Psychology

Degrees

Courses

PSY 230: Introduction to Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is the foundation course for advanced study in psychology. PSY 230 introduces the principles of behavior and mental processes. It emphasizes experimental investigation of learning, motivation, emotion, personality, development and psychology.

PSY 231: History and Systems of Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course provides a survey of the origin, development, and decline of each major school of psychology from the ancient period to modern times, giving attention to the social and intellectual milieu from which the new approaches to the scientific study of humans emerged. Systematic points of view in psychology with a consideration of their historical origins and significance for modern theory will be studied during this course.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 232: Child Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to help students understand the mental, physical, social and emotional patterns of development of the child from birth to adolescence and his/her relations to their environment.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 233: Psychology of Learning

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course introduces students to the principles of learning and how those principles can be used to modify human behavior. The course emphasizes the application of learning theories and principles to solve behavioral problems, as they exist in oneself, one's family, schools, the workplace, and in larger social, economic, and political groups. Topics include reinforcement, extinction, punishment, schedules of reinforcement, stimulus discrimination, prompting and fading, stimulus-response chaining, generalization, modeling, rule-governed behavior, problem-solving, cognitive therapy, feedback, Pavlov Ian conditioning, concept learning, general-case instruction, and stimulus equivalence.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 234: Theories of Personality

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to give students an introduction to personality theorists who represent psychoanalytic, lifespan, trait, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, and social-learning approaches, while demonstrating the influence of historical events on the development of their theories. Students will explore how race, gender, and culture play a part in the study of personality and in personality assessment. Current research on select facets of personality including locus of control, sensation seeking, optimism-pessimism, learned helplessness, and positive psychology will be reviewed.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 235: Health Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to introduce psychology majors and non-majors to the cognitive, behavioral, and biological approaches to health psychology. Students will explore the diversity in health psychology, including international health research; the impact of issues such as ethnicity, age, and gender on health and research; and the increasing variety of approaches to health care across the lifespan. Students will gain a clear understanding of how biological, behavioral, and social factors influence health. Students will explore ways people can change current attitudes, behaviors, and thinking to promote general well-being and make healthier lifestyle choices today that decrease their risk of future illness.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 236: Positive Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course will introduce students to the scientific study of human strengths. This course will focus on topics related to the positive aspects of human experience: happiness, optimism, creativity, well-being and resilience. Much of the course will broaden the focus to include big-picture issues and real-world application.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 321: Junior Thesis Seminar

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course allows students to integrate knowledge of facts and theories in the discipline and to apply this knowledge to a variety of situations and experiences. Focus is on critical thinking and communication of ideas in the discipline as evidenced in both oral and written form.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 330: Research Methods in Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is an introduction to qualitative and quantitative research methods in psychology, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlation approaches. Students will learn to think critically about research, assessing threats to internal and external validity. Students will consider ethical issues in research and will learn to design and conduct research, including searching the literature, using SPSS to analyze data, and writing formal research reports using APA style.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 321

PSY 331: Psychology of the Aging

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is a study of behavioral, emotional, and social changes during the adult and elderly years. The emphasis will be on biomedical, psychological, and social aspects of middle and late adulthood.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 332: Educational Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to provide a basis for understanding human behavior in cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills of individuals. The purpose of the course is to aid the prospective teacher to understand the various theories of the teaching-learning process, and to help the student develop a philosophy and an approach to the process.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 333: Adolescent Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course includes an examination of the basic principles, concepts, theories and problems of human behavior and experience applied to the adolescent years. It begins with the psychosexual development state of puberty and progresses through the physical, emotional and social development necessary to reach adulthood in terms of functioning as an emotionally mature adult.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 334: Abnormal Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the diagnosis, description, prognosis, course, cause, treatment, and prevalence rates of major psychological disorders. The major psychological, biological, and socio-cultural models will be discussed. After this course, you should have a working understanding of these issues, as well as be able to apply them in real world situations. Students will gain practical experience with diagnostic practice using case studies.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 335: Social Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to evaluate how and why people influence each other. The foundation for this course is the notion that people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect and is affected by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others. This course emphasizes the interaction between the self and others, traditional experimental methods, and exemplary research in the fields of health, law, and business.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 336: Elementary Statistical Methods and Design

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to develop the student’s ability to apply basic statistical methods to the design and analysis of experiments. Subject areas include: descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, variance, standard deviation), simple probability, distributions (e.g., normal, F), simple correlation and regression, concepts of multiple regression.
Prerequisite Courses
MAT 131

