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Mission Statement for the
B.A. in Psychology
The B.A. in psychology at California State University,
Bakersfield exposes students to the broad range of perspectives,
problems, methodologies, and bodies of knowledge found in contemporary
psychology. Students will understand psychology from the perspectives
of (1) a natural or biological science, (2) a behavioral or social
science, (3) an applied or professional field, and (4) a set of
experiential or humanistic concerns. Those four perspectives are
expressed through five goals, which are areas of knowledge, skills, and
values that the faculty believe represent the primary outcomes of
majoring in psychology. To the extent that these goals are met,
students will be prepared for entry into a psychology-related graduate
program and/or for a career in a psychology-related field.
Goals and Objectives of the B.A. in Psychology
Students should know the extent to which they have satisfied the
mission of the Department of Psychology by completing the objectives
listed within each goal. Courses and experiences offered within the
program provide primary opportunities to fulfill each goal.
Furthermore, you should make every effort to provide qualitatively
superior evidence when attempting to satisfy an objective, rather than
attempting to do so with the sheer quantity of activity in any of the
categories.
Goal 1: Describing Psychological
Knowledge
a.
Describes and explains a variety of significant elements of content
and/or facts in the areas of learning, sensation and perception,
biological psychology, or cognitive psychology.
b. Describes and
explains a variety of significant elements of content and/or facts in
the areas of child psychology, social psychology, abnormal psychology,
or personality.
c. Describes and
explains a variety of significant elements of content and/or facts in
the areas of adult-child relationships, environmental psychology, the
psychology of diversity, the psychology of aging, the psychology of
women, the psychology of families, health psychology, neuropsychology,
tests and measurement, or positive psychology.
Goal 2: Explaining Psychological
Knowledge
a.
Explains behavior using theory-based concepts from a specific
psychodynamic, biological, humanistic, cognitive, behaviorist or other
equally-broad theoretical system.
b. Explains
behavior using concepts from a specific narrowly-focused portion of a
theory or model.
c. Explains how
specific behavior would be understood differently by two
theories/models that are both able to offer sensible explanations for
it.
d. Evaluates the
strengths and weaknesses of evidence and arguments supporting specific
psychological theories or models.
Goal 3: Discovering Psychological
Knowledge
a.
Formulates testable research hypotheses.
b. Designs
appropriate empirical tests of research hypotheses that take into
account the strengths and limitations of different research designs.
c. Identifies
threats to internal and external validity, and proposes improvements to
reduce these threats in studies from the literature.
d. Selects and
appropriately applies inferential statistics to distinguish between
outcomes that do and do not support hypotheses.
e. Conducts
appropriate library and electronic searches in order to identify and
acquire information that is relevant to a target topic.
f. Reads and
understands psychological research articles at the level of an educated
consumer.
g. Communicates
scientific findings clearly and accurately in appropriate written
formats.
Goal 4: Applying Psychological
Knowledge
a.
Describes major applied areas of psychology and the rationale for
applications to these areas.
b. Explains how
psychological science can be used to understand social issues, inform
public policy, and improve individuals’ lives.
c. Demonstrates the
application of psychological knowledge outside of the classroom to
affect behavior in a desired direction.
d. Communicates
psychological theories, data, or methods clearly to non-psychologists.
Goal
5: Ethics and Values in Psychology
a.
Explains the benefits and acknowledges the limitations of a scientific
perspective on human behavior.
b. Describes and
explains ethical codes and standards that guide the work of students
and professionals in psychology.
c. Demonstrates
understanding and acceptance of research ethics through relevant
behaviors.
d. Demonstrates
understanding and acceptance of practice ethics through relevant
behaviors.
e. Identifies
personal values and evaluates them from the perspective of the
discipline of psychology.
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