Psychology (PSYC)

An exploration of significant questions and concepts, beliefs and creative visions, theories and discoveries in Psychology for first-year students. Although topics vary, the courses also seek to improve students' communication skills beyond the written word.

An exploration of a specific topic in Psychology. A grade of C- or better fulfills the COLL 150 requirement. Although topics vary, the courses emphasize academic writing skills, reading and analysis of texts, and discussion.

A study of basic principles of behavior, in sensation and perception, conditioning and learning, drives and motivation, response mechanisms and cognitive processes.

An examination of basic concepts in abnormal, developmental, personality and social psychology, normality and deviation, behavior modification, stages of development, personality traits, motives, attitudes and social perceptions.

This course will cover visual perception and representation in art and architecture. Primarily, we will examine perception and representation of 3-D structure on the 2-D plane. Specific topics include balance, shape, form, growth, space, light, color, movement, dynamics, and expression. Artworks will be critiqued with respect to the visual information provided to provide depth and multi- dimensional structure and/or dynamics. A secondary literature on the relation between space and thought will be examined with respect to architecture. We will consider selected readings on space and function and on the relation between body and space, particularly with respect to the recent embodied cognition movement within Psychology.

An introduction to statistics, both descriptive and inferential, including analysis of variance and correlation. Hypothesis testing and the analysis of research data are strongly emphasized.

An introduction to empirical research with emphasis upon the methods by which psychological data are obtained. The course will consider naturalistic and correlational methods as well as experimental techniques.

A survey of human development from prenatal development through adolescence with emphasis on perceptual, cognitive, and socioemotional processes.

The course examines human cognition. Topics include: perception, action, attention, memory, thinking, and language. Students will be introduced to the major theoretical perspectives and important empirical research findings from related fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience.

A survey of contemporary theory in the field with emphasis upon its empirical foundations and future possibilities.

Physiological basis of behavior with emphasis on mechanisms in perception, learning, emotion and motivation.

This course examines the effects of social context on the behavior of the individual, with emphasis on prominent theories and research. Topics include social perception, attitude organization and change, the social consequences of individual motives, interpersonal influence, and the application of social psychology to contemporary social issues.

Explores the basis of complex human and animal behavior from a general-process approach seeking to understand evolved processes of learning that apply to many different situations. Topics: why behavior changes, classical and instrumental conditioning, punishment, biological basis of learning, and animal cognition.

Survey of topics with specific emphasis on the perceptual experiences in the mind and brain.

A survey of behavior pathology including the neuroses and psychoses and their relationship to current conceptions of normal personality.

This course explores community psychology and the role of illness prevention and health promotion in mental health. Contemporary prevention theory emphasizing an ecological and developmental approach to understanding risk and protective factors is presented. State-of-the-art model programs and community-based approaches are highlighted.

An approach to psychological science based on the assumption that human brains/minds were designed by natural selection to solve adaptive problems faced recurrently by our distant ancestors, with important implications for understanding behavior in contemporary environments.

This course is intended to introduce students to the field of crosscultural psychology. Students will learn about the contributions of cross-cultural research to the field of psychology, and how crosscultural research has expanded our understanding of the applicability of prevalent psychological theories to non-Western populations.

From Greek Philosophy to the present with special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. The rise of the major systems: Existential and Humanistic Psychology, Structuralism, Functionalism, Gestalt Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism. Some current issues such as the "cognitive revolution," dialectics, genetic epistemology and phenomenological research will be discussed.

Theories and facts of motivation and emotion and consideration of their differences. Emphasis on theory and research.

This course surveys a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the scientific study of intelligent thought and behavior in humans, other animals and machines. We will address questions like: how does the mind work? Can computers be conscious? Does language shape thought? Students will explore possible answers to these questions and others by approaching them from the fields of philosophy, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics and cognitive psychology.

An overview of psychological theory, research and practice concerning the prevention, treatment, and progression of illness and the promotion of health. Specific topics include changing health habits, stress, pain, chronic and terminal illness, and the health-care delivery system.

