Psychology (Psch)


The information below lists undergraduate courses approved in this subject area effective Summer and Fall, 2000. Not all courses will necessarily be offered these terms. Please consult the Timetable for a listing of courses offered for a specific term.


100 Introduction to Psychology.
4 Hours. Survey of basic concepts of contemporary psychology. Introduction to the nervous system, perception, motivation, learning and memory, social behavior, personality, developmental and clinical psychology. Students under 18 years of age need parental consent to participate in research experiments that are part of the course. Consent forms available in 1009 BSB.

201 The Psychology of African-Americans.
3 Hours. Same as African-American Studies 201. Historical analysis of various psychological approaches to the African-American experience and identity. Special attention to development of African-American psychology as a disciplinary orientation. Prerequisite: Psch 100 or consent of the instructor.

202 African-American Behavioral Patterns.
3 Hours. Same as African-American Studies 202. Formal theories on personality in terms of interdependence between personal characteristics, African-American culture, and oppression; social-psychological aspects of black identity and interpersonal behavior. Prerequisite: Psch 100 or consent of the instructor. Credit in Psch 201 is recommended.

210 Theories of Personality.
3 Hours. Survey of major theoretical approaches to the study of personality and the evidential basis underlying each approach. Prerequisite: Psch 100.

231 Community Psychology.
3 Hours. Psychological principles, research and interventions concerning community settings; community human services, primary prevention, consultation, advocacy, social ecology, organizational change, and citizen participation. Prerequisite: Psch 100.

242 Introduction to Research in Psychology.
3 Hours. Techniques and problems associated with the study of behavior. Emphasis on measurement, descriptive statistics, and the principles of experimental design. Exercises involving data collection. Participation in research. Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in Psch 100.

262 Physiological Psychology.
3 Hours. Research and theories concerning the physiological bases of behavior. Understanding of basic brain organization with emphasis on neural substrates of learning, motivation, and perception. Prerequisite: Psch 100.

270 Abnormal Psychology.
3 Hours. A survey course covering the assessment, description, causes, and treatments of many psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, sexual dysfunction, and personality disorders. Prerequisite: Psch 100.

303 Writing in Psychology.
3 Hours. Teaches students the fundamentals of scientific writing including literature reviews, research reports, and book reviews. Students will write a minimum of three papers dealing with psychological topics. Prerequisites: Psychology major, and junior or senior standing, and Psch 242, and a minimum of two courses from Psch 210, 262, 270, 312, 320, 350, 352, and 360.

305 History of Psychology.
3 Hours. The history of scientific psychology with emphasis on forerunners of modern psychological issues. Prerequisite: 15 hours in psychology.

312 Social Psychology.
3 Hours. Survey of theory and research in social psychology, emphasizing experimental investigations of attitudes and social cognition, and interpersonal relations and group processes. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

313 Laboratory in Social Psychology.
2 Hours. Conduct laboratory and field experiments in social psychology on problems in attitudes and social cognition, and interpersonal relations and group processes. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 312.

315 Psychology of Women and Gender.
3 Hours. Same as Gender and Women's Studies 315. Critical examination of research on women and gender across the life span, including psychological aspects of reproduction, and the way that gender shapes cognition, sexuality, family, friendship, and work experiences. Prerequisite: Psch 242 or consent of the instructor.

320 Developmental Psychology.
3 Hours. Analysis of research and theory concerning social, cognitive, and biopsychological aspects of human development. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

321 Laboratory in Developmental Psychology.
2 Hours. Survey of dominant research strategies in contemporary developmental psychology. Laboratory experience in developmental research. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 320.

323 Psychology of Children with Handicaps.
3 Hours. Reviews studies of physically, intellectually, and emotionally handicapped children. Prerequisite: Psch 320.

330 Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
3 Hours. Application of psychological principles and methods to problems and issues in work organizations. Employee selection, motivation, job satisfaction, decision making, performance appraisal, group dynamics, power and politics, leadership, job design. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

331 Community and Prevention Research.
3 Hours. Examines how researchers conceptualize, design, implement, and evaluate school and community programs to enhance competence, promote empowerment, and prevent behavioral problems. Prerequisites: Psch 231 and 343.

340 Psychological Testing.
3 Hours. Introduction to principles of psychological assessment, with an overview of representative techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on objective tests. Demonstrations of the various assessment modes are presented during lecture and conference sections. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

343 Statistical Methods in Behavioral Science.
3 Hours. Credit is not given for Psychology 343 if the student has credit in Information and Decision Sciences 371. Introduction to statistical inference, probability distributions, sampling, hypothesis testing, correlation, and analysis of variance. Prerequisites: Math 090 or 118 or the equivalent, and Psch 242; or consent of instructor for non-psychology majors.

