Psych 101 - Outline of Objectives

Introduction: The Science of Behavior

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. define "psychology",

1. discuss the role of the scientific method in psychology by ...

a. telling why the scientific method is used by research scientists,

b. stating the first process in the scientific method and giving examples of its meaning, and

c. defining "operationalism".

2. explain Hayakawa's categories of reports, inferences and judgments by ...

a. telling what they all are, and

b. telling what a(n) ___________ is and giving examples,

1) report

2) inference

3) judgment

3. and tell why the study of psychology logically begins with biological concepts.

B. name the smallest unit of life,

1. name its three parts,

2. and give three examples and tell how their structure is specialized for their function.

PART ONE - Synthesizing the Basics

I: The Biological Basis of Behavior

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. explain the role of neurons in the study of psychology by ...

1. defining "neuron"in two words,

a. naming the three parts of a neuron in order,

b. telling what each part does and stating what it means for a neuron to fire

c. stating the function of a neuron,

d. defining, and stating the function of, "a nerve", and

e. explaining the transmission process between neurons by ...

1) telling what the space between the end of one neuron and the start of another is called, and

2) naming the kind of energy which occurs there.

2. differentiating among types of neurons by ...

a.-c. naming the three types of neurons and for each

1) telling where its message comes from,

2) telling where its message is sent to,

3) stating its function, and

4) telling where such neurons are located.

3. explaining the concepts of stimulus and response by ...

a. defining "stimulus" in terms of neurons,

1) naming five external stimulus channels and for each

a) telling where its sense organ is located and

b) giving examples of real-life situations in which stimuli are received on that channel,

2) giving examples of non-external stimulus channels by ...

a) describing the perceptions which result when such channels are stimulated, and

b) explaining why they are considered stimulus channels even though they do not provide information about the external environment,

b. defining "response" in terms of neurons,

1) naming the two kinds of response-producing organs and the kinds of responses they produce, and

2) giving examples of real-life situations and naming, with precision, responses in those situations.

B. name and describe the working of the major nervous systems in humans by ...

naming the two major divisions into which the nerves in the human body are categorized,

1. spelling out the meaning of CNS and naming its two parts,

a. describing the function of the spinal cord

b. describing the structure and function of the human brain by ...

1) naming the part it has in common with other species' brains and listing

a) several structures in that part of the brain and

b) the function of each such structure, and

2) naming the part of the brain responsible for abilities unique to humans and explaining the function of its convolutions,

a) naming and stating the function of each of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex,

b) naming the two hemispheres of the brain, stating the primary difference in the way they function and giving examples of activities best performed by each side, and

c) specifying, in order, four functions of the brain.

2. naming the two major divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System and

a. naming and stating the function of the two major divisions of the Somatic Nervous System,

b. spelling out the meaning of ANS,

1) defining "reflex arc" and naming its three parts,

2) defining "reflex" and naming its two parts,

a) listing seven reflexes,

b) stating a rule for telling whether a stimulus-response pair is or is not a reflex,

3) describing and explaining the function of the branching structure of the divisions of the ANS,

4) naming the two branches of the ANS and for each

a) stating its general function,

b) naming seven responses which occur when that branch is stimulated, and

c) giving examples of stimulus situations which arouse that branch.

3. telling the difference between voluntary and involuntary responses,

a. giving examples of each type of response,

b. naming the nervous system usually responsible for each type of response, and

c. stating a rule of thumb for telling whether a response is voluntary or involuntary.

II: Sensation, Perception and Cognition

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

explain the role of the perceptual process in determining what we know and believe about our world, by...

defining "stimulus", "sensation", "perception", and "cognition" and stating the relationship which unifies these concepts,

A. explaining the concept of levels of perception by ...

1. telling why it is useful for incoming messages to be processed before they reach our consciousness, and

2. giving examples of a single message at several levels of the perceptual process. and

B. describing the perceptual process in detail by ...

1. relating the definition of stimulus to reality by ...

a. giving examples of non-stimuli in our environment,

b. discussing the exernal stimuli to which we are sensitive by ...

1)-5) naming the five external modalities and for each

a) naming, and for the two distance senses naming and explaining the three dimensions of, the stimuli to which those channels are sensitive,

b) telling where the receptors are located, and

c) giving an example of a perception resulting from a message received on that channel,

c. describing the data borderline stimulus channels carry,

1)-2) naming the two borderline stimulus channels and for each

a) describing the stimuli to which it is sensitive,

b) telling where its receptors are located, and

c) describing perceptions produced by that channel,

d. explaining the concept of internal stimuli by ...

