Psychology (PSY)

An introduction to all the major areas of psychology. An exploration of the subject of psychology with the emphasis on human experiences and an understanding of these experiences.

Principles of the development and maintenance of a healthy, integrated, functioning personality; emphasis on the major personality theories and their supporting evidence.

Development of the individual from birth through the life stages. An analysis of the emotional, social, intellectual, and motor spheres; provides understanding of origins and growth of personality.

An opportunity for students to increase awareness of their own cultural and international values and beliefs while gaining an understanding of the cultural and international values and beliefs held by other people.

An introductory course which surveys the major concepts and practices of contemporary counseling systems and addresses ethical, professional, and personal issues in counseling practice.

This course will focus on dealing with people from all walks of life and communicating effectively with them. Practical experience and “hands on” participation will be a major portion of this course.

Designed to help students deal with professional, legal, and ethical issues that affect the practice of counseling and related helping professions. Investigates the issues of responsible practice through discussion of and reflection on ethical codes from various professional organizations with legal considerations applied to specific cases.

Social behavior of the individual in the group. Attention given to linguistic behavior, social perception, learning, personality, and self from a symbolic interaction approach.

Theories of counseling applied in a variety of settings with emphasis on functioning effectively and ethically in a multicultural society; includes the skills used in exploration, insight and action. Expected to be offered: Spring semester, even years

Study of disordered behavior; covers the entire range of abnormal behavior and explanation for these behaviors.

This course presents models and theories of classical and operant conditioning. In addition to presenting the history of the empirical study of learning, it focuses on contemporary research and applications of associative and instrumental learning, with particular attention paid to the applications of both forms of learning in real-world contexts.

Exploration of current and classical topics in cognition and cognitive neuroscience. Topics include but are not limited to: memory, attention, problem solving and creativity, language, clinical and nonclinical applications, and the physiological underpinnings of cognition.

This course provides the students the opportunity to explore specific areas of interest in the complex field of the study of human behavior.

This course is designed to familiarize and acquaint the student with concepts, procedures, and dynamics involved in casework methods and awareness of community networking in the field of human services.

Child Abuse and Neglect, covers the broad topic of the maltreatment of children including physical, sexual and psychological abuse and neglect with emphasis on their impact on children. Antecedents of abuse and intervention-prevention strategies are considered.

Pathological concepts of children’s problems–mental, social, emotional, and psychological.

This course is an introduction to and an overview of the basic principles of experimentation and psychological research. The emphases in the course are on significant research studies that formed the discipline and on the cycles of discovery and validation, hypothesis generation, study designs, data collection, and data interpretation. Development of an applied research study is the cornerstone of the course.

This course focuses on the history and current understanding of the brain and human behavior. It examines the history and development of conceptual views of the structure and functions of the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. It also examines conditions that compromise brain functions and behavior. Particular attention is paid to the empirical data and newer models of brain-behavior relations.

Advanced course that extends the information learned in PSY 450 (Physiological Psychology I). This course will expand on the neurological foundation from Physiological Psychology I. The neuroscience underlying various psychological disorders will be a focus of attention along with the current physiological strategies used to treat these disorders. Ultimately, each student will build a scientific foundation on which to build a greater understanding of the neurobiology inherent in psychological properties and mental health.

Forensic psychology is the production and application of psychological knowledge or methods to tasks faced by the legal system. Coverage of forensics issues will be broad and inclusive acknowledging that the field of forensic psychology is still in a state of formulation and development.

Senior level capstone seminar that will focus on reading primary literature, integrating the systems of psychology and personal career planning.

A counseling internship provides an opportunity for the senior student to gain valuable professional experience and hands-on participation in his/her chosen field. Internship placements allow students to earn academic credit for approved work/learning experiences related to specific degree programs. Students will participate in agency activities such as individual and group sessions as an observer and/or as a co-facilitator, when deemed appropriate by the site supervisor and course instructor. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Practical application of psychology concepts and theory, assisting students to integrate theory and practice, and to develop skills and knowledge in a professional setting.

Study of group dynamics and theory, including participation in group experiences, simulations, and role-playing.