Current Courses

Why are people superstitious?  Why do people blush when they are embarrassed?  What is intelligence (and are IQ tests a good way to measure it)?  Why don't psychopaths feel guilty when they harm others?  How reliable are childhood memories?  Why do we laugh?  Do violent video games make people act violently?  Why do some people seem instantly trustworthy and others seem "creepy"?  How do we choose whom to sleep with, date, or marry?  How does stress affect our body?  While questions like these have been asked for centuries, psychology has begun to provide answers to these--and other questions about the human mind--by applying the tools of scientific investigation. In this course you will receive a broad introduction to the science of psychology: from the history of the field and its major advances, to the latest research on topics such as perception, memory, intelligence, morality, sexuality, mental illness, religion, language, and creativity.  You will also learn about the tools and methods psychologists use to investigate the mind, such as observing how the mind of a child changes and develops over time, looking at people across cultures, measuring brain activity, and experimentally manipulating everything from the shape of a figure presented on a computer screen, to the smell of a room, or the attractiveness of the experimenter.

This course provides an introduction to the science of the mind.  Everyone knows what it's like to think and perceive, but this subjective experience provides little insight into how minds emerge from physical intities like brains.  To address this issue, cognitive science integrates work from at least five disciplines: Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Linguistics, and Philosophy.  This course introduces students to the insights these disciplines offer into the workings of the mind by exploring visual perception, attention, memory, learning, problem solving, language, and consciousness. 

Weekly seminar that may be taken in addition to PSYCH 1101 to provide an in-depth exploration of selected areas in the field of psychology. Involves extensive discussion and a semester paper related to the seminar topic. Choice of seminar topics and meeting times are available at the second lecture of PSYCH 1101.

This section is highly recommended for students who are interested in learning about the topics covered in the main course through writing and discussion. 

Environmental Psychology is an interdisciplinary field concerned with how the physical environment and human behavior interrelate. Most of the course focuses on how residential environments and urban and natural settings affect human health and well-being. Students also examine how human attitudes and behaviors affect environmental quality. Issues of environmental justice and culture are included throughout. Hands-on projects plus exams. Lecture and discussion sections. DEA 1501  - Writing in the major (WIM) option also is available (by instructor permission) for 4 credits.

Human-Environment Relations is an interdisciplinary field concerned with how the physical environment and human behavior interrelate. Most of the course focuses on how residential environments and urban and natural settings affect human health and well-being. Students also examine how human attitudes and behaviors affect environmental quality. Issues of environmental justice and culture are included throughout. Hands-on projects plus exams. Lecture and discussion sections. WIM section attend a regular lecture but also meets weekly with a graduate writing tutor. The two principal objectives of WIM section:

Basic perceptual concepts and phenomena are discussed with emphasis on stimulus variables and sensory mechanisms. All sensory modalities are considered, vision is discussed in detail.

One of four introductory courses in cognition and perception. A comprehensive introduction to current thinking and research in developmental psychology that approaches topics from both psychobiological and cognitive perspectives. We will use a comparative approach to assess principles of development change. The course focuses on the development of perception, action, cognition, language, and social understanding in infancy and early childhood.

This section is highly recommended for students who are interested in learning about the topics covered in the main course through writing and discussion. 

Provides an introduction to the psychology of language. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the scientific study of psycholinguistic phenomena. Covers a broad range of topics from psycholinguistics, including the origin of language, the different components of language (phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), processes involved in reading, computational modeling of language processes, the acquisition of language (both under normal and special circumstances), and the brain bases of language.

Introduction to psychology from a biological perspective, which focuses on brain mechanisms of behavior. Topics include the structure and function of the nervous system, physiological approaches to understanding behavior, hormones and behavior, biological bases of sensation and perception, learning and memory, cognition, emotion, and communication.

In a complex environment with many sources of variability, how can one tell with confidence whether a particular observed effect is real? And how much confidence is appropriate? This course introduces the principles of statistical description and inference as strategies to answer these questions, with emphasis on methods of principal relevance to psychology and the behavioral and neural sciences.