1) naming several perceptions which result from messages received on internal stimulus channels, and

2) telling how we know there are internal receptors, and

e. describing the kinds of studies done in the area of psychophysics,

1) explaining the concept of the absolute threshold in terms of what it means intuitively and what it means in psychophysics, and

2) defining "just noticeable difference" and stating and giving examples of Weber's law.

2. describing the role of receptors in producing sensation by ...

a. describing the analogy between receptor and translator and

b. explaining the significance of being able to compare each type of receptor to a non-biological device, for each of our distance senses naming a device that produces similar energy conversions and stating the similarity, and

1)-2) a)-c) for the two distance senses specifying the dimension of perception on that modality which corresponds to each of the three stimulus dimensions.

3. naming six levels of perceptual processing, describing the form of the inputs to and outputs from each process,

a. explaining the reason neural effects occur and

1)-5) naming five neural effects and describing, or giving an example of, each,

b. stating the function of grouping processes and explaining how they work by ...

1) describing the Gestalt school's concept of grouping processes and

a)-d) naming four Gestalt grouping processes and giving an example of each, and

2) explaining the concept of feature analysis by ...

a) describing how feature detectors work,

b) giving several examples of feature detectors,

c) explaining how a group of feature detectors can work together to produce pattern recognition,

d) explaining the concept of parallel processing, and

e) explaining the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing and giving an example of each,

c. explaining the function of perceptual constancies, and

1)-3) naming and giving examples of three constancies,

d. defining "intermodal correlation",

1) describing three experiments which show the effects of the process,

2) giving examples of perceptions in everyday life which result from the process, and

3) explaining how visual depth perception results from intermodal correlation by ...

a) naming the two modalities which are correlated to produce the perception and

b) naming and describing seven visual depth cues,

e. describing and giving several real-life examples of the process of forming a Gestalt and quoting the Gestalt school's catch-phrase, and

f. defining "perceptual set", and

1) stating the basis for exernal factors affecting set,

a)-b) naming and giving examples of the two external factors that affect perceptual set, and

2) explaining how internal factors affect set and

a)-c) naming and giving examples of three such factors.

4. discussing low-level cognition by ...

a. defining "selective attention", describing the experimental task called shadowing, telling what the results of shadowing experiments seem to imply and explaining why our subjective experience seems to contradict this conclusion, and

1)-4) naming and giving examples of four factors which make it more likely that a stimulus will be noticed,

b. naming three models of the conscious mind, and

1) specifying for each what plays the role of

a) thoughts in the mind,

b) consciousness, and

c) conscious thoughts,

2) for each (except the first) telling what the model says about the mind that the previous model did not, and

3) stating in a single sentence the relationship between the mind as a whole and the conscious mind which is the basis for all three models.

III: Emotions and Pavlovian Conditioning

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. name, and state the differences among, three theories of emotion,

1. explain the two-factor theory by ...

a. telling what it is we're feeling when we "feel an emotion",

b. naming the two factors in the two factor theory and

1) telling which factor must occur first and why, and

2) explaining the second factor in terms of perceptual principles,

c. explaining the process of labelling and telling why it depends on cognitive attribution,

d. giving examples of real-life emotions occurring,

1) identifying the stimulus situation, the visceral responses, the cognitive attribution, the labeling and the voluntary response which follows the emotion, and

2) describing the effect on the voluntary response when either attribution or labeling is incorrect.

e. explaining the concepts of the type and intensity of an emotion and telling which factor determines each.

2. explain the James-Lange theory of emotion by ...

a. describing its account of our emotional experience,

b. stating clearly how it differs from the two-factor theory, and

c. explaining why the theory is not given much credence.

3. explain the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion by ...

a. describing its account of our emotional experience,

b. giving examples of situations in which the theory may explain our emotional reactions, and

c. explaining why the theory probably cannot account for most of our day-to-day emotional experiences.

