The course listing represents a sampling of courses taught by the faculty in this department in the 2009-10 academic year. To select courses for Fall 2009, see the catalog listing; similarly, for Spring 2010 refer to the relevant catalog.
FYSP-198 - I Knew It All Along
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 4 hours
Sometimes what we know, what we think we know, or what we think we would have known biases our interpretation of events. We will examine some of the biases that we bring to our reasoning about the world and the methods that psychological scientists use to eliminate biases in data collection, interpretation, and knowledge construction. We will be designing experiments, collecting data, interpreting findings, writing reports, and presenting results in class.
PSYC-100 - The Study of Behavior
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 4 hours
A survey of contemporary research and theory in the study of behavior. Topics include: social psychology, social perception, behavioral measurement and individual differences, biological bases of behavior, motivation, classical and instrumental conditioning, sensory processes, perception, memory, thinking, language, cognitive and personality development, psychopathology and psychotherapy.
This is a prerequisite course for most advanced courses in the department.
PSYC-106 - Visual Communication
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
An introduction to visual communication. This course will address questions such as: How is information effectively presented? What are principles of good graphic design? Using computer technology, students will learn how to create and evaluate the effectiveness of two and three dimensional visual communications. Visual communications will take the form of print publications, web sites, PowerPoint presentations, videos, animations, or interactive CDs. Evaluation will include basic research design and data analysis.
PSYC-108 - Psychobiologial Perspective of the Arts
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course examines fundamental biological and psychological processes involved in the experience and creation of art. It adopts the perspective of the natural sciences to address questions such as: What are the biological and behavioral prerequisites for art? How and why did they evolve? How are sensory, perceptual, and cognitive systems organized to acquire and process information about the environment? How are motivational and emotional systems organized to direct and influence artistic behavior?
PSYC-118 - Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course will introduce students to the field of Peace and Conflict Studies, an inter-disciplinary field that examines the causes of human aggression and conflict, with such conflict ranging in scale from the interpersonal to the international. We will survey the approaches of various disciplines to understanding violent conflict, explore potential links between violence and such factors as perceptions of injustice, and critically evaluate nonviolent means for resolving conflict.
PSYC-200 - Research Methods I
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This skills based course introduces descriptive and inferential statistics and basic principles of experimental and non-experimental research design. Topics include probability, chi-square, ANOVA, correlation and regression, sampling, measurement, and the systematic elimination of alternative hypotheses through statistical and experimental control. Scientific writing, use of SPSS, model building, and hypothesis testing are strongly emphasized. The course is intended to provide psychology majors with the core skills they need to carry out and interpret quantitative empirical research.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100, NSCI 201 or permission of instructor. Co-requisite: Students must enroll concurrently with PSYC 201. Research Methods I Laboratory.
PSYC-201 - Research Methods I Laboratory
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1 hour
The laboratory section of Research Methods emphasizes the analysis of data using SPSS, applied research skills, and scientific writing. All students will complete a research project from conceptualization and research design through data collection, statistical analysis, and final report. Students must also register for PSYC 200.
Co-requisite: PSYC 200
PSYC-204 - Cultural Psychology
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
A survey of the rapidly growing field of cultural psychology, for students interested in the ways in which behavior, thoughts, and feelings of individuals are influenced by their cultural context. Specifically, the course will examine the impact that culture has on child development, cognitive processes, emotional experiences, social behavior, health-related behaviors, and psychopathology. Applications to psychotherapy, negotiation, and organizational/work settings will also be explored.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
PSYC-206 - Sensory Processes and Perception
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Sensory systems evolved so that the organism could acquire information about its environment in order to survive and reproduce. This course explores the structure and function of sensory systems and includes topics such as: sensory receptors; transduction; mapping of sensory magnitude, space and time, movement, and stimulus qualities; the relationship between sensory processes and perceptual experience. Class meetings will be interactive, and used for a variety of exercises, demonstrations, presentations, and other activities.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
PSYC-214 - Abnormal Psychology
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
A survey of the field of adult psychopathology, beginning with conceptual and methodological foundations of the study of disordered behavior, followed by an examination of the major categories of mental disorder. A scientific perspective will be emphasized throughout the course, although a variety of philosophical, socio-cultural, and legal controversies will be considered as well.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100; or NSCI 201 or 204. Not open to first-year students. Recommended preparation: An introductory neuroscience course.
PSYC-216 - Developmental Psychology
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Research, issues, and theories of human development. Psychological topic areas, such as cognition, personality, and social behavior, will be related to the different age periods from infancy to adolescence, with a brief consideration of adulthood. The final part of the course will be devoted to social policy concerns and childhood psychopathology.