This course is modeled after "Great Books" literature courses in the humanities, but with two important differences: we read non-fiction books in the social sciences rather than the humanities, written by highly prominent contemporary social scientists. The course title refers to the fact that the books are new, hence their potential greatness has yet to be confirmed by the test of time. We choose living authors to give students a unique opportunity: to interact with each of the six authors in Q&A sessions in person or via video conferencing. This fall half of the authors will appear in person for Q&A and the others will Skype with the class.

Examines the origins and development of human social behavior. Our species is notably social, with both positive and negative consequences: we thrive in groups, yet we often discriminate against those who are not like us. This course focuses on social cognitive development in infancy and early childhood, with the goal of understanding the foundations of human nature in a social context. Likely topics include theories of mind, social learning, social categorization, motivation, moral development, and attachment.

This course explores how cognitive, social & clinical psychology are used in law. Law makes many assumptions about human psychology, and lawyers and judges regularly rely on psychological research in their cases. The course examines the psychology underlying criminal confessions; children's testimony; the insanity defense; risk assessment; judge and jury decision making; criminal punishment; constitutional law; and common law (tort, contract, and property) disputes. The course assesses the use and misuse of psychology in these subjects.    

What is "personality"? How is it scientifically studied and measured?  To what extent, do biological, social, and cultural factors shape personality?  Is personality an expression of our genetic make up and biology, the culmination of social influences, the interplay of both, or the result of random events?  In this course, we will review the major theoretical paradigms of personality psychology, discuss contemporary research, theory, and methodology, and learn about key historical debates in the study of "personality".

Introduction to research and theory in social psychology. Topics include social influence, persuasion, and attitude change; social interaction and group phenomena; altruism and aggression; stereotyping and prejudice; everyday reasoning and judgment.

Writing in the Majors section of PSYCH 2800. In addition to attending all the lectures in PSYCH 2800, students will attend an additional weekly seminar and all assessment is based on writing instead of exams. This course is an introduction to research and theory in social psychology, covering the same material as (social influence, persuasion, and attitude change; social interaction and group phenomena; altruism and aggression; stereotyping and prejudice; everyday reasoning and judgment).

Provides students with information and perspectives essential to volunteer fieldwork with human and social service programs in the community. Readings are drawn from the field of community psychology and include analyses of successful programs, such as Head Start, as well as a review of the methods by which those programs are developed and assessed. Although students are not required to volunteer, the instructor provides students with a list of local agencies open to student placements.

This course will introduce students to the basics of research design and will review several methodologies in the study of human development. The focus of the course will be on descriptive and experimental methods. Students will learn the advantages and challenges to different methodological approaches. The course also places an emphasis on developing students' scientific writing and strengthening their understanding of statistics.

Effective judgments and decisions are critical to success in every avenue of life. This course will explore research on the principles of sound judgment and decision making, and on the ways in which people's judgments and decisions are prone to bias and error. The course aims to improve students' critical thinking skills and to enable them to make better judgments and decisions in an increasingly complicated world. The course is taught by a team of psychologists and economists who draw on recent research in psychology and behavioral economics that can benefit the lives of students.

This course states and motivates the observation that cognition is fundamentally a computational process and explores the implications of this idea. Students are introduced to a variety of conceptual tools for thinking about cognitive information processing, including statistical learning from experience and the use of patterns distilled from past experience in guiding future actions. They learn to apply these tools to gain understanding of perception, memory, motor control, language, action planning, problem solving, decision making, reasoning, intelligence, and creativity.

Multidisciplinary discussion of the causes, effects, and treatments of human obesity. Topics include the biopsychology of eating behavior, the genetics of obesity, the role of activity and energy metabolism, the psychosocial determinants of obesity, anorexia nervosa, therapy and its effectiveness, and social discrimination.

Lab course designed to introduce students to experimental methods in auditory perception and cognition. Students complete a short computer-based course on experimental design and statistical analysis. Each student conducts an independent research project. This includes a review of the relevant literature, the collection and analysis of data, and a presentation of the findings. The projects are most frequently on a topic related to music but may also be related to speech or environmental sounds.

