Saturday 25 April, 2009

F.Y.B.A.

The University of Mumbai
First-year BA: Paper 1 General Psychology

Objectives:
1. To impart knowledge of the basic concepts and modern trends in psychology
2. To foster interest in the subject of psychology and to create a foundation for further studies in psychology 3. To make the students aware of the applications of psychological concepts in various fields so that they understand the relevance of psychology in different areas of life
Term 1 (Topics 1 to 5)

Topic 1. The Science of Psychology (Chapter 1)
(a) What is Psychology?
(b) Psychology Then: History of Psychology
(c) Psychology Now: Modern Perspectives
(d) Types of Psychological Professionals
(e) Psychology: The Science
(f) Ethics of Psychological Research
(g) Critical Thinking
(h) Applying Psychology-Does Astrology Work?
(i) Psychology in India*

Topic 2. The Biological Perspective (Chapter 2)
(a) Neurons and Nerves: Building the Network
(b) The Central Nervous System
(c) The Peripheral Nervous System
(d) Inside the Brain and Structures of the Brain
(e) The Chemical Connection: The Endocrine Glands
(f) Applying Psychology-Differences Between Male and Female Brains

Topic 3. Consciousness: Sleep, Dreams, Hypnosis, and Drugs (Chapter 4)
(a) What is Consciousness?
(b) Altered States- Sleep
(c) Dreams
(d) Altered States-Hypnosis
(e) Altered States-Psychoactive Drugs
(f) Applying Psychology-Sleep Deprivation





Topic 4. Learning (Chapter 5)
(a) Definition of Learning
(b) Classical Conditioning
(c) Operant Conditioning
(d) Cognitive Learning Theory
(e) Observational Learning
(f) Applying Psychology-Behavior Modification of a Developmentally Challenged Child

Topic 5 Memory (Chapter 6)
(a) Memory: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval
(b) Models of Memory-LOP and PDP ,
(c) The Information-processing Model-Sensory, Short-term and Long-term memory (d) Retrieval of Long-Term Memories
(e) The Reconstructive Nature of Long-Term Memory Retrieval
(f) Forgetting
(g) Memory and the Brain-The Physical Aspects of Memory
(h) Applying Psychology--Current Research in Alzheimer's Disease

Term 2 (Topics 6 to 10)

Topic 6. Cognition: Thinking, Intelligence and Language (Chapter 8)
(a) How People Think
(b) Intelligence
(c) Language
(d) Applying Psychology Mental Exercises for Better Cognitive Health

Topic 7. Motivation and Emotion (Chapter 9)

(a) Approaches to understanding Motivation
(b) Hunger
(c) Emotion
(d) Applying Psychology-The How-To of Happiness

Topic 8 Stress and Health (Chapter 11)
(a) Stress
(b) Factors in the Stress Reaction
(c) Coping with Stress
(d) Applying Psychology-Focus on Wellness

Topic 9. Theories of Personality (Chapter 12)
(a) Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis
(b) The Behaviorist View of Personality
(c) The Social Cognitive view of Personality
(d) Humanism and Personality
(e) Trait Theories
(f) The biology of Personality: Behavioral Genetics
(g) Assessment of Personality
(h) Applying Psychology-Personality Testing on the Internet

Topic 10. Statistics in Psychology (Appendix)
(a) Why do Psychologists Use Statistics?
(b) Descriptive Statistics-Frequency Distributions, the Normal Curve, Other Distribution Types, Skewed Distributions
(c) Measures of Central Tendency-Mean, Median, Mode
(d) Measures of Variability-Range and SD;.Z-scores
(e) Inferential Statistics-Statistical Significance
(f) The Correlation Coefficient

Important Notes:
1. The following points can be covered in sub-topic 1-i `Psychology in India': The history of psychology in India; current trends and fields of applications; Indian psychologists and their contributions; Indian institutions and NGOs related to psychology; educational and career options for graduates and post-graduates in psychology. (This sub-topic is only for students' awareness, not for examination.)

2. In order to enrich learning, the contents of the CD `Live!Psych' that accompanies the textbook (interactive media simulations, animations, and experiments) should be integrated with teaching through demonstrations and discussions.

3. While teaching Topic 10, `Statistics in Psychology', raw scores can be generated by administering some simple psychological scales/personality questionnaires available online on the websites mentioned in the textbook or included in some books like
Comprehensive Stress Management by Greenberg (2002); Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century by Weiten and Lloyd (2003)

Applied Industrial/Organizational Pychology by Aamodt (2004)

Training Instruments in HRD and OD by Pareek (2003).
Or, the scores obtained by students on the quiz given in each chapter can be used for data analysis.

Book for Study

Ciccarelli, S. K. & Meyer, G. E. (2008). Psychology: The University of Mumbai Edition (New Delhi: Pearson Education).

Books for Reference

(1) Baron, R. A., & Kalsher, M. J. (2008). Pychology: From Science to Practice, 2nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn and Bacori/Pearson Education, Inc.).

(2) Ciccarelli, S. K. & Meyer, G. E. (200G). Psychology (Upper saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, first Indian reprint, 2007).

(3) Coon, D. & Mitterer, J. O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology.- Gateways to Mind and Behavior, 11 th ed (London: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, first Indian reprint, 2007).
(4) Feldman, R S. (2008). Understanding Psychology, 8th ed. (New York: McGraw- Hill Publications).
(5) Kalat, J.W (2005). Introduction to Psychology; 7th ed. (Belmont, USA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning Publications).
(6) Lahey, B. B. (2007). Psychology.-An Introduction, 9th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Publications).
(7) Passer, M. W., & Smith, R. E. (2007). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior, 3rd ed. (11 McGraw-Hill Publications).
(8) Wade, C. (2006). Psychology, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., Indian reprint
(9) Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2008). The World of Psychology, 6th ed. (Upper Saddle River, Nj : Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc.).

(10) Zimbardo, P. G., Johnson, R. L., & Weber, A. N. (2008). Psychology: Core Concepts, 5th ed. (CJ River, NJ: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc.).

Appendix
Pattern of question paper to be brought into force with effect from the academicyear 2008-09.
Duration of examination = 2 hours Marks = 50
• Question no. 6 is compulsory; any three more questions to be attempted out of the remaining five questions
• The first 5 questions carry 12 marks each, and question no. 6 carries 14 marks.
• Question nos 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be on the 5 topics covered in the term.
• Question no. 6-Write 4 short notes out of 5, each of 3 'marks; one short note to be given from each of the 5 topics.
• The Question on Topic 10-Statistics in Psychology will have 2 parts: A and B.
A. Theoretical question for 5 marks.
B. Calculation of mean, median, and mode of given raw scores for 7 marks.
Number of scores should be between 9 and 12. Scores can be 2-digit or 3-digit. Use of calculators is not allowed. The marks for mean, median, and mode will be 4, 2, and 1, respectively.

1 comment: