Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Inleiding in de Psychologie
Entry requirements
None
Description
The course provides a representative and coherent overview of the entire discipline. It is representative because it constitutes a first acquaintance with the main currents and themes within psychology. It is coherent because it introduces students to the different psychological subdisciplines emphasizing their common elements; this is in contrast to a presentation of the field as the mere sum of relatively unrelated subdisciplines.
Course objectives
Students will acquire:
Basic knowledge of the historical developments that have contributed to what has become the academic discipline of psychology and of the main theories within the different branches of psychology, with an emphasis on how these are related.
An understanding of how empirical research within psychology leads to the formation of theories, of how psychological theories are tested in research and of the practical application of psychological theories.
Timetable
For the timetables of your lectures, workgroups, and exams, select your study programme.
Psychology timetables
Registration
Course
First year students are automatically enrolled for courses, but do need to register themselves for the exam.
Other students do not only need to register for exams themselves, but also for lectures and work group sessions. For information on registration periods consult the bachelor course registration
Examination
Students are not automatically enrolled for an examination. They can register via uSis from 100 to 10 calendar days before the date; students who are not registered will not be permitted to take the examination.
Consult the first year guide in the info for first year students International Bachelor in Psychology
Mode of instruction
15 2-hour lectures and 8 2-hour work group sessions
The course comprises 15 2-hour lectures. The lecturers present 1 or 2 chapters from the course textbook (Gray and Bjorklund, see under Reading ) per lecture and help students prepare for the examination by explaining, clarifying and providing examples. They also indicate what is essential learning and what is less important. Furthermore, the lecturers discuss different or new perspectives, provide current material and explore topics in depth, or conversely, place the psychological knowledge presented in the textbook in a wider context.
The work group sessions consists of one lecturer to a maximum of 24 students (2 tutorial groups combined). With the exception of week 40 (the week of 3 October) and the examination week, the work groups will meet every week, making 8 meetings in all. Attendance is mandatory. In the work group sessions the lecturers help students prepare for the exam. This does not mean that only examination material will be discussed: the aim is also to explore topics in more depth and stimulate enthusiasm for the study of psychology. Students are expected to participate actively in these meetings.
At each session students complete a short test (essay questions) on their basic knowledge (see course objective above) of the material in the chapters discussed. The lecturers award students ‘good’, ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ and this is score is converted to a mark for the work group sessions (for the exact calculation, see the Course Workbook).
Assessment method
The final examination consists of 50 multiple-choice questions, primarily testing the course objectives above. Students can register for the final examination via uSis from 100 to 10 calendar days before the examination itself; students who have not registered will not be permitted to take the examination. For the examination students are required to study the course book by Gray and Bjorklund in its entirety, with the exception of the Statistical Appendix.
In week 40 students may take an online test comprising 30 multiple-choice questions, covering chapters 1-8 of the course book. This test is important for students and the teaching staff in the Bachelor’s programme in Psychology. Students receive feedback on the effectiveness of their study methods so far, and the students’ marks give staff an indication of student progress so far. The mark for the online mock will not count towards the final mark for the course, which comprises the mark for the examination (70%) and the work-group sessions (30%). Compensation for a fail for the work group or the examination is allowed, provided both marks are no lower than a 5.0. The work group mark will be carried over to any examination resits. Regulations on grade calculation.
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has instituted that instructors use a software programme for the systematic detection of plagiarism in students’ written work. In case of fraud disciplinary actions will be taken. Please see the information concerning fraud.
Reading list
Gray, P. and Bjorklund, D.F. (2014), Psychology (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. ISBN-10: 1464141959 ISBN-13: 978-1464141959
An Introduction to Psychology Course Book has been compiled to help students study Gray and Bjorklund’s book. This contains study questions on important topics for each chapter. In the workbook students will also find examples of exam questions and information on the video segments that are shown and discussed in the work group sessions. The study questions serve as guidelines for the weekly textbook chapter discussions. The workbook also contains more detailed information on how the work group mark (see Mode of Instruction) is calculated, and how it contributes to the final mark. The workbook will be available as of August via Readeronline.
Contact information
Dr. Pascal Haazebroek
phaazebroek@fsw.leidenuniv.nl