Choosing a topic can be intimidating, but here are some helpful tips to get you started!

First, here is the (huge) list of course outcomes, and some examples of how you could use them to get ideas.

Use this as a launching point for your brainstorming.

Please pick something you think you will find interesting. You do not need to choose an objective, just an idea based on the things we will cover in the course.

Below, there are three videos walking you through the assignment, first using the library, then saving the document, and then finding the information you need.

Here are just a few examples:

Research methods challenges in Psychology - the challenges of studying feelings

How to build critical thinking skills, or reviewing how students are doing in this category, in different states or countries

How to make diversity in the workplace a functional reality (break down social barriers)

How the nervous system heals from a specific brain injury, or doesn't

States of consciousness: a study about meditation, or maybe one about people who work non-standard shiftwork

Sensation and perception: anything to do with the senses and perception - how smell impacts emotion, how it impacts memory, how music impacts mood, differences in mood based on color themes

Memory: the psychology of eyewitness testimony, or of investigative work, memory disorders, diseases that impact memory, amnesia (any of the types)

Cognition: decision-making - how do different genders make decisions, or is it based on personality? How do people learn to make decisions, or solve problems, does IQ relate to problem solving?

Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence - how does this impact, work, relationships, etc, what new tests exist, what old tests are still helpful, does this testing matter?

Learning - how people learn, classical vs. operant, or observational learning, are learning styles real? At what age do we learn different things... this is a varied and endless topic!

These are just a few examples that I took from the objectives - you are not taking the objective directly, but thinking about things that may interest you, or relate to you professionally, either now or in the future, or that you may relate to personally, and starting from there.

I've included the full list of objectives below.

• Outcome 1 - Science of Psychology: Perspectives in
Psychological Science
• 1) Define psychology as the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes.
• 2) Identify and explain the primary objectives of psychology
(e.g., describing, understanding, predicting, and controlling
behavior and mental processes).
• 3) Describe how psychology emerged and evolved as a scientific
discipline.
• 4) Identify overarching themes, persistent questions, or enduring
conflicts in psychology, such as the interaction of heredity and
environment.
• 5) Identify and describe the major contemporary perspectives of
psychology (e.g., psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic,
biological, and cognitive).

• Outcome 2 - Science of Psychology: Research Methods
• 1) Describe the scientific method and its role in psychology.
• 2) Explain the strengths, limitations, and conclusions that can be
drawn from various research designs and data collection methods
(including case study, observation, survey, correlational, and
experiment).
• 3) Describe systematic procedures used to improve the credibility
of research findings (e.g., blind or double-blind designs, control
or placebo groups, peer-review, replication).
• 4) Explain the ethical obligations of researchers toward their
research participants, both human and animal.

• Outcome 3 - Science of Psychology: Critical Thinking
• 1) Discern differences between personal views and scientific
evidence in understanding.
• 2) Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings
as these relate to everyday life.

• Outcome 4 - Science of Psychology: Sociocultural Diversity
• 1) Discuss social and cultural diversity.
• 2) Discuss psychological research examining diversity among
individuals.

• Outcome 5 - Biological: Biological Bases of Behavior
• 1) Identify the major divisions and subdivisions of the human
nervous system.
• 2) Identify the parts of the neuron and describe the basic process
of neural transmission.
• 3) Differentiate between the structures and functions of the
various parts of the central nervous system.
• 4) Discuss the mechanisms of, and the importance of, plasticity
of the nervous system.
• 5) Identify tools used to study the nervous system.

• Outcome 6 - Biological: Consciousness
• 1) Identify states of consciousness.

• Outcome 7 - Biological: Sensation and Perception
• 1) Describe processes of sensation and perception and how they
interact.
• 2) Explain the concepts of threshold and adaptation.
• 3) Describe the capabilities and limitations of sensory processes.
• 4) Explain the interaction of the person and the environment in
determining perception.

• Outcome 8 - Cognitive: Memory
• 1) Describe the differences between working memory and long
term memory.
• 2) Discuss types of memory and memory disorders.
• 3) Identify factors and strategies influencing how memories are
encoded, stored, retrieved, or forgotten.
• 4) Explain how memories can be malleable.

