Psychology Major (B.A.) - Undergraduate (Combined B.A./M.A.) - 2013 University Catalog
You are viewing the 2013 University Catalog. Please see the newest version of the University Catalog for the most current version of this program's requirements.
PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR (Combined BA/MA)
Complete 44 semester hours with minimum grades of C- in all PSYC courses in the following 4 requirement(s):
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REQUIRED COURSES
Complete 4 courses for 14 semester hours:
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ELECTIVES
Complete 12 semester hours from the following:
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BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR
Complete 3 semester hours from the following:
PSYC 305 Physiological Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 308 Perception (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 353 Comparative Animal Behavior (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 355 Motivation (3 hours lecture) 3 -
COGNITION
Complete 3 semester hours from the following:
PSYC 313 Cognition (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 340 Human Learning and Memory (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 348 Psycholinguistics (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 358 Fundamentals of Conditioning and Learning (3 hours lecture) 3 -
PERSONALITY
Complete 3 semester hours from the following:
PSYC 320 Developmental Psychology I (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 332 Psychological Foundations of Personality (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 365 Abnormal Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 -
SOCIAL/APPLIED
Complete 3 semester hours from the following:
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COLLATERAL COURSES
Complete 2 courses for 6 semester hours:
STAT 442 Fundamentals of Modern Statistics II (3 hours lecture) 3 STAT 481 Introduction to Statistical Data Mining (3 hours lecture) 3 -
REQUIRED GRADUATE COURSES
Complete the following 2 requirements: (These courses will also count toward the MA portion of this program)
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Complete 2 courses for 6 semester hours:
PSYC 510 Research Methods in Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 578 Psychological Tests and Measurements (3 hours lecture) 3 -
Complete 2 courses from the following:
PSYC 504 Cognitive Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 552 General Social Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 561 Developmental Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 563 Theories of Learning (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 573 Behavioral Neuroscience (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 583 Sensation and Perception (3 hours lecture) 3 PSYC 667 Abnormal Psychology (3 hours lecture) 3
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Course Descriptions:
PSYC101: Introduction to Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course is an introduction to the study of human behavior and surveys major topics within the diverse discipline of psychology. Topics covered will come from each of four core areas offered by the psychology department: Social/Applied (e.g., Social, Industrial-Organizational, Health), Biological Basis of Behavior (e.g., Physiology, Perception, Motivation/Emotion, Comparative Animal Behavior), Cognition (e.g., Learning and Memory, Conditioning and Learning, Cognition, Language) and Personality (e.g., Personality, Abnormal, Development). Meets Gen Ed 2002 - Social Science for non-psychology majors only. 3 sh.
PSYC203: Introduction to Psychological Research (3 hours lecture)
The course will introduce students to different methods of psychological research including survey, correlational and experimental methods. Introductory descriptive statistics and correlational analysis will be covered. Basic aspects of sound scientific writing, including conducting a literature search and writing a scientific manuscript following American Psychological Association guidelines, will be emphasized. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 101.
PSYC220: Introduction to Statistical Methods in Psychology (4 hours lecture)
An introduction to basic statistical methods in the behavioral sciences. The course begins with a review of descriptive statistics. The main course emphasis will be on probability theory and inferential statistics and their application to psychological research. This includes such methods as z-tests, t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation and nonparametric statistics. Laboratory sessions provide students with the opportunity to apply concepts from class using computers, particularly statistical software packages. 4 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203 or PSYC 288 or CMPT 288 or LNGN 288 or PHIL 288.
PSYC301: Experimental Psychology (3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab)
Introduction to laboratory methods of research in areas such as motivation, perception and learning. Emphasis is on design and execution of exploratory investigations. Meets the University Writing Requirement for majors in Psychology. 4 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203 and PSYC 220;or PSYC 220 and PSYC 288 or CMPT 288 or LNGN 288 or PHIL 288.