Analyze feature-length popular movies, with regard to how filmmakers control what and how we perceive.  A focus will be on the physical form of these movies, how shots and scences are constructed, how color and texture are used, how narration (the telling of the story) interacts with narrative (and the structure of the story), and how these have changed from 1915 to 2015. 

Covers comparative and evolutionary approaches to the study of the relationship between reproductive hormones and sexual behavior in vertebrates, including humans. Also hormonal contributions to other social behavior (parental behavior, aggression, mating systems), stress, learning and memory, and biological rhythms.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to experimental research on the neural basis of behavior and cognition in animals.  Topics will include basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, neural and hormonal control of behavior, and learning and memory.  Students will gain extensive hands on experience with a variety of laboratory techniques, and animal species, and behaviors.

A theoretical and empirical approach to the biological, psychological, and social (including cultural and historical) aspects of adult psychopathology. Readings range from Freud to topics in psychopharmacology. The major mental illnesses are covered, including schizophrenia as well as mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. Childhood disorders are not covered.

Composed of three components that form an intensive undergraduate field practicum. First, students spend three to six hours a week at local mental health agencies, schools, or nursing facilities working directly with children, adolescents, or adults; supervision is provided by host agency staff. Second, the instructor provides additional weekly individual, clinical supervision for each student. Third, seminar meetings cover issues of adult and developmental psychopathology, clinical technique, case studies, and current research issues. Students write one short paper, two final take-home exams, and present an account of their field experience in class.

Continues the field practicum experience from PSYCH 3270.

Covers the basic ideas and techniques involved in computational neuroscience. Surveys diverse topics, including neural dynamics of small networks of cells, neural coding, learning in neural networks and in brain structures, memory models of the hippocampus, sensory coding, and others.

Why do some children grow up well-adjusted and others do not? This course applies a developmental framework to understanding psychological disorders. We will consider the common disorders of childhood and adolescence; the individual contexts which promote risk versus resiliency; trends and trajectories in disorders over time; and the complex ethical issues associated with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders early in life.

Surveys the approaches that have been or are currently being used in order to understand the biological bases for learning and memory. Topics include invertebrate, "simple system" approaches, avian song learning, hippocampal and cerebellar function, research using MRI in humans. Many of the readings are from primary literature.

This seminar will survey core topics on attention, exploring how it influences what people perceive, what they are aware of, what they remember, and how well they can perform tasks.  Original articles presenting behavioral and neuroscientific research on attention will be discussed.  In-class demonstrations and presentations will further provide students with a broad understanding of attention and the ability to critically apply attention concepts to their everyday lives.

Our present technology allows us to transmit and display information through a variety of media. To make the most of these media channels, it is important to consider the limitations and abilities of the human observer. The course considers a number of applied aspects of human perception with an emphasis on the display of visual information. Topics include "three-dimensional" display systems, color theory, spatial and temporal limitations of the visual systems, attempts at subliminal communication, and "visual" effects in film and television.

This course will familiarize you with the basic experimental social psychology research that investigates how our thoughts and beliefs (stereotypes), evaluative attitudes (prejudice), and behavioral responses (discrimination) toward individuals shift as a function of their group membership.  The ultimate aim is to enhance your ability to evaluate and analyze the scientific merit of this research and to apply this research to real world social issues.

Beyond the literal communication it conveys, language provides social meaning.  This course explores the myriad ways in which people's language and accent serve to mark, unite, and divide social groups.  Language and accent matter for identity, for social relationships, for politics, and for intergroup relationships.  Focusing on developmental, social, and evolutionary psychology, but drawing on a broad interdisciplinary literature including linguistics, anthropology, and the law, this course explores the origins and nature of language as a maker of human social groups.

Covers the major topics in the psychology of music treated from a scientific perspective. Presents recent developments in the cognitive science of music, including perception and memory for pitch and rhythm, performing music, the relationship between music and language, musical abilities in infants, emotional responses, and the cognitive neuroscience of music.

