Intro to Psychology

The field of psychology encompasses scientific research on the mind and behavior, as well as applications of psychological research to the promotion of health and well-being and to the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of psychological disorders. Its topics range from the level of molecules in the brain to the level of individual, cultural, and national differences. This course provides an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of psychology and the results of classic studies and current research in the major areas of this discipline: physiological psychology, learning and motivation, sensation and perception, cognition, emotion, development, social psychology, personality, and abnormal and clinical psychology. Students gain an understanding of major issues addressed in psychological research today, such as the complex interactions between nature and nurture, rationality vs. irrationality in decision making, and the neural bases of human behavior.