Start here to learn psychology. The introduction to psychology course provides students with a foundation from which to study 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. You will learn the nature and scope of psychology, neurological and environmental effects on behaviour, personality, consciousness, perception, needs, drives and motivation.
Course 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.
This Certificate is made up of 7 Lessons:
There are 7 lessons in this course:
- The Nature and Scope of Psychology
- Different approaches to psychology.
- It’s all common sense isn’t it?
- Key issues in psychology.
- Free will and determinism.
- Applying psychology.
- Developing questionnaires.
- Neurological Basis of Behaviour
- Structures of the nervous system.
- Central nervous system.
- Peripheral nervous system.
- How nerves transmit messages.
- The brain and method.
- Methods of investigating the brain.
- Brain damage.
- The strange case of Phineas Gage.
- Split brain operations.
- Localisation of function.
- Environmental Effects on Behaviour
- Learning and behaviour.
- Modelling.
- Conditioning.
- Extinction.
- Punishment.
- Learning and memory.
- Memory improvement strategies.
- Consciousness and Perception
- Status of consciousness in psychology.
- Nature of consciousness.
- Relationship between consciousness and perception.
- Unconscious and subconscious.
- Altered state of consciousness.
- Day dreams.
- Sleeping and dreaming.
- Chemically altered perception.
- Perception.
- Selective attention.
- Factors affecting perception.
- Perceptual biases.
- Personality
- Theories of personality.
- Personality traits.
- Theoretical approaches to human personality.
- Id, ego and superego.
- Oedipus Complex.
- Electra Complex.
- Psychological defence mechanisms.
- Genes and personality.
- Personality disorders.
- Multi-trait theories.
- Psychological Development
- Nature v. nurture.
- Environment and development.
- Stages of development.
- Moral development.
- Psychosexual development.
- Psychosocial development.
- Adolescence.
- Adult psychological development.
- Criticisms of stage theories.
- Needs, Drives and Motivation
- Motivation.
- Behaviourist theories of human motivation.
- Drives.
- Maslow’s theory of human motivation.
- Complementary and conflicting motives.
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.