Psychology
Mount Saint Mary's College

Psychology

Assessment

Mount St. Mary’s College has a culture of assessment. This means

  • Community members share a common commitment to improving student learning and a common language to guide this work.
  • Students know at the outset what their expected learning outcomes are for the course, the major or program.
  • Faculty and staff continually assess the nature and extent of student learning.
  • Lessons about student learning inform curricular, pedagogical, and administrative decisions.
  • The goal of assessment efforts at MSMC is to improve teaching and learning.
  • The overall results of student performance will be available to students, faculty, staff and other interested parties on College webpage.

The Psychology Department has identified 6 Goals and 15 Student Learning Outcomes we would like for our students to master during their undergraduate program at Mount St. Mary’s College. These Goals and Student Learning Outcomes are based on our department’s mission:

Undergraduate Psychology Mission Statement

The Psychology Department at Mount St. Mary's College is teaching-oriented and student focused. Our goals for students, and our curriculum, reflect our concern that students have a broad knowledge base in psychology and strong research skills, as these are the foundations of any career relating to psychology. We value the ethical application of psychology in counseling settings, in the research laboratory, and as part of community service. The mission of the Psychology Department is to prepare our students to pursue advanced study, or to apply psychological knowledge in a variety of professions.

Goal

Outcome

Disciplinary Content Knowledge

Be conversant with the major theoretical aspects of psychology and have a contextual understanding of human behavior.

  1. Show proficiency in six major content areas in the discipline of psychology: developmental, social, personality, abnormal, cognitive, biological psychology.

Communication

Communicate effectively orally and in writing.

  1. Use APA-style format to prepare research report (analyzing data)

  2. Compose a theoretically-based essay

Research Competence

Become a sophisticated consumer of scientific claims

  1. Evaluate scientific claims in the popular media

  2. Design a quality research project

    3.  

  3. Apply and explain the logic of statistics

Counseling Skills

Demonstrate basic counseling skills.

  1. Demonstrate accurate listening skills

  2. Apply reflecting skills in response to prompts

  3. Use probing questions effectively

Critical Thinking

Demonstrate ability to think critically.

  1. Identify fallacies in heuristics (social) and biases in perception (cognitive). Analyze impact of biases on student’s own perceptions

  2. Rely on data as evidence to support an argument

  3. Distinguish subjective from objective observations of human behavior

Career/Professional Knowledge and Attitudes, Professional development

Understand the role of psychology in society, core elements of professional ethics, and career paths.

  1. Demonstrate understanding of basic elements of professional ethics in research and counseling

  2. Define career paths and develop skills relevant to pursuing them

    3.  

  3. Demonstrate interpersonal awareness and sensitivity to differences and similarities in the way people are treated due to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, class, and sexual orientation