Courses

Courses by semester

Courses for

Complete Cornell University course descriptions are in the Courses of Study .

Course ID Title Offered
PSYCH1101 Introduction to Psychology
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.

Full details for PSYCH 1101 - Introduction to Psychology

Fall, Summer (six-week session).
PSYCH1103 Introductory Psychology Seminars
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.

Full details for PSYCH 1103 - Introductory Psychology Seminars

Fall.
PSYCH1120 FWS:Personality & Social Psychology
PSYCH1500 Introduction to Environmental Psychology
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.

Full details for PSYCH 1500 - Introduction to Environmental Psychology

Fall, Summer.
PSYCH1501 Introduction to Environmental Psychology - Writing in the Major
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:

Full details for PSYCH 1501 - Introduction to Environmental Psychology - Writing in the Major

Fall.
PSYCH2230 Intro to Behavioral Neuroscience
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.

Full details for PSYCH 2230 - Intro to Behavioral Neuroscience

Fall, Summer (six-week session).
PSYCH2500 Statistics and Research Design
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.

Full details for PSYCH 2500 - Statistics and Research Design

Fall, Summer.
PSYCH2580 Six Pretty Good Books: Explorations in Social Science
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.

Full details for PSYCH 2580 - Six Pretty Good Books: Explorations in Social Science

Fall.
PSYCH2650 Psychology and Law
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.    

Full details for PSYCH 2650 - Psychology and Law

Fall.
PSYCH2750 Introduction to Personality
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".

Full details for PSYCH 2750 - Introduction to Personality

Fall, Winter, Summer (three-week session).
PSYCH2820 Community Outreach
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.

Full details for PSYCH 2820 - Community Outreach

Fall.
PSYCH2830 Research Methods in Human Development
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.

Full details for PSYCH 2830 - Research Methods in Human Development

Fall.
PSYCH3135 The Psychology of Good and Evil
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3135 - The Psychology of Good and Evil

Fall.
PSYCH3200 Psychology and Cinema
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3200 - Psychology and Cinema

Fall.
PSYCH3220 Hormones and Behavior
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3220 - Hormones and Behavior

Fall.
PSYCH3240 Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3240 - Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory

Fall.
PSYCH3270 Field Practicum I
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3270 - Field Practicum I

Fall.
PSYCH3420 Human Perception: Application to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display
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.

Full details for PSYCH 3420 - Human Perception: Application to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display

Fall.
PSYCH4030 Inequality, Power and Happiness
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.

Full details for PSYCH 4030 - Inequality, Power and Happiness

Fall (offered alternate years).
PSYCH4150 Culture, Cognition, Humanities
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. 

Full details for PSYCH 4150 - Culture, Cognition, Humanities

Fall (offered alternate years).
PSYCH4180 Psychology of Music
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.

Full details for PSYCH 4180 - Psychology of Music

Fall.
PSYCH4500 Psychology at the Sciencenter!
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.

Full details for PSYCH 4500 - Psychology at the Sciencenter!

Fall.
PSYCH4700 Undergraduate Research in Psychology
Practice in planning, conducting, and reporting independent laboratory, field, and/or library research.

Full details for PSYCH 4700 - Undergraduate Research in Psychology

Fall or Spring.
PSYCH4710 Advanced Undergraduate Research in Psychology
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.

Full details for PSYCH 4710 - Advanced Undergraduate Research in Psychology

Fall or Spring.
PSYCH4810 Advanced Social Psychology
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).

Full details for PSYCH 4810 - Advanced Social Psychology

Fall.
PSYCH4830 Social Neuroscience
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.

Full details for PSYCH 4830 - Social Neuroscience

Fall.
PSYCH6000 General Research Seminar
This course is designed to introduce first-year graduates to the Psychology Department faculty through a weekly series of presentations of current research.

Full details for PSYCH 6000 - General Research Seminar

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH6001 Graduate Professionalism Seminar
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6001 - Graduate Professionalism Seminar

Fall.
PSYCH6030 Inequality, Power and Happiness
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6030 - Inequality, Power and Happiness

Fall.
PSYCH6180 Psychology of Music
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6180 - Psychology of Music

Fall.
PSYCH6210 Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6210 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH6240 Biopsychology Laboratory
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6240 - Biopsychology Laboratory

Fall.
PSYCH6271 Topics in Biopsychology
Course explores current issues in Psychology.  Topics vary by section.

