PSYC – Psychology
PSYC 122 General Psychology (3)
Surveys the field of psychology. Emphasizes the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and challenges students to critically analyze the major findings, theories and applications in areas such as sensation and perception; development, learning, memory and cognition; motivation and emotion; psychopathology and social psychology. (SB)
PSYC 175 Applied Social Psychology (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122. This class is intended for advanced first-year students. Humans are deeply social. This class will explore the ways we people understand and interact with one another in everyday life. Why do we obey people in authority? What are the roots of prejudice and how can we overcome them? Why do other people sometimes bring out our worst and other times bring out our best? We will address these questions and more as we apply social psychology to our everyday lives and hopefully learn something about what it means to be a person in the presence of other people.
PSYC 220 Psychological Investigations (4)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and second-year standing. Introduces students to major assumptions, values, and questions addressed by psychologists, and presents basic concepts and methods of psychological inquiry. Special emphasis is given to individual and class research projects, data analysis and research report writing. (WRT)
PSYC 225 Psychology of Personality (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC-122 and second-year standing, or instructor’s permission. The scientific study of the origins and effects of individual differences in thought, emotion, and behavior. Topics covered include current topics in personality research, theoretical perspectives, and assessment techniques.
PSYC 231 Psychopathology (3)
Prerequisite: second-year standing and PSYC 122. Surveys psychological disorders and abnormal behaviors including symptoms, causes and treatments. Integrates biological, psychological, and social influences. Introduces diagnostic criteria for major disorders.
PSYC 240 Psychology of Gender (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and second-year standing, or instructor’s permission. This course explores psychological research and theory related to gender, with a particular focus on the ways in which gender influences men’s and women’s daily lives. Attention is given to the biological, cognitive, and psychosocial changes in sex and gender across the life-span. Topics include the effects of parents, peers, school, work, and health as they shape gender identity. Throughout the course, we will examine how gender can be studied using empirical research methods and emphasize the importance of identity, sexual orientation, culture, and social class in understanding gender. (GPC)
PSYC 250 Stress and Health (3)
Prerequisite: second-year standing and PSYC 122 or instructor’s permission. Examines how biological, psychological, and social factors interact with and affect physical and emotional wellbeing. Special emphasis will be placed on the on the role that stress plays in health. Students will learn about these complex relationships and how to apply this knowledge to real-world situations, including their own health behaviors.
PSYC 277 Clinical Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and second-year standing. Clinical neuroscience focuses on the neurological underpinnings of psychological disorders and diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including addiction, autism spectrum disorders, borderline and antisocial personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, affective disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and neuropsychological assessment. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 277 and PSYC 477.
PSYC 278 Forensic Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and second-year standing. Advances in psychology and neuroscience techniques and imaging have required the judicial system to reconsider the role that behavioral science plays in courtroom decision-making. In Forensic Neuroscience, students will learn the applications of psychology and neuroscience to the judicial system while interpreting evidence in past criminal trials or mock courtroom settings. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including the neurological underpinnings of eye witness memory, jury selection, battered woman syndrome, the insanity plea, competency to stand trial and the criminal mind. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 278 and PSYC 478.
PSYC 279 Social, Affective, and Developmental Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and second-year standing. Social, affective and developmental neuroscience focuses on the neurological underpinnings of emotion, social interaction and development. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including the neuroscience of empathy, religious and political affiliation, love, language development and developmental disorders such as autism and dyslexia. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 279 and PSYC 479.
PSYC 330 Multicultural Issues in Psychology (3)
Prerequisite: PYSC 122 and third-year standing, or instructor’s permission. This course will introduce and familiarize students with the concept of multicultural issues in the field of psychology. The concept of “culture” will be viewed broadly, not only encompassing issues of race and ethnicity, but also gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, immigration status, personal interests and attitudes as well as ability and disability. The course will examine various issues through a multicultural lens including education, communication, research, testing, prejudice, identity development, health, and acculturation. (GPC)
PSYC 335 Fundamentals of Statistics (4)
Introduces students to the statistical techniques typically used in psychology, sociology, education, communication and related areas. Topics and procedures include: grouping, graphical representation of data, measures of central tendency and variability effect size, probability, hypothesis testing, correlation, tests of differences, several models of analysis of variance and nonparametric alternatives, including chi square. (MR)
PSYC 336 SPSS for Psychological Research (1)
Corequisite: concurrent enrollment in PSYC 480. Students learn how to use the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to input data, save and retrieve data, make data transformation, conduct analyses, manipulate and understand output, and create and edit graphs. Pass/No Credit basis.
PSYC 340 Cognitive Psychology (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122. Introduces students to the theories and methods of cognitive psychology and cognitive science. Topics include attention, perception, memory, language, knowledge representation, problem solving, computer modeling and everyday cognition.
