Psychology
- ENE 475/PSY 475: Human Factors 2.0-Psychology for Engineering, Energy, and Environmental DecisionsHuman Factors 1.0 studied how humans interact with machines and technology, bringing engineering and psychology into contact in the 1950s and giving rise to theories of user-centric design. This course will cover recent theoretical advances in cognitive and social psychology, especially in human judgment and decision making, that are relevant for engineers and choice architects as they address technical and societal challenges related to sustainability. Such psychological theory (human factors 2.0) can be creatively applied to designs decision environments that help people overcome present bias, loss aversion, and status-quo bias.
- HUM 365/PSY 365: Freud on the Psychological Foundations of the MindFreud is approached as a systematic thinker dedicated to discovering the basic principles of human mental life. For Freud these basic principles concern what impels human thought and behavior. What moves us to think and act? What is it to think and act? Emphasis is placed on the close study and critical analysis of texts, with particular attention to the underlying structure of the arguments.
- NEU 200/PSY 200: Functional NeuroanatomyA crucial part of neuroscience is understanding how function has its foundation in anatomy. This course traces neuroanatomical pathways through the central nervous system. It emphasizes the primate brain, especially the human brain. The course covers how nuclei, ganglia, and layered structures such as cortex are arranged physically in the brain, the fiber pathways by which they connect to each other, and how this connectivity relates to their function. The material will encompass systems within the brain stem, sensory systems, motor systems, higher cognitive systems, and the interconnectivity and interaction of these systems.
- NEU 201/PSY 258: Fundamentals of NeuroscienceAn intensive introduction to fundamental topics in neuroscience, including neuronal excitability, synaptic physiology, neural networks, and circuits that mediate perception, action, emotion, and memory. We will examine neuroscience at scales ranging from single neurons, to the activity of small sets of neurons, to the organization of brain and behavior. The course will address broad questions including: How does information enter the brain? What neural pathways transmit these signals? How is information processed and used to construct an internal model of reality? How does the brain choose and execute the correct behavioral response?
- NEU 402/PSY 453: Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology: Case Studies in Cognitive NeuroscienceMuch of what we know about the brain systems underlying perception, attention, memory, and language has been first derived from patients with brain lesions or other brain pathology. Despite our advances in functional brain imaging the study of clinical cases in neuropsychology is still important to determine the causal role of certain brain regions in contributing to a given cognitive process.
- NEU 443/PSY 443: Computational PsychiatryComputational psychiatry is an emerging field of research that strives to leverage recent discoveries in the computational basis of high-level cognitive functions in order to understand, diagnose, and treat mental illness. Psychiatry is the only field of medicine where there are currently no laboratory tests, due in part to a lack of understanding what is the biological basis of symptoms. Computational theories of the brain's mechanisms for evaluation and decision may provide a foundation for such an understanding, and tasks measuring their function can offer objective measures. This seminar will discuss recent findings in this field.
- NEU 511/PSY 511: Current Issues in Neuroscience and BehaviorAdvanced seminar that reflects current research on brain and behavior.
- PSY 101: Introduction to PsychologyThe study of human nature from the viewpoint of psychological science. Topics range from the biological bases of human perception, thought and action to the social-psychological determinants of individual and group behavior. This course can be used to satisfy the science and technology with laboratory general education requirement.
- PSY 254/CGS 254: Developmental PsychologyBabies, who look like helpless blobs, are capable of impressive feats of learning. 3-year-olds, who can't cross the street alone, know an astounding amount of information about their environments. We will focus on landmark studies that elucidate how children's biology, cognition, language, and social experiences interact to set the stage for what we do and who we are. Is the baby's world a 'blooming, buzzing confusion', or do babies enter the world prepared to make sense of their environments? How can we understand the collaboration between nature and nurture during development?
- PSY 255/CGS 255: Cognitive PsychologyThe human mind is remarkable. Human minds are responsible for our most profound scientific discoveries, triumphs of engineering, and transcendent works of art. Human minds are also responsible for everyday feats we typically take for granted: recognizing objects, engaging in conversation, and telling jokes with a level of mastery that far exceeds our best artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, human minds can also lead us astray: we're prone to illusions and cognitive error, to inefficiency and forgetfulness. In this course we'll take a look at the foundations of human cognition: our capacities for perception, memory, reasoning, and beyond.
- PSY 300: Research Methods in PsychologyThis course covers foundations of the research process for experimental Psychology: reviewing and evaluating published, journal articles refining new research questions, conducting pilot studies, creating stimuli, sequencing experiments for optimal control and data quality, analyzing data, and communicating scientific methods and results clearly, effectively, and professionally in APA style. Lectures survey time-tested excellent methods, and labs provide opportunities to recreate interesting experiments and innovate, building toward an original research final project.
- PSY 307: Educational PsychologyPrinciples of psychology relevant to the theory and practice of education. Through selected readings, discussion, and classroom observations, students study theories of development, learning, cognition (including literacy), and motivation, as well as individual and group differences in these areas; assessment; and the social psychology of the classroom. The course focuses on how learning by children and adolescents at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels is influenced by their own characteristics and experiences and the various contexts in which they learn: family, school, community and culture.
