Human Behavior Course

Lesson 1 • Biological Bases of Behavior

Examines how genetics, brain structure, and neurochemistry shape behavior. Connects biology to psychological and social phenomena covered later.

Lesson 2 • Major Theoretical Perspectives

Surveys psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and sociocultural lenses. Provides the theoretical toolkit students apply throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Nature, Nurture, and Interaction

Analyzes the interplay between heredity and environment in shaping individuals. Sets the stage for understanding development and socialization in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Memory Systems and Retrieval

Describes sensory, working, and long-term memory and how information moves between them. Links memory function to learning and behavioral consistency.

Lesson 2 • Sensory Processing and Perception

Covers how sensory input is converted into meaningful perception. Demonstrates why two people can interpret the same stimulus differently.

Lesson 3 • Cognitive Biases and Heuristics

Identifies systematic shortcuts that distort judgment and decision-making. Builds critical awareness needed for behavioral analysis and intervention design.

Lesson 4 • Attention and Cognitive Load

Examines selective, divided, and sustained attention and their limits. Explains how cognitive load affects performance and decision quality.

Lesson 1 • Emotional Regulation Strategies

Covers cognitive reappraisal, suppression, and acceptance-based regulation techniques. Prepares students to analyze and support adaptive emotional functioning.

Lesson 2 • Nature and Functions of Emotion

Defines emotion and reviews major theories including appraisal and evolutionary accounts. Establishes how emotions signal, motivate, and communicate.

Lesson 3 • Theories of Motivation

Surveys drive, incentive, cognitive, and self-determination theories of motivation. Provides a comparative framework for predicting goal-directed behavior.

Lesson 4 • Goal Setting and Self-Regulation

Applies goal-setting theory and self-regulatory models to behavioral persistence. Connects motivational theory to practical performance management.

Lesson 1 • Habit Formation and the Habit Loop

Deconstructs the cue-routine-reward cycle underlying automatic behavior. Enables students to identify and redesign habitual patterns in individuals and organizations.

Lesson 2 • Classical Conditioning Principles

Explains Pavlovian conditioning, extinction, and generalization with applied examples. Grounds students in the oldest and most studied form of associative learning.

Lesson 3 • Behavior Modification in Practice

Applies conditioning principles to real-world behavior change programs. Bridges learning theory to professional intervention design.

Lesson 4 • Observational and Social Learning

Examines Bandura's social learning theory, modeling, and vicarious reinforcement. Explains how behavior spreads through observation in social environments.

Lesson 1 • Psychodynamic and Humanistic Perspectives

Contrasts Freudian structural models with Rogers's person-centered theory. Deepens understanding of unconscious processes and self-concept in behavior.

Lesson 2 • Cognitive and Social-Cognitive Approaches

Examines Bandura's self-efficacy, locus of control, and personal constructs. Links personality to cognitive patterns that shape behavioral choices.

Lesson 3 • Trait Theories of Personality

Introduces the Big Five and other trait models as descriptive frameworks. Establishes a common language for discussing stable behavioral tendencies.

Lesson 1 • Obedience to Authority

Analyzes Milgram's obedience research and situational factors that drive compliance with authority. Highlights ethical implications for organizational and institutional settings.

Lesson 2 • Social Norms and Conformity

Examines informational and normative social influence and classic conformity research. Explains why individuals align behavior with group standards even against personal judgment.

Lesson 3 • Group Performance and Decision-Making

Examines social facilitation, social loafing, groupthink, and group polarization. Prepares students to optimize group functioning and prevent collective errors.

Lesson 4 • Compliance and Persuasion Techniques

Covers foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, and reciprocity-based compliance strategies. Equips students to recognize and ethically apply influence techniques.

Lesson 1 • Persuasion and Attitude Change

Applies the elaboration likelihood model and central vs. peripheral routes to persuasion. Enables students to craft effective, ethical attitude-change messages.

Lesson 2 • Attitude Formation and Structure

Defines attitudes and their cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Explains how attitudes form through experience, conditioning, and social learning.

Lesson 3 • Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

Distinguishes prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination and examines their origins. Provides a foundation for designing bias-reduction interventions.

Lesson 4 • Attitude-Behavior Consistency

Analyzes when and why attitudes predict behavior using the theory of planned behavior. Identifies moderating factors that strengthen or weaken the attitude-behavior link.

Lesson 1 • Behavioral Assessment Methods

Covers direct observation, self-report, and functional analysis as assessment tools. Grounds intervention design in accurate, evidence-based behavioral data.

Lesson 2 • Nudge Theory and Choice Architecture

Examines how default settings, framing, and environmental design steer behavior. Applies behavioral economics insights to organizational and public-sector contexts.

Lesson 3 • Scaling and Sustaining Behavior Change

Addresses how to maintain gains, prevent relapse, and scale interventions across populations. Prepares students for long-term behavioral change management.

Lesson 4 • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Feedback

Establishes methods for tracking intervention progress and adjusting strategies. Closes the loop between behavioral theory and measurable real-world outcomes.