Courses Offered by the Department of Psychology

• P103 General Psychology (3 cr.) Introduction to psychology: its methods, data, and theoretical interpretations in areas of learning, sensory psychology, psychophysiology, individual differences, personality, development, abnormal, and social psychology. May not be taken by students who have previously taken the sequence PSY P-101-PSY-P102.
• P106 General Psychology, Honors (4 cr.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Intensive introduction to psychology, combining lectures, discussions, and laboratory demonstrations. May not be taken by students who have had PSY-P103 or the sequence PSY-P101-PSY-P102.
• B 190 Human Behavior and Social Institutions (3 cr.) Develops insights into human nature, the nature of social institutions, the social processes that have shaped the world of the twenty-first century. In an interdisciplinary way, introduces the distinctive perspectives of the social sciences, emphasizing frameworks and techniques used in explaining causes and patterns of individual and institutional behavior. Specific topics vary across semesters. (Meets 100-level General Education Common Core: Human Behavior and Social Institutions requirement. [Psychology Majors: See important Note below] )
• P190 Applying Psychology (3 cr.) Current theory and applications of psychology covering personality, social, learning, cognition, and clinical topics. Applications of psychology to real-world problems and issues. Specific topics vary across semesters.
• P 211 Methods of Experimental Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Design and execution of simple experiments, treatment of results, search of the literature, and preparation of experimental reports. Students who have had PSY P111 will not receive credit for PSY P211. (Meets General Education Fundamental Literacy: Critical Thinking requirement.)
• P 216 Life Span Developmental Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY P-103 or PSY-P106. A survey course which integrates the basic concepts of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development from the prenatal period to death. Throughout the life span, theories, research, and critical issues in developmental psychology are explored with consideration of practical implications. Credit not given for both PSY-P 216 and PSY-P 316.
• P 220 Drugs and Behavior (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. An introduction to drug use and misuse. The use of psychoactive drugs is considered from a biopsychosocial perspective. The effects of drugs on the nervous system and the behavioral adaptations that support drug use are reviewed. The therapeutic uses of drugs to treat mental illness and programs of drug education/prevention are considered.
• P 233 Industrial Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 3 hours of psychology, or consent of instructor. Application of psychological principles and research techniques to industrial and personnel problems, including selection, training, organizational processes, equipment design, and consumer behavior.
• P 234 Principles of Mental Health (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 3 hours of psychology. Application of psychological theory to the development, maintenance, and adjustment of individual personality; including environmental and social factors that complicate that development.
• P 241 Functional Analysis of Behavior I (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Basic concepts and procedures in the experimental analysis and control of behavior.
• P 303 Health Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Focuses on the role of psychological factors in health and illness.
• P 316 Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY- P103 or PSY-P106. Development of behavior in infancy, childhood, and youth; factors which influence behavior. Credit not given for both PSY-P 216 and PSY-P 316.
• P 319 The Psychology of Personality (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Theories of personality: methods and results of scientific study of personality.
• P 320 Social Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 6 hours of psychology. The study of psychological theories and research dealing with social influence and social behavior, including topics such as conformity, person perception, aggression, attitudes, and group dynamics.
• P 321 Group Dynamics (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 6 hours of psychology; Recommended: PSY-P 320. Study of group process, group decision, group relations, group development, and interrelations with individuals, other groups, and larger institutions.
• P 324 Abnormal Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. A first course in abnormal psychology, with emphasis on forms of abnormal behavior, etiology, development, interpretation, prevention and therapy.
• P 325 The Psychology of Learning (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Principles of human and animal learning and memory, especially as treated in theories attempting to provide a framework for understanding what learning is and how it occurs. Focus will be on variables that affect human learning and memory.
• P 326 Behavioral Neuroscience (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. The biological bases of behavior are examined. The role of genetic, neural and hormonal factors in a wide range of behaviors is considered. Brain processes underlying sensation, perception, learning, motivation and other basic behaviors are discussed.
• P 327 Psychology of Motivation (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. How needs, desires, and incentives influence behavior; research on motivational processes in human and animal behavior, including ways in which motives change and develop.
• P 329 Sensation and Perception (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 5 hours of psychology. Basic data, theories, psychophysics, illusions, and other topics fundamental to understanding sensory and perceptual processes.
• P 331 Psychology of Aging (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 103, GERN-G 231, or consent of the instructor. This course focuses on the psychological aspects of aging, including psychological theories of development, learning, memory, cognition, personality, sensation and perception, intelligence, psychopathology and its treatment.
• P 332 Suicide and Depression (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103. Details multidisciplinary information about the range of suicidal behaviors, including facts and myths, historical aspects, definitions, demographic factors (including especially gender and age), theories, ethical aspects, and issues of prevention and postvention. Includes a special consideration of depression and its influence on suicidal behavior. [Note: This course is occasionally offered as an honors course with the course number PSY-P 390 and is sometimes offered as PSY-B 399. (PSY-B 399 Meets 300-level General Education Common Core: Human Behavior and Social Institutions requirement.)]
• P 335 Cognitive Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 5 hours of psychology. Introduction to human cognitive processes including attention and perception, memory, psycholinguistics, problem- solving, and thinking.
• P 336 Psychological Tests and Individual Differences (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 354. Principles of psychological testing. Representative tests and their uses for evaluation and prediction. Emphasis on concepts of reliability, validity, standardization, norms, and item analysis.
• P 354 Statistical Analysis in Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Mathematics MATH-M 111 or equivalent. R: Mathematics MATH-M 118. Introduction to statistics, including measures of central tendency and dispersion, elementary probability, and concepts of statistical inference, decision making and hypothesis testing. Other topics covered include regression and correlation, analysis of variance and nonparametric methods.