B. describe briefly the situation which led Pavlov to the research for which he is remembered,

1. define "unconditional" and "conditional",

a. describe the experiment in which Pavlov demonstrated that a reflex-type response could be elicited by a non-reflex stimulus,

b. spell out the meanings of US, UR, CS and CR,

c. tell what one word has the same meaning as US→UR,

d. tell what is really conditional about a CS→CR,

e. explain what is meant by a neutral stimulus,

2. state Pavlov's law,

a. specify what in Pavlov's experiment acted as

1) the neutral stimulus,

2) the unconditional stimulus,

3) the unconditional response,

4) the conditional stimulus and

5) the conditional response,

b. define "acquisition of a Pavlovian response,"

c. describe the Baby Albert experiment and its results,

d. give real-life examples of acquisition of CR's in humans and of situations in which the CS elicits the CR without the person's recalling the acquisition process, and

e. explain the role of conditional responses in the two-factor theory's explanation of emotions.

3. define "___________" a conditional response and

a. extinction of

b. spontaneous recovery of

c. generalization of

d. higher-order acquisition of

e. a CS^– for

and for each

1) describe an experiment demonstrating the process, specifying all US, UR, CS and CR occurrences, and

2) give real life examples of the process.

4. explain what it means to "provide information" about the coming of an event,

a. explain the benefits of having a nervous system which is designed to learn via Pavlovian acquisition, and

b. state the principles of acquisition and higher-order acquisition in a single statement.

5. tell another name for Pavlovian learning and explain why it is used.

IV: Voluntary Behavior

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

explain the principles governing voluntary responses by ...

A. explaining the three basic concepts used for analyzing voluntary behavior, by ...

1. defining "stimulus set",

a. stating clearly the relationship between stimulus sets and the reality which we perceive, and

b. giving real-life examples of people in specific situations and describing the stimuli for at least three modalities in the corresponding stimulus sets.

2. defining "response",

a. explaining the difference between voluntary and involuntary responses

1) in everyday terms, and

2) in terms of nervous systems, and

b. giving real-life examples of voluntary responses, naming each response explicitly,

3. defining "the outcome of a response,"

a. specifying the two ways in which a stimulus set can change and the two (subjective) categories of stimuli,

b. specifying the four basic kinds of outcomes

1)-4) by telling for each

a) whether stimuli are added or taken away,

b) whether the stimuli are positive or negative, and

c) whether the outcome is positive or negative,

c. giving real-life examples of people in specific situations making voluntary responses and experiencing the outcomes of those responses, describing the stimuli on three modalities in the stimulus set, specifying the voluntary response, and stating the outcomes in terms of the adding/taking away of positive/negative stimuli.

B. describing and naming two levels of control of voluntary responses and

1. describing three categories of voluntary non-conscious responses and giving examples of each,

a. describing briefly Thorndike's research and

1) stating and

2) giving examples of the Law of Effect,

b. stating the meaning of "reinforcement" and explaining why we equate that term with positive outcomes,

1) defining and giving examples of "positive reinforcer" and "negative reinforcer" and

2) defining and giving examples of "primary reinforcer" and "secondary reinforcer" and

a) stating and

b) explaining their relationship to US's and CS's.

c. describing the operant learning process by defining "___________" of an operant response,

1) acquisition

2) extinction

3) spontaneous recovery

and for each

a) giving a laboratory example of the process and

b) giving real-life examples of the process.

d. showing the prevalence of operant responses by defining "____________" operant responses,

1) superstitious

2) shaping of

3) generalization of

4) chaining of several

5) a hierarchy of

6) the partial reinforcement effect for

and for each

a) giving a laboratory example, and

b) giving examples in real-life.

7) defining "a discriminative stimulus for an operant response", naming and telling the difference between the two types of discriminative stimuli, and for each

a) giving a laboratory example,

b) giving examples in real-life,

c) explaining why it can serve as a reinforcer and

d) giving real life examples of responses being reinforced by that type of stimulus.

2. naming and describing the process which can override the law of effect and produce more sudden changes in behavior,

a. describing the role of language in this process by ...

1) naming and giving examples of two forms of verbal mediation humans use to control their behavior,

2) stating the age at which this process begins to be used spontaneously,

3) spelling out the details of a possible explanation for the development of this process and stating its implications for raising children,

b. showing the relevance of cognitive mediation in daily life by defining a "plan of behavior,"

1) showing its similarity to and difference from a chain of behavior and explaining why low level plans become chains

2) describing, and giving examples of, a plan's being built from other plans,

3) giving examples of how non-functional behaviors may be improved by revising plans,

4) explaining how the development of higher level plans allows greater control over larger portions of our behavior and how we become more responsible as we get older.

c. showing the importance of cognitive mediation to civilization by ...

