PSYC 395 - Special Topics in Psychology

Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
Credits: 1, 2, or 3

May vary with topic. 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, 2017, PSYC 395A-01: Advanced Methods in Health Psychology Research (3). Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Directed research on topics in Health Psychology. Scherschel.

Fall 2016, PYSC 395A-01: Health Psychology (3). Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYC 250. Using a biopsychosocial framework and application of social psychological theories, this course examines the bidirectional relationship between psychology and health. Through analyzing experimental, correlational, and observational designs, we try to answer such questions as: What psychological and social factors cause people to behave in unhealthy or healthy ways? What does stress do to your health? Does having a lot of friends affect your health? Are there ethnic variations in health? Does it matter how your doctor talks to you? Scherschel.

Fall 2016, PSYC 395B-01: Neurobiology of Anxiety and Depression (3). Prerequisite: PSYC 111 or NEUR 120. This seminar addresses neurobiological approaches for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders. We discuss how therapeutic strategies have evolved along with our understanding of the etiology of these disorders and the advantages/disadvantages of past and current therapeutic methodologies. We explore the development of novel techniques that may shape the future treatment of these debilitating disorders. Kreiss.