PSY 337: Psychology of Women

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course, designed for male and female students, focuses on the scientific study of the behavior of girls and women, and focuses on issues related to women’s lives and experiences. Utilizing a developmental, as well as a topical approach, this course provides information about various facets of women’s lives.
Prerequisites

and/or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 335

PSY 338: Psychology of the Black Experience

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is a reading and activity intensive course designed for undergraduate students majoring in psychology and/or African American Studies. This course was designed to examine and introduce students to perspectives on the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of African descended people living in North America and to differentiate Black psychology from Western psychology by population, perspective and the nature of the discipline.
Prerequisites

and/or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 335

PSY 339: Psychology of Film, Television and Media

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to explore the ways in which various psychological concepts have been presented, examined, researched and discussed in film and television. Textbooks and journal articles may not adequately portray the symptoms of a mental illness, the dynamics within a group, or the steps involved in processes such as learning or remembering. Contrarily, films and/or television shows usually allow viewers to observe human behavior and mental processes. Indeed, an entertaining film is often capable of illustrating even the most complex psychological concept; and allows students to see visual representations of various cultures, time periods, stages of development, and psychological states.
Prerequisites

(PSY 335 recommended)

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 340: Culture and Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to explore the influence of culture on mental processes and behaviors in humans. A cross-cultural framework will be used to give students the tools necessary for evaluating many psychological processes and principles from a cultural perspective. Students will examine in-depth traditionally held beliefs and theories and their relevance to different cultural groups today, and apply what they learn to their own lives. Students will gain an understanding of the nature of culture and its relationship to psychological processes. Students will gain a deeper, more complex understanding of the differences and similarities between various cultures through the exploration of topics such as changing gender roles, sexuality, health, aggression, personality, mate selection, and more.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 341: Biological Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3

This course is designed to explore the physiological bases of behavior, including learning, motivation, psychopathology, emotion, the senses, body rhythms, and other brain-behavior relationships. A goal of the course is to make biological psychology accessible to psychology students, as well as biology and Human Performance majors and pre-med students. Students will benefit from knowing that a biological perspective is relevant to the study of psychology because all thoughts, feeling and behavior ultimately have a biological cause.

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 421: Senior Thesis Seminar

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course allows the student to develop an intensive investigative research study under close supervision. The thesis seminar also gives the student a chance to acquire many valuable skills, including (a) knowledge of how to manage a large, in-depth study of a single, challenging problem; (b) an understanding of the ethical issues related to research; (c) sharpened organizational and communication skills; and (d) an appreciation of the scientific inquiry process. The course culminates in a written document and oral thesis presentation.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 321
PSY 330

PSY 430: Group Dynamics and Interpersonal Relations

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course will include an intensive study of the interactions among individuals in various types of groups. Observations and special emphasis on the dynamics of the groups to which class members belong will demonstrate some of the basic principles in the area. This course will also address psychological counseling to help resolve interpersonal problems and manage crisis situations. Note: Students enrolled in Group dynamics are encouraged to complete a background check and fingerprinting. Some agencies require it even for a one-time visit.
Prerequisites

or Junior/Senior Class Standing

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 431: Experiential Learning

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3 6

This course offers supplementary instruction concurrent with experience in some field of work involving application of psychological perspectives to community life (maximum of 6 hours ).

Prerequisites

and permission of the instructor

Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230

PSY 432: Theory of Psychometric Instruments

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course focuses on the theory of psychometric instruments and their use. Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. The field is primarily concerned with the study of differences between individuals and between groups of individuals. It involves two major research tasks, namely: (1) the construction of instruments and procedures for measurement; and (2) the development and refinement of theoretical approaches to measurement.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 336

PSY 433: Clinical Assessment

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course is designed to focus on two major activities of clinical psychologists: assessment and clinical intervention (psychotherapy and program models). This course also includes the functions, history, training, and ethics of the profession.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 432

PSY 434: Experimental Psychology

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 3
This course focuses on scientific method and experimental techniques in psychology. Fundamental assumptions and principles of scientific observation and research design are discussed. Students learn several techniques specific to psychological research. Relevant ethical issues are addressed as students learn to interpret and evaluate research and to communicate research findings.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 231
PSY 330

PSY 435: Experimental Psychology Laboratory

Class Program
Psychology
Credits 1
This course focuses on scientific method and experimental techniques in psychology. Students will conduct a series of exercises and laboratory experiments, perform and interpret statistical analysis of data collected and report experimental findings in standard technical format.
Prerequisite Courses
PSY 230
PSY 231
PSY 330