1) listing several traits valued by our society and explaining how they depend on cognitive mediation,

2) describing Kohlberg's research by ...

a) telling what he actually did,

b) stating his conclusions about the development of moral reasoning,

c) naming his three levels of moral reasoning and the ages at which they may develop,

d) naming the two stages at each level, and

e) describing and giving examples of the criteria for moral judgments in each stage.

V: Memory, Cognitive Development, Language and Directed Thought

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. discuss the concept of memory by ...

explaining what it means to say that memory is a construct, and by ...

1. naming the three sub-processes that constitute memory,

a. explaining and giving examples of the process of encoding,

b. explaining what is meant by storage, and

c. explaining and giving examples of the process of retrieval.

2. naming the three types of memory storage buffers,

a. explaining and giving examples of several kinds of sensory memory,

1) telling how long iconic memory lasts and

2) describing the experiment that demonstrated our ability to access information from iconic memory.

b. describing the function of short term memory and naming the two kinds of limits on STM,

1) discussing the space limit by ...

a) specifying the size of the space limit and giving examples of what that means and

b) naming and giving examples of the process for overcoming the space limit.

2) discussing the time limit by ...

a) specifying the length of the time limit and giving examples of what that means and

b) naming and giving examples of the process for overcoming the time limit.

3) explaining and giving examples of the difference between recall and recognition memory and telling which kinds of files are used in each process. and

c. naming the two types of files which make up long term memory and explaining the difference between the retrieval processes for each of the two types,

1) stating the maximum estimates made by some psychologists of the percentage of our experiences that may be stored in episodic memory and the length of time during which those memories may be retrieved, and

2) describing the structure of semantic memory,

a) describing and explaining the implications of reaction time studies for inferring how information is stored in semantic memory and

b) describing the process by which semantic memory files can be created consciously.

3. naming five theories of forgetting, specifying for each which of the three sub-processes of memory is seen as the the cause of forgetting, and

a. explaining the decay theory by ...

1) stating the theory's explanation of why we forget,

a) defining and

b) telling what is currently believed to be the physical form of, the "memory trace" or "engram",

2) offering evidence against the hypothesis and

b. explaining the trace transformation theory of forgetting and stating the main argument against the theory,

c. explaining the interference theory of forgetting, stating and giving examples of the difference between the two types of interference, and

d. explaining the motivated forgetting theory and stating the arguments for and against its use to explain why we forget,

e. stating the levels-of-processing theory of forgetting,

1) discussing its compatibility with the interference theory, and

2) giving real-life examples of its meaning.

B. describe Piaget's theory of the development of cognition by ...

1. stating the two assumptions about development which together make a theory a stage theory.

2. naming Piaget's four periods of cognitive development in order,

a. stating the approximate ages for each period,

b. stating the major development of each period, and

c. showing how it depends on the achievements of the previous period, and

3. explaining the child's progress through each period by ...

a. 1)-6) naming the six stages of the sensorimotor period, and for each stage

a) listing the approximate ages for its development,

b) stating the single principle underlying behavior and giving examples of such behaviors,

c) showing how the principle depends on achievements from the previous stage, and

d) explaining how the infant's understanding of the world changes as a result of new developments.

b. describing the behavior (and apparent underlying thought processes) of the pre-operational child in the areas of

1) conservation,

2) egocentrism, and

3) categorization,

c. describing the behavior of the concrete operational child in each of the following areas and explaining the apparent changes in his cognitions which lead to these changes in behavior:

1) conservation,

2) egocentrism,

3) categorization, and

4) explaining cause and effect,

d. describing the nature of formal operational thought by ...

1) explaining how it differs from concrete operational thought,

2) describing briefly the kinds of experiences which lead to the development of FOT,

3) and stating the percentage of American adults who are able to use FOT in at least a few contexts.

C. explain the meaning of the statement that language is a representational system,

and explain why language plays such an important role in our thought processes by ...

1. discussing briefly the importance of the fact that language serves as both input and output by ...

a. naming the two standard processes by which language is input,

b. naming the two standard processes by which language is output, and

c. explaining how the ease of these two processes, combined with the process of verbal mediation, allows us to make very complex changes in our environment,

2. discussing the language-thought relationship by ...

a. stating the "blanket hypothesis" and giving an example to show that it's true, and

b. stating the "mold hypothesis" and giving an example to show that it's true,

3. describing the development of language in the child by ...

a. describing cooing and telling how and why it changes to become babbling,

b. explaining how babbling gives rise to the child's first words,

1) describing the sense in which the child's earliest words differ from adult words,

2) specifiying the changes which are made to standard adult speech to produce parentese and the benefits of those changes for the child,

c. telling what a "grammar" is and describing the child's two-word grammar,

1) explaining and giving examples of telegraphic speech,

2) explaining and giving examples of overregularization, and

3) stating what these data imply.

d. discussing the processes underlying language development by ...