Full details for PSYCH 6271 - Topics in Biopsychology

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH6420 Human Perception: Applications to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6420 - Human Perception: Applications to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display

Fall.
PSYCH6500 Psychology at the Sciencenter!
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6500 - Psychology at the Sciencenter!

Fall.
PSYCH6810 Advanced Social Psychology
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6810 - Advanced Social Psychology

Fall.
PSYCH6830 Social Neuroscience
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.

Full details for PSYCH 6830 - Social Neuroscience

Fall.
PSYCH7000 Research in Biopsychology
A graduate research seminar in biopsychology.

Full details for PSYCH 7000 - Research in Biopsychology

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH7100 Research in Human Experimental Psychology
A graduate research seminar in human experimental psychology.

Full details for PSYCH 7100 - Research in Human Experimental Psychology

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH7200 Research in Social Psychology and Personality
A graduate research seminar in social psychology and personality.

Full details for PSYCH 7200 - Research in Social Psychology and Personality

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH7220 Hormones and Behavior
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.

Full details for PSYCH 7220 - Hormones and Behavior

Fall.
PSYCH7750 Proseminar in Social Psychology I
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.

Full details for PSYCH 7750 - Proseminar in Social Psychology I

Fall.
PSYCH9000 Doctoral Thesis Research in Biopsychology
A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in biopsychology.

Full details for PSYCH 9000 - Doctoral Thesis Research in Biopsychology

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH9100 Doctoral Thesis Research in Human Experimental Psychology
A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in human experimental psychology.

Full details for PSYCH 9100 - Doctoral Thesis Research in Human Experimental Psychology

Fall, Spring.
PSYCH9200 Doctoral Thesis Research in Social Psychology and Personality
A graduate seminar on doctoral thesis research in social psychology and personality.

Full details for PSYCH 9200 - Doctoral Thesis Research in Social Psychology and Personality

Fall, Spring.
HD1150 Human Development: Infancy and Childhood
Introduces students to the basic concepts, theories, and research in human development as they explain prenatal development and development in infancy and childhood, including physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development. The focus is on individual development from an interdisciplinary perspective with an emphasis on psychological development, but also drawing from the fields of sociology, history, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and education.

Full details for HD 1150 - Human Development: Infancy and Childhood

Fall.
HD2180 Human Development: Adulthood and Aging
Introduces students to theories and research in adult development and aging. Describes biological, psychological and social changes from early through late adulthood. Identifies strategies to promote healthy aging at the individual and societal level.

Full details for HD 2180 - Human Development: Adulthood and Aging

Fall.
HD2200 The Human Brain and Mind: An Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
At the turn of the 21st century the age of Embodied Cognition dawned: a reconsideration of relationships between body, brain, and mind. Researchers in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience challenged the 20th-century dogma that the mind is like a digital computer, and can be studied independently of the body, brain, and world. Researchers turned their attention to the role that bodily experience plays in thinking and learning, and the roles neural systems for perception and action play in cognition. This course views the field of Cognitive Neuroscience through the lens of Embodied Cognition research, and evaluates the extent to which "embodiment" may be passing fad, a useful shift in perspective, or a revolutionary new way of building theories about brain and mind. 

Full details for HD 2200 - The Human Brain and Mind: An Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience

Fall.
HD2300 Cognitive Development
This course will provide you with an overview of how children's cognition develops. We will investigate how cognition develops from many different perspectives. The main perspectives will be biological, genetic-epistemological, socio-cultural, and information-processing ones. This course also will help you to understand how cognition influences other areas of development, including intelligence, development of the self, language, and social development. Finally, different populations will be considered to better understand the roles not only of nature and nurture, but also of how the two interact to influence development.

Full details for HD 2300 - Cognitive Development

Spring.
HD2580 Six Pretty Good Books: Explorations in Social Science
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.

Full details for HD 2580 - Six Pretty Good Books: Explorations in Social Science

Fall.
HD2600 Introduction to Personality
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".

Full details for HD 2600 - Introduction to Personality

Fall, Winter, Summer (three-week session).
HD2650 Psychology and Law
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.    

Full details for HD 2650 - Psychology and Law

Fall.
HD2820 Community Outreach
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.

