Course

An Introduction to Psychology (I)

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 1100
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
Psychology 1100 provides an introduction to selected areas in the field of psychology. Emphasis is placed on psychology as a natural science (theories, methodology and statistics) and the focus is on the investigation of major basic psychological processes such as sensation, perception, learning, memory, consciousness, the biological foundations of behaviour, and life span development.
Course content
  1. Foundations of Psychology
    • What is psychology?
    • Scientific attitudes and theories
    • Psychology’s methods and aims
    • Critical thinking
    • The scientific method
    • Statistical reasoning
  2. Biological Roots of Behaviour
    • Neural communication
    • The nervous systems
    • The brain’s structures and functions
    • The endocrine system
    • Tools for examining the brain
  3. Consciousness
    • Defining and measuring consciousness
    • Daydreaming
    • Sleep and dreams
    • Hypnosis
    • Drugs and consciousness
  4. The Nature and Nurture of Human Behaviour
    • Biological influences over behaviour
    • Environmental influences over behaviour, especially culture
    • Development of gender
  5. Development Over the Life Span
    • Developmental issues (e.g. nature or nurture)
    • Prenatal development
    • Infancy
    • Childhood
    • Adolescence and adulthood
  6. Sensation
    • Sensing the world - basic principles
    • Vision
    • Hearing
    • The other senses
    • Effects of sensation on behaviour
  7. Perception
    • Basic issues in perception (e.g. innate versus learned)
    • Perceptual organization
    • Perceptual interpretation
    • Extrasensory perception
  8. Learning
    • Classical conditioning
    • Operant conditioning
    • Observational learning
    • Cognitive interpretations
  9. Memory
    • Studying memory
    • Forming memories: encoding, storage, retrieval
    • Forgetting
    • Memory construction
    • Improving memory.
Learning activities

The primary method of instruction will be the lecture, but the course may involve various other methods of instruction such as small group activities, discussion groups, seminars, oral presentations, laboratory demonstrations, field trips, computer simulations, videos, film, or guest lectures.

Means of assessment

The course evaluation will be in accordance with ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½and Psychology Department policies. Evaluations will be based on the course objectives. The specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

 

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Four multiple choice tests at 15% each    60%
One written final exam  20%
Laboratory activities    5%
Attendance and participation    5%
APA-style written assignment  10%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

  1. Define psychology, and give examples of different kinds of phenomena that psychologists study.
  2. Identify areas of specialization and list and describe the major perspectives in psychology.
  3. Describe the experimental methodology and statistical approaches used in contemporary psychology.
  4. Outline the major divisions and subdivisions of the nervous system and their relation to behaviour.
  5. Describe the various theories and phenomena involved in sensation and perception.
  6. Define learning and memory and describe the various paradigms and procedures used in these areas of research.
  7. Identify various states of consciousness including sleep, hypnosis and the effects of various drugs on consciousness.
  8. Explain the complex nature of life span development and compare and contrast various theories in developmental psychology.
  9. Write a report demonstrating basic knowledge of APA (American Psychological Association) style.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

 

Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:

Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., Wegner, D. M., Nock, M. K., & Johnsrude, I. (2015). Psychology (3rd Canadian ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers 

 

Note: The textbook choice will be used in both PSYC 1100 and PSYC 1200.

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see

Institution Transfer details for PSYC 1100
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX PSYC 101 (3)
Athabasca University (AU) AU PSYC 289 (3)
BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) BCIT PSYC 1101 (3)
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO PSYC 110 (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PSYC 100 (3)
Coast Mountain College (CMTN) CMTN PSYC 101 (3)
College of New Caledonia (CNC) CNC PSYC 101 (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR PSYC 101 (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU PSYC 101 (3)
Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) FDU PSYC 1201 (3)
Fraser International College (FIC) FIC PSYC 100 (3)
Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) JIBC PSYC 1100 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PSYC 1100 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PSYC 1115 (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC PSY 130 (3)
Okanagan College (OC) DOUG PSYC 1100 (3) & DOUG PSYC 1200 (3) = OC PSYC 111 (3) & OC PSYC 121 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PSYC 100 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PSYC 1110 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PSYC 105 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO PSYO_O 111 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV PSYC_V 101 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PSYC 101 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PSYC 101 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PSYC 100A (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC PSYC 1100 (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PSYC 111 (3)

Course Offerings

Summer 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3410
Times:
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3410
Times:
Start Time
11:30
-
End Time
14:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3410
Times:
Start Time
14:30
-
End Time
17:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1024
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3412
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1024
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3412
Times:
Start Time
15:30
-
End Time
18:20
CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1020
Times:
Start Time
15:30
-
End Time
18:20
Section notes

Section note: Pre-reqs & Course Info: /course/psyc-1100 Students are welcome to enroll in PSYC 1100 and PSYC 1200 in any order or even concurrently, as these introductory courses are designed to complement each other without requiring prerequisites. Question: I have questions about pathways towards a Psych degree. Who should I contact? Answer: The Pathways Coordinator, rocheforts@douglascollege.ca

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1020
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20
Section notes

Section note: Pre-reqs & Course Info: /course/psyc-1100 Students are welcome to enroll in PSYC 1100 and PSYC 1200 in any order or even concurrently, as these introductory courses are designed to complement each other without requiring prerequisites. Question: I have questions about pathways towards a Psych degree. Who should I contact? Answer: The Pathways Coordinator, rocheforts@douglascollege.ca

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
Online
Room
ONLINE
Times:
-
Section notes

PSYC 1100 090 - All course activities will be asynchronous. Students will not be required to be online at specific scheduled times.