PSYC101- Full Course – 2018

PSYC101 Week 2 Forum

General posting requirements can be viewed by
clicking the Week 2 Forum “View Full Description” link on the Forums
screen under the heading”Forum General Posting Requirements”. All
forums in this course have the same general posting requirements.

Imagine you are going to conduct research investigating a human behavior that
you would be interested in learning more about.

1. Based on your readings and learning this
week describe what research method you would use for investigating it.

2.What drew you to this method? Why would it
be well suited for your hypothetical research?

3.What are the strengths and weaknesses of
this type of research?

4.When responding to your classmates for the
reply posts requirement, take their research topic of interest and recommend a
different type of research approach to the study of the topic they chose (Ex:
“Another method that might also work is _______” or “Have you
thought of the _________ method?” – we want to be respectful and
professional and not criticize a classmate’s method choice) and explain why you
would recommend that alternative method.

To help jump start this part of the
discussion, here is an example of a human behavior that has been researched:
Say you were interested in whether men or women approach each other first in
social situations where they do not know one another. You might have an opinion
based on personal experience, but you want to avoid bias toward one’s own
experience and ideas that such might cause, so you are going to conduct a
research study. To research this, you might choose “naturalistic
observation,” which could require going into nightclubs and taking note of
what you observe men and women doing. Another research method would be to give
out a survey to see how men and women respond to the question of whether they
approach the other. Each method has strengths and weaknesses.

Be sure to check before posting that you have
answered all of the questions, that you are basing your statements on concepts
you learned about in your weekly readings and activities where required and
that your post meets the general posting requirements located under the “View
Full Description” link below the main Forum heading.

 

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 3 Forum

Before responding to the questions below,
click on the “Lessons” link on the left and complete the Week 3:
Topic 3 – Memory lesson. After completing the lesson, return to the forum here,
click the “Post New Conversation” link at the top Week 3 Forum screen, and
respond to the following questions.

General posting requirements can be viewed by
clicking the Week 3 Forum “View Full Description” link on the Forums
screen under the heading “Forum General Posting Requirements”.

A great deal of controversy has surrounded the
phenomenon of “false memory syndrome” and the implications that it has had in
our society, particularly in the legal realm. One of the most influential
psychologists in the area of memory and eye witness testimony is Dr. Elizabeth
Loftus, who has spent three decades as a research psychologist and memory
expert in legal cases. To learn more about the controversy surrounding “false
memory syndrome,” visit the online LA Weekly website at

http://www.laweekly.com/2004-08-19/news/memory-and-manipulation/
to read the article, “Memory and Manipulation.”

Based on the points that the Loftus article
brings up and your readings and research this week respond to the following:

What kind of implications do particular
limitations of human memory have on the use of eye-witness testimony in
criminal and civil court cases?

 

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 4 Forum

General posting requirements can be viewed by
clicking the Week 4 Forum “View Full Description” link on the Forums
screen under the heading”Forum General Posting Requirements”. All
forums in this course have the same general posting requirements.

As we reach the midpoint of our course, it is
a good time to connect with each other to begin thinking about what comes next.
Please reflect upon and answer the following questions:

• What do you hope to do with your degree?
• Which course(s) will you take next?
• Why do those courses interest you?
• What do you hope to learn from your program?
• How might it help you advance your current career or
  prepare for your future?
• Are there any obstacles you foresee?
• How will you work to overcome them?
• What questions do you have about your program or future
  career goals to which your peers or instructor might be able to respond?

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 5 Forum

General posting requirements can be viewed by
clicking the Week 5 Forum “View Full Description” link on the Forums
screen under the heading “Forum General Posting Requirements”.

Before responding to the questions below,
click on the “Lessons” link on the left and complete the Week 5:
Topic 1 – Learning lesson. After completing the lesson, return to the forum
here, click the “Post New Conversation” link at the top Week 5 Forum screen,
and respond to the following questions.

Consider a behavior that you would like to
teach someone. This could be a friend, a child, a co-worker, etc. Describe the
behavior and select one of the learning theories we learned about this week
(i.e. observational learning, operant conditioning, etc.) as the framework for
how you would teach the person that behavior. Explain how you would ensure they
have learned the behavior and why you felt that approach would work best for
the particular behavior and setting. What challenges do you encounter to the
learning process using your planned approach?

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 6 Forum

General posting requirements can be viewed by
clicking the Week 6 Forum “View Full Description” link on the Forums
screen under the heading “Forum General Posting Requirements”.

