Concentration
Department of Psychology
Professor: Maria Kalpidou; Associate Professors: Leamarie Gordon (Chairperson), Regina Kuersten-Hogan, Karen Lionello-DeNolf, Maria Parmley, Adam Volungis, Fang Zhang; Assistant Professors: Amy Cirillo, Meltem Karaca, Nicole Pantano; Jennifer Dealy, Johanna Sagarin; Visiting Assistant Professors: Hannah Smith; Lecturers: Jacleen Charbonneau, Jillian Crawley, Lynne Flanagan-Tsombakos, Rachael Lamoureux.
Mission Statement
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. The psychology program introduces students to diverse approaches for understanding human behavior, cognition, and emotion. The curriculum requires students to sample from a range of courses, providing a strong foundation in the major concepts and theoretical perspectives of psychology. Students also develop skills for understanding and conducting psychological research. Opportunities for independent research and supervised fieldwork allow students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. In addition, the program prepares students for graduate study and various careers in psychology and related fields. By engaging students in rigorous scientific inquiry into the mind and behavior, fostering personal growth, and challenging them to apply psychological insight to complex social issues, the psychology program advances Assumption University’s Catholic liberal arts mission to form intellectually serious, purpose driven graduates devoted to the common good.
Description of the Program
The goal of our program is to introduce students to the breadth of the discipline and give them the opportunity to develop competence, both as scientists and practitioners. As a consequence, our curriculum requires students to sample from core courses like developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology, and psychological disorders. Students are also required to complete courses to provide the foundation for conducting psychological research. In addition, students are given the opportunity to explore more specialized areas within the field like human neuroscience, child psychopathology, interpersonal communication, stereotypes and prejudice, or psychology of women. Students are encouraged to explore opportunities for independent research with faculty members and work in supervised fieldwork placements where psychological services are provided. Likewise, students are encouraged to work closely with a member of the psychology faculty to develop a program that will best satisfy their intellectual, vocational, and personal interests.
Learning Outcomes
We expect that our students will develop a strong psychological knowledge base, sharpen their critical thinking and communication skills, understand psychological applications and research methods, develop a socio-cultural awareness, and plan effectively for their career, academic, and personal futures.
Programs of Study
Courses
PSY 101: GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3In this introduction to psychology students learn the language, methods, theoretical perspectives, and research of the discipline. This course introduces students to a range of topics within psychology, such as the biological and social bases of behavior, as well as basic principles of perception, learning, and motivation.
PSY 210: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course will examine theoretical and empirical contributions in the field of social psychology. Specific topics to be covered include social perception; social cognition; attitudes; theories of self; interpersonal relations; group processes; aggression; pro-social behavior; and how social psychology can be applied to everyday life.
PSY 212: SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course is a survey of the field of sports psychology and all emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social phenomena related to the fields of performance, competition, exercise, and training. We seek in this class to understand the complexity of the psychological experience of an athlete in performance. Topics will be broken down into three general categories. First, an examination of the lived-experience of the athlete in performance will be considered. Second, we will explore therapeutic intervention techniques that can be deployed with athletes to reduce anxiety, increase motivation, conceptualize emotions, and energize the body in performance. Lastly, a bio-psycho-social examination of the athlete’s career transition will be examined. Here we will look closely at the effects of head trauma, the loss of identity, the loss of interpersonal structures, and the experiential shifts that may occur as athletes navigate retirement. All of these topics will be examined by reviewing the scientific literature relevant to each phenomenon, supplemented at points with memoirs and non-fiction literature written by athletes or those with close involvement in sport.
PSY 216: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Credits 3This course provides students with a detailed description and analysis of the forms of behavior seen as abnormal in our contemporary culture. Research relevant to and theoretical perspectives on these disorders are presented. Throughout the course students are asked to consider the implications of being labeled abnormal and to apply their knowledge to individual cases.
PSY 217: PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN
Credits 3This course will acquaint students with the unique experiences and challenges faced by women and girls as they move through the complex process of psychological development. Questions of gender identity, socialization, sex-role stereotyping, and self-image will be among the topics discussed. In addition, many of the important roles filled by women throughout the lifespan will be addressed, along with circumstances, such as poverty and domestic violence that undermine the well-being of women in American society. Primary source material as well as textbook readings will be required along with class presentations, reflective essays, and a biography analysis project, among other assignments.
PSY 218: CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course explores the way in which cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, transform, and permute the human psyche to shape human experience. We will explore constitution of culture, examine cultural similarities and, more importantly, cultural diversities in mind, self, and emotion, and investigate why cultures differ and ways in which culture interacts with human psyche to produce cultural effects. Students will be challenged to step outside of their own cultural framework, suspend their presumptions of human behavior to enter into the mind of other people from differing cultural backgrounds to see what is normal, beautiful, and true from their perspectives. Known principles of human behavior from mainstream psychology will be assessed in a cultural light and cross-cultural compassions will be made across a broad range of psychological phenomena, ranging from perception to psychopathology to social organization. It is the aim of this course that after taking this course students will become a more mindful citizen in today’s interconnected, globalized world.