350 Sensation and Perception.
3 Hours. Survey of theories and empirical findings in the study of sensation and perception. Emphasis on human vision and audition as information processing systems. Prerequisites: Psch 242.

351 Laboratory in Perception.
2 Hours. Laboratory practicum in sensation and perception. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 350.

352 Cognition and Memory.
3 Hours. Survey of experimental findings in human learning, memory, attention, knowledge representation, .cm;problem solving, conceptual behavior, and psycholinguistics. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

353 Laboratory in Cognition and Memory.
2 Hours. Laboratory practicum in memory, psycholinguistics, problem solving, and reasoning. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 352.

354 Knowledge Acquisition.
3 Hours. Introduction to belief formation, conceptual change, cognitive development, discovery and invention, schema abstraction, skill acquisition and other cognitive change processes. Research and practical applications. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

360 Learning and Conditioning.
3 Hours. Principles of learning; emphasis on parameters of acquisition, extinction, and retention of classical and instrumental conditioning and stimulus control of reflexive and voluntary behavior. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

361 Laboratory in Learning and Conditioning.
2 Hours. Animals used in instruction. Laboratory practicum in conditioning and simple learning using animal subjects. Emphasis on operant conditioning. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 360.

363 Laboratory in Physiological Psychology.
2 Hours. Animals used in instruction. Laboratory practicum and demonstrations of research techniques used to study the physiological bases of behavior. Prerequisites: Psch 343 and credit or concurrent registration in Psch 262.

381 Psychology of Interviewing.
3 Hours. Theory, research, and practice of interviewing. Emphasis on developing skills for interviewing individuals. Prerequisites: Psch 340 or 343, and either Psch 210 or 231.

382 Psychological Interventions.
3 Hours. Application of psychological theories and principles used in psychotherapy and behavior change. Emphasis will be on models for assessment of change, the evaluation of psychotherapy, and selecting appropriate interventions. Prerequisites: Psch 210, 270, and 343.

383 Psychology of Groups.
3 Hours. Application of psychological theory and research to group functioning and change. Survey of intervention methods emphasizing the development of competence in group participation and leadership. Prerequisites: Psch 340 or 343, and either Psch 210 or 231.

385 Field Work in Applied Psychology.
3 Hours. A combined maximum of 8 hours of credit in Psch 385, 396, 397, and 399 may be applied toward the degree. Supervised practicum as a paraprofessional worker for a minimum equivalent of one day per week in a mental health, developmental disabilities, or industrial-organizational setting. Prerequisites: Restricted to majors in the Applied Option of Psychology, who have completed all of the courses required for the Major in the Applied Option of Psychology and all but one of the optional requirements for a total of 10 courses in psychology.

394 Special Topics in Psychology.
1 to 3 Hours. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours of credit. Students may register for more than one section per term. Lectures devoted to an announced topic. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

395 Seminar in Psychology.
1 to 3 Hours. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours of credit. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade only. Seminar devoted to special topics in psychology. Prerequisite: Psch 242.

396 Directed Research.
1 to 3 Hours. Satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only. May be repeated for credit. A combined maximum of 8 hours of credit in Psch 385, 396, 397, and 399 may be applied toward the degree. Students may register for more than one section per term. Participation in ongoing research in psychology under the direction of a faculty member. A final report describing the research and its theory is required. Prerequisites: Psch 242 and consent of the instructor and director of undergraduate studies.

397 Readings in Psychology.
1 to 3 Hours. May be repeated for credit. A combined maximum of 8 hours of credit in Psch 385, 396, 397, and 399 may be applied toward the degree. Students may register for more than one section per term. Bibliographic research on a special topic under the direction of a faculty member. Paper is required for course credit. Prerequisites: Psch 343, a 4.00 grade point average, and consent of the instructor and the director of undergraduate studies.

399 Independent Research.
1 to 4 Hours. May be repeated for credit. A combined maximum of 8 hours of credit in Psch 385, 396, 397, and 399 may be applied toward the degree. Students may register for more than one section per term. Individual research on a special topic under the direction of a faculty member. A paper is required for course credit. Prerequisites: Psch 343, one from Psch 313, 321, 351, 353, 361, 363; a 4.00 grade point average; membership in one of the departmental distinction programs; consent of the instructor and the director of undergraduate studies.

411 Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racism.
3 Hours. Psychological research and theory concerning stereotyping, prejudice, and racism. Historical conceptualization, development, causes, expression, and psychological consequences of prejudice, as well as theories of prejudice reduction. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in psychology or consent of the instructor.

