AV研究所

Goals and Student Learning Outcomes for Core Courses

Goal 1. Students will acquire a basic understanding of the topics studied and the methodologies used in the field of psychology.

Learning Outcome 1a: Students will be able to demonstrate a general knowledge of theories, concepts, and findings in at least one sub-field of psychology.

Learning Outcome 1b: Students will better understand some of the different methodological approaches, paradigms, and technologies that have been used to study psychological processes.

Goal 2. Students will gain critical thinking and writing skills and put them to use through the process of scientific inquiry.

Learning Outcome 2a: Students will be able to consider competing hypotheses and to understand how data can adjudicate among those hypotheses.

Learning Outcome 2b: Students will be able to evaluate critically contemporary data relating to psychology including media claims and graphical depictions of data.

Learning Outcome 2c: Students will be able to summarize psychological theory and research in concise accurate scientific writing.

Goal 3. Students will acquire a better understanding of how psychological research methods are used to address perennial questions in psychology.

Learning Outcome 3a: Students will be able to see how psychological study is complementary to other approaches to understanding and reflecting on the human condition.

Learning Outcome 3b: Students will be able to express how the material learned is relevant to aspects of their daily lives, such as their behaviors and their interactions with others.

Goal 4. Students will acquire skills to help them succeed in their personal and community lives after graduation.

Learning Outcome 4a: Students will be able to demonstrate an appreciation of the ethical issues involved in human or animal research.

Learning Outcome 4b: Students will be able to better understand themselves and others.

Goals and Student Learning Outcomes for Major Courses

The department has identified four primary learning goals for its undergraduate majors. Each goal is associated with several student learning outcomes.

Goal 1 (Psychology).聽Students will demonstrate proficiency in theories, concepts, and findings reflecting breadth of understanding in all of, and depth of understanding in a subset of, the following core areas within psychology:

• Cognitive and behavioral processes
• Biological psychology
• Development
• Individual differences
• Social and/or cultural psychology
• Psychopathology

Goal 1 (Neuroscience).聽Students will demonstrate proficiency across three core fields of neuroscience (cognitive, behavioral, and systems) including breadth of understanding across all of, and depth of understanding in a subset of, the following core concepts:聽

• Neural communication
• Evolution & development of neural systems
• Gene-environment interactions
• Neural information processing
• Neural functions and environmental regulation
• Neuroplasticity & neural circuit re-organization
• Neuroanatomical structure-function relationships

Goal 2.聽Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to read research reports critically and to carry out their own independent research.

Student Learning Outcome 2a. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of basic statistical applications in scientific research including appropriate ways of describing data and the issues involved in inferring from a sample to a population.

Student Learning Outcome 2b. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the basic methodologies used in psychological or neuroscientific research and to critically evaluate the research design of studies in their field.

Student Learning Outcome 2c. Students will be able to review the literature on a psychological or neuroscientific topic and propose future directions.

Student Learning Outcome 2d. Students will be able to demonstrate an appreciation of the ethical issues involved in human and animal research.

Goal 3.聽Students will acquire critical, scientific thinking skills.

Student Learning Outcome 3a. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the qualities of rigorous scientific research, and develop the capacity for critically evaluating evidence.聽

Student Learning Outcome 3b. Students will be able to critically evaluate when inferences about causal relations among variables are justified.

Goal 4.聽Students will acquire skills to succeed in their professional, personal, and community lives after graduation.

Student Learning Outcome 4a. Students will be able to successfully compete for admission to graduate, medical, or other professional programs in psychology, neuroscience, or related fields and to succeed in their subsequent training.

Student Learning Outcome 4b. Students will acquire skills and/or knowledge that will support them in their future professions.

Student Learning Outcome 4c. Students will be able to communicate more effectively in writing.

Student Learning Outcome 4d. Students will be able to better understand themselves and others.

Student Learning Outcome 4e. Students will have an understanding of how psychology and/or neuroscience can foster social responsibility and community engagement.