GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

General Psychology provides a foundation for understanding how and why people behave the way they do. The course covers:

1. Introduction to Psychology

  • Definition, goals (description, explanation, prediction, control)

  • Psychology as a science

  • Major fields: clinical, counseling, social, educational, developmental, industrial/organizational, etc.

  • Research methods: observation, experiment, survey, case study, interview

2. Biological Basis of Behavior

  • Neurons and nervous system

  • Brain structure and function

  • Endocrine (hormonal) system

  • Relationship between biology and behavior, emotion, motivation

3. Sensation, Attention, and Perception

  • Sensory processes and thresholds

  • Factors affecting attention

  • Perceptual organization (Gestalt principles)

  • Depth perception, illusions

4. Learning

  • Definition and factors influencing learning

  • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

  • Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

  • Trial and Error (Thorndike)

  • Cognitive learning (Insight, Observational learning)

5. Memory and Forgetting

  • Stages: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

  • Types: Sensory, Short-Term (STM), Long-Term (LTM)

  • Causes of forgetting (interference, decay, repression)

  • Techniques for improving memory

6. Motivation and Emotion

  • Biological and social motives (hunger, thirst, achievement, affiliation)

  • Theories of motivation (Drive, Incentive, Maslow)

  • Nature and expression of emotions

  • Theories of emotion (James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, Schachter–Singer)

7. Intelligence

  • Definition and measurement (IQ)

  • Major theories (Spearman, Gardner, Sternberg)

  • Individual differences

  • Emotional Intelligence (EI)

8. Personality

  • Meaning, traits, and determinants (heredity, environment)

  • Personality theories: Psychoanalytic (Freud), Trait theories, Humanistic views

  • Personality assessment (inventory tests, projective tests)