1) explaining Chomsky's concept of a language acquisition device,

2) defining the concept of a "critical period" in development and specifying the critical period for language development,

3) explaining the relevance of studies designed to teach language to non-humans for Chomsky's LAD,

4) explaining the statement that "comprehension precedes production" and discussing briefly the effect of the child's imitating adult speech before he comprehends it.

D. discuss the concept of directed thinking by ...

1. explaining the difference between "having thoughts" and "thinking about" something,

a. giving several examples of convergent thinking and explaining why it's called convergent,

b. giving several examples of divergent thinking and explaining why it's called divergent,

c. listing a few adjectives which describe one type of thinking but not the other, and describing a single process that seems to underlie both types of thinking,

2. discussing convergent thinking by ...

a. defining what is meant by a "problem",

1) describing the Umweg problem, telling why it's a problem, and describing the process by which its solution is found,

2) explaining, and giving an example of, the idea that problem solving often requires re-defining the problem, or changing our mental representation of the problem,

3) defining, and giving an example of, "functional fixedness" and explaining how it relates to changing our mental representation of the problem,

4) giving examples of problems in which item-by-item processing of complete lists will lead to a solution, and explaining why many people do not utilize this strategy,

b. giving examples of decision making,

1) describing, and giving real-life examples of, the anchoring effect,

2) discussing, and giving examples of, the role of avoiding regret in decision making,

3) describing and giving examples of how the mental representation of a situation affects the decision which is made about that situation,

3. discussing divergent thinking by ...

a. stating the two criteria a response must meet to be considered creative,

1) describing the process called brainstorming and explaining the assumption underlying the process,

2) describing the "use a brick" test, describing the difference in performance between high- and low-creativity individuals,

a) describing the two-stage model of creativity and

b) explaining why the high-creative individual performs as he does on the "use a brick" test,

b. describing the communication process in terms of the ideas in the minds of the two persons involved and the message sent by the "speaker",

1) describing the one-stage process used by most "listeners" and the two stage process utilized by effective speakers, and

2) describing and explaining the value of the "backward association" strategy used by effective speakers.

PART TWO - Analyzing Complex Behaviors

VI: Stress and Depression

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. state Selyé's definition of "stress",

1. name three stress related diseases and quote the AMA statistic that makes stress an important subject of study.

2. spell out the meaning of "GAS",

a.-c. name its three stages, and for each stage describe the state of

1) the sympathetic nerves,

2) the endocrine system,

3) the visceral organs, and

4) the person's cognitions.

3. differentiate between physical stress and psychological stress by telling which is more common in Americans' daily lives,

a. defining and giving real-life examples of physical stress,

b. defining psychological stress,

1)-4) naming its four forms, and for each

a) defining it,

b) explaining why it's stressful and

c) giving real-life examples,

4. describe briefly the possible effects of minor stressors in daily life, and

5. describe Brady's executive monkey study and offer an explanation for its reported results.

B. describe the conditions which produce learned helplessness and the behaviors which characterize that state,

1. describe Seligman's learned helplessness study,

2. give real-life examples of the phenomenon,

a. name the clinical label applied to people in this state

b. and describe the behavioral therapy for overcoming the condition.

C. discuss the relevance of cognitive factors in stress and depression by ...

1. describing Type A and Type B personalities and stating the medical findings concerning these personality types,

2. explaining Seligman's concept of explanatory style by ...

a. naming the three dimensions he describes,

b. giving examples of explanations showing an extreme position on each of the dimensions and

c. stating Seligman's claim about optimism in terms of

1) the types of explanations used by optimists and

2) the effects of such optimism on an individual's tendency to become depressed.

3. explaining Rotter's idea of perceived locus of control by ...

a. defining "perceived locus of control" and relating the idea to Seligman's "explanatory style",

b. describing what it means to be "internal" or "external" on this dimension of personality,

c. giving real-life examples of people at each extreme, and

d. discussing the relationship between an individual's I-E status and his susceptibility to stress and depression.

