Introduction to Psychology

Description of Course Goals and Curriculum

The study of human nature from the viewpoint of psychological science. Topics range from the biological basis of perception, learning, stress, and consciousness to the social-psychological determinants of individual and group behavior. Lectures will provide a broad survey of topics and findings in psychology. Labs focus on the methods and issues involved in conducting empirical research in psychology and neuroscience. This course meets twice a week for 50 minute lectures, and once a week for a 3 hour lab. Assignments include a midterm and final exam, and weekly lab problem sets.

Learning From Classroom Instruction

In lecture, you will learn about many psychological phenomena. In lab, you will learn basic coding in R and will participate in a variety of experiments and experimental analysis.

Learning For and From Assignments

The textbook gives you a good overview about the lectures, and the lab assignments are helpful for learning how to code in R and create experiments.

External Resources

Comer, R. & Gould, E. (2013). Psychology around us (2nd EDITION).

What Students Should Know About This Course For Purposes Of Course Selection

IF you are looking to take an easy lab course, this one probably isn't the best choice. The labs are somewhat difficult. However, if you are interested in being a psych major, or are interested in psychology in general, definitely take this class! It is a great overview of the field. Although, Nick Turk-Browne no longer works at Princeton.