Introductory Psychology

At the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. explain what psychology is; 2. discuss major concepts in psychology; 3. express the influence of heredity and influence on human development; 4. discuss processes and stages of human development; 5. identify developmental disorders in childhood and adulthood; and 6. explain psychopathology and psychotherapy.

Introduction to Psychology. Fields of application of Psychology. The influence of heredity and environment on the individual. Learning – theories and principles of learning. Learning disabilities. Memory – types, theories of memory and forgetting. Methods to improve memory. Thinking – the process of thinking, problem-solving, decision making and creative thinking. Motivation - theories and types of motivation. Emotions - theories of emotions and stress, Emotional and behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence, Disorders of under and over controlled behaviour, Eating disorders. Attitudes – theories, attitudes and behaviour. Factors in attitude change. Intelligence - theories of intelligence, I.Q., general intelligence and special intelligence. Intelligence tests, and their uses. Personality. Theories of personality. Factors influencing personality. Personality disorders. Conflict and frustration - Common defensive mechanism. Identification, regression, repression, projection, sublimation and rationalization. Attention and Perception: Nature of attention, factors determining attention, nature of perception, principle of perceptual grouping; illusions and Hallucination. Counselling - Aims and principles. Development and growth of behaviour in infancy and childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Normal and abnormal. Psychotherapy – introduction to paradigms in psychopathology and therapy. Mental deficiency –a)Mental retardation, b) Autistic behaviour c) Learning disabilities.