Psychology

Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Letters, Cal Poly Pomona

Mission & Vision

The mission of the Psychology Department is to prepare students for success at school, work, home, and in society through involvement in education, research, and professional activities.

Psychology Learning Outcomes

The Psychology major educates students by enhancing their understanding of behavior and its biological, emotional, social, and cognitive roots and effects.

The Psychology (P) major's specific instructional goals and objectives are the following:

Graduates will participate in the generation of knowledge through the scientific process. Specifically, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the basic facts and concepts related to research design in psychology.
  2. Independently design and conduct a simple theoretically based or practical psychological research study, including generating their own research questions.
  3. Accurately analyze and interpret data generated through their own studies or those of others, in order to come to an appropriate conclusion.
  4. Respect and appreciate the need for scientific data to inform the practices of psychologists.

Graduates will discuss traditional and contemporary discipline-based knowledge, and will be able to access future knowledge. Specifically, students will be able to:

  1. Identify, describe, and classify the major theoretical perspectives and key concepts used in psychology (e.g., those included in most introductory psychology texts).
  2. Identify and describe the major specialties and historical trends in psychology.

Graduates will be able to communicate empirical and theoretical information effectively when generating knowledge or when using knowledge in applied settings. Specifically, students will be able to:

  1. Conduct and write a review that summarizes part of the psychological literature. 
  2. Explain the rationale, procedures, results, and conclusions of a research project by writing a paper in APA format.

Graduates will be able to use the knowledge base provided by the discipline to foster their own well-being and life-long intellectual pursuits. Specifically, students will be able to:

  1. Draw upon current theories to explain the nature of behavior, emotion, and mental processes.
  2. Apply psychological theories, concepts, and methods to real-life situations and practical problems (for example, using mnemonics to improve memory).
  3. Describe the influence that variables such as race, class, sexuality, and gender may have on mental constructs and behaviors.