Note: An optional laboratory, PSYC 302, may be taken with or after this course. Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
PSYC-218 - Social Psychology
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course surveys major theories and research traditions in social psychology. Topics covered will include: interpersonal attraction, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and helping behavior. Assignments are designed to encourage students to apply the ideas of social psychology to their own and others' behavior. Research methodologies in social psychology will also be covered.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
PSYC-219 - Cognitive Psychology
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course covers a variety of topics that deal with the scientific study of human cognition. Topics may include: perception, memory, learning, thinking, problem solving, language, and reasoning. Historical as well as contemporary perspectives will be discussed, and data from behavioral experiments, cognitive neuroscience, and computational modeling will be addressed.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or NSCI 201, or NSCI 204. Recommended Preparation: PSYC 200, or MATH 100, 113, or 114. Notes: An optional laboratory, PSYC 303, may be taken after this course.
PSYC-230 - Health Psychology
Offered: First Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 Hours
An examination of psychological research relevant to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and illness. Topics will include stress and illness; personality factors and health; psychoneuroimmunology; psychological factors in health maintenance; pain and stress management; health and gender, ethnicity, and race; treatment compliance and communication.
Prerequisite:PSYC 100. PSYC 200 or an equivalent is recommended.
PSYC-300 - Research Methods II
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 4 hours
A continuation of PSYC 200, covering advanced experimental and correlational designs. Analysis topics include factorial and repeated measurement analysis of variance, partial and multiple correlation/regression. Students are expected to complete complex data analysis projects using advanced SPSS statistical procedures.
Prerequisites: PSYC 200; or MATH 113 or 114 and consent of instructor. This course is intended for psychology and related majors and prospective majors. It should be taken in the semester following PSYC 200.
PSYC-301 - Advanced Methods in Personality/Social Psychology
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Projects designed to parallel closely the process of professional research in personality and social psychology. Students will conduct their own research in groups, thus gaining experience in the activities common to all psychological research: hypothesis generation; research design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and report writing. The lab group will also engage in the use of computerized statistical analysis.
Prerequisite: PSYC 200. Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYC 211 or PSYC 218.
PSYC-302 - Advanced Methods in Developmental Psychology
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
Experimental and naturalistic methods used to study children from infancy through adolescence. Content areas include: infant perception, attachment behavior, intelligence, cognitive development, moral development, and social interaction. Students will collect data, use computer routines to describe related data sets, and prepare laboratory reports. Number of credit hours relates to the number of reports required.
Prerequisites: To be taken in conjunction with or subsequent to PSYC 216.
PSYC-303 - Advanced Methods in Cognitive Psychology
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This lab will introduce students to experimental methods used in cognitive psychology. Students will design experiments, collect data, and report research in the style and format of the American Psychological Association.
Prerequisite: PSYC 200, and PSYC 219. Prerequisite or Co-requisite: PSYC 300.
PSYC-305 - Advanced Methods in Human Psychophysiolgy
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Psychophysiology is concerned with physiological responses as reflections of psychological traits, states, and processes. In this combination lecture-laboratory introduction to the field, students will study the form and function of major physiological response systems and gain laboratory experience in the recording, analysis, and interpretation of cardiovascular, skin conductance, EMG, EEG, and event-related brain potential data.
Prerequisite: NSCI 201 or 204, PSYC-200, familiarity with Microsoft Excel and consent of instructor.
PSYC-430 - Seminar in Social Conflict
Offered: Second Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
Drawing from the fields of social, cognitive, and political psychology, this course explores the psychological processes that lead to, exacerbate, and ameliorate conflict. It examines biases in perceiving the ‘other,’ the role of pride and face-saving, the influence of social identity, and shortcomings in decision-making. We will also explore methods of de-escalating conflict, negotiation as problem-solving, the process of mediation, and the role of gender and culture in negotiation.
Prerequisite: PSYC 218.
PSYC-431 - Seminar in Psychology of Law
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Psychology of law concerns the application of research from all subdisciplinary areas of psychology including cognitive, clinical, social, developmental, and physiological. Topics may include forensic assessment, eye witness accuracy, jury decision making, special considerations surrounding juveniles, hypnosis, and repressed memory. Much of the content of the seminar will be determined by the students in consultation with the instructor. Prerequisites and Notes: Open to senior Psychology majors.
