Introduction to Psychology: Basic Processes

Students will study topics related to basic psychological processes. They will examine areas such as the biological basis of behaviour, sensation, perception, states of consciousness, learning and memory. Students will learn about the historical and philosophical context behind the development of psychology and the research methods used by psychologists.

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Introduction to Psychology: Areas and Applications

Students will study topics related to applications of psychological processes. They will examine areas such as cognition, motivation, emotion, theories of personality, development over the life span, the psychology of health and well-being, psychological disorders, approaches to treatment and therapy, and principles of social and cultural psychology.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1100

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Applied Statistics

Students will learn to apply descriptive and inferential statistics in the analysis of behavioral research

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

History and Systems of Contemporary Psychology

Students will study the evolution of psychology’s modern history, beginning approximately in the nineteenth century. They will analyze the debates, important discoveries, famous experiments, and differences seen amongst competing traditions within psychology. Students will examine the limitations of an historical approach to psychology.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Brain and Behaviour

Students will demonstrate how normal and abnormal behaviour in both humans and animals may be understood through knowledge of the function of the brain and its underlying structure. They will examine psychophysiologists’ current understanding of brain and nervous system involvement in areas such as sensation, perception, movement, memory, psychopathology, and recovery from brain damage.description

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Developmental Psychology: Childhood

Students will study the process of human development from conception to adolescence, including major principles of development and the descriptive changes in child growth and behaviour. They will study the implications of theory and research findings for areas such as leaning, personality, social behaviour, and psychopathology.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Developmental Psychology: Adolescence  (this course will change effective Sept. 2007. View future changes ).

Students will examine the psychological development that occurs during adolescence. They will examine the major theories and research findings about adolescent development with a view to their relevance to the lives of adolescents

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Developmental Psychology: Adulthood

Students will become familiar with the developmental processes from young adulthood through old age. They will study the implications of specific periods/stages, such as parenting, career choice, role changes and losses, including dying and death.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Psychology of Learning

Students will study in selected situations, the basic theories and psychological principles of learning.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Social Psychology

Students will explore psychological processes that occur in groups and their influence on the individual around such topics as prejudice, aggression, interpersonal attraction and intimate relationships, attitudes and persuasion, self-esteem, conformity and decision main in law, business and health.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Psychopathology (this course will change effective Sept. 2007. View future changes ).

Students will examine the major theoretical approaches to classification and diagnosis of mental disorders, including neuropsychological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic/existential perspectives. They will explain the characteristics of specific categories of these disorders, and to the biochemical and interactive effects of biological, social and psychological factors in their development. They will critically analyze the historical and contemporary assumptions underlying individual and societal attitudes toward mental illness.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Psychology of Personality

Students will analyze Western personality theories such as the Psychoanalytic perspective, the Existential perspective, the Trait perspective, the Behavioural-Cognitive perspective, and the Humanistic perspective, among others.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Perception

Students will study the psychology of perception. They will learn about depth perception, colour perception, attention, spatial processing, audition and smell.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Cognition

Students will study cognitive processes, including memory, problem solving, reasoning, attention, spatial abilities and decision making.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Experimental Psychology: Research Methodology

Students will examine the scientific method as a way of studying behavioral phenomena and explore research paradigms commonly used in psychology.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2300

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Social Psychology: Theory and Research

Students will apply the theory, principles and methods of research learned in Social Psychology 2330 by doing an in-depth research investigation in their chosen area of interest. They will present a final research report orally and in written form.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2330

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Clinical Psychology: Psychotherapy

Students will explore the practice of clinical psychology. They will learn about assessment techniques, legal and ethical issues, effectiveness of therapy and major theoretical approaches to therapy.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2350

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Introduction to Forensic Psychology

Students will examine how psychological research and knowledge pertain to law, criminality and civil procedure, with particular emphasis on the Canadian justice system. They will review current knowledge in the field of forensic psychology in the areas of police investigations, eyewitness testimony, fitness to stand trial, jury selection and deliberation, sentencing and parole issues, violence and risk assessment, and civil matters such as workplace harassment and family law. Students will also evaluate the usefulness and limitations of psychological assessment and treatment of offenders and inmates.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2350 or CRIM 2330

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Students will learn to apply principles of psychology to create well-functioning and efficient organizations. They will focus on objectives, personnel selection and evaluation, employee development and relationships, with an emphasis on the application of psychological principles of individual behavior and group dynamics in various types of community and industrial organizations.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2330 and 2385 and 2400

Attitudes and Persuasion

Group Dynamics

Students will explore the processes that occur among individuals within groups, as well as the processes involved when groups interact with each other. They will examine the functions and structure of groups, leadership, conformity pressure, group decision making, group performance and productivity. They will also gain knowledge about conflict and cooperation within groups and between groups. Throughout the course, students will learn to analyze group dynamics in their own experiences participating in and observing groups. NOTE: This is a seminar course. description

Prerequisites: PSYC 2400

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Applied Statistics II

Students will learn about research designs and statistical analyses commonly used in behavioural research, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) models, correlation, regression and multiple regression, as well as chi-square procedures, focusing on both conceptual understanding and practical application. They will learn computer software applications commonly used by potential employers to analyze data sets and interpret results.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2400

Corequisites: PSYC 3400

Psychology of Work and Human Performance

Students will become familiar with applying behavioural principles and human factors methodologies to assessing and optimizing human performance, well-being and safety in the work place. An interdisciplinary systems perspective is used to examine inter-relationships between workers, tasks and work environments. Domains of application include manufacturing, transportation and service industries.

Prerequisites: PSYC 1200 and 2300 or IDSN 2310 or permission of instructor

Transferable (refer to transfer guide)

Learning: Theory and Practice

Students will critically examine classical and modern learning theory, including such areas as habituation, sensitization, classical and operant conditioning, modeling, concept formation, and how the theoretical perspectives on these topics relate to the cognitive perspective. They will investigate aspects of learning theory such as generalization, discrimination, reinforcement and punishment in the light of both animal and human learning. Students will explore and discuss issues of stimulus control and the application of learning principles in everyday life.

Prerequisites: PSYC 2300 and 2400