When they’re used well, graphs can help us intuitively grasp complex data. But as visual software has enabled more usage of graphs throughout all media, it has also made them easier to use in a careless or dishonest way — and as it turns out, there are plenty of ways graphs can mislead and outright manipulate. Lea Gaslowitz shares some things to look out for.

Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

How do you remember where you parked your car? How do you know if you're moving in the right direction? Neuroscientist Neil Burgess studies the neural mechanisms that map the space around us, and how they link to memory and imagination.

Intelligence is among the oldest and longest studied topics in all of psychology. The development of assessments to measure this concept is at the core of the development of psychological science itself. This module introduces key historical figures, major theories of intelligence, and common assessment strategies related to intelligence. This module will also discuss controversies related to the study of group differences in intelligence.

When you teach Introduction to Psychology, do you find it difficult – much harder than teaching classes in statistics or research methods? Do you easily give a lecture on the sympathetic nervous system, a lecture on Piaget, and a lecture on social cognition, but struggle with linking these topics together for the student? Do you feel like you are presenting a laundry list of research findings rather than an integrated set of principles and knowledge? Have you wondered how to ensure your course is relevant to your students? If so, then you have something in common with Charles Stangor.Charles Stangor's Introduction to Psychology utilizes the dual theme of behavior and empiricism to make psychology relevant to intro students.Charles wrote this book to help students organize their thinking about psychology at a conceptual level. Five or ten years from now, he does not expect his students to remember the details of most of what he teaches them. However, he does hope that they will remember that psychology matters because it helps us understand behavior and that our knowledge of psychology is based on empirical study.This book is designed to facilitate these learning outcomes, and he has used three techniques to help focus students on behavior:Chapter Openers: Each chapter opens showcasing an interesting real world example of people who dealing with behavioral questions and who can use psychology to help them answer them. The opener is designed to draw the student into the chapter and create an interesting in learning about the topic.Psychology in Everyday Life: Each chapter contains one or two features designed to link the principles from the chapter to real-world applications in business, environment, health, law, learning, and other relevant domains. For instance, the application in Chapter 7 on Development, “What makes good parents” applies the concepts of parenting styles in a mini-handbook about parenting, and the application in Chapter 3 is about the difficulties that left-handed people face performing everyday tasks in a right-handed world.Research Foci: Introduction to Psychology emphasizes empiricism throughout, but without making it a distraction from the main story line. Each chapter presents two close-ups on research -- well articulated and specific examples of research within the content area, each including a summary of the hypotheses, methods, results, and interpretations. This feature provides a continuous thread that reminds students of the importance of empirical research. The research foci also emphasize the fact that findings are not always predictable ahead of time (dispelling the myth of hindsight bias), and also help students understand how research really works.Charles Stangor's focus on behavior and empiricism has produced, Introduction to Psychology, a text that is better organized, has fewer chapters, and is somewhat shorter than many of the leading books.

What do your dreams mean? Do men and women differ in the nature and intensity of their sexual desires? Can apes learn sign language? Why can’t we tickle ourselves? This course tries to answer these questions and many others, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of thought and behavior. It explores topics such as perception, communication, learning, memory, decision-making, religion, persuasion, love, lust, hunger, art, fiction, and dreams. We will look at how these aspects of the mind develop in children, how they differ across people, how they are wired-up in the brain, and how they break down due to illness and injury.

The Introduction to Psychology course was developed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education OER Innovation Grant. This work was completed and the course was posted in September 2018. The course is part of the Ohio Transfer Module and is also named OSS015. For more information about credit transfer between Ohio colleges and universities please visit: www.ohiohighered.org/transfer.Team LeadVincent Granito                                    Lorain County Community CollegeContent ContributorsNicole Brandt                                       Columbus State Community CollegeLynne Gabriel                                      Lakeland Community CollegeJackie Sample                                     Central Ohio Technical CollegeLibrarianRachel Dilley                                       Columbus State Community CollegeReview TeamMelissa Beers                                      Ohio State UniversityBryan Gerber                                        Stark State College

How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on introducing the topic of emotions. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.IntroductionThe chapter on emotion is usually presented with motivation, but for this OER project, it is presented as a separate concept.  Most of the chapters in the recommended resources cover much more information then should be presented in an introduction class, so faculty may want to choose what pieces work best.  The most comprehensive covering of this topic come from the various chapters in the NOBA project, but to assign all of these to students might be information overload. Faculty will need to pick and choose what sections work best for their approach.  Remember that Emotion falls within Pillar 4: Social and Personality, which also includes Social, Personality, Emotion, Multicultural, Gender, and Motivation. Social and Personality are both required topics under the Ohio TAG, so instructors should only plan to add Emotion if time permits.

 How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on introducing the field of psychology as a science in an Introduction to Psychology course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.IntroductionThis section covers the topic of gender and sexuality.  Gender and Sexuality falls under Pillar 4: Social and Personality. In the Ohio TAG, the topics of Social and Personality are required, which meet the expectation of two topics in this pillar. However, if you have time to include this topic it would not only enhance this Pillar, it is an important enhancement to the cross-cutting themes of Variations in Human Functioning and Social Diversity.If time does not permit covering a separate unit on Sexuality and Gender, these topics can also be folded into other units as supplementary content in Human Development (e.g., the development of gender identity) as well as Motivation (sexual motivation).

How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on teaching human development across the life span in an Introduction to Psychology course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.  According to the TAG, Lifespan Development falls within Pillar 3 (Development) and is a required topic for all Ohio Introduction to Psychology courses, along with Learning. These two chapters meet the APA recommendations for Strengthening General Psychology (Gurung, et al., 2016). In approaching this topic, you may want think about what Learning and Development have in common by emphasizing learning across the lifespan.IntroductionThis section will explore human development across the life span. This section provides an overview of physical development, cognitive development, and socioemotional development from conception to death.

How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on instroducting the field of psychology as a science in an Introduction to Psychology course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.IntroductionThis section will explore intelligence. In line with the APA recommendations and the Ohio TAG, Intelligence falls in Pillar 2 (Cognitive) along with Cognition, Memory, and Perception. Memory is required in Ohio TAG courses, so courses that cover Intelligence in addition to Memory have met the requirement for that pillar. Thus, it may not be necessary to cover Intelligence as a full topic in your course if you already cover Cognition or Perception.  

How to Use this Guide This guide provides information and resources on introducing the field of psychology as a science in an Introduction to Psychology course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.IntroductionThis section covers the topic of language.  We will explore how psychologists define language as well as the key components of language. In addition, will describe how language develops. 

How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on teaching learning concepts in an Introduction to Psychology course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.According to the TAG, Lifespan Development falls within Pillar 3 (Development) and is a required topic for all Ohio Introduction to Psychology courses, along with Lifespan Development. These two chapters meet the APA recommendations for Strengthening General Psychology (Gurung, et al., 2016).IntroductionThis section introduces students to the basic principles that govern learning.  Specifically, students will be introduced to the concepts of classical and operant conditioning.