304: Psychology of Personality. Goal: To promote synthesized understanding of the person through an integration of theory and research. Content: Exploration of environmental and inherited factors which produce a particular personality structure; includes psychoanalytic, humanistic, existential, trait, behavioral, social learning, and cognitive theories. Taught: Fall. Prerequisite: PSY 101. Credit: 3 hours. 305: Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences.
Goal: To provide the student with a thorough review of the application of the scientific method to the study of human behavior. To become familiar with the philosophical roots of social science research, the nature of research materials and methods in the behavioral sciences, and the issues involved in their collection and interpretation. To evaluate critically research results and to be able to apply research methods appropriate to the level of measurement, theoretical issue, and sources of data involved in projects and assignments. Content: An introduction to the application of the scientific method in the study of human behavior, focus on the philosophy of science and measurement, experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research, survey construction, and analysis, and the interpretation and critical evaluation of research results. Taught: Spring. Prerequisites: PSY 101, MAT 220, and PSY 230S. Credit: 3 hours. 306: Systems of Psychology.
Goal: To acquaint the student with contemporary points of view in psychology through a survey of modern psychological schools, their historical development, special problems, and contributions to the field.
Content: Historical development and current position of structuralism functionalism, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, and cognitive psychology. Classical readings. Taught: Fall. Prerequisites: PSY 101, junior or senior standing. Credit: 3 hours. 307: Psychological Testing.
Goal: To study the value, uses, and limitations of many types of tests including general and special abilities, interests, personality surveys, projectives, aptitudes, etc. To be able to determine reliability and validity of tests.
Content: Study of testing ethics, reliability and validity determination, specific test uses and misuses, and statistical analysis of test results. Taught: Fall.
Prerequisites: PSY 101 and MAT 220. Credit: 3 hours. 310: Cognitive Psychology.
Goal: To foster an understanding of the human mind and how it operates by discussing the major theories, concepts, and research in cognitive psychology.
Content: Detailed examination of how humans encode, perceive, remember, and use the information encountered in daily life. Topics examined include pattern recognition, mental imagery, attention, memory, language, problem solving, creativity, and artificial intelligence. Taught: Fall. Alternate years. Prerequisites: PSY 101. Credit: 3 hours; cross-listed as NSC 310 314: Learning and Memory.
Goal: To provide students with a clear and comprehensible integration of classic and contemporary achievements in the field of learning and memory. Content: Principles of respondent and operant conditioning as well as memory and cognition in terms of possible mechanisms, current research, the theory. Taught: Spring. Prerequisites: PSY 101 and MAT 220; PSY 305 or BIO 203; or permission of program director. Credit: 4 hours; cross-listed as NSC 314
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