• P 365 Psychology of Religion (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in either psychology or religious studies or consent of instructor. Provides exposure to theoretical bases (e.g., behavioral, humanistic, phenomenological) and empirical research programs (e.g., biology, conversion, coping, health, human development, mental disorder, mysticism) developed by psychologists in an attempt to elucidate the role of religion in the human psychological experience.
• P 390 Special Topics in Psychology (1-3 cr.) Prerequisite: 5 hours of psychology. Studies in special topics not ordinarily covered in other departmental courses. Topics and credit vary with instructor and semester. May be repeated for credit if topic differs.
• P 391 Psychology of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103 or PSY-P106. Explores the impact of social and political forces on psychological development and adjustment. Focus is on Black women, but includes both genders and all races. Contemporary theory on race, gender, and class will be examined.
• P 403 Non-Experimental Research Methods in Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 211. Provides an overview of the various non-experimental methods used in psychology. Topics include (1) basic survey methodology including survey construction and sampling issues; (2) interviewing techniques; (3) basic correlational research including the basics of structural equation modeling; (4) secondary/archival data analysis; (5) observational data and sociometric techniques; (6) applied research techniques such as needs and program assessment; (7) participant observations; case studies.
• P 420 Advanced Lab in Community Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 403, PSY-P 434. An advanced laboratory class in community psychology that will focus on students engaging in systems analysis, program development and evaluation, utilization reviews, service delivery and similar projects while working at a community agency. A series of tasks designed as capstone experiences for each training module in the course will be required and evaluated by the instructor; additional evaluation will be provided by the on-site supervisor and students will perform a self-evaluation. The course will be restricted to psychology majors.
• P 421 Laboratory in Social Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 211, PSY-P 354, PSY-P 320, PSY-P 403. Research methodology in the study of social behavior. (Meets Liberal Arts and Sciences second-level writing requirement.)
• P 423 Human Neuropsychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 326 or equivalent. A critical examination of neurological functioning with respect to human and other animal behavior. The behaviorial functions or neural structures and systems are assessed through understanding the behaviorial consequences of brain damage and through basic experimental study.
• P 425 Behavior Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 324. A survey of major behavior disorders, with emphasis on empirical research and clinical description relative to etiology, assessment, prognosis, and treatment.
• P 429 Laboratory in Developmental Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 211; PSY-P 354; PSY-P 403; PSY-P 216 or PSY-P 316 or PSY-P 331. Principal research methods in developmental psychology and their application to selected problems in the development of humans. (Meets Liberal Arts and Sciences second- level writing requirement.)
• P 430 Behavior Modification (3 cr.) Prerequisite: Junior standing and 9 hours of psychology, including PSY-P 324 and PSY-P 325. Principles, techniques, and applications of behavior modification, including reinforcement, aversive conditioning, observational learning, densensitization, self-control, and modification of cognition.
• P 434 Community Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 5 hours of psychology. A social orientation to problems of mental health, social adaptation, delivery systems and community change.
• P 435 Laboratory in Human Learning and Cognition (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 211, PSY-P 325 or PSY-P 335, PSY-P 354, and PSY-P 403. Experimental studies of human learning and cognitive processes. (Meets Liberal Arts and Sciences second-level writing requirement.)
• P 438 Language and Cognition (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 5 hours of psychology. Methods, research, and theory in psycholinguistics. Examination of speech perception, speech production, psychological studies of syntax and semantics, language development, cognitive basis of linguistic theory, neurology of language, and language comprehension and thought.
• P 443 Cognitive Development (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P 216 or PSY-P 316. Human cognitive development. Topics may include language, problem solving, conceptual growth, perception, and cultural influences.
• P 445 The Psychology of Prevention (3 cr.) Prerequisite: PSY-P103, PSY-P 319 or PSY-P 324 or consent of instructor. Survey of literature on the prevention of human psychopathology, including consideration of existing preventive methods, goals of prevention, and social, psychological and political issues in the development of preventive psychology.
• P 459 History and Systems of Psychology (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 12 hours of psychology. Historical background and critical evaluation of major theoretical systems of modern psychology: structuralism, functionalism, associationism, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, and psychoanalysis. Methodological problems of theory construction and system making. Emphasizes integration of recent trends. (Meets Liberal Arts and Sciences science and culture requirement.)
• P 460 Women: A Psychological Perspective (3 cr.) Prerequisite: 6 credits psychology or 3 credits psychology and 3 in Women's Studies. Basic data and theories about the development and maintenance of gender differences in behavior and personality.
• P 495 Readings and Research in Psychology (1-3 cr.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Without special permission of the departmental chairperson, a student may enroll in only one PSY-P 495 independent study section during a given semester.
• P 495 Professional Practice Program Internship (1-3 cr.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Participation in a practicum in an applied area. The applied areas focus on problems in the community, such as problems of the mentally retarded, children, aged, family relations, industrial relations, and mental health. Students must register through the Professional Practice Program as well as having the approval of the psychology instructor. S/F grading.
• P 495 Supervised Research (1-3 cr.) Active participation in research. An independent experiment of modest size; participation in ongoing research in a single laboratory.
• P 499 Honors Thesis Research (12 cr. max) Prerequisite: Approval of departmental honors committee. May be substituted for advanced laboratory requirement in the program for major (with approval of departmental chairperson).

Note: It is important to note that PSY-B 190 does NOT count toward the psychology major, minor, or associate degree requirements, nor does it substitute for PSY-P 103 as a prerequisite for any other psychology courses.