Although the hippocampus has been the subject of intense scrutiny for nearly 50 years, there remains considerable disagreement about functional contributions the hippocampus makes to learning and memory process. This seminar will examine the diverse functions attributed to the hippocampus with an eye toward integrating the differing viewpoints in the literature. After a brief historical overview, students will discuss cutting-edge literature on the hippocampal role in spatial navigation, learning, and memory, and context processing.

Focusses on the ecology and evolution of the neuronal processes concerned with the acquisition, retention, and use of information. We will discuss the potential for natural selection to shape cognitive traits, the ways in which these influences can be studied, and the observable consequences of this process.

Seminar surveying a cross-section of modern theories, methods, and research pertaining to the origin and evolution of language. Considers evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, comparative psychology, and computational modeling of evolutionary processes. Topics for discussion may include: What does the fossil record tell us about language evolution? What can we learn from comparative perspectives on neurobiology and behavior? Can apes really learn language? Did language come about through natural selection? What were the potential preadaptations for language? What is the relationship between phylogeny and ontogeny?

A course examining the core disciplines of cognitive science using varied themes from semester to semester.

A course examining the core disciplines of cognitive science using varied themes from semester to semester.

Neurons generate action potentials.  Brains underlie feeding, fighting, fleeing, and reproduction, also navigation, attention, sociality, art, and science.  What about the middle part?  This advanced seminar course examines the construction of neural circuits and systems that enable achievement of behavioral goals.  The curriculum emphasizes integration across levels of analysis and organization, including cellular and synaptic physiology, the emergent properties of networks, energy and information management, quantitative modeling, cognitive algorithms, and adaptive behavioral outcomes.

Practice in planning, conducting, and reporting independent laboratory, field, and/or library research.

Practice in planning, conducting, and reporting independent laboratory, field, and/or library research.

Advanced experience in planning, conducting, and reporting independent laboratory, field, and/or library research. One, and preferably two, semesters of PSYCH 4700 is required. The research should be more independent and/or involve more demanding technical skills than that carried out in PSYCH 4700.

Advanced experience in planning, conducting, and reporting independent laboratory, field, and/or library research. One, and preferably two, semesters of PSYCH 4700 is required. The research should be more independent and/or involve more demanding technical skills than that carried out in PSYCH 4700.

This course is developed as an introduction to graduate statistics for social sciences. It will review descriptive statistics and probability theory. It will cover exploratory data analysis, basic inferential statistics with a focus on analyses for experimental designs, e.g. ANOVA models. No costs other than textbooks are incurred.

This course builds on the first graduate statistics class for social sciences offered in falls. It will cover the general linear model as a data analytic tool. The focus will be on applied regression models. No costs other than textbooks are incurred.

This seminar will focus on cutting-edge research pertaining to current topics and controversies in developmental psychology. The specific topic will change each year. We will emphasize a comparative approach where appropriate and will seek to understand developmental mechanisms and influences across multiple levels of organization, from genes to social groups. Students will be expected to present research and lead discussion 2-3 times during the semester.

The focus of this team-taught course is on discussion and critical analysis of selected articles from very recent issues of the best social psychological journals.  Readings are chosen for their importance, their coverage of topics of contemporary topics in social psychology. Students write brief "thought papers" before each class in which they offer suggestions for class discussion based on their close reading of the day's assigned articles. They also write a term paper (details at first class meeting).

This course will survey the emerging field of Social Neuroscience, and examine how theories and methods of neuroscience may be used to address classic questions of social psychology from new and informative angles.  The goal is to give students the tools to become critical consumers of this literature, broaden their thinking about conncetions between the mind, brain, and behavior in a social context, and apply these ideas to their own future research in psychology.

This course is designed to introduce first-year graduates to the Psychology Department faculty through a weekly series of presentations of current research.

This course is designed to introduce first-year graduates to the Psychology Department faculty through a weekly series of presentations of current research.

Basic perceptual concepts and phenomena are discussed with emphasis on stimulus variables and sensory mechanisms. All sensory modalities are considered, vision is discussed in detail.

