Courses

Selected topics in areas of motivation and higher mental processes; symbolic processes in perceptual organization; learning and remembering, reasoning and creativity.

Procedural and theoretical issues in study of basic learning mechanisms in animals and humans, including Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning. Application of this work to other domains and relevant biological mechanisms also discussed.

Experimental methods; developing a general frame of reference for approaching experimental research problems.

Ethical and legal issues in clinical practice; development of listening and interpretation skills; supervised practicum in interviewing non-clinical subjects; structured role-play of clinical situations.

Current research and methodological procedures on physiological bases of sensation-perception, memory and learning, arousal-sleep-attention, emotions and motivation.

Current literature and research in employee motivation, satisfaction, leadership, communication, group conflict and other group processes.

Application of psychological principles and research methods to the areas of selection, placement, job analysis, performance appraisal and training.

Application of psychological assessment across the life-span; assessment of cognitive, intellectual, academic, and memory abilities and adaptive behavior; assessment of personality, behavioral style, and systems/environment; integration of assessment measures in comprehensive psychological evaluations; attendance required at Practicum Seminar designed to integrate research, coursework, and applied training and supervisory instruction from a faculty supervisor; at least 3 credits and no more than 18 credits applied to degree plan.

Practical on-the-job experience for graduate students. Activities will be guided by psychologists in the following areas: behavior modification, social, clinical, experimental and industrial. Supervision will be provided by members of University staff. May be taken more than once but not to exceed 18 hours of credit toward a graduate degree.

Complex sensory and perceptual phenomena with emphasis on the relationship between perception and motivation, cognition, creativity and instinctive/ethological; learning/experiential factors in higher level perceptual processes.

Current methods of treating families with children displaying aggressive, hyperactive, underachieving and other problem behaviors in natural settings; behavior of children and adolescents at home, school and at play.

Survey emphasizing Jungian psychology but including coverage of Freudian psychology; application of analytical principles and concepts to a variety of clinical issues and situations.

Theory and scientific evidence regarding strategies and tactics of persuasion; explores theoretical controversies and presents potential integrations.

Current theories of social psychology and a review of related studies to these theories; theories of attitude change, prosocial behavior, aggression, equity, coalition formation, social learning and S-R theory applied to social behavior.

Attitudes and persuasion; small group interaction and performance; prosocial behavior; aggression; self concept; applied social problems; gender differences in social interaction; and social cognition. May be repeated up to three times for credit.

Overview of theories and approaches in the interdisciplinary field of affective science; historical and contemporary approaches focused on emotional and affective processes.

Principles of psychological testing; uses and critical evaluation of tests of achievement, intelligence, aptitude and personality.

Theory and application of psychological assessment of children, adolescents and adults; assessment of cognitive, intellectual, academic, and memory abilities and adaptive behavior; integration of assessment measures in comprehensive psychological evaluations.

Various symptom categories in psychopathology including differing theoretical conceptualizations of these symptom categories, and theories and research concerning etiology and treatment.

Theory and application of psychological assessment of toddlers, children, and adolescents; assessment of cognitive, intellectual, academic, and memory abilities and adaptive behavior; assessment of personality, behavioral style, family functioning, and child-focused systems; integration of assessment measures in comprehensive psychological evaluations.

Theory, research and practice of health psychology emphasizing the prevention and modification of health compromising behaviors; psychological management of stress, pain and chronic/terminal illness; effective interventions for specific health behaviors/disorders.

Strategies and career planning for a research and teaching oriented academic track; focus on developing a multi-year plan for placement in a position to be maximally competitive for an academic job and preparation in how to assemble a strong application package.

Human behavior and mental health as a function of culture, gender and sexual orientation; discussion of absolutist, relativist and universalist perspectives in cross-cultural psychology; psychology of stereotype and prejudice; adjustment through acculturation and biculturalism; learning about our own and other cultures.

Expose graduate students to neuroscience research, theory, and proposal development; research presentations by guest speakers, faculty, and graduate students; discussions, readings and presentations on issues related to research design, statistics, methodology, ethics, IACUC, grant writing, presentation skills, job talks, and other relevant topics. May be taken four times for credit.

Theory, research and techniques related to evidence-based behavioral and cognitive-behavioral approaches to clinical interventions; ethical, professional, multicultural and history/system issues in therapeutic psychological interventions.

Theory, research, and techniques related to evidence-based interpersonal, psychodynamic, group therapy, and family therapy approaches to clinical interventions; ethical, professional, multicultural, and history/systems issues in therapeutic psychological interventions.

Application of clinical/counseling/school psychology to children and adolescents with chronic illnesses or disabilities and their families; theoretical foundations and models for consultation, assessment and intervention strategies; unique ethical and professional issues associated with research and service delivery in child health psychology/pediatric behavioral medicine.

Physics of magnetic resonance imaging; experimental design for fMRI; linear and nonlinear image registration; data denoising; data filtering and smoothing; volume and surface methods; General Linear Models and multivariate approaches to subject-level data; mixed effects modeling, random effects modeling, permutation methods for linear models; functional connectivity.

