), stereotypes (cognitive bias), and discrimination (behavioral bias). Biases can explicit (overt and conscious) or more implicit (automatic, ambiguous, and ambivalent). In the 21st century, however, with social group categories even more complex, biases may be transforming.

Intern Prescot Nelson at Succinct Psychology (Psychcinct), under the guidance of professor Daniel Reynolds, created the entire course series for the Psych2e Openstax textbook. We are allowing everyone to share and embed this resource.

Originating in the work of Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic perspective emphasizes unconscious psychological processes (for example, wishes and fears of which we’re not fully aware), and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality. The psychodynamic perspective has evolved considerably since Freud’s time, and now includes innovative new approaches such as object relations theory and neuropsychoanalysis. Some psychodynamic concepts have held up well to empirical scrutiny while others have not, and aspects of the theory remain controversial, but the psychodynamic perspective continues to influence many different areas of contemporary psychology.