Beyond the literal communication it conveys, language provides social meaning.  This course explores the myriad ways in which people's language and accent serve to mark, unite, and divide social groups.  Language and accent matter for identity, for social relationships, for politics, and for intergroup relationships. Focusing on developmental, social and evolutionary psychology, but drawing on a broad interdisciplinary literature including linguistics, anthropology, and the law, this course explores the origins and nature of language as a maker of human social groups.

A reading and discussion seminar for graduate students and faculty.

This course states and motivates the observation that cognition is fundamentally a computational process and explores the implications of this idea. Students are introduced to a variety of conceptual tools for thinking about cognitive information processing, including statistical learning from experience and the use of patterns distilled from past experience in guiding future actions. They learn to apply these tools to gain understanding of perception, memory, motor control, language, action planning, problem solving, decision making, reasoning, intelligence, and creativity.

Covers the major topics in the psychology of music treated from a scientific perspective. Presents recent developments in the cognitive science of music, including perception and memory for pitch and rhythm, performing music, the relationship between music and language, musical abilities in infants, emotional responses, and the cognitive neuroscience of music.

Graduate seminar coupled with the Psychology Colloquium series. For 6-8 of the speakers, we read readings designated by the speaker in advance of their arrival, and meet with the speaker in the Thursday seminar. Intended for graduate students in the Field of Psychology who may register for this course without permission, all others please ask for permission from the instructor. Registration in both semesters is required.

Graduate seminar coupled with the Psychology Colloquium series. For 6-8 of the speakers, we read readings designated by the speaker in advance of their arrival, and meet with the speaker in the Thursday seminar. Intended for graduate students in the Field of Psychology who may register for this course without permission, all others please ask for permission from the instructor. Registration in both semesters is required.

Although the hippocampus has been the subject of intense scrutiny for nearly 50 years, there remains considerable disagreement about functional contributions the hippocampus makes to learning and memory process. This seminar will examine the diverse functions attributed to the hippocampus with an eye toward integrating the differing viewpoints in the literature. After a brief historical overview, students will discuss cutting-edge literature on the hippocampal role in spatial navigation, learning, and memory, and context processing.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to experimental research on the neural basis of behavior and cognition in animals.  Topics will include basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, neural and hormonal control of behavior, and learning and memory.  Students will gain extensive hands on experience with a variety of laboratory techniques, and animal species, and behaviors.

Focusses on the ecology and evolution of the neuronal processes concerned with the acquisition, retention, and use of information. We will discuss the potential for natural selection to shape cognitive traits, the ways in which these influences can be studied, and the observable consequences of this process.

Seminar surveying a cross-section of modern theories, methods, and research pertaining to the origin and evolution of language. Considers evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, comparative psychology, and computational modeling of evolutionary processes. Topics for discussion may include: What does the fossil record tell us about language evolution? What can we learn from comparative perspectives on neurobiology and behavior? Can apes really learn language? Did language come about through natural selection? What were the potential preadaptations for language? What is the relationship between phylogeny and ontogeny?

Course explores current issues in Psychology.  Topics vary by section.

Course explores current issues in Psychology.  Topics vary by section.

This seminar will survey core topics on attention, exploring how it influences what people perceive, what they are aware of, what they remember, and how well they can perform tasks.  Original articles presenting behavioral and neuroscientific research on attention will be discussed.  In-class demonstrations and presentations will further provide students with a broad understanding of attention and the ability to critically apply attention concepts to their everyday lives.

Our present technology allows us to transmit and display information through a variety of media. To make the most of these media channels, it is important to consider the limitations and abilities of the human observer. The course considers a number of applied aspects of human perception with an emphasis on the display of visual information. Topics include "three-dimensional" display systems, color theory, spatial and temporal limitations of the visual systems, attempts at subliminal communication, and "visual" effects in film and television.

Imagination and Cognition: Imagination serves important functions in everyday thought and action. We will read some classic and some recent studies highlighting the cognitive and neural basis of imagination, how it relates to memory, planning, and decision making. Imagination in Childhood: Research on imagination in childhood is characterized by a paradox: children are generally viewed as imaginative and creative. They're also more likely than adults to engage with imaginary friends, pretend play, and elaborate "worlds" of fantasy. Yet children, unlike adults, are poor at episodic memory, future thinking, planning, and creative problem solving. Is this evidence for one use of imagination receding in favor of another? Applications to life: Here we can choose topics based on class interest. Some ideas (and readings) below on imagination in social life, in clinical research, in creativity, in self-understanding, and in the behavior and functioning of organizations.  

