PSY 2301 - Introduction to Psychology
Hours: 3
The aim of this course is to provide a general understanding of the basic principles of psychology.
PSY 2306 - Psychology of Sexual Behavior
Hours: 4
A study of the physiological and psychological factors involved in normal and abnormal human sexual behavior with emphasis upon marital adjustment. In addition to the three hours per week of classroom instruction, the student attends a one hour laboratory per week to aid in the understanding of content learned in the classroom.
PSY 2315 - Psychology of Adjustment
Hours: 3
This course is a presentation of psychological principles which are fundamental to personal and social adjustment.
PSY 205 - Applied Professional Ethics
Hours: 3
This course follows the history of ethical thought from philosophers including Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Kant in shaping current psychology and professional ethical thought in modern America. It examines the implications of ethical principals in professional applications. Existentialism, Rogerian principals and modern law will be examined. Comparisons of professional codes of ethics and their applications in modern society will be studied.
PSY 210 - Sport Psychology
Hours: 3
An overview of the principles of psychology as applied to sport or recreational activity for enhanced interactions and performance.
PSY 211 - Diversity
Hours: 3
This course will examine diversity in psychological functioning and the relationship between diversity and the self. This course will include, but is not limited to, topics relating to culture, intergroup relations, and the influence of one’s own and others’ cultural diversity for understanding others, one’s self, and the world.
PSY 297 - Special Topics
Hours: 0-4
Organized class. May be repeated when topics vary.
PSY 300 - Learning Processes and Development
Hours: 3
A course designed to provide the student with information about the application of psychological theory to the learning processes and development of children and adolescents. Principles and procedures of measurement and evaluation are also included. The primary objective is to facilitate a clear understanding of the complex, dynamic processes of learning and development. This course is required as part of the teacher preparation program.
PSY 301 - Understanding Statistics Concepts and Controversies
Hours: 3
An introductory applied statistics course that focuses on descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Emphasis will be placed on learning statistics through application and experience. Topics include visual displays of data, measures of central tendency and variability, standardized scores, normal distributions, probability, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression.
PSY 302 - Statistics and Research Design I
Hours: 4
Theoretical and practical approaches to research methodology, statistical analyses and techniques of reporting research. Prerequisites: (PSY 301 Min Grade C) or MATH 1342 or (Departmental Psychological Statistics Competency Exam Passed).
PSY 305 - Statistics and Research Design II
Hours: 4
Theoretical and practical approaches to research methodology, statistical analyses and techniques of reporting research. Prerequisites: PSY 302 or PSY 406 completed with a grade of C or above.
PSY 310 - Psychology and Sociology of Diverse Populations
Hours: 3
(Equivalent to PSY 311) This course will examine the variables which affect the educational perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors of the microcultures which comprise our population. This course will include, but will not be limited to, school culture as a function of socioeconomic status, religion, gender, language, age, exceptionality, geographical origins and ethnicity.
PSY 311 - Psy/Soc Div Cultures FB
Hours: 3
(Equivalent to PSY 310) (Capstone) This field-based course examines the perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors of diverse cultures and their affect on our population. Culture will be examined as a function of socioeconomic status, religion, gender, language, age, exceptionality, geographical origins and ethnicity. Prerequisites: Senior Standing and Field-Based Program.
PSY 315 - Physiological Psychology
Hours: 3
Provides a basis for understanding the way in which biological mechanisms participate in behavior. It emphasizes both peripheral and central mechanisms involved in responding, sensing, motivation, emotion, arousal/sleep, and learning. Prerequisites: PSY 2301 or PSY 131.
PSY 316 - Abnormal Psychology
Hours: 3
Emphasis is placed first on a study of the fundamental principles of understanding and appreciating mental disorder. Then a study of the types of disorders including incidence, causes, symptoms, therapy, and prognosis is made.
PSY 317 - Psychology of Personality
Hours: 3
The various approaches to the study of personality and a consideration of its determinants, development, and assessment form the framework of the course.
