Online High School

Elective
Psychology

Psychology Course Outline

This course focuses on the study of human behavior. As an introduction to the field of psychology, this course includes consideration of psychological principles, terminology, major theories, careers, methods of experimentation, and practical applications. Special topics include personality development, problem-solving, group dynamics, and motivation.


  • Describe- The first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in minute detail, what was observed as objectively as possible
  • Explain- While descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go beyond what is obvious and explain their observations. in other words, why did the subject do what he or she did?
  • Predict- Once we know what happens, and why it happens, we can begin to speculate what will happen in the future. There’s an old saying, which very often holds true: “the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
  • Control- Once we know what happens, why it happens and what is likely to happen in the future, we can excerpt control over it. in other words, if we know you choose abusive partners because your father was abusive, we can assume you will choose another abusive partner, and can, therefore, intervene to change this negative behavior.
  • Improve- Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior, they want to do so in a positive manner, they want to improve a person’s life, not make it worse. This is not always the case, but it should always be the intention.

Course Outline

  • Welcome
  • Course Description
  • MLA Formatting Word 2007
  • MLA Documentation updates
  • MLA Citation
  • MLA Incorporating Sources
  • A Soft Science
  • Psychology Dictionary
  • Experimental Methodsv
  • Types of Research
  • Quiz: Introduction
  • Aristotle
  • Medieval Thought
  • Rene Descartes
  • Mind Body Problem
  • Postmodernism
  • Behavior Analysis
  • Cognitive Science
  • Zoology
  • Ethology
  • Charles Darwin
  • Handout: History of Psychology
  • Quiz: History
  • Assignment: History of Psychology
  • Essay: Pioneers in Psychology
  • What do Psychologists
  • Who Studies Behavior
  • Cross Cultural Psychology
  • Science Characteristics
  • Advantages of Science
  • Disadvantages of Science
  • Silly Example of Science
  • Real Example of Science
  • Experiments
  • Surveys, Questionnaires, and Tests
  • Case Studies
  • Naturalistic Observation
  • Quiz: Evolution
    • Essay: Major Fields in Psychology
  • Natural Selection Today
  • Physiological Psychology
  • Nervous System
  • The Neuron
  • Myelination
  • All-or-none and summation
  • Central Nervous System
  • Principles of the Brain
  • The Hindbrain
  • The Colliculi
  • Cerebrum
  • Hemispheric Specialization
  • The Endocrine System
  • Quiz: Brain
  • Worksheet: Nervous System
  • Essay: Brain Essay
  • Psychophysics
  • Associated Sensory Systems
  • Comparative Sensory Systems
  • Vision
  • Audition
  • Chemical Senses
  • Skin Senses
  • Other Senses
  • Perception
  • Factors in Perception
  • Binocular Cues
  • Motion Parallax
  • Visual Constancies
  • Gestalt Psychology
  • Odor Perception
  • Quiz: Sensation
  • Worksheet: Sensation and Perception
  • Essay: Sensory Adaptation
  • 7- Learning
  • Defintions of Learning
  • Spontaneous Recovery
  • Classical Conditioning
  • Time and Classical Conditioning
  • Ivan Pavlov
  • Taste Aversion
  • Autoshaping
  • Operant Conditioning
  • Positive and Negative
  • Schedules of Reinforcement
  • B. F. Skinner
  • Premack Principle
  • Primary and Secondary Reinforcement
  • Behavior Modification
  • Superstitious Behavior
  • Observational Learning
  • Pavlov’s Theory
  • Example of Conditioning
  • The PQ4R Method: Learning To Learn
  • Quiz: Learning
  • Worksheet: Operant Conditioning
  • Essay: Classical Conditioning
  • Process of Memory
  • Hermann Ebbinghaus
  • Amnesia
  • Mnemonic Devices
  • Stages of Memory
  • Theories of Memory
  • Summary of Memory Data
  • Repressed Memories
  • Schemas
  • Sensory Memory
  • Confidence and Memory
  • Norms and Heuristics
  • Handout: Memory Classification & Process
  • Quiz: Memory
  • Assignment: Memory Classification and Process
  • Essay: Three Stages of Memory
  • Personality
  • Sheldon’s Somatotypes
  • Studying Personality
  • Freud’ Stages of Development
  • Ego, Id, Super-Ego
  • Defense Mechanisms
  • Neo-Freudians
  • Learning and Social Learning Theories
  • Eysenck and Norman
  • Humanistic Theories
  • Quiz: Personality
  • Worksheet: Personality
  • Essay: Erik Erikson
  • Abnormal Behavior?
  • Demonic Possession
  • Diagnoses
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Mood Disorders
  • Dissociative Disorders
  • Schizophrenia
  • Personality Disorders
  • Quiz: Psychological Disorders
  • Worksheet: Psychological Tests
  • History of Therapy
  • Course Description
  • Types of Therapists
  • Assessing Psychopathology
  • Transference
  • Client-Centered Therapies
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Biotherapies
  • AA and Therapy
  • Quiz: Treatment
  • Auditory System
  • Worksheet: The Ear
  • Scientific Method & Experiments
  • Neurotransmission
  • Essay: Neurotransmitters
  • Visual System
  • Quiz: Final Exam
  • Course Survey
  • Handout: Course Survey
  • Assignment: Course Survey