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.

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.

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:

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 some of the authors will appear in person for Q&A and the others will Skype with the class.

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".

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.

Morality seems to be a universal feature of human thinking.  People across time, place and culture have a strong sense that certain things are right or wrong, that some people are good and some are evil.  Where does this moral sense come from?  Why do some people disagree so strongly about what is right and wrong?  How did evolution shape this moral sense?  How does it develop?  Are there any universally agreed upon moral rules?  The goals of this course are to offer an introduction to the science behind our moral sense.

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 narration (the telling of the story) interacts with narrative (and the structure of the story), and how these have changed from 1915 to 2015. We will also watch eight feature-length films in class.

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.

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.

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.

Our present understanding of how the mind works and how minds evolve suggests that the pursuit of happiness is a basic human right: our capacity for emotional well-being and our ability to appreciate life as a whole are both rooted deep in the human nature. The human potential for happiness cannot, however, be realized if circumstances oppose it. In particular, widespread chronic financial hardship and insecurity and the inequality in power and wealth distribution are both detrimental to happiness. In this seminar, we shall read and discuss a selection of academic papers that examine the cognitive, social, and political psychology of the American polity, with a particular stress on understanding the dynamics of socioeconomic inequality and on identifying possible ways, if any, of bringing about change to the better.

Seminar on the essential features and qualities of culture and how it impacts human endeavors.  Because understanding culture necessarily requires interaction across multiple areas of study, this interdisciplinary seminar will be based on discussions of recent research at the interface of cognitive sicence and the humanities.  Topics may include: animal cultures, the evolution of language, the symbolic revolution, knowledge acquisitions, play, rituals and the arts. 

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.

This course will give an opportunity to learn how to communicate concepts and knowledge from the psychological sciences.  We will examine the challenges associated with science communications, including ways to engage the perspectives of diverse audiences, and evaluation of the effects of the interaction on the audience's knowledge and attitudes.  Most of our activities will focus on the development of exhibits for the Sciencenter of Ithaca.  We will develop exhibit prototypes, evaluate the public's engagement and learning from them, and use the feedback to refine our prototypes.  The goal will be to effectively convey current understanding of psychological processes to the general public, with an emphasis on engaging young children.

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.

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 connections 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 enhances the graduate experience and prepares first-year psychology graduate students admitted to the program for success.  We address departmental expectations and standards by providing a formal introduction to departmental expertise and capabilities, a platform on which to enhance professional development, and a forum for conceptualization and formulation of research projects and grant proposals.

Our present understanding of how the mind works and how minds evolve suggests that the pursuit of happiness is a basic human right: our capacity for emotional well-being and our ability to appreciate life as a whole are both rooted deep in the human nature. The human potential for happiness cannot, however, be realized if circumstances oppose it. In particular, widespread chronic financial hardship and insecurity and the inequality in power and wealth distribution are both detrimental to happiness. In this seminar, we shall read and discuss a selection of academic papers that examine the cognitive, social, and political psychology of the American polity, with a particular stress on understanding the dynamics of socioeconomic inequality and on identifying possible ways, if any, of bringing about change to the better.

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.

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.

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.

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 give an opportunity to learn how to communicate concepts and knowledge from the psychological sciences.  We will examine the challenges associated with science communications, including ways to engage the perspectives of diverse audiences, and evaluation of the effects of the interaction on the audience's knowledge and attitudes.  Most of our activities will focus on the development of exhibits for the Sciencenter of Ithaca.  We will develop exhibit prototypes, evaluate the public's engagement and learning from them, and use the feedback to refine our prototypes.  The goal will be to effectively convey current understanding of psychological processes to the general public, with an emphasis on engaging young children.

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 human experimental psychology.

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.

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 social psychology and personality.