300

Structure and function of the nervous system, with implications for both normal and abnormal development and behavior. How the function of the brain is related to behavior.

In this course we will examine the evolutionary basis of human behavior and cognition. The ways in which natural and sexual selection have shaped human nature will be explored. Selected topics include evolutionary explanations of human mating systems, jealousy, interpersonal and sexual attraction, warfare, sexual orientation, and cognition. A special emphasis will be placed on exploring the evolutionary basis of male-female differences.

A systematic study of the learning process emphasizing topical, research, and theoretical orientations. Topics covered include major theories of learning and memory, Pavlovian conditioning, appetitive and aversive conditioning, biological influences on learning, stimulus and cognitive control of behavior, and memory processes: storage, encoding, retrieval, and forgetting.

Examines the higher mental processes of attention, learning, memory, language, concept formation, problem solving, and reasoning. Students will participate in simulations of classic experiments in cognitive psychology.

Experimental study of sensation and perception emphasizing human visual and auditory processes and the methods of experimental psychology. The student will gain laboratory experience by participating in experiments and by designing, carrying out, and writing up an original study.

Psychological behavior of an individual as a member of a group; the influence of culture and society on attitudes, personality, and behavior; the dynamics of group interaction.

This course will provide students with varying perspectives on human sexuality.  Through film, reading class discussion, and guest lectures, student will explore sexuality from historical, biological, psychological, developmental, sociological, and cultural contexts.  Attention will be given to how different perspectives on sexuality may affect individuals and the larger society.

Examines psychosocial aspects of human development from birth through death. Focuses on major psychological, social, and cognitive topics as relevant to the stages of the life span.

Focuses on issues related to moral development. Using the writing of various psychologists, novelists, and philosophers, this course will address such issues as moral reasoning, meaning, and purpose.

Examines diverse perspectives on human personality. The focus is on asking what we know when we know a person. This involves analyzing basic assumptions, postulates, and research related to major personality theories including: trait, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cultural, biological, and cognitive.

This course will examine the social self; competing needs for uniqueness and similarity; the meaning of self-identity and self-concept; individual coping strategies; attributional analyses; social influence and defining gender.

Examination of problem behavior, its causes, its treatment, and its social and legal ramifications. Emphasis is given to personal and societal understanding of abnormality as well as to psychological and medical considerations.

Credit arranged.

Credit arranged.