Full details for HD 2820 - Community Outreach

Fall.
HD2830 Research Methods in Human Development
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.

Full details for HD 2830 - Research Methods in Human Development

Fall.
HD3110 Educational Psychology
Educational psychology is the application of psychological principles and concepts to cases of teaching and learning. We study behavioral, cognitive, embodied, and social-cultural perspectives on learning and thinking, and we use them in planning and reflecting on weekly fieldwork outside the classroom. In the process, we become more mindful and skilled learners ourselves and better facilitators of others' learning.

Full details for HD 3110 - Educational Psychology

Fall, Spring.
HD3190 Memory and the Law
Focuses on how the scientific study of human memory interfaces with the theory and practice of law.

Full details for HD 3190 - Memory and the Law

Fall.
HD3250 Neurochemistry of Human Behavior
This course will focus on the complex interactions between neurochemicals and their receptors (pharmacodynamics) that drive human behavior. It will provide an overview of the principles of neurotransmission of chemicals as well as how alterations in their normal function can manifest in pathological behavior/mind processes.

Full details for HD 3250 - Neurochemistry of Human Behavior

Fall.
HD3270 Field Practicum I
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.

Full details for HD 3270 - Field Practicum I

Fall.
HD3310 Psychology of Gender
This course explores psychological research on gender, examining the interactions between biology and social learning, gender identity, stereotypes, gender non-conformity, and discrimination. We will critically evaluate sex-related comparisons in cognition, attitudes, leadership, close relationships, psychological development, achievement, communication, and health. We will engage with course material using an intersectional approach that acknowledges that gender development and expression are deeply impacted by race, social class, sexuality, and culture.

Full details for HD 3310 - Psychology of Gender

Fall.
HD3660 Affective and Social Neuroscience
Focuses on networks of brain regions that are organized around the integration of processes related to emotion and motivation. The course first explores brain pathways for processing visual, auditory, body and face movements, and tactile stimuli that comprise the raw material used to judge the emotional significance of external events. Next, brain regions involved in the (1) emotional evaluation of that sensory input, and (2) emotional expression once a significant event is identified are described. Then, brain processes underlying the special nature of human emotional experience (subjective feelings) are explored. All of these basic emotional processes are extended by placing them within widespread brain networks that modulate emotional behavior. There is an emphasis on social contexts and the development of social emotions, including social bonding and social rejection. The manner in which emotional stress influences learning and memory, with implications for PTSD, concludes the course.

Full details for HD 3660 - Affective and Social Neuroscience

Spring.
HD4010 Empirical Research
For study that predominantly involves data collection and analysis or laboratory or studio projects.

Full details for HD 4010 - Empirical Research

Fall, Spring.
HD4020 Supervised Fieldwork
For study that involves both responsible participation in a community setting and reflection on that experience through discussion, reading, and writing. Academic credit is awarded for this integration of theory and practice.

Full details for HD 4020 - Supervised Fieldwork

Fall, Spring.
HD4250 Translational Research on Decision Making
Introductory laboratory-based course focusing on basic foundations in translational research on decision making across the lifespan. The course introduces students to hands-on applications of research skills in the context of research on decision making, spanning basic and applied research in law, medicine, behavioral economics, and policy. It focuses on such topics as human subjects protection, working with populations across the lifespan (e.g., children, seniors), database development, working with external partners and stakeholders (e.g., schools, hospitals), and basic concepts and techniques in decision research. Students participate in weekly laboratory meetings in small teams focused on specific projects as well as monthly meetings in which all teams participate. During laboratory meetings, students discuss ongoing research, plans for new studies, and interpretations of empirical findings from studies that are in progress or have been recently completed. New students work closely with experienced students and eventually work more independently. In order to fully grasp how the research projects fit into the broader field, students read relevant papers weekly and write reaction responses. Because several projects are ongoing at all times, students have the opportunity to be involved in more than one study and are assigned multiple tasks such as piloting research paradigms, subject recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and data entry. Students attend a weekly lab meeting for 1.5 hours per week, read pertinent papers, write reaction responses, and work 10.5 hours per week in the laboratory completing tasks that contribute to ongoing research studies.

Full details for HD 4250 - Translational Research on Decision Making

Fall.
HD4260 Translational Research on Memory and Neuroscience
Laboratory-based course focusing on basic foundations in translational research on the neuroscience of human memory and memory development. Students attend a weekly lab meeting for 1.5 hours per week, read pertinent papers, write reaction responses, and work 10.5 hours per week in the laboratory completing tasks that contribute to ongoing research studies.