PSYC302: Health Psychology (3 hours lecture)
The theoretical, empirical and clinical aspects of health psychology will be presented. The relation of health psychology with other areas of psychology and other scientific disciplines will be discussed. The historical developments of the field, its research methodologies, theoretical models and exemplary interventions will be described. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC304: Social Psychology (3 hours lecture)
Focuses on social behavior of the individual and the group, social perception, motivation, and learning; attitudes and values; development and dynamics of social groups; inter-group tension and prejudice; mass phenomena; psychological approaches to social issues. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC305: Physiological Psychology (3 hours lecture)
Anatomical, neural and biochemical bases of behavior are studied. Topics include localization of function, neuro-hormonal interaction, sensory and motor functioning, emotions, the relationship of neurophysiological processes and personality. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC306: Psychology Of Work: Personnel Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course will address psychological issues involved in personnel decision making (e.g., job interviewing decisions, hiring decisions). Students will learn about aligning organizational and human resource strategy, and learn about tools and techniques in personnel psychology including job analysis, equal employment opportunity law, performance management, employee selection, and organizational training and development. This course is designed to be an active learning course where students learn about important personnel fuctions and then apply the knowledge in activities and assessments. Students will learn about measurement and assessment of job applicant and how this assessment must be conducted to be fair and successful. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC307: Psychology 0f Work: Organizational Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course will address individual, social and group interactions in work organizations. Students will learn about how social factors such as roles, norms, groups, stereotypes, and culture, influence individual and organizational behavior. Students will study theories and practices in organizations to assess and improve job attitudes, work stress, work motivation, leadership, and organizational functioning. This course is designed to be an active learning course where students learn about the different social factors that influence organizational function, and then apply this knowledge in activities and assessments. Students will gain a better understanding of their own work experiences as a result of this course. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC308: Perception (3 hours lecture)
Discusses the theory and procedure of perceptual research. Theoretical approaches; modern psychophysical and perceptual research; traditional problems of perception, constancies of size and color brightness. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC313: Cognition (3 hours lecture)
The study of the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of knowledge, utilizing behavioral, observational, and computer modeling methods. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC320: Developmental Psychology I (3 hours lecture)
This course surveys human psychological development from the prenatal period to adolescence. The interacting forces of heredity, environment and physical, cognitive, emotional and socio-cultural factors are reviewed in the light of current research and theory in these areas. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC332: Psychological Foundations of Personality (3 hours lecture)
Explores current approaches and theories of personality development and organization. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC340: Human Learning and Memory (3 hours lecture)
Covers research, language and methods of learning theory. Classical and operant conditioning, complex habits, remembering and forgetting, transfer of training, cognition and behavior modification. Review of animal research but primary emphasis is on people. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC348: Psycholinguistics (3 hours lecture)
Explores the study of language through linguistic, behavioral, and cognitive methods. Basic linguistic ideas are used for the explication of problems in grammar, cognitive structure, meaning, and speech production and comprehension. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC353: Comparative Animal Behavior (3 hours lecture)
The student will explore experimental and field studies of behavior in a few selected animal species with particular reference to the behavior of vertebrates. The course will involve detailed study of instinctive behavior and imprinting, respondent and operant behavior with emphasis upon the procedures and variables concerned with the acquisition of new forms of behavior. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC355: Motivation (3 hours lecture)
The concepts of instincts, homeostasis, drive, reinforcement, arousal and inception are analyzed with reference to data drawn from many areas of experimentation. The primary emphasis is on the experimental, rather than the theoretical literature: motivational concepts relevant to human and animal research. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC358: Fundamentals of Conditioning and Learning (3 hours lecture)
Major theoretical problems and theories of learning are considered. Includes experimental analysis of basic phenomena of conditioning and learning, studied primarily through experimental studies of infra-human organisms. Students may study selected topics more extensively. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC365: Abnormal Psychology (3 hours lecture)
Topics include an overview of psychopathological processes: neuroses, psychoses, and characterological disorders; feeling, thinking and behavioral aspects during the life span; diagnostic and treatment procedures. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 203.
