COURSE OBJECTIVES

Department objectives: The Department of Psychology has common learning objectives recommended by
the American Psychological Association
(http://www.psyc.jmu.edu/undergraduate/curriculumobjectives.html). This course will focus on:

Goal 1: Knowledge Base of Psychology. Students will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts,
theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
Goal 2: Research Methods in Psychology. Students will understand and apply basic research methods
in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
Goal 3: Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology. Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking,
skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and
mental processes.
Goal 4: Application of Psychology. Students will understand and apply psychological principles to
personal, social, and organizational issues.
Goal 7: Communication Skills. Students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
Goal 8: Sociocultural and International Awareness. Students will recognize, understand, and respect the
complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.
Goal 9: Personal Development. Students will develop insight into their own and others behavior and
mental processes and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
Goal 10: Career Planning and Development. Students will emerge from the major with realistic ideas
about how to implement their psychological knowledge, skills, and values in occupational pursuits in a variety
of settings.

Sociocultural and International Awareness Goal: At least one of the courses that you will take as a
psychology major will emphasize sociocultural and international awareness objectives. In truth, many, if not
most, of your courses, will discuss sociocultural factors as they relate to the course material; however, at least
one of your courses will have this as a primary objective. In this class, we will be focusing on this awareness
throughout the term and it will weave through your readings, assignments, and other materials. In addition, I
will encourage you to respond to questions that focus on sociocultural issues as well as to bring your own
experiences and ideas related to this course objective. At the end of this class, students will be able to:
Describe the sociocultural contexts that influence individual differences as they relate to the
psychology of the workplace
Explain how individual differences influence beliefs, values, and interactions with others in the
workplace
Explain how privilege, power, and oppression may affect prejudice, discrimination, and inequity seen
in the workplace
Recognize prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors that might exist in themselves and
others

Course Objectives: The primary objective of this class is to familiarize you with the applicability of
psychological principles to the business world. I hope to present you with information that challenges you to
see that research applies to the world outside of college. Also, you will see how knowing about the field of
workplace psychology will benefit you, no matter what type of job you have after college. In addition, I hope
to emphasize that applying the principles of psychology to an organization does not mean that weve
discovered new principles of behaviorpsychology of the workplace is an application of psychology. In
addition, an important component of this course is to learn how sociocultural, diversity, and international
factors impact and relate to issues of psychology of the workplace. As with all courses, its impossible to
cover all the important topics; however, we will do our best. We will try to discuss the following topics:
criteria and predictors, performance appraisals, learning, organizational change, job attitudes, motivation,
leadership, etc. At the end of this course, you should be able to:
Explain how you will encounter psychology of the workplace in the future
 Describe the practices of workplace psychologists in business and other applied arenas
Explain how being knowledgeable about psychology of the workplace research will help you in the
future
Demonstrate critical thinking about workplace psychology topics
Discuss key components of workplace psychology (see above)
Explain how working in groups is important in the working world.
Describe how basic principles of psychology are studied in organizations
Choose assessment instruments, construct a short training program, and evaluate the performance of
others
Apply psychological principles to critical issues within workplace psychology.
Describe how sociocultural factors are related to behavior in the workplace.
Manage projects with a group of people, complete projects to specifications and timetable
Describe the knowledge/skills/abilities/and other characteristics you have developed over your
undergraduate tenure
Construct an electronic portfolio that you can use in the future