PSYC 395 - Special Topics in Psychology

Credits: 1, 2, or 3

These seminars are designed to help the advanced student integrate his or her knowledge of specific fields into a comprehensive view of psychology, both as a science and as a profession. Specific topics vary and are determined, in part, by student demand. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Winter 2016, PSYC 395-01: Applications of Psychological Science: An Emerging Adulthood Perspective (3). Prerequisite: PSYC 250; junior or senior standing and psychology or neuroscience majors. This course is designed to expand students’ understanding of psychology by covering development of the discipline as an applied science. Students learn about the application of psychology to consider future educational and career options, drawing on research of development during emerging adulthood to understand work, education, and family formation milestones during this developmental period. Students focus on personal professional development including preparation for graduate work, career choices at varying degree levels, and essential skills necessary to make the transition to graduate school and work. Fulcher.

Winter 2016, PSYC 395A-01: Learning and Behavior (3). This course is a survey of behavioral psychology through learning theory. We discuss the various forces (psychological and biological) which govern non-associative learning (habituation and sensitization), stimulus- and reward-processing, associative learning (both classical and operant conditioning), and mechanisms for memory formation. Course activities feature both lecture and experimental aspects to engage students in the scholarly and practical experiences of behavioral experimentation. Schreiber.

Winter 2016, PSYC 395B-01: Diseases of the Nervous System (3). Prerequisites: Instructor Consent. In this seminar course, students will use primary and secondary literature to learn about the history, clinical presentation, basic neuropathology, standards of care, and current research approaches for stroke, traumatic brain injury, selected progressive neurodegenerative diseases, and neuropsychiatric conditions. Stewart.

Winter 2016, PSYC 395C-01: Positive Psychology (3). Prerequisites: Six credits in psychology. This course examines the emerging field of positive psychology, which synthesizes empirical studies concerning the virtues, emotions, experiences, and social structures that allow human beings to thrive. Theoretical and philosophical conceptualizations of happiness are discussed, as well as basic and applied research regarding affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological correlates of well-being. Students engage in experiential learning to explore ideas of and pathways toward psychological flourishing. Murdock.

Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.