The purpose of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary overview of current theory and research on the entire adult lifespan from young adulthood to midlife to older adulthood. Throughout the semester we will examine and synthesize conceptual frameworks and empirical evidence related to physiological, psychological, and social dimensions of adult development and aging. In addition to substantive goals, this course is intended to develop critical thinking and writing, comprehension of empirical research, and active discussion and active listening skills.

The study of behaviors associated with courtship and reproduction with an emphasis on humans. Topics include biological and environmental determinants of sexual behavior, physiology and psychology of sexual response, and gender differences.

A consideration of the problems involved in providing psychological programs for the care of exceptional children. An overview of relevant research and treatment techniques will be combined with practical experience in field settings with exceptional children.

Students will engage in a service learning experience that involves five or more hours per week of observation and volunteer work at various community organizations (or field placements) for children or adolescents. Classroom meetings will involve discussion of the philosophy of service learning and will provide students with a forum to share their field observations in the context of assigned readings that address various developmental issues and theory.

An examination of contemporary issues in developmental research. Research methods are considered in conjunction with a review of current literature in areas such as early socialization, cognitive development and behavior problems. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

An examination of the research and theory that helps describe and explain the structure and function of the mind. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

An overview of research methods in the study of personality. Specific research topics such as achievement, motivation, aggression, anxiety, cognitive styles, intelligence and abilities, interpersonal attraction, locus of control, personalogy, self concept and gender differences will be reviewed in detail. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

This research capstone course provides hands-on experience in the design and execution of studies using electroencephalography (EEG) to explore the physiological bases of psychological processes. Students learn the fundamental physiology underlying EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs), gain practical skills in EEG recording and data analysis, and apply these methods in an original research project. Emphasis is placed on hypothesis development, experimental design, and interpretation of ERP components in the context of cognitive and affective neuroscience.

This course concerns the methods used in contemporary social psychology. The primary emphasis is on laboratory experimentation, but other methods, including field research are considered. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic.

An examination of psychological mechanisms in animals that subserve such cognitive processes as perception, attention, working and reference memory, associative learning, spatial navigation, time perception, counting, concept learning and primate cognition. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

The course is concerned with the processes by which persons come to understand their environment. It considers what changes in the environment stimulate the senses and how the nervous system operates on this change to form projections about the real world. Students will be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours. There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

This course will cover an in depth study of issues and approaches to classifying and understanding the origins of selected adult mental disorders. Students will also be required to develop and complete an empirical research project on a course-related topic.

This course will acquaint students with both techniques and research issues in behavior modification. Laboratory sessions will be devoted to gaining experience with the processes described and to preparing and implementing individual research projects. Three lecture hours, two laboratory hours. There is a fee associated with the laboratory.

This course will cover visual perception and representation in art and architecture. Primarily, we will examine perception and representation of 3-D structure on the 2-D plane. Specific topics include balance, shape, form, growth, space, light, color, movement, dynamics, and expression. Artworks will be critiqued with respect to the visual information providing depth cues and multi-dimensional structure and/or dynamics. A secondary literature on the relation between space and thought will be examined with respect to architecture. We will consider selected readings on space and function and on the relation between body and space, particularly with respect to the recent embodied cognition movement within Psychology. (This course is anchored in the ALV and CSI domains.)

This course will explore how individuals process music. We will ask questions like why is music found across all cultures and why does it have such a powerful effect on us? Why might we have developed the neural structures to appreciate something that, at face value, seems to offer no evolutionary advantage? We will be taking a neuroscience –based approach to answer these questions. In the process we will review many important research papers in the field and discuss the implications of what has been discovered.

An examination and analysis of the cognitive factors that aid or hinder choosing alternative courses of action. The major emphasis will be on psychological processes underlying choice and judgment. Applications to business decisions and policy making will be considered.

This course covers theories (e.g., Psychoanalytic, Incongruity, Evolutionary) and applications of humor, and will feature research on cognitive, emotional, developmental, and social aspects of the complex stimulus of humor and the reflex-like laughter response. Students may never laugh again.

