A degree in psychology provides students with a scientific framework for understanding human behavior. The department offers foundational coursework in general and lifespan development psychology, and core content in personality, cognitive psychology, statistics, social psychology, research methods, and biological psychology. A number of electives are open to students including those with a focus on abnormal psychology, the psychology of gender, health psychology, the psychology of sexuality, introduction to counseling, the science of happiness (study abroad), and psychosocial aspects of aging. Students then choose a capstone course with an emphasis on their own primary research, an internship/fieldwork experience, or a deeper dive into the history and systems of psychology. The department uses an empirical approach to the study of psychology and emphasizes using the scientific method in the quest to understand human behavior.
Programs
The Psychology and Sociology Department offers these programs and courses:
Contact Information
Psychology Courses
Designed to provide an overview of concepts, methods, and applications of psychology. Topics include psychology as a science, research methods, perspectives of psychology, sub disciplines of psychology, biological foundations of behavior, developmental psychology, sensation and perception, learning, memory, thinking, language development, intelligence testing, personality, psychological disorders, psychological and biomedical therapies for psychological disorders and social psychology.
Cognitive, personality/social, and physical development from conception to death. Within a life span developmental perspective, the course examines research methods, developmental theories, and application of research findings to selected problems in the major periods of the life span: the prenatal period, infancy, early/middle/late childhood, adolescence, and young/middle/late adulthood. The developmental perspective provides an important foundation for understanding normal children and adults, while also providing the essential knowledge base for the modern view of psychological disturbances as "normal development gone awry." This approach has practical implications for individuals with interests in parenting, caregiving, education, social services, and health sciences with both normal and exceptional populations.
Applications of psychology through supervised practical experience in College or community activities. Some volunteer activities are appropriate. Each student will initiate a project in the form of a written proposal and complete it under faculty supervision. Written report is required.
Courses not a part of the regular Psychology curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity.
Origins, explanations, assessment and modification of personality as described by major theories of personality, with attention to ethical practices. This course includes a focus on applications to coping and adjustment of the healthy personality, as well as applications for helping individuals recover normal functioning. Emphasis is on the interaction of the individual's personality traits with specific situations as the individual attempts to adapt to the environment. Active learning components include theory-based problem-solving and responding to a variety of personality instruments.
Examines principles of human cognition and practical applications of these principles. Topics include perception, memory, mental imagery, general knowledge, language, problem-solving, creativity, deductive reasoning, decision-making, and individual/gender/cultural differences.
Overview of the aging individual within a social context. Focus is on characteristics of today's older adult cohort, psychological processes in late life, the social context in which older adults live and society's response to older adults. Topics include demographics, stereotypes and attitudes, research methods, theories of development, sense of and response to the environment, cognitive processes, mental disorders and treatment, death and dying, sexuality, intimate relationships, family relationships, caregiving, employment and retirement, finances, Social Security, Medicare, living environments, ethnicity, gender, crimes against and by older adults, social programs and political power of the older cohort.
Provides an overview of the biological bases of behavior. Topics include basic structure and processes of the nervous system, methods and ethics in psychobiological research, sensation and perception, thirst and hunger, sexual behavior, sleep and dreaming, memory, recovery from brain damage, psychopathology and genetics.
Explores the history, content, methods, and applications of social psychology as a scientific discipline. Topics include social psychological research methods, the importance of the person and the environment in predicting social behavior, errors in social judgments and decision making, attribution theories, obedience to authority, conformity, group processes, prejudice and discrimination, aggression, altruism, interpersonal attraction and sexuality, and conflict and peacemaking. The most current applications of social psychology to law, the health professions, the clinic, business, and politics are discussed, with special emphasis on connections to students' own lives.
Examines the use of scientifically established principles of learning to promote behavior change. The use of operant and classical conditioning methods and their applications for a variety of human conditions are covered. Special emphasis is on the application of behavioral methods for health improvement and for stress management. Topics include positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, escape and avoidance, reinforcement schedules, modeling, desensitization, progressive relaxation.
Overview of research process designed for upper-division students interested in reading and/or conducting research. Topics include logic of scientific research, types of research, phases of a research study, designing experimental and correlational studies, sampling, quantitative and qualitative methods for collecting data, evaluation and writing of research reports, and ethical issues.
Covers basic statistical concepts and methods useful in conducting research and evaluating results of studies done by others. Topics include frequency distributions and graphs, measures of central tendency and variability, transformed scores, correlations, multiple regression, hypothesis testing (t test, analysis of variance, and chi square), selection of appropriate statistics, calculation with MS Excel spreadsheets and SPSS, interpretation of the "results" sections of journal articles, and numeracy (understanding and using numbers in decision-making).
Introduces students to the research methods, findings, and theories of psychology of gender. Students examine evidence for gender differences and similarities in cognitive abilities, personality, social behavior and mental health, and explore nature and nurture explanations. Gender stereotypes and their impact are discussed. Women's and men's experiences in the workplace, in relationships, and in parenting are major focuses.
