This course surveys central topics in the field, including research methodology, learning and memory processes, social psychology, psychological disorders and personality, and considers cultural issues as appropriate in each of these domains.
Topics in social psychology explore how people think about, influence and relate to one another. Specific topics may include the self, interpersonal relationships, intergroup relations, aggression, altruism, attitude formation and persuasion, compliance, and conformity. The course also includes discussion of how social behavior is influenced by factors such as gender and culture.
This course explores psychological research on eyewitness testimony evidence, interviews and interrogations, and jury procedures with particular emphasis on memory, judgments and decision making.
This course focuses primarily on the causes of crime, the criminal mind and the resulting social and personal costs of crime. Also addressed are various aspects of the criminal justice system, including the relevance of psychology to courtroom proceedings. Although many types of crime are explored, emphasis is placed on violent crime.
In this capstone course, students will read primary sources and identify and critically evaluate theoretical issues and empirical findings of one topic area in the field of psychology. With faculty supervision, students will develop and present (in both written and oral formats) a thesis-level integrative literature review manuscript.