Social & Behavioral Sciences

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school Language Arts 11 or Language Arts 12 requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Required of all Communication Studies majors, but open to all students. Focuses on communication skills in a wide range of interpersonal areas appropriate to business or personal relationships, and involving initiating, developing, maintaining, and controlling the deterioration of relationships, with emphasis on listening, assertiveness, supportive climates, conflict, power management, and disclosure. Introduces the special needs of intercultural communication, and prepares students to effectively express ideas in one-to-one settings. Inclusive Access Course Material (electronic book) fees may apply, see Fees tab under each course section for details. **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Identify, explain, and demonstrate interpersonal communication theories, models, and processes. 2. Develop and apply critical thinking and analytical skills in interpersonal communication contexts. 3. Illustrate how interpersonal communication theories can be used to understand behavior across a bevy of contexts, relationships, and cultures. 4. Identify, synthesize, and apply the various theories and principles of interpersonal communication both in and out of the classroom. 5. Expand knowledge and skills in developing a culturally sensitive and empathetic approach to numerous interpersonal relationships.

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school Financial Literacy requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Society is placing increasing responsibility on individuals for their financial well-being (e.g., retirement, health care). This course is devoted to building quantitative skills associated with individual financial decision making and analyzing the connection between individual decisions and societal well-being. This course seeks to address the “how” and “why” in personal financial decisions. Topics covered include credit/debt, property insurance, saving, and investing. The course will draw on multiple disciplines. Economics, finance, and applied mathematics are directly addressed. Public financial policy in areas of political science, law, and psychology are also discussed. **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Understand the importance of financial literacy in the context of overall economy. 2. Identify the benefits of a properly designed personal financial plan and be able to discuss its relationship to economic conditions and personal goals. 3. Construct and implement a well-planned personal financial plan. 4. Explain the techniques of successful budgeting and asset management including the meaning and purpose of specific financial statements and records. 5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of checking accounts and savings plans. 6. Identify the types of credit available to consumers and be able to discuss the pros and cons of using credit verses savings and cash when purchasing consumer goods. 7. Explain the factors that influence the availability of financial services and list the types of services and financial institutions commonly used by consumers. 8. Discuss factors that influence consumer-buying decisions and identify strategies for effective purchasing. 9. Describe basic consumer rights and responsibilities. 10. Describe the role of planned borrowing in personal financial management.

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Of particular interest to those interested in education and health. Utilizes theory and current practices in child development as they apply to the effects of culture and the bio-social, cognitive, and psychosocial development through the lifespan. Diversity as well as global issues affecting human populations is integrated into each section of the course. Lecture-based course with a strong laboratory involvement in the Dixie State University Preschool. Includes observations and active learning approaches in class. Dual listed with PSY 1100 (students may only take one course for credit). **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Discuss issues of diversity of human development across gender, ethnic orientation and social class. 2. Explain development in the context of development theory, by relating various theoretical frameworks to the study of substantive developmental issues. (Theories put forth by Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, and others will be explored, as well as ideas relevant to Learning Theory, Information Processing Theory, Sociocultural Theory, and Ecological Theory, Lifespan and Life Cycle Theories.) 3. Engage in critical thinking about themes in the text and relate the scholarly material to personal questions and concerns relative to developmental stages, domains, and developmental controversies. 4. Explain stage changes and continuous changes and interactions likely to occur overtime in each of the developmental domains. 5. Recognize and evaluate research techniques appropriate for studying human development: i.e. types of studies used, ethical obligations, techniques for ensuring validity and reliability. 6. Do observational research and follow guidelines and procedures for observing young children in a variety of settings. Observing in the preschool and writing a case study on a preschool child will gain research experience. Other observations relevant to specific developmental period will also be completed. 7. Explain methods of interaction and behavioral influences in various developmental periods as Case Study viewed by current theoretical approaches to human development. 8. Talk knowledgeably about the developmental process over the lifespan using theoretical knowledge as well as the cultural/contextual effects.

These two classes fulfill a single General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school World History requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: HIST 1500 spans human origins and early civilizations to the emergence of European Empires and the early explorations of the Americas up to 1500 C.E, and HIST 1510 explores themes in the historical development of the world’s peoples and cultures since 1500, tracing the decline of Asiatic Empires and the rise of European Empires. Students will study the diversity of global experiences and the emergence of the modern globalized economy. Both classes must be taken to fulfill the requirement. 

These two classes fulfill a single General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school U.S. History requirement.
Prerequisites: Writing placement score 17 or higher; or ENGL 1010
Course Description: HIST 2700 is a chronological survey of the first half of the American experience, beginning with the Paleo-Indian cultures and emphasizing American Independence, development of the Constitution, the emergence of Jacksonian democracy, and the causes of the Civil War, through post-Civil War Reconstruction. Includes social, political, economic, cultural, and diplomatic developments throughout this period, while HIST 2710 is a chronological survey of the second half of the American experience, beginning with the collapse of post-Civil War Reconstruction and emphasizing the growth of the U.S., emergence as a world power, and domestic reform of the twentieth century, through contemporary issues. Includes the social, political, economic, cultural, and diplomatic developments throughout this period. Both classes must be taken to fulfill the requirement. 

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school Social Studies Elective requirement
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: For students in all disciplines who are interested in the fundamental scientific principles of behavior. Includes the study of learning, motivation, emotion, personality, mental disorders, treatment alternatives, and other related subjects as part of the course. Critical thinking will be explored in examining these aspects of behavior. Students will have frequent examinations and quizzes as part of the course requirements. **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Construct basic knowledge of psychology theories, and identify different fields in the psychology discipline. 2. Articulate different models of research used in the field of psychology. 3. Critically evaluate psychology literature as well as speak to the pitfalls and the strengths of research trends in psychology. 4. Explore multicultural issues related to the field of psychology. 5. Analyze multiple views, theories, and ideas currently held in the field.

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school Social Studies Elective requirement
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: For all students who are interested in knowing how and why people change through the course of a lifetime. Covers biological, cognitive, and social changes from prenatal development to late adulthood. Studies scientific methods of collecting and interpreting data, analyzes developmental events from various perspectives, and focuses on applying this knowledge to one’s own development. Dual listed with FSHD 1500 (students may take only one course for credit). **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of how humans develop across the lifespan. 2. Identify biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes across the lifespan. 3. Predict development that occurs during gestation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood, and old age. 4. Compare human development across different cultures. 5. Apply developmental theories and trends to their own lives. 6. Discuss developmental theories as it applies to their own life experiences. 7. Differentiate between principles and processes of developmental theories and research methodologies. 8. Evaluate universal changes, cultural generalities, gender disparities, and individual differences within each life stage.

Fulfills General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Fulfills high school Social Studies Elective requirement
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Teaches what sociology is, what a sociologist does, and how sociology is applied, including the study of cultures, socialization, stratification, religion, families, organizations and social change through lectures, guest speakers, film, writing assignments, and exams. Inclusive Access Course Material (electronic book) fees may apply, see Fees tab under each course section for details. **COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) At the successful conclusion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate an ability to identify ideas, people, and events that are generally thought to be important by sociologist. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of sociology as a scientific discipline (i.e. gathering and analyzing of empirical data in a systematic fashion). 3. Demonstrate an understanding of functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism as the major theoretical perspectives of sociology. 4. Demonstrate an understanding of the five main institutions of society (family, religion, education, economy, and politics) from a sociological perspective.