Psychology (PSY)

An introduction to psychology emphasizing the personal, cognitive and social development and functioning of the individual, and the influence of both physiological and social factors. Consideration of basic concepts and applications.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Course is designed to improve critical thinking and problem solving skills such as deductive and inductive reasoning, probabilistic reasoning and decision-making. May include computer-assisted instruction. A-C-/NC grading.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

The application of descriptive and inferential statistics to the design and analysis of psychological research.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

Prerequisite: PSY 230 or MAT 131. Examination of the design, conduct and interpretation of research studies, both experimental and non-experimental, as demonstrated in a wide range of psychological phenomena. Includes a consideration of philosophy of science and preparation of research reports. Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 101 required. PSY 230, PSY 235 recommended. Course introduces the biological basis of human behavior providing information on the different physiological systems involved in behavior and cognition. An understanding of the human nervous system is central to this course.

Offered Fall, Spring

The study of the development of psychology as a discipline, and the influence of principal leaders and modern psychology.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 101 required. Course is designed to help students prepare for the transition from the university to your first career. Students will critically examine their beliefs, build skills needed to achieve their career goals, and design plans for several careers.

Offered Fall, Spring

Consideration of the major theories of learning and their experimental bases.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: PSY 101 or equivalent. The application of principles and concepts from the experimental analysis of behavior to problems outside the laboratory. Each student will successfully complete a project.

Offered Fall, Spring

AAdvanced study of the relationship betwen the brain and behavior. Focus on neuroanatomy,psychology,pharmacology and their application to cognition, emotion, learning, motivation, attention, executive function, perception and memory. Analysis of model organism and their application to neurodegenerative disease and the neurobiology of mental illness. Foundational experiments and recent discoveries in the filed will be reviewed and discussed with a focus on how these findigns relate to broader theories in the field.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

This course cover the behavioral neurobiology of stress, including what stress is mentally and physically, how stress affect physiology and contributes to physical disease, and what factors moderate the stress experience and improve stress management (such as biofeedback).

Effects of drugs on mood, personality and behavior. Drug use in treatment of mental disorders in children, adults, and the elderly.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

An introduction to theory and research in human information processing. Topics include attention, memory, neurocognition, mental representation, imagery, problem solving, reasoning, language, and other higher mental processes.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisites: PSY 101 required. PSY 230, PSY 235 recommended. Study of sensory and perceptual processes in vision, touch, and hearing. Emphasis placed in how basic perceptual principles operate in everyday life as well as in lab settings.

Offered Fall, Spring

Required Prerequisites: PSY 101, PSY 230, PSY 235, PSY 240. Recommended Prerequisites: PSY 320. Advanced study of the chemical basis of behavior and mechanism by which drugs impact the biological aspects of an organism. Focus on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic elements of neurochemical signaling, examining major drug classifications, with an emphasis on the biological dimensions of their action.

Offered Fall, Spring

Survey of topics in the psychology and cognition of music/ Student will explore topics such as memory, attention, perception, imagery, language, and thinking as they relate to music, with special attention to cognitive, social dimensions, and identity.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisites: PSY 230 or MAT 131 is required. The applications of statistical techniques to problems in the behavioral sciences. Discussion of problems in hypothesis formulation, sampling techniques, distribution-free statistics, multivariate data analysis, and presentation of results. Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 230 or MAT 131. Fundamentals of psychological measurement. Reliability, validity, item analysis, norms, and test construction and selection. Experience in administering, scoring, and interpreting tests of intelligence, aptitude, and personality. Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

A broad survey of theories and research areas in social psychology. Including such topics as aggression, prejudice, person perception, leadership and conformity.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer, All terms

A review of theory and research focusing on mental processes that underlie how people make sense of themselves and others. Social cognition focuses on social interactions that involve people's judgments, beliefs, decisions, and behaviors in social situations.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Methods, theories and research findings concerning interpersonal dynamics and the dynamics of small groups. The class will learn communication skills and participate in various aspects of group experience.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

The cognitive, psychological and social development of the child from birth to adolescence. Fieldwork at discretion of instructor.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Consideration of the major theories and research concerning development during adolescence. Emphasis on the development of personal identity as it relates to social roles in adolescence.

Offered Fall, Spring

Theories and research in adult development and aging, including the effects of physiological and socio-economic changes on psychological variables within an aging population.