PSYC 348 Experimental Psychology (4)
Prerequisite: third-year standing or instructor’s permission, PSYC 220 and previous or concurrent enrollment in PSYC 335, or instructor’s permission. Covers basic principles of research design with a focus on experimentation. Surveys theory and research in various domains of experimental psychology, including perception, learning, memory, problem solving, social influences, individual differences, development, environmental psychology and human factors.
PSYC 382 Child & Adolescent Development (3)
Prerequisite: third-year standing or instructor’s permission and PSYC 122. Covers theory and research on physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development from conception through adolescence. Requires participation in service-learning to help students integrate course content with experience. A student cannot receive credit for both EDUC 270 and PSYC 382.
PSYC 384 Adult Development & Aging (3)
Prerequisite: third-year standing or instructor’s permission and PSYC 122. Covers theory and research on physical, cognitive, social, and identity development from early through late adulthood. Includes issues related to work, family, relationships, sexuality, death and grieving, and social policy.
PSYC 385 Principles of Counseling (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and third-year standing or instructor’s permission. This course examines major counseling theories and the process of therapy. Students learn the basic techniques of counseling and engage in practicing their skills in the role of a counselor. Students also explore professional identities in the helping field broadly, particularly within counseling. Throughout the semester, students consider their own personality, beliefs, culture, and experiences and how they influence their perceptions of the counseling process.
PSYC 397 Internship: Psychology (Arr)
Prerequisite: third-year standing and instructor’s permission. Students work under professional supervision in a situation involving application of psychological principles. Emphasis is on learning by observing and practicing. Amount of credit is determined according to the extent of the experiences, not to exceed 6 credits in the 35 credit minimum. Students considering an internship should confer with the department to receive consultation and guidelines. Pass/No Credit basis.
PSYC 427 Memory (4)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and third-year standing. This seminar style course focuses on the topic of human memory and its application to real-world problems. After defining memory and reviewing the major theoretical perspectives on memory, students will explore stress and its impact on memory, the impact of healthy and abnormal aging on memory, false memory, confabulation, eyewitness memory, amnesias, the recovered memory controversy, forgetting and extraordinary memory.
PSYC 468 Social Cognition (4)
Prerequisite: Third-or fourth-year standing and at least two 200-level psychology courses or instructor permission. Explore social-cognitive processing or thinking in social contexts. Topics include stereotyping, memory, social judgment, and using knowledge about others in social interactions. Students will explore these topics, read original empirical research and theoretical papers, and consider research methods used to investigate these phenomena. Additionally, we will examine how social cognition has been influenced by cognitive, social, and developmental psychology.
PSYC 477 Clinical Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and senior standing. Clinical neuroscience focuses on the neurological underpinnings of psychological disorders and diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including addiction, autism spectrum disorders, borderline and antisocial personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, affective disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and neuropsychological assessment. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 277 and PSYC 477.
PSYC 478 Forensic Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and senior standing. Advances in psychology and neuroscience techniques and imaging have required the judicial system to reconsider the role that behavioral science plays in courtroom decision-making. In Forensic Neuroscience, students will learn the applications of psychology and neuroscience to the judicial system while interpreting evidence in past criminal trials or mock courtroom settings. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including the neurological underpinnings of eye witness memory, jury selection, battered woman syndrome, the insanity plea, competency to stand trial and the criminal mind. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 278 and PSYC 478.
PSYC 479 Social, Affective, and Developmental Neuroscience (3)
Prerequisite: PSYC 122 and senior standing. Social, affective and developmental neuroscience focuses on the neurological underpinnings of emotion, social interaction and development. The course will explore a wide variety of topics including the neuroscience of empathy, religious and political affiliation, love, language development and developmental disorders such as autism and dyslexia. Students may not receive credit for both PSYC 279 and PSYC 479.
PSYC 480 Advanced Research in Psychology (4)
Prerequisite: PSYC 335, PSYC 348 or instructor’s permission. Students design and implement individual research projects on cognitive, cultural, developmental, personality, gender, multicultural or social psychology topics. As part of this capstone research experience, students collect and analyze data, and present research results both orally and as manuscripts written in accordance with American Psychological Association standards. This course may be repeated. (WRT)
PSYC 486 Psychological Tests and Assessment (4)
Prerequisite: Senior standing, PSYC 335 or comparable background in statistics, or instructor’s permission. Studies basic psychometric principles, including reliability, validity and score interpretation. Considers tests of intelligence, creativity, interest and personality in an assessment context.
PSYC 199, PSYC 299, PSYC 399, PSYC 499 Independent Study (Arr)
Permission must be secured prior to registration. Designed to permit students to pursue individual interests in specialized area of psychology to supplement scheduled course offerings.