Psychology

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 This course will provide an overview of policies and legislation that directly impact the functioning of parents and their children in the U.S. Some of the topics to be covered include changes in the welfare system, aid to dependent children, immigration policies, and availability of health care.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021, PSYC2022, PSYC2040 This course examines marriage and family systems across the lifespan from the perspective of human development. It introduces students to historical perspectives on families, as well as the diversity of emergent family styles, including single parenthood, cohabitation, divorce, and remarriage in the context of the latest psychological research.

PREREQUISITE: ENGL1012 OR ENGL1012H This course explores the varying roles, positions and statuses across the globe. This course will combine perspectives from women?s studies, cultural studies, and sociology to illuminate the status of women in their many roles, as family members, as workers, and as community, political and religious leaders. The course will examine the changes wrought by globalization on woman from diverse socio-economic and geographic backgrounds.

College is an exciting and stressful time for everyone. The increased freedom and independence are both exciting and daunting, leading many students to struggle in new ways or with emotions that seem to have increased in intensity. Conversely, research has shown that individuals who develop and use resilience strategies and emotion regulation skills (such as opposite action, relaxation strategies, mindfulness, and practicing gratitude) as well as build positive routines (for example, good eating and sleep habits, daily exercising, scheduling fun activities) are more likely to be effective in their job roles, involved in strong relationships, physically and mentally healthy, and satisfied with their lives overall. The purpose of this course is to teach undergraduate students skills for having resilience in the face of commonly experienced stressors and difficulties. Stated simply, resilience is the ability to both survive and thrive. Resilience is not only about your ability to positively adapt in the face of adverse or challenging circumstances (that is, survive), but it is also about learning the positive skills, strategies and routines that enable you to live a happy, fulfilling, and successful life (in other words, thrive). This course will provide you with a personalized set of strategies and skills for self-care and optimize your academic and socialexperiences while at La Roche University and beyond. By the end of this course, you will have knowledge and skills that you can apply to your life now and in the future. This course will use lectures, readings, videos, discussion forums, practice exercises, and coaching to assist and encourage you in meeting the course objectives while developing your more resilient and skillful self.

This survey course introduces students to several critical areas of psychology. Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on the scientific method, its application to psychology, and the insights gained from scientific research. The interactions among biological processes, cognitive and emotional responses, sociocultural forces, and behavior are examined. Included are such diverse topics as: health, stress, and coping; consciousness, sleep and dreams; effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and health; psychological disorders; social psychology; types of learning and behavior management, information processing approaches including memory, encoding and retrieval; and the relationship of the nervous system to thought, feelings, and behaviors.

This survey course introduces all the major areas of psychology, from its origins in the fusing of medicine and biology with philosophical questions about the nature of the human mind through the emphasis on psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes. Included are such diverse topics as: health, stress, and coping; consciousness, sleep and dreams; effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and health; psychopathology; social psychology; hypnosis; types of learning and behavior management, information processing approaches including memory, encoding and retrieval; and the relationship of the nervous system to thought, feelings, and behaviors. Multiple activities and research projects allow students to experience psychology "up close and personal".

The purpose of this course is to facilitate success within the psychology major and to prepare students for upper level courses as well as transition from college to a career and/or graduate school. Prereq: PSYC1021

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course explores psychological contributions to physical health and illness enhancement of physical health and the understanding and control of psychological processes that undermine health are addressed from theoretical and applied perspectives. Topics include the psychology of stress, pain, illness and treatment, and addictive lifestyle behaviors such as drinking and smoking.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course explores adult human sexuality from multiple perspectives: biological bases, roles of gender, cultural influences, and historical foundations. Topics include the exploration of healthy sexual activity, conception and pregnancy. Sexual problems will be addressed as well, covering such topics as sexual dysfunction, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual exploitation.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the field of developmental science with emphasis on the period from conception through middle childhood. The course approaches development by making use of both historical and contemporary scientific theory and investigates the major domains of development--biological, cognitive, social and emotional-from a chronological perspective.

Psychology and Humor introduces students to the content area and measurement and research issues on the topic of humor. Thematic use of material from the study of humor is used to illustrate many of the basic discipline areas of psychology, including understanding of theory, research methods, testing, personality, cognition, and development.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course is designed to provide an overview of the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional developmental changes occurring during adolescence. Attention will be given to the contexts in which development occurs: the family, school, and peer group-as well as psychological changes in identity, autonomy, and intimacy. Psychological disorders that manifest during adolescence will be examined.

The course was designed as an introduction to the wellness model using Counseling theories to assist students in developing personal wellness strategies. Using current research, students will explore decision-making models looking at ethical, theoretical, multicultural, and practical concerns and skills in development of their own wellness strategies.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course provides an introduction to educational psychology, the science of learning and teaching. Students will be exposed to the research methods used in psychological science, theoretical approaches to cognitive development and learning, and applications of those theories to understanding student behavior in the context of the school environment.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 The course provides the student with a general introduction to the practice of forensic psychology. The field addresses ways in which experts in psychological science contribute to the legal system. Potential topics include eyewitness memory, the insanity defense, child custody, lie detection, criminal profiling, violent crime, and more.

