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UBCx: PSYC.1x AP® Psychology - Part 1: What is Psychology?

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AP® PSYCHOLOGY COURSE SEQUENCE

This psychology course sequence will introduce you to some of the major research areas within the field of psychology: the scientific study of behaviour. The course sequence begins with an overview of psychology and its research methods, and then covers several fundamental topics in psychology. The course sequence is meant to prepare you for the AP® Psychology exam.

The course sequence is comprised of 6 massively open online courses (MOOCs). The course sequence uses an open-source text that is supplemented by many video-based lectures, quizzes, and online resources. In addition, the course contains interviews with some leading research psychologists and demonstrations of interesting psychological phenomena.

Learning Goals for the Course Sequence

By the end of this course sequence, you should be able to:
  1. Define modern psychology and identify the major perspectives within it.
  2. Understand and explain the various research methods that have been employed by psychologists.
  3. Use and interpret basic statistics.
  4. Explain the concept of an 'experiment'; its strengths and its weaknesses.
  5. Recognize, recall, connect, and evaluate psychological concepts and theories from specific subfields (e.g., biological and cognitive psychology).
  6. Critically evaluate new evidence about behaviour that you encounter in your daily life.
  7. Use effective evidence-based study strategies based on current psychological research.

COURSE 1: HOW PSYCHOLOGY WORKS

Historical and Modern Approaches to Psychological Research

Duration

The course is offered in a self-paced format, meaning that there are no due dates and you can move through the course at your own pace.

Estimated Student Time Commitment

This course is divided into 3 parts. Each part corresponds to roughly one week's worth of work (though note that some parts might require more work for you, depending on your background, than other parts). For each part, you can expect to spend approximately 8-10 hours, including watching the videos, doing the readings, completing the reading review questions and lecture self-check questions, completing the quiz and participating in the discussion forums.

Learning Goals for Course 1

By the end of this course you should be able to:
  1. Explain what psychology is and isn't.
  2. Describe the history and evolution of the field of psychology.
  3. Describe the different types of psychologists and explain the sorts of work that each type of psychologist is engaged in.
  4. Understand the nature of scientific inquiry.
  5. Describe the different sorts of research methods used within psychology.
  6. Understand and use basic descriptive statics.
  7. Understand the purposes of inferential statistics, and be able to intepret some basic inferential statistics.

Parts of Course 1

Part 1: What is Psychology?

Readings: OpenStax Psychology: Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 1, Sections 1.1 to 1.4.

Part 2: Research Methods Part 1

Readings: OpenStax Psychology: Chapter 2 Introduction; Chapter 2, Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.4.

Part 3: Research Methods Part 2

Readings: OpenStax Psychology: Chapter 2, Section 2.3.

EVALUATION

During this course, you will be evaluated in the following ways:

1. Self-Check Questions: Video Lectures (10%):

During this course there will be self-check questions associated with most of the course videos. You must complete all self-check questions to get full marks. All self-check questions will use the multiple choice format.

2. Readings Review Questions (5%):

Near the beginning of each part of the course, there will be questions that will allow you to assess your knowledge of the assigned readings. You must complete all readings review questions to get full marks. All readings review questions will use the multiple choice format.

3. Quizzes: Readings and Lectures (20%):

At the end of each part of the course, there will be a quiz that will test your knowledge of both the readings and the lectures. Your scores on all of these quizzes will be averaged to obtain this portion of your grade in each course. All quizzes will use the multiple-choice format.

4. Responses to Discussion Questions (5%):

During each part of the course, there will multiple discussion questions. You must respond to each of the discussion questions to receive full marks.

5. Exam (60%):

At the end of the course, there will be one exam that will include 100 multiple-choice questions and two written-answer questions. Exams are designed to be very similar in format to the AP Psychology exam. The multiple-choice portion of the exam will be worth 83.3% of your grade on the exam, and the written-answer portion of the exam will be worth 16.7% of your grade on the exam.

Passing the Course

In order to pass the course, students are required to achieve a minimum overall grade of 70%.

Certificates

Students who choose to receive a Verified Certificate of Achievement are required to achieve a minimum overall grade of 70%.