Identification of communication and counseling skills for working with all age groups. Topics include active listening skills, counseling process, empathic responding, overcoming barriers to communication, assets and limitations of paraprofessional helpers and counseling ethics.
Aimed toward understanding psychological influence on variables that explain how people stay healthy, why illness occurs, and how individuals react when they become ill. Course serves as a review of determinants of health behavior through models of behavior which can be used (a) for assessment of barriers to positive health behaviors, (b) to develop prevention strategies for intervention purposes and (c) to understand prediction issues in regard to health-risk behaviors. Topics include biopsychosocial model vs. biomedical model, mind-body relationships, behavioral methods in health care, pain, acute and chronic illness and treatment follow-through/compliance issues.
Provides an overview of what is considered to be abnormal behavior in American society. The main focus of the course is on describing various mental disorders and discussing how these disorders are explained and treated according to the major theoretical perspectives. Important issues related to diagnosing, researching and treating mental disorders are also addressed.
Addresses the mental and emotional health of adults over 65 years of age. Factors that contribute to good mental health are discussed; however, a major emphasis is on the manifestation and treatment of mental disorders in late life. Topics include: diagnosing and treating mental disorders, psychosocial factors that affect mental health, stress, grief, depression, suicide, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, delirium, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and alcoholism.
Applications of psychology through supervised, advanced practical experience in college or community activities. Some volunteer activities are appropriate, including non-paid teaching assistantships. Students initiate project in the form of a written proposal and complete it under faculty supervision. Written report in APA style is required.
Courses not a part of regular Psychology curriculum but taught because of special need, interest or opportunity at upper-division level.
For purposes of program assessment, Psychology majors take a non-credit, non-graded comprehensive examination in psychology and a scientific-thinking examination near the end of their last semester preceding graduation.
PSY 4335 constitutes one of three capstone experiences for the major in psychology (see also PSY 4435 and PSY 4555). Each student conducts an independent research study requiring in-depth synthesis of prior learning of research methods, statistics and report writing. Students (a) conceptualize their research questions and design, (b) plan and organize the study, (c) collect and analyze data, (d) write a research report and present the results in two department colloquia (one oral, one poster).
Traces development of early and modern psychology and integrates diverse materials and approaches to which upper-division students have been exposed in psychology courses. Topics include philosophical foundations of psychology, early scientific psychology, structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalytic theory, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, and recent developments in psychology. Race and gender issues are incorporated throughout the course. prerequisites - PSY 3216, PSY 3327, PSY 3328, PSY 3423; junior status minimum, senior status.
Students either (a) initiate and implement empirical research in an area of special interest or (b) participate in an ongoing empirical research project developed by a faculty member. For student-initiated projects, the student develops the research proposal, conducts the research and reports the research in standard APA format. For faculty-initiated research, students work one on- one with the faculty member or as part of his/her research team of students. Activities may include doing library research, developing measures, collecting data, analyzing data and writing portions of research reports using APA style.
The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity for you to experience the application of psychology in an applied setting of your choice. This experience is also referred to as an internship and the Directed Applied Project in Psychology (DAPP). In addition to time spent at the site, you will write a brief proposal and paper in which psychological and ethical concepts are applied to fieldwork experience, keep a log/journal, complete ethics training, participate in an oral presentation, and attend periodic class sessions.
This course is a capstone option for psychology majors who have PSY 4555 waived because they have a double major that requires a clinical or field internship. In addition to time spent at the site, requirements are to write a brief proposal, keep a log/journal, complete a unit on ethics, write a paper in which psychology and ethical concepts are applied to fieldwork experience, and participate in an oral presentation. An additional four credits of PSY courses to make up for the four credits of fieldwork are not required.
In-depth study of a topic of current interest in small group setting. Topic to be covered depends on the joint interest of faculty and students.
Scholarly library research and reading in area of special interest. Students initiate study in form of written proposal and complete it under faculty supervision. Students prepare and defend reports or take examinations.
Sociology Courses
Designed to provide an overview of the concepts, methods, and applications of sociology, and the development of the sociological imagination. Topics include development of the social self, status and role, race and ethnicity, gender, social class, deviance, political and economic institutions, population dynamics, the family, and other dimensions of society. This introductory course emphasizes the development of the sociological imagination.
Provides an overview of the concepts, methods, and applications of sociology, and the development of the sociological imagination, through the sociology of health. It explores health, illness, healthcare, and medicine in the United States. Classic and contemporary theories are combined with recent research findings. Emphasis is placed on the study of health in a broader social context, including the social construction of health and illness, with special attention to inequalities and differences among people by socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, and age.
Courses not a regular part of Sociology curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity. Topics vary.
Independent Study in Sociology.
Courses not a regular part of Sociology curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity. Topics vary.
Independent study in Sociology.
Courses not a regular part of Sociology curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity. Topics vary.
Students select a particular topic of study with instructor. Individual student learning goals and method of evaluation is designed.