PSY 101 Introductory Psychology

Instructor: Vincent W. Hevern, S.J., Ph.D.

 Fall 2025

• Effects of Attractive Physical Appearance
• "In" versus "Out" group membership: Attitudes
• Internal vs. External Attribution
• Bernard Weiner's two-factor theory of attributions
• Recent model of what happens in the Fundamental Attribution Error
• Individualist vs. Collectivist Cultures
• Hofstede's Individualism (loose ties) vs. Collectivism (strong ties to others)
• What are the key factors in attraction?
• Physical attractiveness
• Similarity
• Reciprocity
• Proximity (mere exposure effect)
• Communication style
• Behavioral displays
• Passionate vs. Companionate love
• Adult attachment styles related to early life attachment
• How has the Internet impacted close relationships
• need to belong/present ourselves positively
• mixed outcomes of online dating sites
• Evolutionary standards for attraction
• facial symmetry
• waist-to-hip ratio (in women)
• youthfulness & physical beauty
• ambition, social status, financial potential
• What are the three components of an attitude?
• How does learning theory relate to the formation of an attitude?
  
• What is the Elaboration Likelihood model for persuasion
• Major findings of Solomon Asch's Conformity experiments in the 1950
• Growing group size increased conformity
• Lack of group unanimity decreased conformity
• Design and major findings of Milgram's Obedience studies of 1960s
• What might have been wrong about the way Milgram's studies were reported or carried out?
• Where do prejudicial attitudes come from?
  
• Design, findings, & critiques of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971
• Social roles
• Power of the situation
• "experiment" as theater piece
• ethical problems
• Play acting
• How does "belief in a just world" affect how people behave or think?
  

• Unconscious: difference between the noun and adjective
• Types of brain waves: Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta
• The light pathway from the retina to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus to the pineal gland
• Role of melatonin
• Stages of sleep: NREM (N1, N2, N3), vs. REM
• What happens during NREM sleep
• What are the characteristics of REM sleep
• What are the problems associated with partial sleep deprivation
• What is the relation between sleep loss & health?
• The three general forms of insomnia
• What are the problems associated with insomnia?
• The possible reasons for needing sleep
• Energy conservation & body healing
• Memory consolidation
• Toxic waste removal
• The phenomenon of dreaming
• How do children's dreams differ from those of adults?
• What did Calvin Hall find about the content of dreaming in his students/former students?
• Explanations for Dreaming
• Wish fulfillment (Freud)
• Problem solving
• Threat simulation theory
• Activation-Synthesis hypothesis
• Protoconsciousness theory
• Neurocognitive theory of dreaming
• Suggestibility for hypnosis
• What are some of the myths of hypnosis
• The major theories of what hypnosis is
• Role playing
• Altered state of consciousness: dissociation of consciousness into separate streams of awareness
  

• Models of abnormal behavior
• What does a "medical model" of abnormal behavior offer?
• Diagnosis
• Etiology
• Prognosis
  
• Problems with medical model
• Labeling and social stigma
• "Abnormal" diagnosis as a moral judgment (Szasz)
• What are the three meaning of "abnormal" in clinical psychology
• Deviance
• Maladaptive behavior
• Personal distress
• Origins of the DSM
• DSM notions of mental disorder
• our lives affected negatively
• NOT a disorder if culturally relevant
• NOT a disorder if it is about religion, politics, or sexual behavior disapproved of by culture
• How has the DSM changed from its first publication to its latest?
• Central issue in anxiety disorders: fear, apprehension, anxiety
• What is the difference between an obsession & a compulsion?
• What must be present for a diagnosis of PTSD
• Exposure to event involving death or possible death or serious injury
• Symptoms: reliving the vent, avoidance reactions, arousal
• Symptoms for at least 30 days
• Impairment in social, work, or other important areas of life
• Theories of the causes of anxiety disorders
• Biological?
• Conditioning & learning
• Cognitive factors (anxiety thinking style)
• Stress
• What are the two poles in bipolar disorder
• Cognitive symptoms of depression
• Beck's negative triad, guilt, self-blame, self-destructive thoughts
• What are the major symptoms of a manic episode?
• What is the difference in prevalence (rates) and gender differences between major depression and bipolar disorder in the US?
• What are the differences across age and gender in regard to suicide and suicide attempts?
• Causes of mood disorders
• Genetic vulnerabilities
• Neurotransmitter imbalances (with low levels of norepinepherine & serotonin) & impact of stress (cortisol) on hippocampus
• HPA axis
• Cognitive factors: Seligman's "learned helplessness" and, later, "Hopelessness" theories
• Role of stress as precipitating factor
• Different types of depression or depressive feeling associated with birth (postpartum)?
• What has been the trends in the US regarding suicide across the US population?
• How do men and women differ in respect to suicide attempts and completed suicide?
• What is the relationship between suicide and psychological disorders?

• In SCZ, what is the split in the mind?
• What is the current estimate of the rate of SCZ in the world?
• What are delusions and loosening of associations?
• Deterioration of social relationships. work, and taking care of personal needs
• What are hallucinations and how do they differ from delusions?
• What are the most frequent types of hallucinations in SCZ?
• What are the symptoms of paranoid SCZ?
• What is catatonia as seen in catatonic SCZ?
• In Nancy Andreasen's system, what is the difference between "negative" and "positive" symptoms of SCZ?
• When do most cases of SCZ arise?
• What percentage of patients with SCZ actually recover fully or never recover at all?
• Genetic vulnerability to SCZ
• Neurochemical imbalances in SCZ involving dopamine (DA) and glutamate
• Structural abnormalities in the brain of those with SCZ, e.g., enlarged ventricles and thin cortex in frontal and temporal regions
• Possible role of viruses or malnutrition on developing SCZ
• ASD elements: impairment in social interaction & communication plus very restricted interests & activities (often performed repetitively); normally noted by 3 years of age.
• Percentage of individuals with significant intellectual disability
• What was the old estimate and is now the current estimate of the prevalence of ASDs.
• Why did the estimate of this disorder's prevalence change so much in the last 20 years?

• Where did the Western notion of "psychotherapy" begin?
• What are the differences among psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric social workers?
  
• The three approaches to therapy: talking (verbal); doing (learning); & affecting the body (biomedical)
  
• The three fundamental conditions in Client-Centered Therapy
• What does CBT try to accomplish with clients/patients?
• What are the different types of Exposure Therapy (IRL vs. V-REL) and what problems do they tend to help with?