415 Health Psychology.
3 Hours. Psychological theory and research concerning the coronary-prone personality, pain management, controlling adherence to medical regimens, biofeedback, smoking, and weight control. Prerequisites: Psch 270 and consent of the instructor; or graduate standing.

417 Psychology and Law.
3 Hours. Application of psychological theories to the development, operation, and effects of law; evaluation of different and similar approaches of law and psychology. Prerequisite: Psch 312 or consent of the instructor.

420 Social Development of Urban Children.
3 Hours. Same as Educational Psychology 420. General principles of social development and socialization during childhood and the factors common to urban children that illustrate and modify these principles. Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program in education or psychology or consent of the instructor.

421 Developmental Psychobiology.
3 Hours. Concepts and theory integrating behavioral and biological developmental processes, with examples from current research issues. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor.

422 Advanced Developmental Psychology and Educational Processes.
3 Hours. Same as Education 422. Focuses on cognitive and social development from birth to adolescence. Examines relations between development, learning, and educational processes. Prerequisites: Psch 100 and any one from Ed 210, Psch 259, or 320; or graduate standing and consent of the instructor.

423 Characteristics of Early Adolescence.
3 Hours. Same as Educational Psychology 446. Physiological, social, emotional and cognitive development of early adolescence. The relationship between these developmental characteristics and success in the middle grades. Prerequisites: Admission to the Ph.D. program in psychology; or approval of the College of Education or consent of the instructor, and Ed 210 or 421 or Psch 422 or the equivalent.

429 Constructivist Approaches to Development: Piaget and Vygotsky.
3 Hours. Same as Educational Psychology 429. Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories of development of knowledge. Empirical and logico-mathematical forms of knowledge. Thought and action. Thought and language. Prerequisites: Graduate standing in education and Psch 422 or the equivalent or graduate standing in psychology or consent of the instructor.

440 Psychological Test Theory.
3 Hours. Classical and modern theory of tests as developed for assessment of ability, aptitude, and personality. Emphasis on the statistical and mathematical basis of the theories. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 343 and consent of the instructor.

443 Advanced Statistics.
3 Hours. Design and analysis of experiments: between, within factorial and mixed factorial designs and introduction to multiple regression. For students planning research careers or advanced degrees. Prerequisite: Psch 343.

452 Human Learning and Memory.
3 Hours. Survey of empirical research and theories concerning the human memory system and the encoding, retention, and retrieval of information in that system. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 352 and consent of the instructor.

454 Psychology of Language.
3 Hours. Same as Linguistics 474 and Communication 454. Introductory survey of methods, theory and research; linguistic foundations, history, and present status of the field. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.

455 Psychology of Thinking.
3 Hours. Research and theory concerning higher mental processes, including problem solving, reasoning, judgment, and decision making. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 352 and consent of the instructor.

459 Cognitive Methods.
3 Hours. Hands-on training in the methods of cognitive psychology, especially computational modeling and the analysis of verbal protocols and other types of trace data. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.

460 Advanced Learning.
3 Hours. Methods, results, and interpretation of experimental studies of basic learning processes in animal and human subjects. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 360 and 361 and consent of the instructor.

462 Advanced Physiological Psychology.
4 Hours. Anatomical and physiological substrates of behavior. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 262 and consent of the instructor.

465 Sensory Processes.
3 Hours. Psychophysical and physiological studies of sensory systems and processes. Primary emphasis on the early processing of visual stimuli. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 351 and consent of the instructor.

466 Motivation.
3 Hours. Review of empirical data and theories concerning the physiological basis of motivational processes in animals and humans. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or Psch 360 and consent of the instructor.

467 Fundamentals of Neuroscience.
3 Hours. Basic principles of neurophysiology and neuropharmacology including logic bases of nerve action, chemistry of synapses, and actions of pharmacological agents. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or Psch 262.

481 Interviewing.
1 Hour. Satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only. Lecture on the theory and practice of clinical interviewing with supervised experience. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in psychology or consent of the instructor.

494 Special Topics in Psychology.
1 to 4 Hours. May be repeated for credit. Students may register for more than one section per term. Advanced treatment of an announced topic. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.

495 Seminar in Psychology.
1 to 3 Hours. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours of credit. Students may register for more than one section per term. Satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only. Seminar devoted to special topics in psychology. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.


Posted: 5 Apr 00
Information provided by the Office of Academic Affairs, Academic Programs.

This listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract. Every attempt is made to provide the most current and correct information. Courses listed here are subject to change without advance notice. Courses are not necessarily offered every term or year. Individual departments or units should be consulted for information regarding frequency of course offerings.