DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK

COURSE OUTLINE: Semester II 2015/2016

TITLE: Introduction to Psychology: Social, Developmental and Abnormal

COURSE CODE: PSYC 1000 (PS 10 A)
LEVEL: Undergraduate
LENGTH: One Semester
CREDITS: 3
ELIGIBILITY: Students enrolled in the Undergraduate Psychology Programme

LECTURER: Dr. Tamika Haynes-Robinson

OFFICE:
EMAIL: Tamika.Haynes@uwimona.edu.jm

Course description:
This course provides an introduction to psychology. Psychology is a discipline concerned with
human thought, emotion, and behaviour. Psychological science and practice are based on
knowledge developed from both human and animal research. This is an introductory level or
foundational survey course. This means that the course will introduce you to many key topics, and
specifically those in the sub-fields of developmental, abnormal, and social psychology. After a brief
introduction to the history of the discipline and the research methods that provide the foundation for
psychological investigation and knowledge building, we will focus on the sub-areas of
developmental, personality, and social psychology. Students will be able to appreciate the
similarities and differences among these three sub-areas after completing PSYC 1000 (PS 10 A).

Course Objectives
At the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Be aware of the ways that psychologists think about and approach questions of mind and
behavior.
2. Distinguish between the science of psychology and common sense explanations of
behaviour.
3. Be familiar with the body of knowledge, research findings, and underlying principles that
currently exist in the field.
4. Demonstrate an introductory level of understanding of theories and concepts in the areas of
developmental, abnormal and social psychology.
5. Feel stimulated to think about how the material we cover in class applies to their daily life.
6. Apply psychological principles to their own lives and to issues facing Caribbean people.
Assessment:
Mid-semester Examination 50%
The midsemester examination is scheduled for the week beginning Wednesday 14th October,
pending approval from Examinations office. This will be a multiplechoice exam; it will cover all
the materials in including and up to Theories of Personality (see Course Content section).

Final Examination 50%

The final examination will take place on a date to be determined by the Registrars Office. As with
the midsemester examination, the final examination will also be a multiplechoice exam. The final
exam is not cumulative, in other words, the content of the examination will focus only on the topics
not reviewed in the midsemester examination, specifically, from Psychological Disorders
onwards.
Course Content and Schedule
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
Definition
History of psychology
Psychology: Science or Common sense

WEEK 2: RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY

Research methods
Ethical issues in research
Psychology: Who and What
Contemporary perspectives in Psychology

WEEK 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT I

Prenatal period
Neonate period
Infancy
Early childhood

WEEK 4: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT II

Motor development
Perceptual development
Brain development
Sensory development
Cognitive development

WEEK 5: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT III

Moral development
Emotional and temperament development
Adolescence
Adulthood
Death and dying

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WEEK 6: THEORIES OF PERSONALITY:

Psychodynamic perspective
Sigmund Freud/Psychoanalytic approach
Neo- Freudians

WEEK 7: THEORIES OF PERSONALITY:

Behavioural-Learning Perspective
Ivan Pavlov & John B. Watson/Classical conditioning
B.F. Skinner/Operant conditioning
Albert Bandura/Observational learning
Humanistic-Existential perspective
Carl Rogers/Person Centered approach
Abraham Maslow/Hierarchy of needs

WEEK 8: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Cognitive perspective
Trait and Biological perspective
Measuring Personality
Historical and current view of mental disorders

WEEK 9: PSYCHOTHERAPY AND TREATMENT

Assessment and diagnosis DSM-IV
Mental disorders (nature and causes)
What is psychotherapy?
Approaches to psychotherapy

WEEK 10: NATURE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

What is Social Psychology? Definitions and faces of social psychology
Social psychological subject matter
Differences between social psychology, sociology and psychology

WEEK 11: RECIPROCAL INFLUENCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY

Self and Identity
Attraction
Social cognition and social perception

WEEK 12: RECIPROCAL INFLUENCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY

Attitudes
Social Influence
Group influences

TEXT BOOKS
Required: Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Namy, L. L., & Woolf, N. J. (2011). Psychology: From Inquiry to
understanding. Second Edition. Upper New Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education.

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Recommended: Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2010). Psychology. Tenth Edition. Upper New Saddle, NJ: Pearson
Education.
Note: This outline is subject to adjustments based on the faculty members discretion.