Offered Fall, Spring

Readings, discussion, and case studies in the psychodynamics of reactions to death and behavior patterns, coping with impending or recent death, loss, and grief; attitudes towards death and dying; the fear of death; children's responses to death.

Offered Spring

A study of basic theories of personality including type theories; trait theories; psychoanalytic, learning, biosocial, self and holistic-integrative theories.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer, All terms

The causes and manifestations of abnormal behavior. Field study and case study.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer, All terms

Training and practice in effective communication skills, such as active listening, accurate empathy, respect, genuineness, concreteness, assertion and message sending. Lecture will provide theoretical and empirical rationale for applied skills and techniques. Supervised small group practice will provide experience and feedback on applying such skills.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

Course will cover the physiological and psychological aspects of human sexuality. The origin and treatment of sexual dysfunction will also be discussed.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

Prerequisite: PSY 101. Survey of the major findings and theories from the field of health psychology. Includes consideration of psychological, social, and cultural effects on health.

Offered Fall

Prerequisite: PSY 101 required. A survey of forensic and legal psychology including interrogations, eyewitness memory, forensics, the death penalty, the insanity defense, competency to stand trial, jury decision-making, and more. Emphasizes research on the importance of understanding and preventing wrongful convictions.

Offered Fall, Spring

Survey of the application of psychology to organizations, personnel, work environments, buying, and selling, with particular attention to current issues.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 101 is recommended. Theory and research on the development of gender identity and gender differences and similarities. Includes role of ethnicity, cross-cultural evidence, and analysis of status and power differences favoring males.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 340 is recommended. The psychological development and socialization of the Mexican American. The Mexican American as unique from both mother culture and dominant culture, especially a consideration of how language, color, and socio-economic class affect the individual.

Offered Infrequent

Unique environmental influences on the psychological development of the Black child, from the prenatal period through elementary school. Emphasis on social, intellectual and emotional growth.

Offered Spring

An investigation into the dynamics of the Black personality, and the influence of American social institutions. Focus on the various types of psychological adaptations, identity conflicts, problems of self esteem, and evaluation of Black consciousness.

Offered Fall

Prerequisite: HUS 300 or consent of instructor. May not be taken concurrently with any other fieldwork course. Supervised work experience in applied psychology, with emphasis upon human services and educational settings. Supervision emphasizes training and application of clinical, interviewing, and other helping skills, didactic methods, group techniques, methods of evaluation and/or other skills specific to fieldwork needs. CR/NC grading. Repeatable course.

Offered Infrequent, All terms

Prerequisites: PSY 230, PSY 235, and PSY 340 or PSY 360; concurrent enrollment in PSY 412. Examination of selected areas of personality and social psychology, such as interpersonal attraction, self concept, and attitudes. Equips students to understand, evaluate and independently conduct research.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235; concurrent enrollment in PSY 411. Development of research skills in personality and social psychology including conception, design and conduct of studies, analyzing, organizing and evaluating findings and communicating results. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite(s): PSY 235 & PSY 230 required. Corequisite: PSY 414. An examination of the scientific synthesis of evolutionary biology of modern psychology, which offers a novel approach to such issues as short-term and long-term human mating strategies, short-term sexual strategies, conflict between the sexes, parental investment, aggression, and social dominance.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235 are required. Co-requisite: PSY 413 is required. Development of research skills for studying human behavior from the perspective of evolutionary biology, behavioral adaptations, and comparisons with other species. The course includes conception, design and conduct of studies, analyzing, organizing and evaluating findings and communicating results.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235. Survey of cognitive psychology including intelligence, cognitive development, perception, reasoning, memory, problem solving, language, comprehension and decision making. Consideration of both Piagetien and information processing perspectives. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235; concurrent enrollment in PSY 415. Development of research skills in cognitive psychology, including conception, design and conduct of studies, analyzing, organizing and evaluating findings and communicating results. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235. Study of biological mechanisms underlying human behavior including physiology of various systems including nervous system, sensory and motor systems, endocrine system, with attention to applications and current advances in neuroscience.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235; concurrent enrollment in PSY 417. Development of research skills in biological psychology, including conception, design and conduct of studies, analyzing, organizing and evaluating findings and communicating results. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 230 and PSY 235 required. PSY 330 or PSY 331 recommended. Co-requisite: PSY 420 required. Explores the field of forensic and legal psychology including interrogations, eyewitness memory, forensics, the death penalty, the insanity defense, competency to stand trial, jury decision-making. Emphasizes research on preventing wrongful convictions and research methods employed to study

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisites: PSY 230 and PSY 235 required. PSY 330 or PSY 331 recommended. Co-requisites: PSY 419 required. Development of research skills in forensic and legal psychology, including conception, design and conduct of studies, analyzing, organizing and evaluating findings and community results. Three hours of lab per week.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: PSY 363. An overview of psychology in the clinical situation. The scope, ethics, theories, and methods of clinical psychology.

