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Introducing Psychology at Why are some people
smarter than others? Can I improve my memory
for school work? Why do I like the people I
like? How should children be
disciplined? How do drugs affect
people? What are emotions? What makes some people
criminals and others good citizens? How does religion
influence our behaviour? How does our brain work? What causes individuals to
commit crimes? How do we know what we
feel and know? What causes suicidal
thoughts? Why does the full moon
look larger near the horizon than in the sky? What do dreams mean? Is alcoholism inherited? What is colourblindness? How do stereotypes arise? Why are some people
depressed? Psychology covers a range
of study from the activity of a single brain cell to social conflicts in a
complex society. Psychology is a fairly young science of
understanding the human mind and behaviour.
Psychological questions, however, touch on almost all aspects of life
ranging from research into the way changes in the brain relate to learning to
why a crazy relative is getting stranger and stranger every day. In fact, almost any aspect of human behaviour
can be studied from a psychological point of view. If you are interested in sports, there are
many sports psychologists who do research on the psychological aspects of
sport. If you are interested in Business
there are many psychologists who study how to influence people to buy your
product and try to predict the stock market from what we know of human behaviour
from the science of psychology. If you
are interested in Law, there are psychologists who have revolutionized the way
law is practiced by examining the real nature of memory and eye witness
testimony. If you are interested in
Music, there are psychologists who study how people appreciate and perceive
music. So, Psychology is a topic within
which almost anyone will find something of interest. Psychology is a science so there are
particular methods that are accepted and a particular way of evaluating
the theories which are studied. It is
much more than simply stating an opinion, although most good theories start
with an opinion. To fully appreciate a
psychological theory and to understand how they change over time you should
remember that our knowledge of psychology is guided by experimental evidence in
much the same way our knowledge of biology or chemistry is. One difference between Psychology and, say,
chemistry is that many Psychological questions are probably things you have
already thought about: In fact you may
already have an "answer" to some of the questions you will study in psychology. It is interesting to see how your
"knowledge" matches up with the knowledge from the science of
Psychology. One thing you will learn by
taking psychology courses is how to evaluate and criticise existing theories in
a productive way. Most
of psychology is the study of how normal people do things: How do normal people see objects? How do normal people remember events? How do normal people learn? How do normal people handle stress? BUT, some of it concerns people who are not
normal-- people who have trouble functioning and who need help. This is called Abnormal Psychology as a
special topic, although, whenever you study normal behaviour you often consider
what might happen in unusual circumstances so the topic of abnormal behaviour
often arises in various topics. WHAT TO DO WITH A MAJOR IN
PSYCHOLOGY Counseling:
Provide advice to school students
Provide advice to prisoners Clinical Psychology
Diagnose and treat people with a variety of problems such as depression and anxiety. Experimental Psychology
Conduct research related to basic questions about how human beings function.
Often includes college level teaching Industrial Psychology
Apply psychological knowledge to problems of the work place and business world to improve organization and marketing Sports Psychology
Apply psychological knowledge to improve human skill performance PSYCHOLOGY IS ALSO A GREAT
CONCENTRATION TO LEAD INTO OTHER DEGREES SUCH AS BUSINESS, MEDICINE, EDUCATION,
and LAW BECAUSE OF ITS BROAD ATTENTION TO HUMAN BEHAVIOUR. CURRICULUM in PSYCHOLOGY Here at the Introduction to
Psychological Theory and Practice: PSY 1101
and PSY 1102 -
a two course sequence which serves as a prerequisite
for all upper level courses. Together
these two courses survey the broad field of psychology ranging from the study
of brain functioning to theories of romantic love. NOTE: There is a major portion of Psychology 101
which covers the functioning of the brain and the sensory system. No biological prerequisite exists but
students should be aware that they will be expected to understand the basic
functions of the nervous system and how they relate to behaviour. Social Psychology: PSY 2210 -the scientific study of the effects of other people on our actions
and thoughts (and vice versa). Personality Theory: PSY 2230 -
the study of theories that explain what causes people
to develop the personalities they portray. Learning Theory: PSY 2270 -
the study of learning as it relates specifically to
human beings including how motivation impacts upon our ability to learn. Educational Psychology:
PSY 2272 -
the application of learning theory to specific
educational issues. Developmental Psychology:
PSY 2240 -
the study of how humans change from conception to the
grave. Abnormal Psychology: PSY 2220 -
the study of various maladaptive personality characteristics and
behaviours including how we can intervene. plus a few others as lecturers
are available These courses represent a strong core which
prepares you to take upper level courses abroad. |