The systematic study of the effects of drugs on behavior, cognitive functioning, and emotions. Students will gain an in-depth view of neuro-transmitter systems and the mechanisms by which drugs act on these systems to alter behavior.

This seminar will embrace the theme "ceremony" to examine the formal and informal ceremonies that are a part of adolescent rites of passage, identity exploration (sexual, gender, race, ethnicity), and social relationships. We will learn how adolescence is a necessary stage for a healthy transition to adulthood that is filled with identifiable ceremonies via research articles and book chapters, memoirs and documentaries, and media/social media depictions of adolescents and via class discussion and research projects.

This course examines neuroanatomy from a behavioral point of view. Students will learn how different parts of the brain organize into functional circuits that control various aspects of behavior, cognitive function, and emotions.

This course is a seminar on self-transcendent states. Self-transcendence is defined broadly as going beyond one's usual limits, such that one's agency, communion, or epistemic condition is enhanced. Examples of topics include creativity, insight, awe, the sublime, inspiration, the chills, peak experiences, self-actualization, mystical experiences, psychedelic states, and meditation. Readings draw from diverse fields and are viewed through the lens of psychological theories and scientific methods.

The second part of the advanced two-course statistics sequence covering topics from basic descriptive and inferential statistics through multiple regression, analysis of variance, and the general linear model

Examines the works of William James, Freud, Jung and Gordon Allport in light of current psychological theory and research, emphasizing religious development and the nature, modes and consequences of individual religious experience.

An in-depth examination of selected topics in psychological science from an Evolutionary-Psychology perspective.

Examines the scientific body of knowledge concerning the development, maintenance, and deterioration of friendships and romantic relationships. Specific topics include attraction, romantic love, models of relationship satisfaction and individual differences in approaches to close relationships.

This seminar explores human development during the first two years of life. Course will cover historical and contemporary perspectives of perceptual, cognitive, and social development.

This seminar explores the psychology of shame in its constructive role of enforcing ideals and honor as well as its miscarriage in the form of deep self-loathing. Discussion will be informed by readings in psychological texts as well as classic novels.

Autobiographical memory contains memories of our personal experiences. This seminar class will examine the unique developmental, cognitive, neural, and social properties of these memories. Classes will also examine the consequences of a dysfunctional autobiographical memory for various psychopathologies.

This seminar will examine the causes and consequences of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination from a social psychological perspective. We will review classic and contemporary literature on these topics and apply this work to current societal issues. At the end of the class, you should have a strong understanding of the major theoretical perspectives that have sought to explain stereotyping and prejudice, as well as a grasp on the experimental methods used to explore important research questions in the field.

This is a seminar course that focuses on brain changes that occur as a result of development, injury, disease, or some other event such as surgical or therapeutic intervention. A background in Cognitive Psychology or Physiological Psychology is required. We will review content from texts and journal publications. Class participation, class presentation/discussion leadership, and three papers are required.

Courses concerning special topics not covered in detail in regular course offerings.

Special topics of interest to staff and students will be discussed in seminar fashion.

Individual supervised readings on special topics. Usually for advanced students. A student must have permission of a faculty supervisor before registering.

Individually supervised empirical investigations in the various areas of psychology. A student must have permission of a faculty supervisor before registering. This course does not meet the advanced research course requirement for the psychology major.

vised research in the student’s special area of interest; (b) presentation by May 1 of an Honors thesis; and (c) satisfactory performance in a comprehensive oral examination in the field of the student’s major interest.

vised research in the student’s special area of interest; (b) presentation by May 1 of an Honors thesis; and (c) satisfactory performance in a comprehensive oral examination in the field of the student’s major interest.

This course is designed to allow students to gain practical experience. The internship includes readings in relevant areas and a written report. The student must have a faculty member willing to supervise the internship, and a site willing to host it. A departmental handout describes the requirements in greater detail. Application required.