PSY 220: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Credits 3This course introduces students to basic theoretical issues, research findings, and practical strategies in the field of interpersonal communication. The course examines the processes through which people collaboratively construct shared understandings in conversation, including discussion of how ideas about the self are shaped and expressed in dialogue with others. Through readings, discussion, and exercises, the class will work toward an understanding of how effective communication patterns, as well as problematic patterns, arise in the course of person-to-person interaction.
PSY 224: STATISTICS
Credits 3This course is an introduction to statistical methods used in behavioral research. The course will cover both inferential and descriptive statistics, with an emphasis on the conceptual understanding of how to use statistics to summarize and evaluate information.
PSY 225: RESEARCH METHODS
Credits 3The purpose of this course is to explore the logic and methods used in psychological research (e.g., control, measurement, correlation, and experimental design) as well as the practical (e.g., developing hypotheses, presenting findings in a written format) and ethical concerns involved in conducting empirical studies.
PSY 240: PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSONALITY
Credits 3The course surveys several important theories of personality with the goal of helping students explain human behavior from a variety of perspectives. Historically significant theories, as well as recent interpretations of personality formation and dynamics, will be presented.
PSY 250: PERCEPTION
Credits 3The main purpose of this course is to gain an appreciation of the importance of our sensory and perceptual systems in making us uniquely psychological beings. Throughout the semester, we will explore what it means to gain a scientific understanding of these systems. We will consider a number of different perspectives for addressing these issues regarding perceptual processes, as well as different methods and procedures for testing sensory responses and perceptual experiences. Students will actively be involved in participating in computer-based experiments, perceptual simulations, and internet assignments. In addition, time will be spent reading and discussing articles to illustrate the everyday importance of our perceptual systems. Sensory disorders and deficits such as hearing loss, loss of proprioception, phantom limbs, and visual agnosia will be discussed.
PSY 251: INTRODUCTION TO BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
Credits 3This course examines central aims of human neuroscience by exploring structures and functions of the brain and neural communication. Discussion focuses on contemporary theories of bidirectional relationships between brain function and human experience, thought, and behavior. Topics considered include emotion, memory, sociality, sleep, and mental illness.
PSY 252: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3Cognitive psychology is the study of how we gather, organize, and use information. Students in this course learn how the mind works (and sometimes fails to work) by exploring topics such as the neural bases for cognition, object recognition, attention, memory, decision making, and problem solving. An understanding of factors that influence how people think is fundamental to many careers within and outside of the cognitive sciences, including but not limited to education, law, business management, and marketing.
PSY 253: PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING
Credits 3The purpose of this course is to provide students with a grounding in important principles of learning, such as conditioning, extinction, generalization, and discrimination. The behavioral approach of B.F. Skinner is predominant throughout the course, although the concepts of important learning theorists such as Thorndike, Tolman, and Hull are also presented. In addition, the philosophical underpinnings of a learning-based model of human behavior and the complex questions of freedom and determinism raised by modern behaviorism are addressed in the course.
PSY 281: PSYCHOLOGY OF ADOLESCENCE AND MATURITY
Credits 3The course will examine a wide range of issues in adolescence, such as historical perspectives on adolescence; biological changes; cognitive development; parenting styles and family dynamics; moral development; drug abuse; and psychological disorders of adolescence. The issues will be illustrated and further developed through the use of several case studies.
PSY 285: WOMEN’S STUDIES I: IMAGES
Credits 3This course is an introduction to the study of women. The course will develop a coherent, integrated view of women and their roles; emphasize the full range of contributions of and the limited opportunities for women; examine and appraise the experiences of women; and critically examine the thinking about women at various times and from various perspectives. The basic approach is interdisciplinary, and the concentration of the course is on women in North America from the 19th century to the present. This is the same course as HIS 285 and SOC 285.
PSY 290: PSYCHOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT: INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD
Credits 3This course examines human growth and development during infancy and childhood. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between theory, research, and the application of knowledge in child development. Different theoretical perspectives (psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive-developmental); current research on selected topics (e.g., day care, cross-cultural differences in child rearing); and ways to encourage optimal growth in children at home, with friends, and at school are reviewed.
PSY 301: INTERNSHIP IN PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course is designed to give students exposure to the many roles psychologists currently play in the community. Students are expected to spend 8 to 10 hours per week working in a clinical or research setting off-campus for 13 weeks. This translates into 100 hours of placement time. It is important to have one full day or two half days available to complete the field-based component of the course. In addition, students are required to attend a weekly seminar. Students have to secure their own internships prior to the start of the semester.
PSY 383: INTRODUCTION TO AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Credits 3This course provides an introduction to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Topics will include the history of autism; current diagnostic criteria; genetic, neurological, and environmental causes; assessment; interventions; and lifespan issues. Students will learn the criteria for determining whether an intervention is evidence-based versus pseudoscientific and will examine a range of interventions for ASD to determine whether they can be considered evidence-based. Finally, current controversies in autism will be explored.
