DEPARMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology Department
Spring 2010 Course Descriptions
PSYC 100 - Understanding Psychology
4 semester hours
Crane, Lauren
Prerequisites: None
An introductory-level survey course in psychology with a focus on how psychology can be applied to other fields of study and life in general; intended for students who do not plan to major or minor in psychology. Covers topics in biological foundations of behavior, learning and memory, developmental psychology, motivation and emotion, abnormal psychology and psychotherapy, personality, and social psychology. This course is not to be taken in conjunction with or in addition to Psychology courses 110-160.
PSYC 107 - Statistics
4 semester hours
Brown, Cliff
Prerequisites: To register for Psychology 107, a student must have a 23 or higher Mathematics Placement Level. Contact the Math Workshop for details regarding this prerequisite. A student may not receive credit for more than one statistics course.
This is a course in applied statistics. Its emphasis is on the mechanics of summarizing and analyzing data, with examples from the behavioral sciences. The purpose of the course is to prepare students for other courses in Psychology and related disciplines and to help them conduct and interpret statistical analyses.
PSYC 110 - Proseminar I: Physiological
2 semester hours
Wilson, Josephine
Prerequisites: None
This course is an introduction to the study of the biological bases of behavior, including the structure and function of neurons, brain organization, and sensation and perception. Required texts include a basic psychology textbook and O. Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat. Grade in course is based on three exams in multiple choice and essay format. In addition, students are required either to participate in a limited number of research studies or to write a research paper.
Psyc 140 - Proseminar IV: Individual Differences
2 semester hours
Brookings, Jeffrey
Prerequisites: None
This course is an introduction to the scientific study of individual differences in intelligence and personality. In the first part of the course, we consider theories of intelligence, how intelligence is measured, and current controversies about the proper use of intelligence test scores. In part two of the course, we shift to the study of personality, including broad theories of personality (psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, trait) and new directions in personality research and measurement.
PSYC 160 - Proseminar VI: Social
2 semester hours
Brown, Clifford
Prerequisites: None
This course is an introduction to social psychology, the scientific study of how others influence our beliefs, emotions, and behavior. Topics include conformity, persuasion, social cognition, attribution, attitudes, prejudice, aggression, and nonverbal communication. Three tests assess performance. In addition, students are required either to participate in a limited number of research studies or to write a research paper.
PSYC 207 - Experimental Design
5 semester hours
Crane, Lauren
Prerequisite: Psychology 107 or another statistics course.
This laboratory course gives you hands-on experience with the basic principles of research in psychology: the logic and methodologies of collecting data in a scientific manner, and the concepts and techniques of applying statistics to collected data in order to draw conclusions. We will cover a variety of methodologies, emphasizing how you can use each of them yourself. As part of this course, you will design and implement a number of studies that involve collecting, analyzing, and interpreting original data, as well as reporting your findings. Each study will illustrate a different type of analytic tool or procedure, but the specific questions to be addressed in these studies will be determined by you.
PSYC 232 - Psychology of Adolescence
4 semester hours
Zembar, Mary Jo
Prerequisite - Psychology 130 or EDUC 111 or 112
This course examines the physical and psychological consequences of making the transition to adolescence. Current psychological theories and research are presented to clarify the changes that occur during this stage of development. Emphasis is placed on contemporary issues such as eating disorders, parent-adolescent conflict, peer pressure, teenage motherhood, delinquency, etc. The format of the course includes lecture/discussion, films, and in-class group exercises. Outside assignments include a journal, quizzes, and a group presentation. The class typically meets three times a week and is writing intensive. Service Learning 100 is an option with this course.
PSYC 253 - Introduction to Counseling
4 semester hours
Owens, Jessica
Prerequisites: Psychology 150, and preferably Psychology 251.
An introduction to the art and science of counseling. The history of counseling, theoretical perspectives that underlie the practice of counseling, as well as the counseling process will be examined. Practical exercises will provide an opportunity to learn communication skills vital to the practice of counseling.
PSYC 280 - Child Abnormal Psychology
4 semester hours
Little, Stephanie
Prerequisite: None
This course examines the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders in children and adolescents. Various theories, models, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are investigated in the context of research, case studies, and service-learning. An advanced course, which primarily serves students interested in working with youth in the fields of clinical psychology, social work, counseling, special education, and related specialties.
PSYC 321 - Learning, Memory, and Cognition
5 semester hours
Anes, Michael
Prerequisites: Psychology 120 and Psychology 207
This is a course in which we study major operations of the human mind; perceiving, remembering, acting, and thinking. Specific areas of coverage include attention, visual search and object recognition, visual memory, general memory mechanisms (working and long-term), language, imagery, reasoning, and judgment. We will discuss learning and memory in other species as well, and attempt to draw parallels that inform our understanding of human cognition.
Specific proposals about how the mind accomplishes particular tasks (models) have been advanced in the short, 50-year history of modern cognitive psychology. We will see how these models have been tested, in part by participating in replications of classic cognitive psychology experiments. Data, including the data we generate ourselves, will be discussed in detail. We will write APA-style papers describing the nature of these tasks, the methods used, and the results obtained in the tasks. Finally, we will plan and execute group experiments.
Prerequisites: Psychology 140 and Psychology 107.
This is a laboratory course examining principles of test construction, validation, and interpretation, with emphasis on measures of cognitive ability, personality characteristics, and psychological disorders. Classes will be in lecture/discussion format. Lab exercises emphasize psychometric evaluation of published psychological tests. A group project requires students to construct and validate a psychological test.
PSYC 390 - Junior Seminar
No Credit
Brookings, Jeffrey
This seminar meets one hour per week and is designed to help students understand their various options as psychology majors. This includes topics such as senior research projects and internships, senior comprehensive and GRE exams, possible career paths, graduate school applications, and graduate school and job interviews. This class may include guest speakers and field trips based on students’ interests. Psychology majors are required to take this no-credit seminar for one semester during their junior year.
PSYC 400 - Research Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience
4 Semester hours
Anes, Michael
In this course, we rely upon careful experimentation to reveal the brain’s processing specialization for specific tasks.
Scientific questions to be addressed in the class are 1) about how the brain constructs its representation of the body (in the “rubber hand” illusion and in virtual reality situations), 2) how the brain’s left and right hemispheres differ in processing human faces and 3) how the brain left and right hemispheres pay attention to the world – does one hemisphere prevail in allocation of attention in vision and in audition?
We will read primary journal articles in the first portion of the course and students will be expected to capably present this material in class and in written response assignments. Performance will be assessed with respect to 1) laboratory work, 2) participation in class discussion of previous work, written responses, and in data analyses, and 3) individual writing of journal articles of a quality suitable for publication. The course is designated Writing Intensive.
PSYC 400 - Research Seminar: Interpersonal Behavior
4 semester hours
Brown, Clifford
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Students in this course will work with the instructor on interpersonal behavior research in the area of social psychology. Students will become familiar with the current literature in a specific area of social psychology, and meet twice weekly to discuss research literature, develop hypotheses, and design studies to test their hypotheses. Students will review previous research, plan and conduct studies, analyze the data, and write research papers summarizing their findings. It is anticipated that these papers will be submitted to regional conferences. Microcomputers will be used extensively in each of these stages. Writing Intensive.
