Although it takes time for journalists to gain a deep understanding of the community they serve, they can use a variety of techniques to quickly acquire a basic level of knowledge that can increase both the accuracy of their reporting and the relevance of their story ideas as they begin covering a community that is new to them. Students in this course will use Earlham's home city of Richmond, Indiana, as a laboratory for learning to apply some of those techniques. They will then draw on their findings to prepare stories, photos and other materials for publication in the New Student Week edition of Earlham's student newspaper, The Word, to be distributed when classes resume in the fall. It's like a dress rehearsal. Psychologists offer four kinds of answers to this question.
People influence each other through social processes.
The physical environment affects us psychologically. One's own personality has important effects on behavior. And lastly, at the physiological level, the brain and nervous system determines our actions. This course examines all four types of explanation by employing lectures, readings, films, hands-on activities, and discussion. Classical studies and contemporary research introduce students to the theories and methods of the field of psychology.