PSYC-450 - Seminar in Psycholinguistics
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This seminar investigates the psychological study of language, from sound perception to actions we perform with language. Topics may include word recognition, sentence processing and production, discourse and conversation, creative language, bilingualism, and language disorders. Discussions will address issues such as modularity, ambiguity resolution, context effects, how people coordinate conversation, and how IQ tests and telephone voice recognition systems are affected by our conversational expectations. We'll also discuss methodologies and new technologies such as head-mounted eye tracking.
Prerequisite: PSYC 219 or consent of instructor. Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
PSYC-461 - Seminar in Adolescent Development
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This seminar explores the empirical and theoretical literature on development from the end of elementary school through the transition to adulthood. The class will provide a brief overview of normative change and individual differences in biological and cognitive development and in family and peer relationships. During the second half of the semester, readings will explore two or more topics in depth. Topics may include romantic relationships and sexuality, identity, problem behavior, or developmental psychopathology.
Pre-requisites: PSYC 216 or PSYC 217, or permission of instructor.
PSYC-500 - Teaching Assistant
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1 hour
Advanced majors may serve as teaching assistants in a lower-level course by invitation of the faculty member involved.
Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
PSYC-501 - Practicum in Child Devlopmental Disorders
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
The practicum provides an opportunity to develop knowledge and skills by working with special needs children in a school setting. In a field placement, students will develop relationships with children diagnosed with such disorders as Autism and Asperger?s and work on educational and social skills. In class, we will examine the popular and descriptive literatures to better understand our classroom experiences. The practicum may be helpful with career decisions.
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading. May be repeated for credit.
PSYC-504 - Research Assistant
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-4 hours
Students may serve as research assistants in faculty or Senior Honors research projects by invitation of the faculty sponsor involved.
Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
PSYC-510 - Supervised Research in Memory and Learning
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-2 hours
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. The research topics will include applications of memory research to classroom learning and metamemory. Metamemory refers to a person's knowledge about memory processes and functions. Students will read the background literature, attend regular lab meetings to discuss the research, and conduct studies.
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
PSYC-520 - Supervised Research in Social and Environmental Psychology
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. Research issues will broadly fall within the areas of social conflict, social/environmental issues, prejudice and discrimination, and perspective taking.
Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading. May be repeated for credit.
PSYC-540 - Supervised Research in Cognitive Neuroscience
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. Research will address some aspect of human cognition or emotion, with an emphasis on physiological dependent measures. Students will master laboratory procedures and collect and process experimental data under the close supervision of the instructor. Some reading of relevant research papers and regular group meetings devoted to coordinating lab activities and discussing the ongoing research will be required.
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading. May be repeated for credit.
PSYC-550 - Supervised Research in Psycholinguistics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. Research will address some aspect of human language comprehension. Students will master laboratory procedures (such as materials norming, sentence completion, word-by-word reading, and head-mounted eyetracking) and will collect and process experimental data under the close supervision of the instructor. Regular group meetings to discuss relevant research papers and current lab projects and activities will be required.
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading. May be repeated for credit.
PSYC-560 - Supervised Research in Adolescent Development
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
A class designed to involve students inthe conduct of professional research. Research will address some aspect of adolescent development. Students will master research procedures which may include observational and survey techniques, behavioral coding, physiological assessment of emotional state, and data preparation and management. Students are expected to work as part of a larger group and to complete a small research project either independently or with another student. Students will participate in regular group meetings where project issues and related research are discussed.
Open to all students with the consent of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.
PSYC-604 - Problems for Investigation
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-4 hours
Designed for the student who wishes to pursue independent work on a topic not usually covered by formal offerings. Normally, a bibliographic or theoretical research paper will be part of the course requirement.
Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
PSYC-606 - Independent Research Problems
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-4 hours
Students may select an empirical research problem for individual investigation.
Prerequisite: PSYC 200 or equivalent.
PSYC-608 - Empirical Honors Research
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-4 hours
Consent of chair required.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Honors Program. Note: Not more than eight hours may be taken in PSYC 608.
PSYC-612 - Theoretical or Bibliographic Honors Research
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 2-4 hours
Senior Honors Research. Consent of chair required.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Honors Program. Note: Not more than six hours may be taken in PSYC 612.
PSYC-995 - Private Reading
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-3 hours
Independent study of a subject beyond the range of catalog course offerings. Signed permission of the instructor required.
Prerequisite: Completion of basic coursework in the selected topic area. Note: Available to junior and senior majors. To register for a private reading, the student must obtain the signatures of the instructor and department chair on a private reading card and turn the card in to the Office of the Registrar.
