Welcome to Introduction to Psychology as a Social Science!
Overview. This course will explore major fields of psychology that have a particular focus on the social aspects of the mind and behavior. Over the course of this quarter, we will gain an understanding of basic psychological principles and how research is conducted, before journeying through the fields of clinical, social, community, industrial-organizational (I-O), and health psychology. Along the way, we will learn about theories and research in these fields, while also applying the content to our daily lives, our local communities, and society more broadly.
This course also reflects the unique strengths of the Psychology Department at Portland State University. Although there are many sub-fields encompassed in the larger field of psychology, we focus on those that are foundational and have a broad influence, in addition to those that our Psychology Department at Portland State University specializes in. Our department is home to faculty and students with expertise in social, community, clinical, industrial-organizational (I-O), workplace health, human diversity, developmental, and quantitative (or statistical) psychology. You will see all of these areas represented in our course content.
Application. Our faculty and students are also unique in that we tend to do research that is applied in nature. This means that rather than finding us in a laboratory, we are more often out in the community, collaborating with community partners in schools, workplaces, hospitals, prisons, non-profits, and governmental agencies to solve real-world problems with field research. This course will introduce us to what this type of research looks like in practice and how we can advocate for and with our communities through our science. We will go beyond learning the course content, in order to apply the theories and principles in our own lives and real-world settings.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As we make our way through the course content, we will also be focusing on social justice issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. You will hear from a number of diverse experts through this textbook, podcasts, news articles, and other supplementary material who are addressing pressing societal issues like racism, discrimination, violence and harassment, poverty, minority health, and cultural awareness and belonging. We will discuss the history of psychology, and ways that the field has both helped and detracted from progress towards a more just society.
The Intro To Psychology As A Social Science Teaching and Learning Group
In the summer of 2021, we formed The Intro To Psychology As A Social Science Teaching and Learning Group. The team was comprised of two master teachers with decades of experience teaching the course, and two doctoral teaching assistants. The team collaborated to identify learning objectives, develop this open educational resource textbook, learning activities, and assignments.
Ongoing improvements. This is a living class that is passed on to next generations of instructors who benefit from the work that has gone before, and also add to and improve the class as they teach it. Teachers are in touch with each other via e-mail or in person over the quarter, and we act as resources for each other when questions or problems arise. We regularly meet to discuss changes and improvements to the class. The project is ongoing, and provides a rich context for the development of instructors, teaching assistants, and the class itself. We actively encourage students to join this project by providing feedback about what is working well in the course and suggestions for how it can be improved– right now and in future iterations.
Members of The Intro To Psychology As A Social Science Teaching and Learning Group. The team members who created this textbook include faculty members Tori Crain and Keith Kaufman, in addition to graduate teaching assistants Zeinab Hachem and Jennifer Saucedo.
These OER materials were converted to a Pressbook under the direction of Scott Robison, and with the help of Zeinab Hachem and Jennifer Saucedo.