PSY 319 - Child and Adolescent Development
Hours: 3
This course provides an understanding of how children grow and develop, the stages in the process, and the factors which influence growth and development.
PSY 321 - Psychology of Adolescence
Hours: 3
The course considers the patterns of "teenage" growth and development and the factors which influence them.
PSY 322 - Lifespan Development
Hours: 3
The course follows the lifespan development of the individual, emphasizing the theoretical and experimental approaches to the study of cognitive, personality, social, perceptual, and physical components of development from conception to death.
PSY 325 - Evolutionary Psychology
Hours: 3
This is a relatively new branch of psychology that has arisen from the confluence of psychology and evolutionary biology. This course will address how human minds and behavior have been shaped by natural and sexual selection originally identified by Charles Darwin.
PSY 327 - Cognitive Social Psych
Hours: 3
This class is designed to introduce the student to the basic principles of social psychology with an emphasis on the cognitive aspects of interpersonal influence. Topics that will be covered include: social cognition, heuristics, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, cognitive dissonance and self-justification, implicit personality theory, attribution, self-serving biases, obedience to authority, and eyewitness testimony.
PSY 339 - Forensic Psychology
Hours: 3
This course focuses upon the application and practice of psychology in both the civil and criminal justice systems with the following topics examined in depth: police and investigative psychology, family forensic psychology, psychology of crime and delinquency, victimology and victim services, legal psychology, expert witness testimony, consulting psychology, and correctional psychology.
PSY 341 - Learning Theories and Processes
Hours: 3
This course provides an overview of theories of learning and factors that influence learning processes. Course content will cover traditional learning theories, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and instinctive learning. Although most of the research findings regarding learning principles will come from animal studies, the relevance of these findings to understanding human behavior will be discussed. The course will also address variables that impact learning and subsequent behavior. Such variables include stimulus control of behavior, cognitive control, and memory processes. The later part of the course will focus more on human aspects of learning. Prerequisites: PSY 2301 or PSY 131.
PSY 350 - Cognitive Psychology
Hours: 3
Examines human cognitive processes, including perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning, and developmental trends; experimental methods and data, and contemporary theories of cognition. Prerequisites: PSY 2301 or PSY 131.
PSY 389 - Independent Study:
Hours: 1-4
Individualized instruction/research at an advanced level in a specialized content area under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisites Consent of department head. May be repeated when the topic varies.
PSY 397 - SPECIAL TOPIC
Hours: 1-4
Organized class. May be repeated when topics vary.
PSY 403 - Development of Modern Psy
Hours: 3
An introduction to the major schools and systems of psychology as they have evolved and as they exist today.
PSY 404 - Industrial/ Organizational Psychology
Hours: 3
This course applies behavioral science knowledge to professional organizations. The goal of this course is to understand how businesses can be designed so that both efficiency and the quality of employee life is improved. Topics will include employee selection, psychological testing, training and development, motivation, work stress and health, organizational design and change, consumer psychology, and engineering psychology.
PSY 407 - DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Hours: 3
PSY 411 - Research Apprenticeship
Hours: 1
This course is an opportunity to gain experience conducting psychological research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The course format follows an apprenticeship model. Students will work with faculty and/or graduate mentor on existing projects, and students will be trained by the advisors. Students will gain knowledge in research design and implementation by assisting in material preparation, testing participants, and coding data. Along with developing research skills, the research internship provides students with a unique opportunity to learn more about a specialized topic of psychology. Registration requires consent of supervising instructor.
PSY 412 - Research Apprenticeship
Hours: 2
This course is an opportunity to gain experience conducting psychological research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The course format follows an apprenticeship model. Students will work with faculty and/or graduate mentor on existing projects, and students will be trained by the advisors. Students will gain knowledge in research design and implementation by assisting in material preparation, testing participants, and coding data. Along with developing research skills, the research internship provides students with a unique opportunity to learn more about a specialized topic of psychology. Registration requires consent of supervising instructor.