PSY 386: PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING
Credits 3This course introduces undergraduate students to different aspects of aging, with a focus on understanding age-related changes across the lifespan. Students will learn the biological, cognitive, social, and cultural factors that shape the aging experience. The course also explores key issues faced by older individuals in society, while examining the broader implications of a growing aging population.
PSY 390: RESEARCH SEMINAR
Credits 3This seminar is a continuation of PSY 225 focusing on more advanced problems of research design and analysis. Students are required to design and conduct a research project during the course of the semester. (Senior and Junior Psychology majors)
PSY 391: EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
Credits 4This 4-credit laboratory course reviews the utility, strengths, and weaknesses of leading tools and techniques used to study human neuroscience. Specifically, the course examines electroencephalography (EEG), event related potentials (ERP), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and measures of autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate variability and skin conductance). Students are encouraged - and challenged - to think about the implications of using these tools to understand human neuroscience. Is the activity recorded by these tools predictive or responsive to human thought and behavior? Do particular patterns of brain activity reliably predict atypical or abnormal outcomes? When are neuroscientific methodologies necessary? In the accompanying laboratory section of this course (PSY 391L), students acquire hands-on experience collecting and analyzing data obtained with many of these tools. Students apply the knowledge acquired in lecture and lab to develop and test research questions, collect and analyze data, and communicate results in written (APA-formatted research paper) and oral formats.
PSY 392: RAISING HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN
Credits 3The goal of this course is to discover the childhood roots of adult happiness and success. The students will identify the emotional, social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual needs of children and adolescents and discuss the things that parents, schools, and society can do to meet these needs. Among others, topics include the role of early social relationships, the influence of the material world, the effects of media and technology, the importance of character, and the significance of faith and spirituality. The students will read a collection of primary and secondary sources from experts in the science of success and happiness of children and adolescents. The students will also read and reflect on readings from other disciplines as well as biographies of successful people with focus on their childhood and adolescent years.
PSY 396: FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course will provide students with an introduction to the field of forensic psychology. This course explores the clinical evaluation, psychopathology, and treatment modalities of criminal and severely mentally ill offenders in a variety of settings, including psychiatric and correctional facilities. A variety of readings, discussions, and real-life case studies of various types of offenders will be presented to give students a better understanding of the topic and related mental health and political issues. This class will include several in-depth discussions of various legal issues, such as not guilty by reason of insanity, risk and dangerousness, and competency to stand trial.
PSY 399: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Credits 1 3Open to qualified Junior and Senior Psychology majors with permission of the instructor, the Chairperson, and the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for Undergraduate Studies.
PSY 402
Credits 3PSY 403: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
Credits 3This upper-level seminar course explores the neural processes that support cognitive capacities including, but not limited to, sensory inference, attention, learning and memory, decision making, and language. Throughout the course we survey current research in cognitive neuroscience by critically reading empirical journal articles. Students showcase their understanding and evaluation of this research using effective communication skills (written and oral).
PSY 409: COMMON PROBLEMS IN CHILDHOOD
Credits 3Parents and child practitioners often encounter children’s problems that may not necessarily reflect psychopathology. This course is an in-depth study of the challenges that children face, the guidelines for determining when a behavior is a cause of concern, and how problems can be addressed. Students will explore the psychological, biological, and social roots of difficult phases of development such as difficulty to grow, bed-wetting, problems with sleeping and eating, common anxiety problems and fears, bad habits, and problems in self-regulation and social behavior.
PSY 416: ABNORMAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course will provide an understanding of various forms of psychopathology in children and adolescents. It is intended as an overview of the taxonomy of childhood disorders with many videotaped examples of different disorders to help apply knowledge to actual cases. Different theoretical models used to explain how psychopathology develops in children will be presented and the role of home and school environment, child gender, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status will be explored. In addition to learning about the characteristics of various psychological disorders in youngsters, a review of the research into the causes and outcomes of mental disorders in children and adolescents will be explored. Finally, special challenges in diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of psychological disorders in children are highlighted. This seminar-style course includes lectures but heavily emphasizes class discussions, student presentations, and case studies.
PSY 425: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3This course is a consideration of the history, problems, and techniques of clinical psychology Research and theoretical issues related to clinical assessment and different methods of psychotherapy are examined.
PSY 444: HONORS THESIS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Credits 3In this course the student will conduct the research project that was proposed and approved during the Honors Seminar (HON 300). The research project will be an empirical investigation (either quantitative or qualitative) of a psychological issue under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The project will culminate in written thesis and oral defense of the capstone work at the end of the semester. Students are encouraged to present the thesis work Undergraduate Symposium in the spring. This course can be a substitute for PSY 390 Research Seminar in satisfaction of the requirements of the Psychology major.