Psyc 001-001

Introduction to Experimental Psychology

Andrew Shatte'

Discussion of sensation and perception, interaction between brain and behavior, learning and motivation, physiological, comparative, and cognitive psychology, personality, intelligence and abnormal human behavior.
 

Psyc 001-002

Introduction to Experimental Psychology

Paul Grant

Introduction to the basic topics of psychology, including lerning, motivation, cognition, development, abnormal, physiological, social, and personality
 

Psyc 001-301(GH)

Introduction to  Experimental Psychology

Paul Rozin

Approaches to the understanding of the mind and behavior of humans and animals.  Emphasis in the text is on the current state of knowledge and in the lectures on the process of discovery and critical thinking.  Topics covered include explaining behavior and mind, the scientific approach, brain and behavior, dreams and psychoanalysis, learning, sensation and perception, memory, thinking, appetite, interpersonal interaction and cultural influences on behavior and mind.  NOTE:  Dr. Rozin's Psychology 1 meets an extra hour (4 hours total) each week because it includes an in-class "lab."  NOTE:  If you are not a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, permission is required by General Honors Office, Suite 190 Logan Hall, 898-6066.

Psyc 107-401

Introduction to Cognitive Science

Embick/Marcus

Cross-listed with COGS 001, CSE 140, LING 105 & PHIL 044

Cognitive Science is founded on the realization that many problems in the analysis of human and artificial intelligence require an interdisciplinary approach. The course is intended to introduce undergraduates from many areas to the problems and characteristic concepts of Cognitive Science, drawing on formal and empirical approaches from the parent disciplines of computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy and psychology. The topics covered include Perception, Action, Learning, Language, Knowledge Representation, and Inference, and the relations and interactions between such modules. The course shows how the different views from the parent disciplines interact, and identifies some common themes among the theories that have been proposed. The course pays particular attention to the distinctive role of computation in such theories, and provides an introduction to some of the main directions of current research in the field.
 

Psyc 135-001

Language

Julien Musolino/Jesse Snedeker

This course describes the nature of human language, how it is used to speak and  comprehend, and how it is learned.  The approach taken to linguistic and psycholinguistic issues (including grammar and semantics) is quite technical.  Subtopics include second language acquisition, animal communication, and language in special populations (such as Down Syndrome and children born deaf or blind).
 

Psyc 151-001

Cognitive

John Trueswell

Analysis of mental processes in adult humans: Attention, Pattern recognition, Imagery, Memory, Action, and Language. Mental architecture. Decomposition of reaction-time and accuracy data. Computer demos of classic experiments.
 

Psyc 153-001

Thinking & Decisions

Jonathan Baron

Thinking, judgment, and personal and societal decision making, with emphasis on fallacies and biases.  NOTE: Psychology 001 is NOT a prerequisite for this course.
 

Psyc 160-001

Personality

Ron Noble

The development and maintenance of typical modes of behavior and styles of life; dynamics of adjustment; theories of personality.
 

Psyc 162-001

Abnormal

Dean Cruess

The concepts of normality, abnormality, and psychopathology; symptom syndromes; theory and research in psychopathology and psychotherapy.
 

Psyc 170-001

Social

Melanie Green

An overview of theories and research across the range of social behavior from intra-individual to the group level including the effects of culture, social environment, and groups on social interaction.
 

Psyc180-001

Developmental

Derek Isaacowitz

A developmental perspective on the general empirical and theoretical psychology of perception, cognition, language, learning, comparative ethology, and socialization.
 

Psyc 407-401

Behavior Genetics

R. Arlen Price

Cross-listed with BIBB 451

This course will cover basic principles of human and animal behavior genetics, including the genetics of normal variation as well as extreme phenotypes represented by behavioral, psychiatric and neurologic disorders.  The course will focus on methods necessary to critically evaluate research findings on normal and abnormal human behavior.  Animal models will also be reviewed.
 

Psyc 431-401

Animal Cognition

Dorothy Cheney

Cross-listed with BIOL 432

Comparative cognition, with special emphasis on social behavior. Prerequisite:  Psychology 131 or 133.
 
 

Psyc 441-401(GH)

Genetics, Evolution and Behavior

M. Frank Norman

Cross-listed with BIBB 441

Genetic and environmental components of I.Q., personality, and psychopathology.  Evolutionary psychology; basic evolutionary theory; evolution of altruistic, cooperative, and competitive behavior.  The course develops and makes extensive use of elementary mathematical and statistical models. NOTE: If you are not a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, you must obtain permission to enroll.  Email requests to norman@psych.