PREREQUISITE: ENGL2030 and MATH1040 --or--CRIM2012 This course examines the major experimental designs and methods of scientific psychology. The nature of psychology as a science, types of and evaluation of research design and conclusions, conducting of research, preparation of research papers and ethics in research in psychology are covered.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course is topical overview of some of the diverse areas of inquiry grouped under the general heading death and dying. The basic purpose of this course is to help students understand grief, loss, dying, and death-both as an objective fact and as it relates to their own personal experiences-and to apply this understanding their common experiences. The social, cultural, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of death and dying will be examined from an interdisciplinary, but mostly social psychological and sociological perspective with the goal of enhancing the meaning of life and living. Cross-listed with SOCL3020

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course begins with definitions of abnormal behavior. Most of the course focuses upon various classifications of abnormality based on the most recent DSM, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, stress and physical health, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, sexual and gender-identity disorders, and schizophrenia. Etiology, symptomatology, and treatment are explored throughout the semester.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course studies the organizational structure and processes in a variety of areas, including personnel, recruitment, selection, placement and counseling; supervision and leadership; motivation and moral; the conditions of work; training, organizational climate; consumer psychology; multinational corporations and diversity in organizations.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course will explore theory and research on personality and other factors contributing to consistency in individuals' behavior, cognition, and emotion. Concepts from major perspectives like the psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, biological, humanistic, and more will be examined. Finally the application of theory to many topics will be covered, potentially including psychological disorders, gender differences, interpersonal relationships, morality, and pro- and anti-social behavior.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course addresses the scientific study of human behavior, cognition and emotion as it is shaped by the psychosocial environment. Topics include social cognition, group dynamics, interpersonal attraction, conformity, aggression, prejudice, persuasion, and helping behavior.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course reviews current psychological theory and research on small groups and interpersonal relations with an examination of interaction between individual behavior and group phenomena. The course provides a significant experience in the dynamics of a small group.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course examines the years from emerging adulthood through the end of life from a development are explored, with attention given to qualitative and quantitative approaches. Theories of change throughout the life course are investigated, as well as normative changes in physical health, cognition, work life, personality, and intimacy.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course explores physiological bases of human psychological experiences. The nervous and endocrine systems are examined in relationship to emotions, stress, psychological disorders, and other processes.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This is the first course in a two-course counseling sequence. Taken together, these two courses are designed to: a) familiarize students with the basic concepts in the field of counseling; b) introduce students to the major theoretical approaches to counseling and psychotherapy; and c) enable students to develop a level of counseling skill that will enable them to function effectively in a supervised setting. This first semester is more than 50% abstract (lecture/discussion) learning.

This is the second course in a two-course counseling sequence. Taken together, these two courses are designed to: a) familiarize students with the basic concepts in the field of counseling; b) introduce students to the major theoretical approaches to counseling and psychotherapy; and c) enable students to develop a level of counseling skill that will enable them to function effectively in a supervised setting. This second semester is more than 50% experiential (role-playing; classroom exercise in the use of specific counseling techniques) learning.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H A comprehensive exploration of the application of Darwinian principles to behavior and mental processes. This scientific prospective provides a provacative and compelling explanation for the human animal's cross-cultural similarities. This course emphasizes cognition and social behavior vis-a-vis natural selection and evolutionary fitness. Topics include mating, parenting, survival, morality, and others.

PREREQUISITE: CRIM1001 AND PSYC1021 This course, through an integration of psychology, criminology, and law, examines criminal behavior from both a psychological and legalistic perspective. Elements of the course include psychological explanations of individual personality development and examination of the concept of evil; rational choice and thrill-motivated theories of criminality, and the FBI's methodology for analyzing the crimes committed by selected types of criminals. The course employs famous trials to illustrate the legal means that society uses to deter and punish criminal behavior and the rules of evidence that determine the role of psychology in our legalistic system of criminal justice.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H Cognitive Psychology explores the interdependent processes that occurin everyday mental activity. Topics addressed include perception, attention, memory,, problem-solving, and others. Students will discover the world of events that occur as they ask, "What was I thinking?!"

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course will address basic principles of learning and conditioning as well as their usefulness in behavior modification. Applications to normal and abnormal behavior in the home, school, work and other environments will be emphasized.

This course explores the nature and experience of trauma. Multiple theories are explored regarding the effects of traumatic impact on the individual psyche. Although the course emphasized the issues of adult survivors of early childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse and other maltreatment, issues relevant to other post traumatic stress related disorders with adults and children are included. The course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to begin to understand trauma as a construct, and work to understand the implications of trauma on personality development.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H A collection of courses covering a broad range of topics in advanced psychology, offered according to student need and interest. The precise title is announced during registration period for any given term. SPRING 2022: The Science of Well-being: Introduction to Positive Psychology: This course will provide an introduction to the science related to happiness, well-being, flourishing and the positive aspects of human experience. Students will learn what contributes to well-being and how to build the enabling conditions of a life worth living. Students will explore the concepts (biological, psychological, social, emotional) and evidence based experiential strategies that are proven to enhance well-being. Students will engage in a detailed analysis and evidence-based positivity change process utilizing validated questionnaires and positive psychology well-being enhancing interventions.

An application of behavioral, developmental, group dynamics, and counseling principles through actual work experience. Internship may be repeated. Further information is available from instructor.

An application of behavioral, developmental, group dynamics, and counseling principles through actual work experience. Internship may be repeated. Further information is available from instructor.

PREREQUISITE: PSYC3011 This is the capstone course that is required of all psychology majors. It is designed to assist students to complete their undergraduate study of psychology through independent reading and library and database research, writing of an integrated literature review, and class discussion of these seminar papers which are presented orally by the students.

Individual research supervised by a full-time faculty member.

This course is limited to those few students who have demonstrated an unusual level of ability and an intense commitment to a particular area.