Course description

This course will provide a theoretical background and practical experience to statistics for psychology and other behavioral sciences.  Statistics are the tools we use to summarize and describe the world around us and to explore the causal processes at work.  Understanding statistics and how they are used and misused is vital to assimilating information as an informed citizen, as well as pursuing a career in the behavioral sciences or similar fields.  In this course will cover topics including: principles of measurement, measures of central tendency and variability, probability and distributions, correlation and regression, hypothesis testing, t-tests, analysis of variance, and chi-square tests. You will learn and use a computer program, SPSS, to help you understand and perform select statistical analyses.

Learning Outcome 

At the end of the course, students should be able to: 

• Apply statistical information in scholarly research, and the practical skills to apply this knowledge in the course of pursuing their own research objectives.  
  
• Explain the statistical procedures and tests used most often in psychological science 
  
• Use SPSS to independently analyze data for decision making 
  
• Apply statistical tools for managerial decisions
  

Course Content

• Introduction: Why Statistics
  
• Descriptive statistics
  
• Lab (SPSS Intro & Math Review)
  
• Frequency Distributions
  
• Central Tendency
  
• Distribution of Sample Means
  
• Probability
  
• Regression
  

Compulsory Reading Materials

• Privitera, G.J. (2015). Essential Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Sage
  
• Howell, D.C. (2014). Fundamental statistics for the behavioral sciences (8th edition). 
  

Course description

Biopsychology, also known as behavioral neuroscience, is the science devoted to studying the relationships between the brain and behavior. This field of study combines a biological perspective of nervous system structure and function with a psychological perspective of actions, thoughts, and emotions. Biopsychology also studies abnormal conditions that arise from nervous system damage or dysfunction

Course Content

•  Applied Biopsychology
  
•  Animal Behavior
  
• Behavioral Neurobiology
  
• Sensory Processes
  
• Psycho-Pharmacology
  
• Adolescent biopsychology or biopsychological disorders.

Learning Outcome

Students will:

• Develop the skills and knowledge necessary to critically evaluate a wide range of human and animal behaviors.
  
• Students will learn and test foundational and contemporary theories through critical thinking exercises and laboratory experiments
  
• Develop oral and written scientific communication skills by writing lab reports and presenting research findings.
  
• Through coursework, internships, and mentored research, the biopsychology is designed to prepare students for careers and/or graduate study in various sciences and health-related fields.
  

 Compulsory Reading Materials

• Kalat, J.W. (2012). Biopsychology, 11 th Edition. Wadsworth Thompson, US.
  

 Optional Reading Materials

• Scientific American (2002), Special Edition, The Hidden Mind Study Guide for Biopsychology, 11th Edition
  

Course description

The Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, evaluate and respond to their social experiences. Social psychologists are interested in understanding a wide range of phenomena. Some topics of interest that we will explore in this course include: person perception, the self, attitudes, emotions, socialization, groups, influence, interpersonal attraction, close relationships, altruism, cooperation, competition, aggression, prejudice and discrimination. The goal of this course is to provide students with a general introduction to social psychology and an opportunity to apply social psychological theories to your life

 Course Content

• What is Social Psychology
  
• Historical trends
  
• What is Social Psychology? 
  
• Historical trends in Social Psychology 
  
• Constructing the Social World in infancy and early childhood. 
  
• Asking and answering research questions 
  
• Social Perception: Stereotypes, Prejudice and self-fulfilling prophecies 
  
• The Presence of Others 
  
• Interpersonal Communication 
  
• Attitudes I: Beliefs, affect and behaviour 
  
• Attitudes II: Attitude change 
  
• Social Influence, Conformity and Obedience 
  
• Inter-group behaviour and Social Identity 
  

Learning Outcome

By the end of the course students will:

• Understand the origins and development of social psychology.
  
• Identify the major theoretical perspectives in social psychology and appreciate its multi-perspective nature. 
  
• Identify a range of contemporary topics and concepts within social psychology and appreciate their practical applications. 
  
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate competing explanations for human behaviour and experience and be aware of the constructed nature of social reality. 
  
• Recognize the appropriateness of the differing methods of enquiry used in social psychology.

Compulsory Reading Materials

• Hogg,M.A. & Vaughan, G.M. (1998) (2nd edition) Social Psychology: An Introduction. Prentice-Hall.
  
• Taylor, S.E., Peplau, A.L. & Sears, D.O. (2006). Social Psychology, 12 th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  
• Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., and Stephenson, G.M. (1996) (2nd edition) Introduction to Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
  

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to methods in psychological research. This includes the examination of the scientific method, hypothesis testing, and designs of qualitative and quantitative research. Other topics include the search and evaluation of research literature in psychology, descriptive statistical analysis, fundamentals of scientific writing, ethical issues and cross cultural considerations in psychological research. This course culminates in a research study created, conducted, analyzed and presented by students.

Learning Outcome

By the end of the course students will have:

• Appreciation of the rigor applied to scientific research.
  
• Understanding of ethical research in use of both human participants and animal subjects.
  
• Gained a sense of community in creating scientific inquiry in a small group setting.
  
• Understanding of the difference between scientific thinking and other types of thinking.
  
• The ability to compare strengths and weaknesses of different research methods.
  
• The ability to search databases for psychological literature.
  
• Understanding how to summarize and critically examine a psychological journal article.
  

Course Content

• Characteristics of  Science
  
• The research process
  
• Statistics
  
• Research ethics
  
• Measurements
  
• Observational research
• Surveys/test
• Correlation and Causation

 Compulsory Reading Materials

• Pelham, B. W., & Blanton, C. J. (2007). Conducting research in psychology: Measuring the weight of smoke (3rd Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth. (Required)
  
• Cozby, P. C. (2007). Methods in Behavioral Research, 10th Ed. New York: McGraw Hill.
  
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th Ed.) (2009). Washington, D.C.: the American Psychological Association.