Psychology

This course is designed as a comprehensive survey course of theory and research in social psychology. The goal is to explain how human thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other people and cultural background. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to critically think about how research in social psychology can shed light on events going on around the world and in their own lives and how it can help to better human existence. The main topics include: the self; social perception; social cognition and information processing; attitudes and persuasion; conforming; prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination; social influence and group behavior, and romantic, aggressive, and helping behavior; and applied social psychology.
 

The course introduces students to basic concepts in the study of human sexuality from a psychological perspective and encourages students to think about the personal, social, and cultural dimensions of human sexuality. It covers topics such as clinical sexology, the context of sexuality in Irish society, sexual health promotion, and a critique of contemporary issues including “hooking up,” pornography and sexualization, and sexuality, with a particular focus on youth and emerging adulthood.

This course examines the impact of psychological variables on participation and performance in sport and exercise; and the influence of participation in sport and exercise on the psychological characteristics of the individual.

This is an Advanced Social Psychology course, with the purpose of selecting important themes in social psychology and critically examining research conceptualization, design, and methodology on the specialized topics through class readings and discussion.

This course aims to deepen student understanding of various social-psychological issues (interpersonal relationships, social influence, etc.); provide guidance in critical reading of important articles, and improve awareness and mastery of social-psychological issues and research methods.

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director of Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. Graded P/NP only.

This course provides an introduction to sensory and perceptual processes, blending classical and contemporary approaches to basic information processing. The course uses a flipped-classroom approach with the explicit aim of combining Information Transfer Teacher Focused (ITTF) and Conceptual Change Student Focused (CCSF) approaches. In the first case, and mainly via readings as well as pre-recorded lectures, students learn "facts" related to perception; in the latter case, via both class Buzz-group activity as well as a theoretically-oriented Capstone Project, students learn that perception is a complex multidimensional topic that is not completely understood . In Buzz groups, students present and discuss some of the key theoretical issues and methodological contributions in perception science. The course also touches areas in which the application of knowledge of sensory and perceptual processes is applied to other areas of cognitive psychology and neuroscience.