The course covers the fundamentals of learning, memory, motivation, emotion, and how behavior changes as we age. The content of the course has received approval from "Quality Matters", an organization that evaluates on-line courses.
The learning outcomes are:
(1) Students will be able to recognize and describe major psychological principles of learning;
(2) Students will be able to distinguish between different types of memory;
(3) Students will be able to describe how motivation and emotion can affect how we behave; and
(4) Students will know how cognitive behavior and social behavior develops as we age.
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Section 1: Introduction and Learning
This week we will start the course by discussing the methods used by psychologists to determine the facts about behavior and the mind. We will emphasize the experimental method because it allows us to determine causation. One of the foundation areas in understanding is learning, how we change behavior through experience.This segment of the course will cover the types of learning.
Graded: Section 1 Quiz
WEEK 2
Section 2: Memory
Memory is another important area for understanding the mind.
Graded: Section 2 Quiz
WEEK 3
Section 3: Cognition
Language and Intelligence allow us to engage in complex cognition.
Graded: Section 3 Quiz
WEEK 4
Section 4: Development
We also need to understand how behavior changes as we age. In this section we will discuss how cognitive and social behavior develops. We will also discuss my area of research, how memory changes in old age.
Graded: Section 4 Quiz
WEEK 5
Final Exam
Graded: Final Exam