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Links for undergraduates: Handbook
for Psychology Majors (PDF ) Information on the Research Experience Requirement (PDF) List
of seminars to be offered next semester Honors Program Virtual
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Undergrad seminars for Spring 2010PSY 410.3: Perceptual development in infants and early childhood What can infants see? Do they hear at birth? Can they smell their mother? What can they taste? What is an infant’s experience of pain? Of soothing touches? How much of an infant’s perceptual capabilities are inborn, and what are learned through experience? What kinds of experiences contribute to such learning? How does behavior come into play in developing these perceptual capabilities. These and other questions related to infant perceptual development will be addressed in 4103. We will read articles and chapters on general perceptual development and students will then branch off into a perceptual development topic of interest to them. Grades will be based on participation, one library research paper, and a presentation to the class. We will tailor the class to suit your interests as much as possible. PSY 410.A: The neurobiology of addiction The development of drug addiction progresses along a continuum from occasional (“recreational”) drug use to compulsive drug seeking and taking behavior. Identifying the physiological mechanisms involved in drug addiction is a central goal of current neuroscience research in the hopes of developing effective pharmacotherapies. Neuroplasticity, the putative mechanism underlying learning and memory, is modified by drugs of abuse and likely contributes to the development of addiction. Innovative treatments directly targeting these drug-induced changes in brain reward circuits may be efficacious in reducing drug use and relapse. This seminar will thoroughly explore theoretical viewpoints on addiction, neuropathological changes that occur as a result of chronic drug exposure, and treatment approaches currently being explored. The format of this seminar will be predominantly discussion-based, with the following performance assessments: class participation, short essay exam, formal debate, and paper. PSY 410.D: Psychology of judgment and decision making • Readings and discussions about how people *should* make decisions, how people actually *do* make decisions, and how to *improve* decision making PSY 410.D: Psychology of reasoning and problem solving The topic of this course is the psychology of reasoning and problem solving. The ability to reason is the hallmark of human intelligence and, some argue, even the chief distinguishing characteristic of our species. The course will address the role of individual and contextual factors in problem solving, including knowledge domains. Of particular interest are the similarities and differences among formal reasoning and solving problems in domains where the goals, constraints, and "legal operations" are well known (i.e. syllogisms, long-division, toy problems) and informal reasoning and solving ill-defined problems where one is uncertain about the goals, constraints and operations (e.g. should I go to graduate school; what caused the civil war; how can we eradicate poverty). By the end of this course students should be able to: • employ key concepts from the scientific study of reasoning and problem solving in written discourse PSY 410.O: Capstone No information available PSY 410.S: Capstone • Introduction to diverse perspectives on the question of whether dreams have meaning – including psychology, psychotherapy, phenomenology, anthropology, religion, neuroscience PSY 410.T: Gender Trauma PSY 410.T will focus on the intersection of trauma and gender in the context of traumatic experiences and the all too frequent psychological problems that follow. The course will cover potentially traumatic events including combat, child abuse, and interpersonal violence; psychological effects of such experiences; and theories that attempt to explain adaptation to trauma. Readings will include primary sources such as journal articles, as well as book chapters, scholarly books and memoirs written by survivors. The content may be distressing, particularly for abuse survivors. Contact the instructor with any questions or concerns. 1. To familiarize students with the empirical literature regarding the psychological effects of traumatic events including combat, child abuse and interpersonal violence. PSY 410.A: Culture and social psychology Culture affects cognition, emotion and motivation, all of which are core influences on social psychological phenomena. This course will: * explore ways of describing cultures This class will use primary-source materials, including both empirical and theoretical papers, and students will prepare a major research proposal by the end of the semester PSY 420.B: Political ideology This course will address key questions concerning the meaning, structure, and functions of political ideologies such as conservatism and liberalism, examining them from a social psychological perspective and applying psychological theory to current events. In this course, we will examine classic and contemporary approaches to understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying ideology, including cognitive, personality and cultural factors. We will also discuss connections between political orientation and attitudes concerning morality and religion, and consider broader issues of gender, race, and social class, as well as the extent to which certain ideologies serve the function of defending and protecting the societal status quo
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updated 12 october 2009 • this page maintained by professor allen r. mcconnell