CBSC 295 - Current Advances in Psychological Science

FDR: SC
Credits: 3 credits in fall or winter, 4 credits in spring.

Prerequisites vary; determined at time of offering.

Seminar topics and specific prerequisites vary with instructor and term. These seminars are designed to introduce students to an area of current interest in the field of psychology. Students receive an overview of the experimental research and/or applied practices that have advanced an area of psychological science. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Spring 2020, CBSC 295-01: Addiction: A Brain Disease of Chronic Relapse and Implications for Science, Society and Government (3). No prerequisites. This course provides students with insight into the dynamic and ongoing relationship between laboratory research, clinical practice, and societal policy as it relates to substance use disorder (SUD). Classroom lectures, invited speakers, and field trips provide students with an up-to-date understanding of the physiological mechanisms mediating SUD based on preclinical and clinical data. To provide students with societal and government perspectives on SUD, we discuss policies in place to control illicit drug use and view first-hand the impact on society of untreated substance abuse. The goal of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of addiction at the research, clinical, societal, and governmental levels with the purpose of training students to critically observe clinical and societal needs and address them through experimental design. (SC) Jenney.

Spring 2020, CBSC 295-02: Current Advances in Psychological Science: Sleep, Health and Society (3). An Underappreciated Health Emergency (3). No prerequisite. Sleep (or the lack thereof) is increasingly becoming recognized as a major health concern at the societal level leading to poor physical and mental health. This course examines the basic functions of sleep and how deficiencies in sleep lead to poor health at the population level. Students participate in discussion groups, perform a self-study of sleep, and design a sleep improvement campaign. (SC) Brindle.

Fall 2019, CBSC 295A-01: Current Advances: Self-Regulated Learning (3). A study of self-regulated learning, focusing on the cyclical process of self-regulation and how this can be tailored for individual students and for specific learning tasks. Class topics center on how the student plans for a task, monitors performance, and reflects on the outcome. Mischel.