Neurons generate action potentials.  Brains underlie feeding, fighting, fleeing, and reproduction, also navigation, attention, sociality, art, and science.  What about the middle part?  This advanced seminar course examines the construction of neural circuits and systems that enable achievement of behavioral goals.  The curriculum emphasizes integration across levels of analysis and organizations, including cellular and synaptic physiology, the emergent properties of networks, energy and information mamagement, quantitative modeling, cognitive algorithm, and adaptive behavioral outcomes.

This course is developed as an introduction to graduate statistics for social sciences. It will review descriptive statistics and probability theory. It will cover exploratory data analysis, basic inferential statistics with a focus on analyses for experimental designs, e.g. ANOVA models. No costs other than textbooks are incurred.

This course builds on the first graduate statistics class for social sciences offered in falls. It will cover the general linear model as a data analytic tool. The focus will be on applied regression models. No costs other than textbooks are incurred.

This seminar will focus on cutting-edge research pertaining to current topics and controversies in developmental psychology. The specific topic will change each year. We will emphasize a comparative approach where appropriate and will seek to understand developmental mechanisms and influences across multiple levels of organization, from genes to social groups. Students will be expected to present research and lead discussion 2-3 times during the semester.

The focus is on discussion and critical analysis of selected articles from very recent issues of the best social psychological journals. Readings are chosen for their importance, their readability, and the likelihood that they will generate stimulating discussion. Students write brief "thought papers" before each class in which they offer suggestions for class discussion based on their close reading of the day's assigned articles. They also write a term paper on a social psychological topic of their own choosing. No exams.

This course will survey the emerging field of Social Neuroscience, and examine how theories and methods of neuroscience may be used to address classic questions of social psychology from new and informative angles.  The goal is to give students the tools to become critical consumers of this literature, broaden their thinking about conncetions between the mind, brain, and behavior in a social context, and apply these ideas to their own future research in psychology.

A graduate research seminar in biopsychology.

A graduate research seminar in biopsychology.

Judgment pervades everyday experience. Can this person be trusted? Does this relationship have promise? Is the economy likely to flourish? This course examines how people answer such questions by examining-in-depth-classic and contemporary scholarship on the subject. Readings are mostly primary sources.

One of four introductory courses in cognition and perception. A comprehensive introduction to current thinking and research in developmental psychology that approaches problems from both psychobiological and cognitive perspectives. We will use a comparative approach to assess principles of development change. The course focuses on the development of perception, action, cognition, language, and social understanding in infancy and early childhood.

A graduate research seminar in human experimental psychology.

A graduate research seminar in human experimental psychology.

Lab course designed to introduce students to experimental methods in auditory perception and cognition. Students complete a short computer-based course on experimental design and statistical analysis. Each student conducts an independent research project. This includes a review of the relevant literature, the collection and analysis of data, and a presentation of the findings. The projects are most frequently on a topic related to music.

A graduate research seminar in social psychology and personality.

A graduate research seminar in social psychology and personality.

Covers comparative and evolutionary approaches to the study of the relationship between reproductive hormones and sexual behavior in vertebrates, including humans. Also hormonal contributions to other social behavior (parental behavior, aggression, mating systems) stress, learning and memory, and biological rhythms.

First semester of a year-long discussion-seminar course intended to give graduate students an in-depth understanding of current research and theory in social psychology. Emphasizes social cognition, but other topics, such as group dynamics, social influence, the social psychology of language, and emotional experience, are covered.

Second semester of a year-long discussion-seminar course intended to give graduate students an in-depth understanding of current research and theory in social psychology. Emphasizes social cognition, but other topics, such as group dynamics, social influence, the social psychology of language, and emotional experience are covered.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in biopsychology.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in biopsychology.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in human experimental psychology.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in human experimental psychology.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in social psychology and personality.

A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in social psychology and personality.