UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA

FACULTY: Education and Liberal Studies YEAR: 2021/2022

MODULE TITLE: Introduction to Psychology SEMESTER 1
MODULE CODE: PSY1002
DURATION: 45 hrs (approximately 13 weeks of instruction)
CONTACT HOURS: 2 hours per week (one-hour prerecorded lecture)
CREDIT VALUE: 3 credits
PREREQUISITE: None

1.0 MODULE DESCRIPTION

WEEK DATES TOPICS READING

1 Aug. 30- INTRODUCTION Chapter: 1
Sept,. 04 LECTURE: Introduction & Historical overview of Psychology
TUTORIAL: Fields of Psychology
2 Sept. 06 – THINKING LIKE A PSYCHOLOGIST Chapter: 1
Sept. 11 LECTURE: Research Methods in Psychology
TUTORIAL: Critical Thinking Guidelines and the role of critical
thinking in psychology and your life
3 Sept. 013– BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR Chapter: 2
Sept. 18 LECTURE: The Nervous System- Connecting Biology and
Behaviour
TUTORIAL: Genes and Behaviour & the Nature- -Nurture Debate
4 Sept. 20 – STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chapter: 4
Sept. 25 LECTURE: Sleep: Functions, Stages, & Disorders
TUTORIAL: Psychoactive Substances /Drug Dependency
GROUP PRESENTATION #1
5 Sept. 27 – LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT Chapter: 9
Oct. 02 LECTURE: Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
TUTORIAL: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development &
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
6 Oct. 04– PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING Chapter: 5
Oct. 09 LECTURE: Classical Conditioning
TUTORIAL: Operant Conditioning & Social Cognitive Learning
GROUP PRESENTATION #2
7 Oct. 11– MEMORY AND FORGETTING Chapter: 6
Oct. 16 LECTURE: Memory: Types, Stages, & Processes
TUTORIAL: Forgetting & Improving Memory
INCLASS TEST #1
8 Oct. 18 – MOTIVATION AND EMOTION Chapter: 8
Oct. 23 LECTURE: Theories of Motivation
(National TUTORIAL: Theories of Emotion
Heroes day
18/10/21)
9 Oct.25 – PERSONALITY Chapter: 10
Oct. 30 LECTURE: Psychodynamic Theories of Personality
Development

1
 TUTORIAL: Trait Theories & Personality Measurement
GROUP PRESENTATION #3
WEEK DATES TOPICS READING
10 Nov. 02 – PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Chapter: 12
Nov.07. LECTURE: Classifying Disorders
TUTORIAL: Personality Disorders
GROUP PRESENTATION #4
11 Nov. 09 – STRESS AND HEALTH Chapter: 11
Nov. 14 LECTURE: Stress and Health- The relationship
TUTORIAL: General Adaptation Syndrome (Theory)
Coping with stress (Techniques)
GROUP PRESENTATION #5
12 Nov. 16– SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter: 14
Nov. 21 LECTURE: Social Cognition /Attribution Theory
TUTORIAL: Group Behavior

13 Nov. 23 LECTURE: A video review of the Do’s and Don’ts re Portfolio

Nov 28
Distribution of take-home test for completion and submission
Nov. 23 @ 8 before 12 midnight Nov 23, 2021
am

2.0 ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES

Module requirement of: one (1) multiple choice online test, one (1) take home short answers test
one (1) group presentation, one (1) individual final paper, and individual student participation
(see breakdown below).

ASSIGNMENT WEIGHTING SUBMISSION DATES

Online Multiple-choice test 20% Test # 1 Oct. 11 – Oct. 16, 2021

Take-home short answer test 20% Test # 2 take-home short answers Nov.
short answers 23, 2021
Participation 5% Ongoing
Group (Oral) Presentation 15% Presentation # 1 Sept. 20 – Sept. 25, 2021
Presentation # 2 Oct. 04 – Oct. 29, 2021
Presentation # 3 Oct. 25 – Oct. 30, 2021
Presentation # 4 Nov. 02 – Nov. 07, 2021
Presentation # 5 Nov. 09 – Nov. 14, 2021
40% Nov. 28, 2021
Final Assignment/Portfolio
Coursework Total 100%

NB: The module coordinator reserves the right to make changes, additions, or deletions to any part of
this outline. Any changes will be noted in class. Each student is responsible for taking note of any
announced changes regardless of whether he/she is in attendance while the announcement is made.

3.0 MODULE POLICIES

2
ASSIGNMENTS
All assignments are to be submitted within the date and time given by your lecturer unless
otherwise specified by the same lecturer.
Late Policy: Late work will be penalized 10% per day, until 5 days from the due date of the
assignment; at that point, late work will NOT be accepted. Excuses such as “I overslept”,
“There was too much traffic” or “The printer wasn’t working” will not exempt you from late
penalties.
Plagiarism will not be accepted. According to the UTech Student Handbook, Plagiarism is
defined as: "presenting any material that is attributable to or the property of another person as
one's own work without acknowledging the source from which the material is taken" (UTech,
JA, 2007, p. 129). This includes:
* copying all or part of another's writings (including copy pasting from the internet)
* changing the words in someone else's work
* using another student's paper as your own
* submitting a paper for more than one class
Plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional, will result in a grade of 0 for the assignment for
all members of the group or for the individual student involved and will be turned over to the
appropriate university source for disciplinary action.
Cheating on in-class tests will also result in the same fate.

IN-CLASS TESTS

 The format of the tests will be multiple choice and will be online.
 Only students who present valid medical certificates within 5 days of a missed test will
be allowed to schedule a make-up.

4.0 BOOKS

Required text:
Morris, Charles G. and Maisto Albert A. (2010). Understanding Psychology, (10th Edition).
Pearson Education Inc.: N. J., U.S.A.

Recommended Reading
Baron, Robert A. (1997). Psychology. (4th Edition). Allyn & Bacon.
Coon, Denis and Mitterer, John O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Gateway to Mind and
Behaviour. (11th Edition). Thomson Publishing, CA, U.S.A.
Rathus, Spencer A. (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Connections. (9th Edition). Thomson
Publishing. N.Y., U.S.A.
Wade, Carole and Tavris, Carol (2008). Invitation to Psychology. (4th Edition). Pearson
Education Inc.: N. J., U.S.A.