- PSY 360/COS 360: Computational Models of CognitionThe objective of this course is to provide advanced students in cognitive science, psychology, and computer science with the skills to develop computational models of human cognition. Computational modeling is one of the central methods in cognitive science research, and can help to provide insight into how people solve the challenging problems posed by everyday life, as well as how to bring computers closer to human performance for some of these problems. The course will explore three ways in which researchers have attempted to formalize cognition-symbolic approaches, neural networks, and probability and statistics.
- PSY 385: Mind, Body, Culture: Clinical PsychologyThis course examines how social, behavioral and cultural factors influence human behavior and the conceptualization of mental health and psychopathology, with a focus on current, controversial topics. Students will examine the ways their understanding of mental and physical health and well-being are shaped by their own values and assumptions, as well as societal constructs and structures such as the health care system. The class is designed to promote cultural competence in diagnosis, treatment and research strategies.
- PSY 400: Topics in Social and Personality Psychology: Being Different: The Psychology of Social StigmasThis seminar will focus on the social and psychological experiences of people who possess (or are believed to possess) some attribute, or characteristic, that conveys a social identity that is devalued in a particular social context. A variety of topics will be discussed, including: how stigmatized individuals view their identities in society; the mental and cognitive consequences of being a member of a stigmatized group; how stigmatized individuals cope with their stigmatization; and interactions between stigmatized and nonstigmatized individuals.
- PSY 402: Attitudes and PersuasionAttitudes matter. Throughout the history of the world, people have taken extraordinary steps to support a set of attitudes and beliefs that helped to bring about a better world. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King led societies to new views of human dignity by their written words and their behaviors. Every day, people advocate for their ideals. They persuade and organize in the service of bringing about a world that is closer to the paragon in which they believe.
- PSY 414: Changing Minds: The psychology of individual and collective beliefsUnderstanding how people believe and how what they believe impacts their behavior has recently become a central topic across the social sciences. This recent interest was spurred by the recent misinformation epidemic that has been consuming our communities. How do people change their beliefs? What factors facilitate the endorsement of conspiracy theories? How do people influence each other's beliefs during communication? How do beliefs propagate through social networks? As part of this course, we will explore a multidisciplinary framework to understand the endorsement and propagation of true and false beliefs through social networks.
- PSY 420: Selected Topics in Psychotherapy ResearchThis course will provide an overview of several theoretical orientations to psychotherapy and critically evaluate how the effects of therapies are measured and studied. Cognitive-behavioral approaches to psychotherapy will be explored in depth. Application of research findings to clinical practice will be examined closely, including issues related to psychotherapy integration and the treatment of diverse populations in various settings. The course will also include reviews of the current state of psychotherapy research for a number of psychological disorders and consider current controversies in the area of treatment outcome research.
- PSY 501: Proseminar in Basic Problems in Psychology: Cognitive PsychologyCognitive Proseminar: Introduction to graduate level cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience for first year graduate students in psychology. Course serves as the basis for more advanced graduate courses on specific topics in this area.
- PSY 503: Foundations of Statistical Methods for Psychological ScienceThis graduate-level course covers the statistical and computational foundations of psychological methods. It is required for all first-year Ph.D. students in Psychology. Specific topics include probability theory, design-based causal inference, regression analysis, and the basics of multilevel modeling. In this course, we use R, R Markdown, and Git/GitHub.
- PSY 505: Current Issues in Statistical Methods and Research Practices for Psychological SciencePsychological methods keep evolving: psychology researchers constantly adopt new statistical methods, computational tools, and research practices. This course covers the latest advances in research methods in psychological science through a series of lectures, tutorials, and seminars. Lectures are generally given by a guest speaker who introduces methodological and statistical issues relevant to psychology research. Tutorials provide students with the necessary computational skills to build reproducible and transparent research programs. Finally, students discuss timely topics in psychological methods in the context of seminars.
- PSY 543: Research Seminar in Cognitive PsychologyCurrent research and issues in cognition, perception, and learning. Seminar participants present ongoing research and discuss current topics of interest in the literature.
- PSY 551: Design and Interpretation of Social Psychological ResearchAn advanced seminar that considers current research in social psychology. Contemporary research conducted by the seminar participants is discussed.
- SPI 340/PSY 321: The Psychology of Decision Making and JudgmentAn introduction to the main issues and research findings underlying decision-making and judgment under uncertainty. The focus is on the contrast between the normative theory of judgment and choice, and the psychological principles that guide decision behavior, often producing biases and errors. Among other topics, we will consider political, medical, and financial decision-making, poverty, negotiations, and the law, along with the implications of the findings for the rational agent model typically assumed in economics, throughout the social sciences, and in policy making.
- SPI 590D/PSY 590: Psychological Studies of Inequality (Half-Term)A course required for and limited to students in the Joint Degree program in Social Policy. Two major areas of psychology make important contributions to the study of social policy and inequality. The first is social psychology, which focuses on inter-group relations, interpersonal perception, stereotyping, racism, aggression, justice and fairness. The second domain involves the fields of social-cognition, judgment and decision making, areas of research that study human information processing in a way that is not about individual differences, and often not social.