Introduction to Psychology

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The science of psychology has received great interest from behavioral scientists and the general public alike. Unfortunately, psychology is also a very misunderstood, and misused science. Some believe that psychology is not a science at all! This course will show you that psychology is a science, and that it encompasses the collaborative efforts of scientists from many different disciplines. Psychology studies behavior and mental processes, and aims at understanding, predicting, and altering behavior. Its scope is wide: from fundamental to applied research, covering micro level research such as the firing of single cortical neurons to macro level research such as observing social behavior in groups. Historical as well as contemporary perspectives in psychology include the biological, cognitive, social and Freudian perspectives, amongst others. And these perspectives do not always agree in explaining our behavior. In this course, the perspectives and scientific methods will be introduced, and used to explain how we (think we) see the world around us, learn and memorize (and forget) information, (mis)communicate with others, solve puzzles and play chess, experience fear or happiness, or become smarter. Also, to fully appreciate the “science” of psychology, you will be introduced to scientific methods of experimental design, analysis and interpretation of data. Notably, nowadays the brain plays an important part in explaining human behavior, but this has not always been so, and may still change. In any event, the brain’s biology will make up for an important part of the course. Some of these topics will be elaborated on in 200 and 300 level courses. Practical examples of psychological experiments are introduced in the tasks where possible or applicable. At the end of this course, you will know that modern-day psychology is a multi-disciplinary and scientific meeting-ground for those who wish to learn more about “what makes us tick”.