Building a Solid Foundation for our Majors with the Introductory Psychology Course

Abstract

To envision the introductory psychology course as a foundational part of the major curriculum, priority should be placed on its relevance to the subsequent coursework in the major and its responsiveness to evolving regional, national, and global standards. In this article the authors describe their own strategy for gathering information from multiple sources to explore the foundational potential of the introductory psychology course taught in their department at a medium-sized public university in the USA. They administered surveys to their psychology faculty and students, considered department characteristics and resources, and reviewed national and international professional standards. They conclude that their strategy may be useful for psychology departments at other institutions interested in considering the role their introductory course plays within the context of their undergraduate major curriculum.Introductory psychology is one of the most popular courses in higher education, with widespread appeal for students of all majors and an exemplary reputation for promoting the values of the liberal arts education (Burton & McDonald, 2011;Cranney & Dunn, 2011;McGovern et al., 2010). Yet, do we pay enough attention to the potential of the introductory psychology course to prepare our majors for their subsequent psychology coursework? How can we ensure the course is truly integrated and integral for our majors? In this article we review this matter and share our strategy for exploring the foundational potential of our introductory psychology course within the context of our own department.In his article 'Eight things wrong with introductory psychology courses in America: A warning to my European colleagues ', Eric Charles (2008) concluded that 'the structure of the course is ineffective in preparing psychology majors for upper level classes ' (p. 1). To create what the American Psychological Association (APA) refers to as a 'developmentally coherent curriculum', the APA (2008) suggests we must work toward a more cohesive major beginning with the introductory psychology course. As evidence that this concern is not exclusive to American psychology, a recent report sponsored by the British Psychological Society lamented that majors in the United Kingdom may not experience cohesion across their disparate course modules until their final capstone course, which 'may come too late in the degree programme to be effective' (Trapp et al., 2011, p. 38).How can introductory psychology instructors be sure that the content of their course provides the foundation for a cohesive major? Instructors have different methods for selecting what material to cover in their introductory psychology courses -and they face quite a juggling act. On the one hand, instructors struggle to do justice to the full breadth of the field, touching on everything from neuroscience to workplace relations (Zanich & Grover, 1989). On the other hand, instructors delve deeper into the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the sub-fields in service of ...

Student perceptions of instructor behaviors that impact stress.

“…These practices may be especially important in a course such as Introduction to Psychology that enrolls a broad range of students. Millions of students take this class each academic year and for varied reasons (Gurung et al, 2016; Hyers & Shivde, 2013). Most are first-year students who are still adjusting to a new living environment, social sphere, and academic environment.…”

“…Millions of students take Introduction to Psychology each year (Gurung et al, 2016) and some estimates suggest that more than half of college students will take Introduction to Psychology while enrolled in college (Adelman, 2004). Many students take this course out of genuine interest, but students also take the course because it is required for a variety of academic programs (Goldstein, 2010; Hyers & Shivde, 2013). This course may be challenging for students for various reasons (Hard & Gross, 2016).…”

Ramp It Up

“…It is prudent to consider new and different models to covering content (Bernstein, 2017) while simultaneously developing skills (Jhangiani, & Hardin, 2015; Strohmetz et al, 2015) and considering subsequent coursework when building the foundation for majors (Hyers & Shivde, 2013). One way is simply to cut down on how many topics are covered while ensuring students are exposed to the breadth of psychology as recommended by APA’s task force on strengthening the Intro Psych course (Gurung et al, 2016).…”

Introduction to Psychology

“…“Intro” is the second most popular course on college campuses and is taken by approximately 60% of undergraduates who have earned 10 or more credits (Adelman, 2004). Students are routinely required to complete this course as a prerequisite for higher level psychology courses and other undergraduate programs (Hyers & Shivde, 2013; Norcross et al, 2016). Thus, the intro course is one of the most frequent and important courses for psychology majors and nonmajors alike.…”