PSYC504: Cognitive Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course provides students with in-depth exposure to classic and contemporary theories and research in cognition. The specific topics to be covered include neuroscience, attention, perception, memory, knowledge representation, language, reasoning & decision-making, and natural and artificial intelligence. 3 sh.
PSYC510: Research Methods in Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course provides the essentials needed to read, understand and critically evaluate research reports. Students will also learn how to carry out the entire research process, starting with identifying the research problem and ending with a thesis or research report. Factorial analysis of variance and the major multiple correlational designs are explained. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate laboratory course in experimental psychology.
PSYC552: General Social Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course surveys and analyzes the theoretical and empirical literature of modern social psychology. Among topics dealt with are the social psychology of the psychology experiment, attitude development and change, group processes and conflict, role theory, ecological psychology, socialization, organizations and work places, and a number of other themes and issues focused on the individual's relationship to the larger social structure. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate work in psychology or sociology.
PSYC561: Developmental Psychology (3 hours lecture)
Philosophical, conceptual, theoretical and research issues pertinent to human development from prenatal life to adulthood are presented. The core conceptual issues of development, such as the nature-nurture controversy, the continuity-discontinuity issue, and the issue of stability-instability, are discussed, and their relationships to the major theories in developmental psychology are examined. 3 sh.
PSYC563: Theories of Learning (3 hours lecture)
The aim of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of modern learning theory, its historical context, theoretical ideas, research, and applications. To this end, the theoretical ideas of the major schools of learning--behaviorism, gestalt, cognitivism, and information-processing--are reviewed. 3 sh.
PSYC573: Behavioral Neuroscience (3 hours lecture)
The physiological bases of normal and abnormal behavior with emphasis on the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the human nervous system are discussed. Starting with the nerve cell, the course progresses through the receptors, spinal cord, cortical and subcortical structures, psychosurgery, biofeedback, and other topics. 3 sh.
PSYC578: Psychological Tests and Measurements (3 hours lecture)
This course surveys the theory, construction and application of psychological tests. Topics include the statistical concepts underlying measurement; reliability and validity; critical analyses of selected intelligence, ability and personality tests; evaluation and interpretation of test data in practical situations; and the role of testing in clinical, educational and remedial settings. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: Departmental approval, and an undergraduate Psychology statistics course or equivalent.
PSYC583: Sensation and Perception (3 hours lecture)
The full range of visual processing phenomena, from sensory processing to memory and thinking, is presented in this course. Topics covered include psychophysics. The physiological bases of vision, involvment of cognitive processes in perception, perceptual development, and psychoaesthetics. The course also examines hearing, the skin senses, smell and taste. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: Departmental approval, and an undergraduate experimental psychology course.
PSYC667: Abnormal Psychology (3 hours lecture)
This course focuses on theoretical models and selected research in psychopathology. Topics include contemporary nosology, diagnostic problems, schizophrenia, anxiety and affective disorders, social deviance, somatoform and psychophysiological syndromes, and therapeutic intervention. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: PSYC 561.
STAT442: Fundamentals of Modern Statistics II (3 hours lecture)
Continuation of STAT 440. Principles of statistical inference, categorical data analysis, one and two-way anova, multiple linear regression, nonparametric methods, bootstrap methods. Examples from a wide variety of disciplines. Statistical software is used. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: STAT 330 or STAT 401 or equivalent.
STAT481: Introduction to Statistical Data Mining (3 hours lecture)
Introduction to the concepts and applications of a variety of data-mining methods. Data mining is the process of selecting, exploring, and modeling large amounts of data to uncover previously unknown patterns in the data. Statistical techniques covered include classification and regression trees, predictive modeling, and unsupervised learning. Hands-on applications to data sets from diverse fields. Statistical software is used. 3 sh.
Prerequisites: STAT 330 or STAT 401 or equivalent.
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