Offered Fall, Spring, All terms, Fall

Prerequisite: PSY 363. Introduction to issues and concepts in community psychology, including the study of community organization and intervention programs.

Offered Fall, All terms

An in-depth analysis and application of psychological principles and research in motivation, pyschopysiology, personality, cognition, and emotion in sport settings.

Offered Fall, Spring

Scientific research results in the field of psychology are used to illustrate how participation in sports and physical activity can facilitate psychological development and physical well-being.

Offered Infrequent

Group processes, team-building techniques, leadership skills and interpersonal communication skills will be applied to enhancement of team spots performance and individual well-being.

Offered Infrequent

Psychological theories will be applied to the identification and treatment of problems people who participate in sports may have as well as applied to the promotion of mental health.

Offered Infrequent

Supervised application of psychological principles applied to sports and fitness to promote performance and optimal well-being. There are four prerequisite courses (PSY 480, PSY 481, PSY 482, PSY 483) that must be completed before registering for PSY 486S, Internship in Sport and Fitness Psychology. One of the four prerequisite courses sometimes can be taken concurrently with PSY 486S. Also, please notify the instructor of PSY 486S one semester before intending to register for this course so she can approve an internship site and supervisor for you plus you will need this instructor's consent before registering for PSY 486S.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisites: PSY 230, PSY 235, and PSY 330 or PSY 331 and senior standing. A seminar designed to integrate previous work and experience by emphasizing the application of theoretical models and research designs and the relationship among theory, research, and the dissemination of research findings. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. A reading program of selected topics conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. An intensive study of a psychological topic which commands the current focus of interest of both the faculty member and the students. If repeated, the course will count only once toward the major. Repeatable course. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisites: PSY 396 or consent of instructor. May not be taken concurrently with any other fieldwork course. Survey of professional and ethical issues in the helping professions. Supervised internships in human services setting.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: Senior standing and completion of 15 units of Psychology. Training, supervision, and experience in peer advising. Emphasis on how to provide effective academic assistance and planning, with other helping and administrative skills also taught. Repeatable course. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. The student develops and completes an individual study under faculty supervision. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall, Spring

Examines career development theories and techniques in clinical and counseling psychology. Course content will explore decision-making models and interrelationships among and between work, family and other life roles and factors, including the role of multicultural issues in career development.

Offered All terms, Fall

This course covers ethical standards for clinical and counseling psychology. The course will cover ethical standards of professional organizations and credentialing and licensing entities. Also included will be partner abuse assessment, detection and intervention strategies, and child abuse detection and reporting.

Offered As needed

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisites: PSY 230 or MAT 131; PSY 417 and PSY 418. An advanced study of the physiological correlates of psychological phenomena including learning, motivation, emotion, sleep and personality. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: PSY 320 and PSY 417 are recommended. The role of drugs on cognition, emotion, and behavior, with reference to their biochemical actions. Emphasis will be placed on psychoactive drugs, such as psychiatric medications, recreational drugs and over-the-counter drugs.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: PSY 330 or equivalent.  PSY 235 is recommended. Corequisite: PSY 535 is recommended. Advanced analysis of variance including multifactor randomized groups and repeated measures designs, nested designs, analysis of covariance, multiple regression, multiple discriminant function, factor analysis.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: PSY 230 or MAT 131; PSY 235; PSY 330 or equivalent is required; PSY 530 is recommended. Advanced research methodology; including experimental design, correlational and ex post facto studies: problems in research, e.g., generalization, significance, reliability; critique of research; and philosophy of science. Will include a directed research project.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: PSY 230 or MAT 131; PSY 235; PSY 350 or equivalent. Exploration and discussion of recent theoretical and research literature on topics such as early experience, intelligence vs cognition, gerontology, imitation and social development, and research on adolescence. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Spring

Prerequisite(s): PSY 563 required. Co-requisite(s): PSY 550 recommended. An examination of major theories, research studies, and clinical interventions for working with children and adolescents. Highlighted throughout the course will be a focus on biopsychological and cultural factors that impact the mental health of children and adolescents.

