PSYC 100: Understanding Psychology
4 semester hours
Staff
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 designed for non-majors and minors and is not to be taken in conjunction with or in addition to Psychology courses 110-160.
PSYC 107 Statistics
4 semester hours
Brookings, Jeffrey
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 introductory statistics course. (e.g., Math 127, Mgt. 210)
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
Kinzeler, Nicole
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 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 231: Child Development
4 semester hours
Zembar, Mary Jo
Prerequisite: Psychology 130 or Education 111 or 112.
The developmental study of children from prenatal development to preadolescence, with emphasis on motor, cognitive, language, social and personality development. Monthly observations of infants and children help students apply theoretical developmental models and research findings. Service-learning 100 is an available option. Final grade is based on essay exams, observation projects, and participation.
PSYC 280: Psychology & Culture
4 semester hours
Crane, Lauren
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing (or higher)
People cannot speak without having an accent from somewhere. In much the same way, people's psychological functioning is not accent-free. This course highlights the extent to which all levels of psychological functioning, even "basic" ones, are grounded in culture-specific assumptions about what matters, what is "good”, and how the world works. Students are expected to emerge from this class with a sharpened ability to critique generalizations made about human psychology, a greater appreciation of interpersonal diversity, and a richer understanding of how their own ways of thinking and being derive from culture-bound experiences. Course requirements include exams, research projects, and class participation. This course contains substantial East Asian content and counts toward the East Asian Studies major/minor. This course also includes an optional “Cultures and Languages across the Curriculum” (CLAC) component.
Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum: CLAC
Interested in using your foreign language skills to earn extra credit connected to this course and to learn more about the subject matter of this course at the same time? If so, register for the CLAC components offered here. You don't need to be fluent in the language to exercise this option. In fact, you need only to have completed two credits beyond 112 or to be currently enrolled in a course beyond 112. Your work will be guided by your professor and by faculty from the Languages Department. The CLAC module is designed for intermediate level language learners.
This course offers a foreign language component or CLAC component in the following languages:
Chinese
French
German
Japanese
Russian
Spanish
Students who select the CLAC option will complete work in a foreign language that will supplement the work in this course. Students who complete the CLAC assignments successfully will earn 1 credit for the CLAC component.
To register for the CLAC component, you must also register for a one-credit LANG 230 CLAC module listed among the Language Department's offerings. Meeting times and location will be arranged at the beginning of the semester. Credit for CLAC modules may be counted toward the requirements for International Studies and as elective credit in the Language department.
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 311: Behavioral Neuroscience
5 semester hours
Kinzeler, Nicole
Prerequisites: Psychology 107 or another statistics course and Psychology 110.
This course provides the student with a solid background in the biological basis of behavior. Topics covered in lectures include the study of neurons, gross and fine neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, sensory systems, and the physiological basis of motivation (thirst, hunger, sex, and sleep), emotions, learning, memory, brain damage, and psychopathology. Final grade is based on four tests, in different formats, a final exam, and laboratory reports on weekly 3-hour laboratory sessions.
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: Abnormal
4 semester hours
Little, Stephanie
Students in this course will work with the instructor on research in the area of abnormal psychology. Students will become familiar with the current literature in a specific area of abnormal psychology and meet to discuss research literature, develop hypotheses, and design one or more studies to test their hypotheses. Students then will carry out the studies they planned, analyze the data, and write research papers summarizing their findings. It is anticipated that these papers will be of a quality suitable for publication. Writing Intensive
