Introduction to

Psychology
DBM 1103
ZAHARI ABD MALEK, M.A. (IND. & ORG. PSYCHOLOGY UKM)
019-264 7030

Learning Objective
To

share the principle of psychology in

each of these areas and to have you
apply the concept to your live and
experience.

To

understand the brief discipline and

examine the principle of psychology.

Course Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students will
be able to:
Critically

analyse psychological concepts,

theories and ethical issues.

Apply

psychological concepts to one's life and

circumstances.

Identify

representative theories in the areas of

learning, motivation, cognition, personality,
social influence, abnormal behaviour and
multicultural issues.

Mode of Delivery:
Lectures, Group discussion & presentation.
( 3 credit Hrs. )

Assessment Methods:

Presentation
Assignment
Mid-Term

Test
Final Examination

- 10%
- 20%
- 20%
- 50%

Textbook and references

MAIN TEXTBOOK :

Robert S. Feldman (2013); Understanding Psychology (11th

edition) McGraw Hill (International Edition)

References
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES :

Myers, D. (2008).PSYCHOLOGY(8th edition)New York:Worth

publishers.

Price, W. F. and Crapo, R. H. (2002). Cross-cultural

perspectives in introductory psychology. (4t h Ed.).
Pacific Grove, California : Wadsworth Publishing.

Weiten, W., Lloyd, MA, Dunn, D., & Hammer, EY (2009).

Psychology applied to modern life; Adjustment in the
21st Century. (9th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage

Cascio, W. F., & Aguinis, H. (2010). Applied psychology in

human resource management.(7th.ed) New Jersey: Prentice
Hall.

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part 1: Description of Assignment:
The

research paper for this course Introduction to Psychology

integrates the fundamentals of scientific research from
psychology (individuals mental processes and behavior) that is
relevant to daily live activity and professional live processes.

psychology research paper examines thoughts, perception,

cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, personality,
behaviour, interpersonal relationships of individual. Hence,
it should be an extension of an area of study presented and/or
discussed as part of this course. For your project paper, you may
choose a subject that interests the group or you may choose from
within the following titles and themes :

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Titles and themes :

1. Positive psychology in workplace : Understanding human experience of

stress in an interconnected of work environment and organization productivity.

2. From the perspective of a Substance abuse counsellor: Why people

take drugs? What type of drug prevention program would you advocate?

3. From the perspective of a social worker : What advice would you give
to families about childrens exposure to violent media and video games

4. From the perspective of a Human Resource Executive : If you wanted

to end sexism in your workplace, can you think of ways to narrow down the gap
between male and female in terms of occupations and salary?

5. From the perspective of Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality :

Can you think of ways in which Sigmund Freuds theories of unconscientious
mind or motivation are commonly used in pop-culture?

Titles and themes :

6. From the perspective of an employer : What cultural factors might

contribute to the rate of anxiety disorders? How might the experience of anxiety
differ among people of different culture?

7. From the perspective of a therapist : How might the types of therapies

you use vary depending on the clients or patients culture and socioeconomic
background?

8. From the perspective of a family counsellor : Can love be studied

scientifically? Is there an elusive quality to love that makes it partially
unknowable? How do you define falling in love? How would you study it?

9. From the perspective of a wellness counsellor : How might overt forms

of prejudice and discrimination towards disadvantaged group be reduced in our
multi-ethnicity community for the sake of maintaining the national unity?

10. From the perspective of a human resource manager : Would you

allow employee to engage in meditation (or prayers) during work? Why, or why
not?

Part 2: General Instruction

This is a group effort of 6-7 members in a group.

You have to prepare a research report (written form) based on the content
mentioned above.

Method of research ~ Literature reviews (journal, books, online resources). All

in text citations in the discussion must be included in the list of references /
bibliographies

This written report will be the basis for your oral presentation.

The research paper should have:

An introduction.

The body (It consists of a number of paragraphs in which you develop

your ideas in detail).

The Conclusion.

Reference List as per requirement of APA-6 standard.

Part 3: Requirements:

Not more than 10 pages, double-spaced in Times New Roman font with
one inch side margins (excluding the cover page and the APA appendix).

You must support your discussion with textual and visual evidence
and with latest, or current journals or scholarship (observe proper citation).

Indicate what arguments andfindingsare that you can link to your

chosen topic for research.

Reference: At the end of your paper, be sure to include list of important

sources that contextualize the research topic. Provide complete
bibliographic information for the research you cite in your paper (in APA 6
format).

Please refer to the APA (Applied Psychology Association) citation style

guide @ American Psychological Association (2010). Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed.).
Washington DC: APA

PRESENTATION SCHEME
1) You need to carry out not more than 20 minutes presentation of your research
paper.
2) Group Presentation starts on the 9th. week.
3) In this presentation activity, each student will be assessed on the followings:

Clarity and accuracy of facts, explanations and opinions presented.

Use of appropriate range and quality of sources and evidence.

The ability to reflect on the presentation topic.

The ability to make an oral presentation with the necessary audio visual
aids.

The students voice control and body movement/language.

The smoothness of flow and the structuring of the ideas presented.

Please understand the details provided in the following rubric to make clear about the
purpose of presentation is to evaluate individual effort.

PRESENTATION MARKS
Marks will be awarded according to the following factors:

Content

= 5 MARKS

Preparedness

Organisation of Presentation

Audio-visual Aids

Posture and Eye Contact = 5 MARKS

TOTAL MARK

= 5 MARKS
= 5 MARKS

= 5 MARKS
= 25 MARKS

Please understand the details provided in the following rubric to

make clear about the purpose of presentation is to evaluate
individual effort.

CATEGORY
Content

5Marks
Shows a full
understanding of the
topic.
Student is completely
prepared and has
obviously rehearsed.

4Marks
Shows a good
understanding of the
topic.
Student seems
pretty prepared but
might have needed a
couple more
rehearsals.

Organization of
Presentation

Presentation is well
organized and flows in
an orderly and
comprehensive manner

Presentation is pretty Presentation is somewhat Presentation does not show

organized but may
organized, but there is
any organization, lacking
need some minor
some clear organization flow and order
adjustments to the issues
order of its flow

/5

Audio-visual Aids/
Props

Student uses several

props/ audio-visual aids
(could include role play
or even costumes) that
show considerable
work/creativity and
which make the
presentation better.

Student uses 1
prop/audio-visual aid
that shows
considerable
work/creativity and
which make the
presentation better.

The student uses no

props/audio-visual aids OR
the props chosen detract
from the presentation.

/5

Posture and Eye

Contact

Stands up straight, looks Stands up straight

Sometimes stands up
relaxed and confident. and establishes eye straight and establishes
Establishes eye contact contact with
eye contact.
with everyone in the
everyone in the room
room during the
during the
presentation.
presentation.

Slouches and/or does not

look at people during the
presentation

/5

Preparedness

TOTAL MARKS

2to3Marks
Shows a good
understanding of parts of
the topic.
The student is somewhat
prepared, but it is clear
that rehearsal was
lacking.

0to1Marks
Does not seem to
understand the topic very
well.
Student does not seem at
all prepared to present.

Student uses 1
prop/audio-visual aid
which makes the
presentation better.

Subtotal
/5

/5

/25