Before responding to the questions below,
click on the “Lessons” link on the left and complete the Week 6:
Topics 1 and 2 – Psychological Disorders and Therapy and Treatmentlessons.
After completing the lesson, return to the forum here, click the “Post New
Conversation” link at the top Week 6 Forum screen, and respond to the following
questions.

This week we studied psychological disorders.
Which of the disorders covered in your lessons do you think would be the most
challenging to have and why? Which of its symptoms would prove the most
difficult for you? What would you most need from society and loved ones if you
had the disorder you selected? What might be some treatment options you could
pursue to alleviate symptoms of your selected disorder?

 

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 7 Forum

Below are the Week 7 Forum Topic instructions.
General posting requirements can be viewed by clicking the Week 7 Forum
“View Full Description” link on the Forums screen under the heading
“Forum General Posting Requirements”.

Before responding to the questions below,
click on the “Lessons” link on the left and complete the Week 7:
Topic 1 – Social Psychology lesson. After completing the lesson, return to the
forum here, click the “Post New Conversation” link at the top Week 7 Forum
screen, and respond to the following questions.

One of the most famous psychological
experiments of all time, was conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo and his
colleagues at Stanford University. To read more of the details of this
experiment, visit http://www.prisonexp.org. Take some time to watch the video
on the Zimbardo Prison Experiment by clicking here. After reading about the
experiment, exploring the website and watching the video, answer the following:

1. Was it ethical to do the prison study in
the way that Zimbardo conducted it? Why or why not? Explain your position
substantively.

2. What social psychological constructs did
the study reveal? Would the same information have been learned if the study had
been conducted differently? If yes, how might you adapt the study to address ethical
concerns and still obtain results relevant to our understanding of behavior in
social settings?

3. How do the social psychology concepts of
conformity and the power of the social situation that we are studying this week
relate to what happened during the brief period of time that the prison study
ran. Where in the description of how the study unfolded did we see evidence of
these concepts?

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 8 Forum

Reflection on Learning

1. Share three “take-away” elements of the course that added to your
understanding of human psychology and that you believe will serve you well in
the future in both your personal and professional lives and explain why.

NOTE: Here you are sharing learning that was
and that you believe will remain of value to you, not chapter reviews. Be
thorough, thoughtful and focused in this part of the post. Think about what
stood out to you and why it did during the 8 weeks.

2. Describe the three most meaningful experiences you had while participating
in the course discussions with your classmates.

3. Complete the sentence below. In filling in the blanks, think about
information that you learned in completion of the course and elaborate in the
space following the word “because” on why you picked what you did .

If I could pick just one thing that the world would be well served to better
understand about psychology it would be ________________. I chose this because
________________.

 

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 3 Assignment

Assignment Instructions

Week 3 Assignment: Stroop Effect

Visit the following website and follow the
directions on screen to complete the Stroop Effect Exercise. Complete the
practice exercise once, then the Stroop effect exercise once. Record your times
for each. Then complete the practice exercise again, and the Stroop effect
exercise again. Again, record your times for each.

http://www.math.unt.edu/~tam/SelfTests/StroopEffects.html

Complete the worksheet in the attached
document and submit your completed worksheet here in the Week 3 Assignment:
Stroop Effect area in the Assignments link in the classroom no later than 11:55
pm EST Sunday. Be sure to make clear connections to at least two terms,
concepts, or research findings from your readings or other scholarly sources to
support your responses. Include any references used on a separate reference
page at the end of the worksheet. References should be formatted in APA format
both in-text and on your reference page. Please visit the APUS Writing Center
or the Purdue OWL website for examples of APA formatted references.

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 3 Assignment

Assignment Instructions

Week 3 Assignment: Stroop Effect

Visit the following website and follow the
directions on screen to complete the Stroop Effect Exercise. Complete the
practice exercise once, then the Stroop effect exercise once. Record your times
for each. Then complete the practice exercise again, and the Stroop effect
exercise again. Again, record your times for each.

http://www.math.unt.edu/~tam/SelfTests/StroopEffects.html

Complete the worksheet in the attached
document and submit your completed worksheet here in the Week 3 Assignment:
Stroop Effect area in the Assignments link in the classroom no later than 11:55
pm EST Sunday. Be sure to make clear connections to at least two terms,
concepts, or research findings from your readings or other scholarly sources to
support your responses. Include any references used on a separate reference page
at the end of the worksheet. References should be formatted in APA format both
in-text and on your reference page. Please visit the APUS Writing Center or the
Purdue OWL website for examples of APA formatted references.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 5 Assignment

Assignment Instructions

Sleep Journal and
Reflection Project

The meaning, origin, and analysis of dreams
have fascinated psychologists since the inception of the field of psychology.
Sigmund Freud, often referred to as the father of psychology, focused a great
deal of his theoretical energy on trying to understand and interpret dreams.