Psyc 223-301

S/T Motivation

Laura Peoples

Neurobiology of Drug Addiction.   The seminar will consider 4 major drug addictions: cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and nicotine.  Readings and discussions on these addictions will cover the following topics: 1) epidemiological and symptom profiles; 2) neurobiological and environmental factors that contribute to the addiction; and 3) potential pharmacological treatments.  Prerequisites: Psychology 143, BBB 269 (or an equivalent with permission of instructor), or permission of instructor.
 

Psyc 249-301

S/T Cognitive Neuroscience

Mark Jung-Beeman

Hemispheric Differences.  It has been known for over a century that the right and left cerebral hemispheres differ, to some degree, in their importance to various cognitive functions, such as language and spatial processing.  In this seminar, we will review and discuss modern papers utilizing many of the methods of cognitive neuroscience to examine hemispheric differences across several cognitive domains.  There will be a heavy emphasis on theories about the neural and computational asymmetries that underlie these cognitive asymmetries. Prerequisite: Psychology 149/BIBB 249 or permission of instructor.
 

Psyc 260-301

S/T Personality

Leslie Womble

Clinical Health Psychology examines the role of psychology as a science and profession in
matters of illness and health.  This course will give an overview of the major areas of research and application in health psychology.  We will study the biological, social, environmental, and psychological factors that influence the maintenance of health, the onset of illness, and the impact of treatment.  Examples of specific topics include stress and illness, obesity/type II diabetes, chronic pain, psychooncology, and promotion of health behaviors.  Prerequisites:  Psychology 160, 162, 164 or permission of instructor.
 

Psyc 262-301

Special Topics in Abnormal

David Sarwer

Body Image, Psychopathology, and Treatment. Body image is an important component of how people feel about themselves. Body image dissatisfaction has become increasingly prevalent in the last several decades and is thought to play an important role in several psychological conditions, ranging from low self-esteem to eating disorders, obesity, social anxiety, sexual problems, and body dysmorphic disorder. This course will explore body image theories, research, and clinical applications. It will begin by covering the theories of body image, focusing on developmental and sociocultural influences and include a discussion of current assessment methods. The course will then move to a discussion of body image dissatisfaction and the relationship of body image dissatisfaction to other forms of psychopathology. Drawing from clinical examples, the course will conclude with a review of treatment models for body image dissatisfaction and its related conditions. Prerequisites: Psychology 162 or permission of the instructor.

(This course meets in the 10th Floor Conference Room, Penn Tower Hotel, Division of Plastic Surgery, Medical School.)
 

Psyc 262-302

Special Topics in Abnormal

Karen Reivich

Causes and Treatments of Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents.  In this seminar, we will study the causes and treatments of internalizing and
externalizing disorders in children and adolescents (e.g., Major Depressive Disorder, Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Conduct Disorder, etc.) from the Cognitive- Behavioral, Psychodynamic and Family Systems approaches.  The emphasis in the seminar will be on understanding the factors that put a child at heightened risk for these disorders as well as the protective factors that diminish a child's risk.  Students will read theoretical and empirical articles, as well as therapy transcripts.  We will also watch video-tapes demonstrating various treatment modalities and students will be given the opportunity to role-play treatments for selected disorders.  Prerequisite:  162 or permission of instructor.
 

Psyc 270-301

S/T Social

Maury Silver

Ordinary People and Evil.  How is it possible that a torturer could feel that he had a clear conscience?  That an Eichmann could lament to his Jewish interrogator that he had been passed over for promotion because others took credit for his accomplishments?  How is it possible to feel righteous about lynching or murder or rape?  Social psychologists, sociologists, and historians have tried to come up with some answers to these questions.  We shall examine their analyses and descriptions and investigate the psychology and sociology of evil committed by ordinary people in this past century.  We will start with a sociopsychological background and an analysis of some aspects of the Holocaust.  We will then cover topics such as Autogenocide in Cambodia; Vengeance in Bosnia and Rwanda;  Utopia, Communism and Evil; Psychopathology as opposed to "ordinary" evil, etc. Students will choose among the topics to be covered. Prerequisite:  Psychology 170 or permission of instructor.
 

