PSYC 280 - Science and Policy

Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring 2012 and alternate years.

Students in this course adopt the role of consultants for a hypothetical legislator who must make a decision on a matter of public policy. A clear understanding of the scientific background and consequences of the policy must inform the legislator’s decision. Each student works as a part of the consulting team and creates a document on a narrow aspect of the science related to the public policy. The policy being evaluated changes each term. Examples include: funding for mental health care, enactment or suspension of motorcycle helmet laws, establishing or abolishing court awards for mental suffering, and similar topics.

Topic for Spring 2012:

PSYC 280-01: Science and Policy-Legislating Contact Sports (4): Prerequisite: Instructor consent. In this course, students take on the role of a legislative aide for a congressional representative making a voting decision about a bill that concerns limiting and, in some cases, banning contact sports in America. The student acts as a member of a team to create a report on the science related to this topic. The representative then uses this information in reaching a decision about voting for or against the legislation or amending it. Lorig. Spring 2012 and alternate years