Offered Spring

Examination of psychological aspects of the aging process, with special emphasis on applied issues in agin research. Topics include: biological aspects of aging, health context of aging, mental health and aging, culture and spirituality, and care giving issues.

Offered Fall

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: PSY 363. Intensive analysis of theory and research in psychopathology. Various orientations, such as behavioral, psychophysiological, and existential will be explored. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall

Prerequisite: PSY 464 or PSY 563. Course will include an indepth coverage of techniques from two or more psychotherapeutic approaches. These approaches include the psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, and behavioral approaches. Emphasis is on concrete application of these approaches in short term counseling situations.

Offered Spring

Exploration of different approaches to therapeutic intervention on a group level. Course will include an experiential laboratory component where students will have experience in leading groups using different theoretical orientations. Two hours of lecture and two hours of activity per week.

Offered Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 331. Techniques for administering, analyzing, and interpreting individual intellectual tests (such as the Wechsler and the Stanford- Binet) and psychomotor tests. Intensive supervised practice in administering the tests will be provided. Two hours of lecture, two hours of activity and fieldwork by arrangement per week.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: PSY 563 and PSY 570. Study of techniques for administering, analyzing and interpreting personality tests and reporting test results. Supervised intensive practice in administering tests will be provided. Two hours of lecture with two hours of activity and fieldwork by arrangement per week.

Offered Spring

Prerequisite: PSY 363 or PSY 470. Theory of the interaction between individual functioning and social system variables with emphasis on the changing role of the community mental health specialist and the community psychologist.

Offered Fall

A case approach to issues in clinical community psychology corrdinated with supervised experience. Some of the topics covered are diagnosis, interventions, ethics, laws, and cross-cultureal counseling. Three hours of seminar plus supervised field work per week.

Offered Fall, Spring

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite(s): PSY 563 required. Introduces students to crisis and trauma counseling and includes examining: crisis theory; multidisciplinary responses to crises, emergencies, and/or disasters; effects of trauma; assessment strategies and treatment approaches; and interventions for individuals with mental or emotional disorders.

Offered Spring

Examination of the impact of culture on mental health and on the therapeutic relationship. Race/ethnicity, culture, class, sexual/affectional orientation, ability status, and gender issues will be explored.

Offered Fall

Overview of the relationships among psychosocial factors, illness and health , based on research and theory from psychology, sociology, anthropology and biology. Topics include: stress, obesity and life-threatening illness.

Offered Spring

Analysis and discussion of research in health psychology. Areas of research study will include: health promotion, coping mechanisms in chronic illness chronic pain, psychocardiology, immigrant and refugee health/psychosocial adjustment, and cultural issues in specific disease processes.

Offered Spring

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. Psychological principles and research in motivation, psychophysiology, personality, cognition, development, emotion and group behavior applied to sport settings.

Offered Fall

Overview of neuroanatomy, neuropathology, and clinical and experimental data on brain-behavior relationships.

Offered Fall

Co-requisite(s): PSY 585 recommended. Students will examine substance abuse and addiction disorders in multiple client populations. Additionally, co-occurring disorders, the effects of substances and addictions, and best practices for counseling and treatment will be examined.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission of Graduate coordinator. Discussion of teaching/learning styles, educational issues, technological advances, teaching methods and materials, curriculum development, and evaluation of course, teacher and student. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall

Advanced course of special interest for psychology graduate students. Topic and content will vary as announced. Repeatable course. Three hours of seminar per week.

Offered Fall

Prerequisites: PSY 571 or PSY 574 is required; PSY 546 is recommended. Field placement and clinical training in the applied use of theory, working with individuals and families and documentation skills. Students must have completed 12 unis of coursework before beginning practicum and site must be approved by the MA Psychology program. Repeatable for credit.

Offered Infrequent

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing. Assignment of a reading list formulated under the supervision of the instructor. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing. Students will design and conduct research projects under the direct supervision of the instructor. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: Advancement to Candidacy. Thesis. Repeatable course.

Offered Fall, Spring

Graduate students who have completed their coursework but not their thesis, project, or comprehensive examination, or who have other requirements remaining for the completion of their degree, may maintain continuous attendance by enrolling in this course. Signature of graduate program coordinator required.

Offered Fall, Spring