VII: Personality and Defense Mechanisms

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. discuss Maslow's theory of personality by ...

1. stating the idea behind his categorization of behaviors,

a. naming the five levels of needs in his hierarchy and

b. stating the principle on which the ordering is based.

2. explaining the meaning of the needs at each level,

3. giving examples of behaviors designed to satisfy needs at each level,

4. showing the implication of the hierarchical arrangement by giving examples of situations in which a previously filled need is left unsatisfied and describing and explaining the change in behavior which results,

5. explaining and giving examples of Maslow's concept of the security-growth conflict, and

6. naming and describing the personality traits which self-actualized people seem to have in common.

B. describe the basic ideas in Freud's theory by ...

1. stating the assumption he made about the body's energy and telling what he called that energy,

a. stating the function of the id,

1) naming the principle according to which it operates,

2) explaining what the principle means, and

3) stating the assumption Freud made about the relationship between libido and the id,

a) paraphrasing the logical argument which follows from that assumption, and

b) stating the conclusion that the argument implies.

b. stating the function of the ego,

1) naming the principle according to which it operates,

2) explaining what the principle means, and

3) describing briefly the ego's relation to the id by ...

a) telling where the ego gets its energy from,

b) explaining what it means to cathect libido and

c) explaining why the id needs the ego.

c. stating the function of the superego,

1) naming the force that causes it to develop,

2) naming and describing its two parts, and

3) explaining how and why it continues to control behavior in adulthood.

2. describing his concept of psychosexual development by ...

explaining his concept of why development occurs in stages, and naming the stages and the approximate ages at which they occur, and

a.-b. for each of the first two stages giving examples of some effects they may produce in later life,

c. describing the castration complex and the Oedipal conflict in males and (their equivalents in) females, explaining how they are resolved and describing the effect of this resolution,

d. explaining the behaviors observed during the latency period and Freud's explanation for them, and

e. stating the goal of the genital period and telling what Freud says may keep it from being achieved.

3. stating Freud's definition of anxiety,

a. describing and giving examples of two kinds of anxiety,

b. telling how Freud said excess anxiety is released and

1)-2) describing two ways in which coping behaviors are flexible but defense mechanisms are rigid, and

c. describing Freud's concept of neurosis.

C. define defense mechanism,

1. explain the definition by ...

a. explaining the role of anxiety in producing a DM,

b. explaining why DM's must be non-conscious,

c. explaining how perceptual set creates a DM by producing a misperception, and

d. discussing the effect of a DM on the individual's anxiety level and his behavior.

2. name and explain briefly the two steps which occur in creating a defense mechanism,

a. name the DM which is a part of all other DM's and give examples of its occurrence at different levels of consciousness,

b. explain and give several examples of the aspect of a defense mechanism that determines which DM it is.

3. name and explain the differences among the three categories of defense mechanisms, and

a.-c. for each category,

1)-4) name, define and give examples of at least four defense mechanisms in that category.

VIII: Abnormal Behavior

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

A. discuss the meaning of "abnormal" by ...

1. explaining the intuitive meaning of abnormality,

2. explaining why it's necessary to go beyond our intuitive understanding and define the concept precisely,

3. explaining the literal (or statistical, or cultural) meaning of abnormal by ...

a. defining the concept of the normal distribution,

b. explaining the meaning of the norm of a normal distribution,

c. explaining the concept of standard deviation,

d. defining abnormality in terms of norms and standard deviations, and

e. explaining why this meaning does not describe what we mean by "abnormal behavior".

4. describing the medical model of mental health and explaining why the terms "mental health" and "mental illness" are seldom used today,

5. describing society's attitudes toward abnormal behavior and society's treatment throughout the centuries of those who acted abnormally,

a. stating Pinel's contribution to redefining our perception of those with abnormal behavior and

b. explaining briefly the idea that abnormality is a societally defined concept and therefore a political decision,

6. desribing the legal meaning of

a. being "not guilty by reason of insanity,"

b. having a "need for treatment", and

c. being maintained in "the least restrictive environment."

7. describing the Rosenhan study ("On Being Sane in Insane Places") and its results, and discussing its conclusions.

