Psychology Courses

Social Science Division

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) may be used to partially fulfill Core Requirements.

PSYC 100 Principles of Psychology: Students discuss psychological concepts which directly relate to Academic and Social performance. (Does not satisfy Core Requirements.)
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 101* Introduction to Psychology: The historical development, major systems, and approaches to psychology. The course provides the student with a basic understanding of the focuses and scope of the total field of psychology.
Every Semester, 3 Credits
SPECIAL NOTE:: PSYC 101 is a pre-requisite for all succeeding Psychology courses.
PSYC 105 Behavioral Statistics: Statistical concepts and techniques employed by the social scientist in the study of human performance and variability. Includes both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Prerequisites: PSYC 101, and MAT 101 or equivalent.
Every Semester, 4 Credits
PSYC 207* Child Psychology: The psychological development of the child from conception through middle childhood. Topics include genetics, prenatal development, neonatal development, cognitive processes and language development, personality changes, and early socialization.
Prerequisite: PSYC 101.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 208* Adolescent Psychology: This course examines the process of psychological development during adolescence and through adulthood. Topics to be covered include: physiological development, sexual maturation, emotional development and socialization, and current research.
Prerequisite: PSYC 207.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 225* Experimental Animal Learning (Operant): Operant behavioral laws typical to such problem areas as motivation, generalization, discrimination learning, chaining and secondary reinforcement will be examined in weekly experiments.
Laboratory fee: $40.00.
Alternate Fall, 4 Credits
PSYC 226* Emotion and Motivation: This course will examine a number of student-selected topics within the broad area of emotion and motivation, in a seminar setting.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 231* Social Psychology: Human nature and behavior as influenced by the social environment, emphasizing the relationships of culture and personality and the psychological implications of individual and group differences.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 232* Tests and Measurements: An introductory course surveying the theory, construction, and application of psychological tests. Emphasis is on some of the more commonly used group tests of intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and personality.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 233* Psychology of Human Adjustment: The personality development of the individual, his interaction with society, adaptive and maladaptive modes of adjustment to social and psychological stresses, including a survey of major issues of current concern.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 235* Industrial Psychology: The application of psychology and psychological research methods to achieve a greater understanding of human adaptation to industrial settings. Attention will be directed to those factors which are considered to influence performance in these settings.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 261* Experimental Psychology: Emphasis will be on the study of designs and development of laboratory techniques necessary for psychological research. Students working in groups will conduct a series of laboratory studies to be integrated with the course program.
Prerequisite: PSYC 105.
Laboratory fee: $40.00.
Spring, 4 Credits
PSYC 264* Theories of Personality: An analysis of primary concepts, emphasis and assumptions of the major theories of personality, with a consideration of their contribution to an understanding of human behavior.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 271* Existential Humanistic Psychology: Participants in this class will examine the theories of Frankl, Maslow, Perls, and Laing through a series of individual and group experiential exercises that use the student's own value structure and existence as examples.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 280 Cetacean Communication: Students will investigate the ways in which whales, dolphins and porpoises communicate with each other and query their underwater environment. Topics include definitions of communication, its evolution and ontogeny, the various characteristics meant to uniquely define the behavior of communications, and the peculiarities and constraints of using mammalian sensory systems in an underwater world.
Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and a 100- level biology course.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 291* Physiological Psychology: A lecture course on psychobiology topics including: neuroanatomy; neurophysiology; electrophysiology; brain-behavior relations; neural substraits of emotions, motivations, learning, and memory.
Prerequisite: PSYC 101 or BIOL 101.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 308* Environmental Psychology: The interrelationship between human behavior and the physical environment is examined. Topics include population density, television, pollution, advertising, and research design. A research project is required.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 310* Psychosomatic Illnesses: Symptoms, etiology, and treatment of anorexia nervosa, hypertension, allergies, headaches, cancer, hysterical paralysis, asthma, ulcers, neurodermatitis, hyperthyroidism, insomnia, accident proneness, and others will be considered.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 316 Psychology and the Law: This course is designed to explore the basic areas of forensic psychology and the role psychology plays in the legal process. Included among the areas of study will be criminal investigation, the issue of "dangerousness," psychological variables involved in arrest and trial, and insanity and psychopathology.
Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 323* Psychological Study of Sex Roles: A study of the roles adopted by males and females in Western society and in other cultures. Roles are defined and theories of development of gender identity are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the effects of sex roles on individuals and on the society as a whole.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 332* Abnormal Psychology: Explores the significance of deviant behavior in modern life as well as giving detailed attention to the major behavior disorders.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 336* Groups and Group Dynamics: The principles of human behavior in groups are analyzed and examined as they relate to group formation, structure, and operation. The applications of group dynamics in education, industry, and therapy provide a second emphasis in this examination of group behavior.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 358* Learning Theories: Examination of traditional and modern learning theories, concentrating on determinants and characteristics of learning plus applications of theory to school, therapy, and everyday life.
Alternate Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 359* Sensation and Perception: A discussion of the many theoretical explanations regarding our visual and auditory perceptions. Emphasis will be placed on the role of learning and neurology in perception.
Fall, 3 Credits
PSYC 366* Comparative Animal Behavior: Lectures, laboratory demonstrations, and field work are combined to present a detailed and unified account of species-specific behaviors. Emphasis will be on quantitative behavioral measurement techniques.
Laboratory fee: $40.00.
Alternate Spring, 4 Credits
PSYC 369 Marine Mammal Cognition: A critical examination of mental processes (learning, memory, problem solving, "language") in marine mammals. Topics will include studies of marine mammal central nervous system and sensory processes, observations of behavior in their natural environment, and behavioral manipulations in laboratory settings. The course will increase familiarity with the complex behavioral capabilities of marine mammals and the procedures whereby they may be demonstrated and assessed.
Prerequisites: PSYC 280 or BIOL/MS 344
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 375* Psychopharmacology: Psychopharmacology is a course designed to present the two important properties of pharmacological agents: chemo/physiological and neurobehavioral. Although these two modes of activity are ultimately intertwined, their individual complexity is more than sufficient to warrant separation for purposes of exposition.
Laboratory fee: $40.00.
On Occasion, 4 Credits
PSYC 400* Independent Study: Topic arranged with Faculty sponsor.
On Occasion, 1 to 4 Credits
PSYC 417 Neuropsychology: This course provides an introduction to clinical neuropsychology. Topics will include brain structure and function, neuropathology, and assessment of neurophysical impairment.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Laboratory fee: $30.00.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 418 Applied Behavior Analysis: This course is designed to prepare behavior specialists,psychologists, parents and teachers to analyze and manage the behavior and social interaction skills of children who have developmental disabilities. Functional analysis of behavior (single-subject data collection and analysis, behavior program design, implementation and appraisal).
Prerequisites: Either PSYC 207 or EDUC 213 or, by permission of the instructor.
Alternate Spring, 3 Credits
PSYC 420 Selected Topics in Clinical/Social Psychology: This course is designed to permit the advanced psychology major to explore in-depth a specialized topic in clinical-counseling psychology. Topics will be announced by the instructor each semester.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 421 Selected Topics in Developmental Psychology: This course is designed for advanced psychology majors to explore in-depth, a specialized topic in developmental psychology. Topics will be announced by the instructor for each semester. Research papers will be required.
Prerequisites: PSYC 207 and permission of instructor.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 422 Selected Topics in Experimental Psychology: This course is designed to permit the advanced psychology major to explore in-depth a specialized topic in experimental psychology. Topics will be announced by the instructor for each semester. Research papers will be required.
Prerequisites: PSYC 261 and permission of instructor.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 423 Selected Topics in Advanced General Psychology: Topics will cover a broad range of areas within psychology, emphasizing current research and theoretical frontiers.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 440 Cooperative Education in Psychology: Students interested in Cooperative Education should meet with the staff of the Cooperative Education Department as well as with their advisors.
Every Semester, 1 to 6 Credits
PSYC 453 Fieldwork in Clinical Psychology: Intensive contact with mentally ill patients in an institutional setting. The course is particularly relevant as a pre-professional course for students aspiring to careers in mental health.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
On Occasion, 4 Credits
PSYC 462 Advanced Physiological Psychology Lab: Colony room procedures, animal and human neuroanatomical procedures, small animal neurosurgery, electrophysiology techniques, animal behavior quantification, neurohistory, data analysis.
Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or BIOL 101.
Co-requisite: PSYC 291.
Laboratory fee: $55.00.
Spring, 4 Credits
PSYC 490 Internship in Psychology: Students should meet with their advisors to discuss their interests in a full semester internship.
Every Semester, 16 Credits
PSYC 493 Experimental Psychobiology Methods I: Individual research project. Each student identifies an area of interest within psychobiology, completes a literature search, designs an experiment to further knowledge of that particular area, and executes the experiment.
Prerequisite: PSYC 291.
Laboratory fee: $45.00.
On Occasion, 3 Credits
PSYC 494 Experimental Psychobiology Methods II: A continuation of PSYC 493, with emphasis on completing data collection, data analysis, and writing a report suitable for publication or presentation at a convention.
Laboratory fee: $45.00.
On Occasion, 3 Credits