This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts that form the foundation of the field of psychology. Topics include history of psychology, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning and memory, and life-span development. Class lectures emphasize an empirical approach to a scientific understanding of human behavior across these domains. In addition to learning basic content information about psychology, students will learn how psychologists ask questions, evaluate evidence, and communicate with each other.
Overview
Syllabus
- 1 Introduction
- 1.1 What is behavior
- 1.2 Topics in Psychology
- 1.3 The story of the frontal lobe
- 1.4 The history of psychology
- 1.5 Schools of thoughts in Psychology
- 2 Brain
- 2.1 The Origin of Brain Research
- 2.2 Brain Structure
- 2.3 Brain Facts，Brain Stem，Cerebellum and，The Limbic System
- 2.4 Cerebral Cortex
- 2.5 The Neuron and The Nervous System
- 3 Sensation and Perception
- 3.1 Color Vision
- 3.2 Visual Illusions
- 3.3 The Da Vinci Code
- 3.4 Top-down Processing
- 3.5 Perceptual Organization
- 3.6 Innate and acquired ability in perception
- 3.7 Adaptive nature of perception
- 3.8 Auditory Perception
- 3.9 Perceptions of Smell, Taste and other senses
- 3.10 Summary of Sensation and Perception
- 4 Memory and Attention
- 4.1 What is memory
- 4.2 Attention and sensory memory
- 4.3 Working memory
- 4.4 Memory encoding and storage
- 4.5 Long-term memory and contextual effects
- 4.6 Why do people forget
- 4.7 False memory
- 4.8 Characteristics of memory
- 4.9 Summary: A map of memory
- 5 Life Span Development（part 1）
- 5.1 Overview of development over the life span
- 5.2 Prenatal development
- 5.3 Neonatal development
- 5.4 Infancy：sensory and motor development
- 5.5 Theory of attachment
- 5.6 Language acquisition
- 6 Life Span Development（part 2）
- 5.7 Emergence of knowledge
- 5.8 Theory of mind
- 5.9 Parenting styles
- 5.10 Adolescence
- 5.11 Adulthood
- 5.12 Old age
- 5.13 Issue in development psychology
- Final Exam
Taught by
Jing Qian