PSY 413 - Research Apprenticeship
Hours: 3
This course is an opportunity to gain experience conducting psychological research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The course format follows an apprenticeship model. Students will work with faculty and/or graduate mentor on existing projects, and students will be trained by the advisors. Students will gain knowledge in research design and implementation by assisting in material preparation, testing participants, and coding data. Along with developing research skills, the research internship provides students with a unique opportunity to learn more about a specialized topic of psychology. Registration requires consent of supervising instructor.
PSY 414 - Intro to Hum-Comp Inter Design
Hours: 3
Students will learn the fundamental concepts of human-computer interaction and user-centered design thinking, through working in teams on an interaction design project, supported by lectures, reading, and discussions. They will learn to evaluate and design usable and appropriate software based on psychological, social, and technical analysis. They will become familiar with the variety of design and evaluation methods used in interaction design, and will get experience with these methods in their project. Pre-requisite: PSY 2301
PSY 416 - Introduction to Clinical Psychology
Hours: 3
This course is intended to provide students an overview of the field of clinical psychology. Students will be exposed to information regarding the history of the science, as well as contemporary clinical psychology. Students will also be introduced to the various assessment and psychotherapeutic strategies used by clinical psychologists in their daily practice. By the end of the course, students will have an in-depth understanding of the range of assessment and psychotherapeutic services that clinical psychologists provide to patients of all ages across multiple settings. Prerequisites: PSY 2301.
PSY 419 - Child Psychopathology
Hours: 3
In this course, students in psychology, counseling, and social work will become acquainted in detail with psychological disorders typically emerging in childhood and adolescence. Emphasis will be on diagnostic and treatment considerations unique to the developmental status of these clients. Intervention techniques will include both traditional individual psychotherapy, as well evidence-based play therapy, systemic family therapy, and applied behavioral analysis. Diagnostic and intervention considerations of autism spectrum disorders, specific learning disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and neurocognitive disorders will be touched on briefly. Prerequisites: PSY 319 or instructor permission. Crosslisted with: PSY 513.
PSY 443 - Psychology of Death & Dying
Hours: 3
This is the study of the processes of dying and the influence of the threat of death on human behavior.
PSY 482 - Cognitive Aging
Hours: 3
We will discuss cognitive processes such as processing speed, attention, different forms of memory, and decision making, and how these processes change with age. Keep in mind that the average life expectancy has increased, but individuals do not merely want to live longer; instead they want to optimally age, which includes physical, mental, and cognitive aspects. Given the emphasis on optimal aging, we will consider factors that are associated with higher cognitive performance in late adulthood. Crosslisted with: PSY 582.
PSY 489 - Independent Study
Hours: 1-4
Individualized instruction/research at an advanced level in a specialized content area under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated when the topic varies. Prerequisite: Consent of department head.
PSY 490 - Honors Thesis
Hours: 3-6
Individualized instruction/research at an advanced level in a specialized content area under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisite: Consent of head.
PSY 491 - H Honors Readings
Hours: 3
Individualized instruction/research at an advanced level in a specialized content area under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisite: Consent of head.
PSY 492 - Health Psychology
Hours: 3
This class is designed to introduce the basic concepts of health psychology. Students will be introduced to different medical disorders and diseases and the implications for the psychological health and impact on psychological functioning of individuals with these disorders. Students will study physical limitations and adaptations. They will understand basic ADA law and how to make buildings accessible. Psychological treatments for persons with disorders and physical limitations will be introduced. Topics covered will include depression and illness, traumatic injuries, neuromuscular diseases, cancer, and chronic pain. Also covered will be the use of psychological techniques to improve behaviors for wellness. Crosslisted with: PSY 593.
PSY 497 - Special Topics
Hours: 3
Organized class. May be repeated when topics vary.
