What is the purpose of psychology education?

As the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, psychology examines all aspects of the human experience. Many of society’s challenging issues involve human behavior, such as environmental change and the problems of violence, bullying, prejudice, and discrimination. Psychology contributes to the understanding of these issues, and promotes improvement in health and wellbeing. Psychological literacy is a foundation for civic engagement and is necessary for citizens to make informed decisions about their daily lives. Psychology incorporates a variety of tools and knowledge to further the understanding of behavior and mental processes. Scientific inquiry and research methods are at the center of the discipline. Psychology promotes the measurement and explication of behavior in a variety of levels of study, ranging from genetic and brain-based influences on behavior to cultural and social influences. Psychological knowledge enhances our understanding of human development, emotion and motivation, cognition, learning processes, perceptual systems and sociocultural interactions. Psychology prepares students to enter the workforce or college by promoting skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork. Students benefit from learn- ing and applying psychological perspectives on personal and contemporary issues and learn the rules of evidence and theoretical frameworks of the discipline. --C3 Framework

Units of study in psychology

Intro to Psychology

Introduction to psychology, use of the scientific method, pseudo psychology, studying psychology, theories of psychology.

Learning and Memory

Operant conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning, systems of memory, long term memory, memory strategies, forgetting

Development

Prenatal, infancy, early childhood, childhood, adolescence, the brain development

Sensation and Perception

The 7 senses, vision, the Gestalt principle, perception

Health and Stress

Consciousness, adaptation, drugs and their effects, sleep, exercise, state of being, cognition, language, intelligence

Consciousness

Development of consciousness, levels of development, self-actualization, Erikson's theory, dreaming

Abnormal Psychology

Categorizing abnormal psychology, use of therapy, societal pressures on those with abnormal psychology

Social Psychology

Systems theory, attraction, relationships, groups, prejudice, conformity, cults, altruism, defense mechanisms

Designing a Study

Incorporating NHD into your course, and challenging students to design a psychological study themselves

Additional Resources for Lesson Plans and Activites

The American Psychological Association highlights here 54 possible topics to include in your classroom, highlighting three current events surrounding the world of psychology
The American Psychological Association's collection of unit plans available at a range of complexity
The Association for Psychological Science offers Lesson Plans covering myths versus realities in Psychology
Lesson Plans designed for a homeschooling environment, but easily adaptable to a public school classroom
EDS Resources offers thousands of lesson plans covering Psychology, Sociology, and many other Social Studies topics
This website is the property of the Social Studies Education program at Plymouth State University.