B. explain the current definition of abnormal behavior by spelling out the meaning of DSM-IV, telling what the manual specifies about each disorder and what it does not specify,

1. describing the structures of DSM-II and DSM-IV, and explaining the reason for the difference between them,

2. stating the term which corresponds most closely to the lay person's concept of "crazy",

a. defining the term briefly and

b. explaining the statement that what makes someone crazy is not the presence of crazy thoughts but the absence of sane thoughts,

3. naming six categories of disorders listed in DSM-IV and for each describing the general form of its disorders,

a. stating what the anxiety, somatoform and dissociative disorders have in common,

1) stating the defining characteristic of anxiety disorders, describing what is meant by a panic attack,

a)-g) naming, and describing briefly, seven specific anxiety disorders,

2) specifying the defining characteristic of somatoform disorders and

a)-d) naming, and describing briefly, four specific somatoform disorders

3) specifying the defining characteristic of dissociative disorders and

a)-d) naming, and describing briefly, four specific dissociative disorders

b. specifying the defining characteristics of personality disorders and

1)-3) naming the three clusters of personality disorders

a)-c/d) and for each naming and describing briefly three or four specific personality disorders in that cluster,

c. stating what the mood disorders and the schizophrenic disorders have in common,

1) specifying the defining characteristic of mood disorders, describing the major depressive episode, the manic episode and the mixed episode,

a)-d) naming and describing briefly four specific mood disorders

2) specifying the defining characteristics of the schizophrenic (and other psychotic) disorders, describing delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, catatonic behavior and "negative symptoms", and

a) stating the general conditions under which a diagnosis of schizophrenia is made, and naming and describing briefly four types of schizophrenia, and

b)-f) naming, and describing briefly, five other disorders in the schizophrenic category.

IX: Psychotherapy

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to ...

explain what it means for a therapist to be eclectic, and name at least four schools of therapy,

A. name the founder of the psychoanalytic school and at least two other members of that school,

1. describe classical psychoanalysis in terms of the position of the patient and the analyst, the rules regarding missed sessions, the frequency of appointments and the duration of therapy, and

a. describe what psychoanalysis sees as the cause of the patient's problem,

b. describe the changes which must occur for the problem to be resolved, and

c. describe the role in analysis of

1) free association,

2) transference,

3) resistance and

4) symbolic interpretation.

2. name the founder of Individual Psychology,

a. explain the concepts of

1) the inferiority complex,

2) compensation,

3) striving for superiority, and social interest.

b. explain what Individual Psychology sees as the source of the patient's problem and

c. the form of the solution, and

d. explain Adler's view of the funciton of neurosis.

3. name the founder of Analytical Psychology,

a. describe the concepts of

1) the collective unconscious,

2) archetypes and

3) the three dimensions of personality, explaining

a) the introversion-extraversion attitudes and

b) the sensing-intuiting and thinking-feeling functions, and

c) the sense in which the pairs are complementary.

b. explain what Analytical Psychology sees as the source of the patient's problem and

c. the form of the solution, and

d. describe Jung's beliefs about

1) the proper physical posture for patient and analyst,

2) the relevance of transference,

3) the use of dreams in analysis and

4) the process of active imagination.

B. describe the underlying assumptions of the behaviorist school of psychotherapy and their main criticism of psychoanalysis,

1. tell what behaviorists see as the patient's problem and as the cause of the problem,

2. state the nature of the behaviorists' solution, and

3. name and describe at least five behavioristic techniques used in therapy.

C. name "the third force" in psychology and name at least three of that school's approaches to therapy,

1. explain why it is called by that name and state the basic assumptions of that school,

2. name the founder of Client-centered Therapy and state at least two other names for this form of therapy,

a. state the therapy's assumption about the cause of the problem and

b. about the nature of the solution, stating Roger's hypothesis about helping relationships, and explain the concepts of

1) acceptance,

2) understanding and

3) congruence

c. describe what occurs during Client-centered Therapy and

d. give examples of Rogerian responses in daily life.

3. name the founder of Gestalt therapy,

a. tell what Gestalt therapy sees as the cause of the patient's problem,

b. state the form of the solution and

c. describe briefly what occurs during therapy.

4. explain briefly the focus of Existential Therapy,

a. describe May's view of existential psychology,

b. name the founder of Logotherapy,

1) state Logotherapy's view of the cause of problems,

2) the nature of the solution and

3) what should occur during therapy, and describe the techniques of

a) paradoxical intention and

b) dereflection.

D. state the basic assumption behind cognitive therapies and name at least two forms of cognitive therapy,

1. name the founder of Rational-Emotive Therapy,

a. describe what he sees as the cause of most problems,

b. his proposed solution, and

c. several of the techniques used in therapy for achieving the solution.