Introduction To Psychology

Course Code	BPS101
Fee Code	S1
Number of Assignments	7
Duration (approx)	100 hours

COURSE STRUCTURE

There are seven lessons in this course, as follows:

1. The nature and scope of Psychology
2. Neurological basis of behaviour
3. Environmental effects on behaviour  
4. Consciousness and perception
5. Personality                                                     
6. Psychological development
7. Needs, drives and motivation

 

AIMS

• Explain the nature and scope of psychology.
• Explain characteristics of the neurological basis of behaviour.
• Explain environmental effects on behaviour.
• Explain the differences between consciousness and perception.
• Explain the effect of personality on behaviour.
• Explain psychological development.
• Apply different techniques to motivate people.

WHAT WILL YOU DO IN THE COURSE?

Students may carry out the following tasks in this course:

• Define different psychological terms such as ambivalence, apathy, behaviour, catalyst, cognition, empirical, fixation, homeostasis, obsession, perception, performance, psychosomatic, socialisation, stereotype, temperament, trait.
• Explain how a knowledge of psychology can be applied in different types of jobs.
• Explain risks involved in applying psychology in two different specified situations.
• Differentiate between developmental and interactive explanations of behaviour, in a case study.
• Describe how the nervous system functions to transmit messages throughout the body.
• Explain how the disfunctioning of different parts of the nervous system, can influence behaviour.
• Compare the function of the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
• Explain two examples of conditioning, which you observe.
• Explain an example of behaviour affected by modelling, observed by yourself.
• Compare the likely affects of positive and negative reinforcement in a case study.
• Distinguish between consciousness and perception, in the attitude of an observed individual.
• Explain selective attention, in a case study.
• Explain in summaries, different states of consciousness including daydreams, sleeping and dreaming, meditation.
• Explain the relationship between consciousness and behaviour in a case study.
• Explain three different theories of personality.
• Distinguish between the "id" and "superego" in a person you are familiar with.
• Compare the application of humanistic approaches with the social learning approach with the psychoanalytic approach, in educating children.
• Explain through examples, different defence mechanisms, including repression, displacement, rationalisation, projection, denial, evaluation, sublimation, reaction/formation, intellectualisation
• Explain the factors which may have influenced the psychological development of a teenager who you know.
• Compare cognitive development with physical development, in a case study.
• Explain through a summary, the four main stages of development including sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational.
• Explain moral development in two different case studies.
• Explain psychosexual stages of development in a case study.
• Explain psychosocial stages of development in a case study.
• Distinguish between needs, drives and instincts in a specific workplace.
• Explain the cyclical nature of primary drives, in a case study.
• List examples of secondary drives.
• Explain how to motivate a worker in a specified situation using the psychoanalytical approach.
• Summarise Maslow's theory of human motivation.
• Demonstrate the application of three different motivation techniques, in three different specified situations, through role playing.

 

Perhaps you may be interested in carrying out a more indepth course in psychology, why not have a look at some of the courses below –

Advanced Certificate in Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Advanced-Certificate-In-Psychology-337.aspx

Associate Diploma in Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Associate-Diploma-In-Psychology-320.aspx

Certificate in Applied Developmental Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Certificate-In-Applied-Developmental-Psychology-398.aspx

Certificate in Biopsychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Certificate-In-Biopsychology-397.aspx

If you would like to see our range of psychology books, please visit - http://www.acsbookshop.com/books_productcategory.aspx?id=14

For more information on the range of careers available in psychology, have a look at - http://www.thecareersguide.com/articles.aspx?category=14

We have some interesting articles on psychology and counseling at - http://www.acs.edu.au/psychol/

 

Some Sample Notes from the Course - ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

What is an altered state of consciousness? Most would cite an extreme example such as the hallucinatory state that certain drugs induce. Yet in normal everyday life, we do not experience consciousness in the same way, but experience different states of consciousness. We sleep, we meditate, we enter in deep concentration, and we daydream, each activity being quite different in nature to the other. Therefore, we can say that an altered state refers to a clear change in the normal, waking level of awareness, such as when we drift into a daydream, doze off, sleep or dream, or focus intently on an activity.

Daydreams

When we daydream, our awareness of our immediate physical surroundings decreases and is replaced by a heightened awareness of our thoughts, feelings and mental images. We allow our focus to drift from one thought to another, without defining logical connections. Some people are capable of daydreaming for sustained periods of time, creating entire, imaginary stories. Daydreaming is a perfectly common and healthy activity. There are cases, however, where excessive daydreaming is regarded as a sign of psychological instability (e.g. if an individual ceases to be able to distinguish between daydreaming and reality).

Sleeping and Dreaming

While the nature of sleeping can best be left to physiologists, psychologists are concerned about the altered state of consciousness while dreaming occurs. A lot of research has been conducted to measure the depth of sleep, and noting the periods in which dreams occur. During such research a device is employed to measure electrical changes in the brains activity, and another device measures eye movements (which tend to occur when dreaming).

There are five stages of sleep. Four stages involve deep sleep. The fifth stage involves rapid eye movement, thus it is called "REM sleep". When aroused from REM sleep, subjects usually report a dream. Dreams also occur during NREM (Non REM), however these dreams are not recalled as easily. Although many people claim that they do not dream much, research into REM sleep supports conclusions that we all dream, and do so approximately five times a night. Some find it more difficult to remember their dreams than others. Time of waking also affects dream recall. Those that wake easily during REM will tend to have greater dream recall. As far as the length of dreams is concerned, research suggests that incidents in dreams last about as long as they would in real life. Experimental subjects have had the duration of the REM measured. When awoken, they were asked to mime the incidents in their dreams. The pantomime lasted for approximately the same amount of time as the duration of the REM sleep.

The Origin of Dreams

The greatest pioneer in the study of the psychological origin of dreams was Sigmund Freud. Freud stated that, despite their strangeness, dreams are meaningful, giving expression to the person’s wishes and impulses that have been repressed and cannot find other expression because of guilt or social inhibitions. These hidden wishes and desires constitute the content of dreams, and are expressed through the images and experiences of our dreams.

 

Freud evokes the image of a "censor" at the threshold between our consciousness and our unconscious. This "censor" converts the latent content into the dream work, transforming some of the impulse-expressions that might be too disturbing into symbols that seem harmless and meaningless. In effect, the mechanism protects our sleep from too much psychological disturbance. Much of psychoanalysis is involved with trying to decipher the symbols of our dreams, and symbolic behaviours with which we disguise our true feelings when awake.

The activation-synthesis theory of dreaming formulated by Hobson and McCarley (1977) asserts that dreams have no inherent meaning, but that the mind tries to make meaning out of them by synthesising them into meaningful events. According to this theory, dreams are no more than the result of random firings of neurons in the brain. Dream images are triggered by the firing in different areas of the brain, so that firing in the part of the brain that controls balance will trigger sensations and images of falling.

Another theory of dreaming is the computer theory, which proposes that the brain is like a computer whose programs are adjusted and tested when the computer is offline (or the brain asleep). The images and sensations of our dreams are not new creations, but data being sifted and sorted: the day’s experiences, impressions, worries, ideas being organised. Yet another theory is that we dream to allow the brain to get rid of unwanted data, and the random firing of neurons that triggers images and sensations is the brain’s way of defusing unwanted neural connections.

Psychology is the study of animal and human behaviour. This course will develop your ability to analyse aspects of a person's psychological state and apply derived knowledge to motivate that person. This provides a solid introduction/foundation for further studies of psychology covering the nature and scope of psychology, neurological and environmental effects on behaviour, personality, consciousness, perception, needs, drives and motivation.