PSY - Psychology

How does the mind work, and how can science help us better understand human experience and human behavior? This course approaches such questions through an overview of major topics in contemporary psychology and through an integration of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives. Students will deploy a scientific lens in the exploration of human nature and examination of contemporary social problems.

Students will learn the fundamentals of scientific thinking, using data-informed approaches to answer questions about human psychology and behavior. Students will practice articulating research questions, designing systematic observations, and reflecting on their results and assumptions. Though framed through the lens of academic research, these skills are useful across a range of settings, such as business, education, and medicine.

This course, extending beyond MTH 161, teaches the statistical methods used in the field of Psychology (e.g. ANOVAs and Regression Analysis). Students will learn to analyze Psychological data using SPSS software, interpret their findings, and report them appropriately. Students will become more critical consumers of scientific literature and information in their daily lives.

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 discuss how external stimuli are detected and perceived by the nervous system. We will study the anatomy, physiology and circuitry that mediate vision, audition, touch, taste and olfaction.

The course introduces students to the history, methods, and findings in the areas of habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, declarative memory and procedural learning. We will discuss the neural basis of these changes and learn the anatomical circuits involved. Finally, we will also discuss how these processes influence pathological behavior as well as how they alter our daily lives.

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.

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, and cognition. A special emphasis will be placed on exploring the evolutionary basis of male-female differences.

Considers the implications of combined medical, psychological, and pastoral care models on health and recovery. Special attention given to influences in health of personality, social context, belief and meaning, and mind-body connection.

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.

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.

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 provides an introduction to positive psychology, understood as a strengths-based approach to psychological science. Specific topics will usually include resilience, happiness, gratitude, flow, optimism, wisdom, positive affect, emotional regulation, and interpersonal relationships, along with organizational, clinical, developmental, and academic applications. The course will also discuss techniques and interventions towards the promotion of positive aspects of human experience.

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.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the symptoms, causes, and treatments of psychological disorders in children. This includes particular focus on developmental factors that influence the onset, course, and treatments of psychological problems in young people, and the cultural, social, psychological, emotional, and biological factors that influence our understanding of mental health and illness in children.

Credit arranged.

This course is a survey of specialty areas within contemporary psychological sciences. Different topics and areas will be featured in different semesters.

How can knowledge, skills, and values in psychology be applied outside a classroom? This course involves learning through field experience in a social service organization, business, school, clinic, or other setting employing psychology broadly defined. This internship option is variable credit, graded P/NP, and is individually arranged by students in coordination with a supervising faculty member and relevant campus resources.

This pass/no pass seminar is offered to juniors as an opportunity to cultivate professional development skills, explore possibilities for life after college, and prepare for senior capstone projects. Through readings and discussions with faculty and alumni, students will learn about pathways across sub-fields of contemporary psychology along with opportunities in research, mental health work, education, business, law, medicine, social services, and more. Course is graded P/NP.

How is our understanding of psychology and human experience shaped by social and historical contexts? In this course students will learn how the human search for self-understanding and meaning is embedded in different theories, philosophies, and systems of psychology as a field of study. Students will also learn about how psychology intersects with broader notions of health, politics, law, culture, and justice. 

Examination of how therapeutic, illicit, and recreational drugs associate with human behavior. Topics may include historical and societal views of drug use, drugs in food, environmental toxins; theories of why drugs are used and reasons for prescribing psychoactive drugs; and the relationship between chemical processes occurring in the nervous system and behaviors including abuse and addiction.

Students will conduct research using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies, which may include interviews, focus groups, ethnography, observation, and/or survey questionnaires. Students will acquire the skills to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of research design choices of published articles before designing and writing an original mixed method research proposal which may be used for their senior thesis or capstone project. 

Students expand their understanding and application of research design, experimentation, measurement, and ethics. Students gain experience in developing, communicating and critiquing research from specialty areas within psychology. Students will learn to translate research questions into appropriate methods of investigation and will be able to evaluate evidence, synthesize findings and articulate limitations when exploring complex issues. 

Study of the nature of language, how humans use language, how humans learn language, the psychological factors in language use, and the neural basis of language. Students will study the knowledge and processes that underlie a person's ability to produce and understand language.

We negotiate every day at home, work, and play.  This course explores the psychology, art, and science of negotiations. The core of the course is a series of eleven simulations that allow students to experiment with negotiation techniques and develop as negotiators, learning through experience and feedback. Debriefings and discussions of negotiations and behavioral research complement the situations.

Judgments affect our choices ranging from what brand of cereal to whom to marry.  This course examines how we define rationality as well as cognitive, affective, and motivational processes that underlie how we encode and evaluate options. Students are expected to engage with primary sources in the course packet through written weekly responses, class discussion, and a final paper.

Explores relationships between cultural variables and human behavior. The development of cross cultural psychology and research methodologies used by cross cultural researchers in examined. Theories that reflect the cultural, social, and developmental perspectives on behavior are considered.

This course will engage psychological and sociological perspectives toward understanding sports and physical activity as both personal engagements and social phenomena. Topics will include sport-based youth development, mental health and physical activity, performance enhancement, and sport and social issues. The course will emphasize reflective, analytic, critical, and interdisciplinary perspectives based on engaging with scholarly readings and material.

This course introduces students to the field of gerontology. The course examines the aging process and its impact upon the individual, the family, and society. The course also covers various social, cultural, political, and economic issues for older adults in our society.

Introduction to group dynamics, contemporary models of group counseling, and the development of group skills.

This course is about child and youth development as embedded in social and cultural contexts. The particular emphasis will be on early childhood through the transition into adulthood, and on thinking about childhood and youth as social phenomena. The course is reading/discussion intensive and involves a community-based learning project.

This course examines theory, practice, and evaluation of interventions for children and youth across family, community, and institutional contexts. Students will critically analyze areas such as prevention, resilience, and positive youth development and develop specific skills through experiential practice laboratory sessions. Attention will be paid to effective and culturally appropriate programs and strategies for traditionally marginalized and oppressed populations.

This course provides an overview of death, dying, loss, grief, and bereavement from a personal and political perspective. We will explore grief as activism to advance healing and transformation on personal and societal levels. Historical and current examples of grief used in political action will be studied, drawing on social movements advancing racial justice, environmental justice, and queer LGBTQIA+ liberation.

Major theories which account for aggressive behavior or violence. Emphasis given to personality, social, biological, and environmental determinants of aggression and violence.

Review of major theories and techniques of psychotherapy; issues in the contemporary practice of psychotherapy.

Guided inquiry for superior students by arrangement with the psychology faculty.

Credit arranged.

Credit arranged.

Participate directly in the research process with a faculty member. Before enrolling a student must consult with a faculty member to define project.

How can knowledge, skills, and values in psychology be applied outside a classroom? This course involves learning through field experience in a social service organization, business, school, clinic, or other setting employing psychology broadly defined. Field experience is supplemented by a classroom seminar with reflective writing tasks, and is individually arranged by students in coordination with the instructor and relevant campus resources. 

This course is a senior capstone option for psychology majors in their final year of studies who have interests in applying psychological science in community-based settings. The course will integrate skills and concepts from the psychology major, and be oriented by a project related to mental health work, youth work/education, business, or other related areas of applied psychology. 

A capstone seminar for psychology majors designed to help the student integrate major contemporary psychological methods, theories, and research findings. Restricted to senior psychology majors.

Research, study, or original work under direction of a faculty mentor, leading to a scholarly thesis document with a public presentation of results. Requires approval of the thesis director (and department chair or director of the honors program when appropriate), along with a minimum 3.0 GPA in the major.