Full details for HD 4260 - Translational Research on Memory and Neuroscience

Fall.
HD4290 Psychology and the Law: Experimental and Correlational Research
Students will assist lab members in conducting correlational and experimental research in the broad area of psychology and the law.

Full details for HD 4290 - Psychology and the Law: Experimental and Correlational Research

Fall.
HD4500 Social Networks
A course on human social networks, what they look like offline, and how they matter in everyday life. The course will cover published research on social networks, focusing on health and well-being, and will introduce methods to represent and study networks quantitatively. Students will evaluate past studies and propose original research.

Full details for HD 4500 - Social Networks

Fall.
HD4580 The Science of Social Behavior
This is a capstone seminar for seniors who are interested in graduate or professional study in scientific disciplines that focus on human behavior and social interaction. The intent is to provide seniors with an opportunity to summon, integrate, and apply insights that they have acquired over the course of their undergraduate education, and give prospective graduate students the opportunity to lead discussions in a large introductory lecture course, "Six Pretty Good Books" (HD/ILRLR/SOC 2580). Each seminar member is part of a two or three-person team that leads the discussion together, under the supervision of a graduate teaching assistant. Seminar meetings are devoted to building lesson plans for leading an effective discussion of each of the six books. The authors vary from year to year but include Malcolm Gladwell, Michelle Alexander, Nate Silver, and Nicholas Christakis. All authors have agreed to participate in a "Q&A" session with the students which seminar members are required to attend. The course meets Cornell's SBA distribution requirement.

Full details for HD 4580 - The Science of Social Behavior

Fall.
HD4630 Introduction to Functional MRI Analysis for Human Neuroimaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a relatively new method of observing relationships between in-vivo neural activity and behavior. This method is a truly interdisciplinary feat combining engineering, physics, and biology, but is at times reduced in popular media as "pretty brain pictures." In this course, students will learn the promises and limitations of fMRI methods and becomes educated consumers and skeptics of both popular and scientific literature. In addition, students will have hands on experience in analyzing fMRI data from preprocessing to higher-level techniques using univariate and multivariate analyses. The final project will include submitting a fMRI study proposal complete with a literature review and analysis plan.

Full details for HD 4630 - Introduction to Functional MRI Analysis for Human Neuroimaging

Fall (not offered every year).
HD4720 Current Research in Emotion, Cognition, and Brain
The course will cover advanced topics in research on the emotions from central neural and peripheral physiological perspectives, with an emphasis with how emotions shape different aspects of cognition and behavior.

Full details for HD 4720 - Current Research in Emotion, Cognition, and Brain

Fall.
HD4850 Professional Development in Translational Research
As a supplement to their immersive learning experience working on faculty research projects, students in this course will engage with actors and ideas from across the youth development research and practice communities, learn about research methods and dissemination to various audiences, and begin to see the world from a translational research perspective.

Full details for HD 4850 - Professional Development in Translational Research

Fall, Spring.
HD4860 Nearest Neighbor
As a supplement to their immersive learning experience working on translational research projects led by CHE faculty, and building on their experience in HD4850 (Professional Development in Translational Research), this course will provide opportunities for students to put their learning into practice by proposing and implementing a translational research project in collaboration with community partners.

Full details for HD 4860 - Nearest Neighbor

Fall, Spring.
HD4980 Senior Honors Seminar
In this weekly seminar, students are guided through the process of completing an honors thesis in human development. The course focuses on developing students' writing abilities, reviewing statistics and how to present research findings in a manuscript, and receiving feedback on drafts of their thesis, as well as practice presenting the results of their thesis in poster and oral presentations.

Full details for HD 4980 - Senior Honors Seminar

Fall, Spring.
HD4990 Senior Honors Thesis Fall, Spring.
HD6020 Research in Risk and Rational Decision Making
This hands-on laboratory course will develop research skills in the context of risk and rational decision making in human development from multiple disciplinary perspectives and with respect to different kinds of decision-making under risk and uncertainty.  Topics will depend on student interests but may include decisions about war, terrorism, cancer control and prevention (e.g., screening tests), personal behaviors that involve risk (e.g., HIV prevention), and other public health risks (e.g., vaccinations), law enforcement (e.g., use of a weapon), and legal decision making (e.g., jury deliberations). Students will read the research literature, discuss the latest empirical findings and scientific theories of risk and rationality, and engage in group work and peer review to hone their skills.  Students will then design research projects and engage in research activities as well as read additional references tailored to their interests.