Psyc 270-302

S/T Social

Marc Sageman

Psychology of Trauma.  This course will review our attempts to conceptualize human reactions to severe adversity.  The first part of the course will review the traditional perspectives on emotional trauma, from the Middle Ages to the Civil War, from the context of litigation in England, from European theorizing about trauma at the turn of the century, and from our experience in wars in the 20th century.  The second part of the course will review our current perspective on emotional trauma and its empirical basis: its acceptance in the mental health field; evidence from epidemiological and prospective studies; evidence from animal,  physiological and neuro-imaging studies; and evidence from cross-cultural studies.  Finally, it will review various forms of treatments from the military and civilian literature. Prerequisites: Psychology 162, 170 or permission of instructor.
 
 

Psyc 270-303

S/T Social

Henry Gleitman

Psychology of Drama.  The study of psychological processes that underlie the creation and appreciation of drama and related art forms with special emphasis on issues of the nature of  artistic structure, emotion, the "as if" experience, and the psychology of humor. The course is appropriate for students in Theater Arts as well as Psychology, and is open to students who are either Psychology majors (preferably juniors and seniors) or students with serious interest and experience in theatrical production and/or dramatic literature.  Prerequisites : In either case, Psychology 001 is a minimum prerequisite with one more courses such as Psychology 164 or Psychology 170 is highly desirable.  Instructor Permission required.

Psyc 357-401

Experiments in Cognitive Science: Human Information Processing

Saul Sternberg

Cross-listed with BIBB 457, COGS 357

In a computer-controlled laboratory students repeat several classic experiments on how people process information, and analyze and report on their findings. Topics include:

• Visual information storage (How well can you read during a lightening storm?)
• Searching short-term verbal memory (Is garlic on my grocery list?)
• The perception of words (Why are words easier than nonsense?)
• Multidimensional pattern matching (Is that your car? Features versus gestalt.)
• Overlapping tasks (What interferes with what when a cellular phone causes an auto accident?)
• The control of action sequences (Are strings of keystrokes planned in advance?)

(This is a continuation of Psyc 362-301 taught Fall 2000 and is therefore only available to students who were enrolled in that course.)

Interested in data entry and xeroxing?  Then don't take this course.  Serious advanced undergraduate psychology majors are invited to apply for an intensive, year long research experience course in clinical psychology.  This course will be run as a research group focusing on completing three or four (depending on enrollment and student interest) empirical studies.  Dr. Hunt's work focuses on the integration of cognition and emotion in the management of life stress, depression and anxiety. Students will participate in designing research, submitting IRB protocols, running subjects, collecting follow-up data, data analysis and writing up the results.  The goal of the research group is to produce at least one paper to be submitted for publication at the end of the year.  Students who have contributed substantially to the project will be given co-authorship credit of the submitted manuscript(s).
 

Psyc 364-301

Research Experience on the Theory of Persons

David Williams

People exist in both public and private worlds. The methodologies by which psychologists explore these worlds are quite different. This seminar will compare and contrast data from representative methodologies, using concepts that theoretically intersect. In particular, we will compare data provided by tests and inventories derived from humanistic personality theory with data developed from a tutorial program that uses Skinnerian principles of behavioral analysis to teach the concepts of humanistic personality theory on an individualized basis. Throughout the semester, members of the class will provide the data, and privacy will be fully respected. Prerequisite: Psychology 160, 164 or permission of the instructor.
 

Psyc 370-301

Research Experience in Social

Kathryn Mason

This seminar will focus on observational methods of studying social psychological phenomena.  Readings and class discussions will be focused on acquiring knowledge and skills relevant to conducting observational studies.  Individually or in groups, students will refine a research question, design an observational study, collect and analyze the data, and report the results in both a research paper and an oral report. Prerequisites:  Statistics and Psychology 170, 172 or permission of the instructor.
 

Psyc 386-301

Research Experience in Developmental

Kathryn Mason

This class will focus on observational methods of studying children, with attention to the entire scope of the research process. Readings and class discussion will be aimed at supporting the research projects which each student will do. Working individually or in groups, students will define a research question relevant to some issue in Developmental Psychology, develop an appropriate observational measure, use the measure to observe young children in a naturalistic setting, and analyze and interpret the findings. Prerequisite: Psychology 180 and Statistics 111 (or it's equivalent) or permission of the instructor.