INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY TEACHING PRIMER Early Career ...

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont)
1.3: Use the concepts, language, and major theories of the discipline to account for
psychological phenomena.
Describe behavior and mental processes empirically, including operational
definitions
Identify antecedents and consequences of behavior and mental processes
Interpret behavior and mental processes at an appropriate level of
complexity
Use theories to explain and predict behavior and mental processes
Integrate theoretical perspectives to produce comprehensive and
multifaceted explanations
1.4: Explain major perspectives of psychology (e.g., behavioral, biological,
cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural).
Compare and contrast major perspectives
Describe advantages and limitations of major theoretical perspectives
2.5: Follow the APA Ethics Code in the treatment of human and non-human
participants in the design, data collection, interpretation, and reporting of
psychological research
(as suggested by APA guidelines, 2007)
POSSIBLE ASSESSMENTS
(Out of Class)
Levels of Analysis: Using their textbooks, have students write a short paper comparing the
different ways in which the nervous system can be studied (e.g., clinical observations,
experimental techniques, neuroimaging techniques). (LO 1.2a, 1.2c, 1.4)
Neuroanatomy: Provide students with diagrams and have them label the lobes and other major
areas of the brain and describe their primary function(s). (LO 1.3)
Myths of the Brain: Have students read and respond to the Top Ten Myths of the Brain
(http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Top-Ten-Myths-About-the-Brain.html). (LO 1.2d)
Have students choose an animal study that is described in their text (e.g., Harlow) and write a
short paper about the knowledge that was gained from the study contrasted with the costs to the
animal subjects. (LO 2.5)
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