Contemporary psychologists are beginning to
recognize the interconnectivity of human physiology and psychology in a way not
previously understood. This is in part because of new interest in holistic
health and in part because of brain/body connections we are now able to see and
understand for the first time due to enhanced technology. Yoga, mindfulness,
healthy eating, meditation, holistic health – all of these practices are
gaining more traction in mainstream society and among psychological circles as
we recognize how the mind and body work together. In light of this growing area
of interest in psychology, for this assignment you will maintain a sleep/dream
journal during weeks 3 and 4, and complete an analysis and reflection on your
experience in a summary reflection paper in week 5.

Specifically, for this assignment you will:

• Keep a sleep/dream journal for at least 10 days
  throughout Weeks 3 and 4. In your journal make note of:
  • any dreams you had
  • any initial thoughts about the
    dream – events of the day that may relate, etc.
  • your general sleep schedule (if
    you have a tracker such as fitbit, include data on your sleep patterns as
    well – wakefulness, restlessness, times asleep/awake per night, total
    sleep, etc.)
  • your general eating habits by day
  • your general exercise habits by day
  • anything else of note in your
    psychological or physical health (stress, excitement, changes, etc.)
• You may use any format you wish to record the data
  (notepad, computer, hardcopy spreadsheet, etc.).
• Complete a 3-4 page reflection (not counting title or reference
  pages) in which you analyze the results of your sleep/dream journal.
  Consider how your psychological and physical health interacted. What
  patterns did you see? Discuss the impact that various factors such as
  fatigue, diet, stress and exercise had on your dreams and sleep patterns.
  Explain how this insight may impact your behaviors in the future to lead
  to better psychological and physical health.
• Utilize at least 2 academic resources (your course
  readings can comprise one of the sources) to support your analysis and
  discussion.

 

 

 

 

PSYC101 Week 7 Assignment

Week 7 Exercise: Prosocial Behavior

Much of what we tend to focus on when we study
social psychology are topics that often have a negative connotation such as
conformity, prejudice, aggression or obedience. A huge component of the study
of social psychology; however, focuses on prosocial behavior – behaviors that
focus on compassion and helping others. For this activity, you will focus on
this more uplifting aspect of social psychology. Topics that fall under the
area of prosocial behavior include altruism, helping, bystander intervention,
empathy, and compassion, among others.

For this exercise, pick one day and seek to
structure your thoughts and behaviors entirely around helping others. With each
interaction or action you take, pause to think and ask yourself “is there a way
I might help another here?” Hold a door for someone, offer your seat, share a
smile, give a sincere compliment, show empathy to another, attempt to be more
patient or understanding, etc. Your efforts should be in social settings that
involve interactions with others (rather than something such as donating to a
charity for instance). The goal is to be as thoughtfully prosocial in your
interactions throughout the day as possible.

• At the beginning of the day, jot down your general
  mood, feelings, attitude, etc.
• Then throughout the day, whenever possible, carry a
  small notebook with you or make notes in an app on your phone to jot down
  meaningful encounters or experiences as you attempt to engage in prosocial
  behaviors.
• At the end of the day, again reflect and take notes on
  how you feel, your general mood, feelings and attitudes, etc.

In a 5-7 slide PowerPoint presentation, not
counting title or reference slides:

• Summarize your experience. Describe the prosocial
  behaviors you engaged in, others’ reactions to these behaviors, and your
  assessment of any changes in mood, attitude, good fortune, or anything
  else of note you experienced.
• Review what you have learned about human behavior in
  social settings this week in your readings and CogBooks activities.
  Connect what you learned or experienced through your day of conscious,
  prosocial behavior with the terms, concepts, and theories from your
  research. Integrate at least two academic sources (your assigned
  readings/resources can comprise one of these sources), citing any
  references used in APA format.
• Describe any new insights you gained through this
  experience about your interactions with others on a daily basis, including
  any behaviors you wish to change or to continue.
• Use the features of PowerPoint to your advantage to
  communicate your ideas – include pictures, audio recorded narration,
  speaker’s notes, video, links, etc. as appropriate to enhance your ideas.
• Include an APA formatted title slide and reference
  slide. APA components such as an abstract, headings, etc. are not required
  since this is a PowerPoint presentation.