Full details for HD 6020 - Research in Risk and Rational Decision Making

Fall.
HD6190 Memory and the Law
Focuses on how the scientific study of human memory interfaces with the theory and practice of law.  Students study relevant areas of memory research and memory theory.

Full details for HD 6190 - Memory and the Law

Fall.
HD6200 First-Year Proseminar in Human Development
Designed as an orientation to the department and the university. Activities include attendance at research presentations, visits to departmental research laboratories, relevant informational sessions (e.g., Institutional Review Board for Human Participants, proposal writing), and guidance in preparing a public research presentation to be made at the end of spring semester.

Full details for HD 6200 - First-Year Proseminar in Human Development

Fall, Spring.
HD6210 Seminar on Autobiographical Memory
This graduate seminar is designed to give an overview as well as in-depth analysis of topics related to autobiographical memory and its development. Readings focus heavily on current theories and empirical research on a wide range of topics including childhood amnesia, reminiscence bump, emotion and memory, memory accuracy, development and disruption, neurological perspectives, memory functions, and memory across cultures.

Full details for HD 6210 - Seminar on Autobiographical Memory

Fall.
HD6610 Text and Networks in Social Science Research
This is a course on networks and text in quantitative social science. The course will cover published research using text and social network data, focusing on health, politics, and everyday life, and it will introduce methods and approaches for incorporating high-dimensional data into familiar research designs. Students will evaluate past studies and propose original research.

Full details for HD 6610 - Text and Networks in Social Science Research

Fall.
HD6635 Introduction to Scripting for Functional MRI Analysis in Human Neuroimaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a relatively new method of observing relationships between in-vivo neural activity and behavior. This method is a truly interdisciplinary feat combining engineering, physics, and biology, but is at times reduced in popular media as "pretty brain pictures." In this course, students will learn the promises and limitations of fMRI methods and become educated consumers and skeptics of both popular and scientific literature. In addition, students will have hands on experience in analyzing fMRI data from preprocessing to higher-level techniques using univariate and multivariate analyses. Beyond this, graduate students will learn how to use scripting in python to create neuroimaging paradigms, automate analyses, and create analyses pipelines using python and unix. The final project will be an oral presentation and a written study proposal to include a literature review, an fMRI paradigm, and an analysis pipeline for a future study.

Full details for HD 6635 - Introduction to Scripting for Functional MRI Analysis in Human Neuroimaging

Fall (not offered every year).
HD6650 Poverty, Children and the Environment
This seminar examines how the physical and social contexts of disadvantage shape child development. We investigate how childhood disadvantage influences biology and health as well as cognitive and socioemotional development through the settings disadvantage children grow up in.

Full details for HD 6650 - Poverty, Children and the Environment

Fall.
HD6720 Current Research in Emotion, Cognition and Brain
The course will cover advanced topics in research on the emotions from central neural and peripheral physiological perspectives, with an emphasis with how emotions shape different aspects of cognition and behavior.

Full details for HD 6720 - Current Research in Emotion, Cognition and Brain

Fall.
HD7000 Directed Readings
For study that predominantly involves library research and independent study.

Full details for HD 7000 - Directed Readings

Fall, Spring.
HD7010 Empirical Research
For study that predominantly involves collection and analysis of research data.

Full details for HD 7010 - Empirical Research

Fall, Spring.
HD7020 Practicum
For study that predominantly involves field experience in community settings.

Full details for HD 7020 - Practicum

Fall, Spring.
HD7030 Teaching Assistantship
For students assisting faculty with instruction. Does not apply to work for which students receive financial compensation.

Full details for HD 7030 - Teaching Assistantship

Fall, Spring.
HD8060 Teaching Practicum
For advanced graduate students who independently develop and teach an undergraduate topics course under the supervision of a faculty member.

Full details for HD 8060 - Teaching Practicum

Fall, Spring.
HD8990 Master's Thesis and Research Fall, Spring.
HD9990 Doctoral Thesis and Research Fall, Spring.
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