• Outcome 9 - Cognitive: Thinking
• Explain psychological processes of thought, reasoning, problem
solving, and decision-making.

• Outcome 10 - Cognitive: Intelligence
• 1) Discuss different perspectives on intelligence (e.g., general
intelligence, multiple intelligences).
• 2) Discuss the history of intelligence testing, including historical use
and misuse in the context of fairness.

• Outcome 11 - Developmental: Learning
• 1) Describe the principles of classical conditioning (e.g., acquisition,
extinction, generalization, discrimination).
• 2) Describe the principles of operant conditioning (e.g.,
reinforcement, punishment, shaping, reinforcement schedules,
extinction).
• 3) Describe cognitive approaches to learning (e.g., observational
learning, social learning).
• 4) Describe applications of learning theories in real life (e.g., phobias,
animal training, habit change).

• Outcome 12 - Developmental: Developmental Psychology
• 1) Discuss theories of cognitive, moral, and social development.
• 2) Describe the role of sensitive and critical periods in development.
• 3) Identify the major physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes
across the lifespan, including influences on prenatal development.
• 4) Explain the interaction of environmental and biological factors in
development.

• Outcome 13 - Developmental: Language Development
• 1) Describe the structure and function of language.
• 2) Discuss the relationship between language and thought.
• 3) Describe theories and development stages of language acquisition.
• 4) Explain the relationship between language and the brain.

• Outcome 14 - Social & Personality: Social Psychology
• 1) Identify relationships between thought processes (e.g., attributions,
attitudes, bias, and perception) and social behavior.
• 2) Discuss obedience, conformity, and compliance in relation to
behavior and their impact on the power of the situation.
• 3) Describe how group dynamics influence behavior.
• 4) Discuss the nature and effects of stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination.
• 5) Discuss influences on prosocial (e.g., altruism) and antisocial (e.g.,
aggression and conflict) behaviors.

• Outcome 15 - Social & Personality: Personality
• 1) Compare and contrast the major theoretical approaches to
personality (e.g., psychodynamic, trait, humanistic, and social
cognitive theories).
• 2) Identify techniques of personality assessment.
• 3) Discuss biological and situational influences on personality.
• 4) Discuss stability and change of personality.
• 5) Explain how culture and gender influence personality.

• Outcome 16 - Social & Personality: Emotion
• 1) Describe the biological and cognitive components of emotion.
• 2) Differentiate among theories of emotional experience.
• 2) Distinguish between conscious processing (i.e., explicit) and
other processing which happens without conscious awareness
(i.e., implicit).
• 3) Describe characteristics of sleep and theories that explain why
we sleep and dream.
• 4) Characterize the major categories of psychoactive drugs and
their effects.

• Outcome 17 - Social & Personality: Motivation
• 1) Describe major theories and perspectives of motivation.

• Outcome 18 - Mental & Physical Health: Psychological Disorders
• 1) Define psychologically abnormal behavior.
• 2) Describe major models of abnormality.
• 3) Describe the classification of psychological disorders.
• 4) Describe symptoms and causes of major categories of
psychological disorders (including schizophrenic, mood, anxiety, and
personality disorders).

• Outcome 19 - Mental & Physical Health: Treatment of
Psychological Disorders
• 1) Explain different perspectives on the treatment of psychological
disorders.
• 2) Identify biomedical and psychological treatments.
• 3) Evaluate the efficacy of treatments for particular disorders.

• Outcome 20 - Mental & Physical Health: Health
• 1) Define stress as a psychophysiological reaction.
• 2) Identify and explain potential sources of stress.
• 3) Identify and explain physiological, cognitive, and behavioral
strategies to deal with stress.
• 4) Identify behaviors and attitudes that promote health.

Here is some information on finding an article, selecting and saving an article, and filling out the topic development sheet.

(1) Intro to Topic and Source Identification

(2) Selecting and Saving an Article

(3) Finding Information in an Article