Behavioral neuroscience; including behavioral pharmacology, neuropharmacology, methods and techniques, drug reinforcement, behavioral toxicology, pain perception and ingestive behavior. May be repeated up to three times for credit.

Survey of topics in clinical psychopharmacology, including pharmacodynamics, major neurotransmitter systems, and therapeutic applications and limitations.

Surveys key readings in the field of cultural psychology; discussion and examination of relationship between psychological processes (e.g., motivation, memory, self perception, prejudice) and sociocultural contexts.

The first of two courses in statistics and research methods; integrates research design, appropriate methodology, and advanced statistical techniques used by industrial/organizational psychologists (e.g., General Linear Model); current topics pertinent to the content domain draws heavily from the application of quantitative psychology literature to workplace problems; statistical software packages will be used to enhance conceptual understanding.

The second of two courses in statistics and research methods; integrates research design, appropriate methodology, and advanced statistical techniques used by industrial/organizational psychologists (e.g., GeneraliZED Linear Model, nonlinear regression); current topics pertinent to the content domain draws heavily from the application of quantitative psychology literature to workplace problems; statistical software packages will be used to enhance conceptual understanding.

Study of psychological measurement for testing and assessment purposes in I/O psychology; classical and modern test theories are introduced as well as their implications for test construction and survey designs; emphasis on skill acquisition through developing, administering and scoring predictor or criterion tests and presenting results.

Experimental design in cognitive neuroscience; basics of cognitive neuroscience methods; perception versus imagery; attention; motor control; short-term and long-term memory; volition and consciousness; executive function; decision making; affect and psychopathology; social cognition.

An in-depth analysis of psychological principles and employee selection methods with a focus on applied practice and current topics; emphasis on the application of evidence-based best practices to the selection process; important of job and work analysis, testing and assessment, psychometrics, validation procedures, and measurement in light of ethical, legal, diversity and international issues.

A comprehensive review of theory, research, current topics and practice associated with training and performance management; training as an organizational subsystem is emphasized as the model for the design, implementation and evaluation of training programs; appraisal and management of work performance for various organizational purposes.

A critical analysis of major theories, current research and practice or current issues associated with employee attitudes and motivation in the workplace; topics include job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work engagement, stress, absenteeism, turnover, motivation, job design and quality of work, and work values; key methodological and measurement issues; application of social psychology literature to workplace problems.

An in-depth review of the factors leading to effective groups, teams and leadership in organizations; topics include strategies for building high performance teams and techniques for assessing, selecting and developing leaders; the course integrates theory, research and current topics with experiential learning; application of social psychology literature to workplace problems.

An overview of the historical and current issues related to the study of the self and identity.

Survey of recent theoretical, methodological and empirical developments in social psychology; different topics each semester include theory and research on attitudes and persuasion, social cognition, interpersonal relationships, group processes, social development, and personality and social behavior. May be taken for credit up to eight times.

Intensive practical study of designs of special interest to behavioral scientists; repeated measures designs.

Overview of methods for the construction and evaluation of psychological measurements including unidimensional scales and multi-variate analytical techniques; approaches include classical test theory, factor analysis, unidimensional scaling, latent trait theory, profile and discriminate analysis.

Advanced introduction to structural equation models and causal analysis; emphasis on underlying theory and assumptions as well as practical application for the behavioral sciences.

Survey of theoretical and applied topics relevant to clinical psychology in the legal system; includes assessment of adjudicative competence, criminal responsibility and risk assessment; correctional psychology and offender rehabilitation.

Theory and practice of marital therapy emphasizing systems and communication approaches; effective strategies and techniques; therapy with specific marital problems and obstacles to effective therapy.

Areas of organizational psychology; job stress, socialization processes, motivation, leadership, person perception in organizations, conflict management. May be repeated up to five times for credit; content will vary by semester.

Both research and applied colloquia provided by I/O psychologists and individuals in related disciplines.

Personnel selection and placement including job analysis, evaluation, psychological testing, test development, psychometric theory, theories of test fairness, validity generation, utility theory, performance appraisal and selection/placement decision models. May be repeated up to five times for credit; content will vary by semester.

Guidance in searching for and securing internships and jobs upon graduation; review of internship requirements and expectations; professional development sessions and preparation of application materials; assistance in the transition from student to professional, e.g., professional identity, affiliation and networks. May be taken for up to three credit hours.

Introduce students to current themes in research, theory and practice in cognitive psychology; presentations by guest speakers from within and outside the university.

Development of research writing and instruction on the process of publishing in scientific, peer-reviewed scientific academic journals and books; exploration of the many different aspects of publishing research; review of the mechanics of the process ranging from choosing topics, writing the paper, the submission process, the review process, dealing with rejection, responding to requests for revision and resubmission and acceptance and publication; discussion of the benefits of publishing and how publishing factors into career considerations and aspirations.

Practical issues related to college teaching; reflection on and improvement of teaching skills; developing course objectives and teaching philosophies; improving teaching tools; understanding teaching-learning situations; advising students; ethics in teaching.