(Offered as PSYC 213 and NEUR 213) This course will examine how brain function regulates a broad range of mental processes and behaviors. We will discuss how neurons work and how the brain obtains information about the environment (sensory systems), regulates an organism’s response to the environment (motor systems), controls basic functions necessary for survival such as eating, drinking, sex, and sleep, and mediates higher cognitive function such as memory and language.

Students in this course will design and execute an original research project related to creativity. Psychologists have defined creative ideas as those that are original, useful, and surprising. Creativity can be observed in many contexts (e.g., the arts, science, athletics, politics, and business), and can refer both to ideas as well as the people and social environments that foster such ideas. The semester will begin with a careful reading of the literature which will help students develop individual research proposals; group projects will be selected from amongst these proposals.

This course will help students better understand how psychological science has been used to investigate a broad range of human emotions. During the semester, students will explore questions such as: What are emotions, and how can we study them? How do personal factors, like our culture or gender, influence the emotions we experience and express? Can we regulate our emotions, and what influences our ability to do so? What factors are associated with greater happiness and emotional well-being?

This course covers the basic statistical procedures used by behavioral scientists including: confidence intervals, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and regression.  Although the course will teach students how to calculate relevant statistics, equal emphasis will be placed on the theoretical background that underlies the practice of statistics.  Primary source articles will be discussed to illustrate how statistical inferences yield theoretical conclusions.  Students will learn both how to present data to a scientific community and how to evaluate statistica

An introduction to the nature of psychological inquiry regarding the origins, variability, and change of human behavior. As such, the course focuses on the nature-nurture controversy, the processes associated with cognitive and emotional development, the role of personal characteristics and situational conditions in shaping behavior, and various approaches to psychotherapy.

An introduction to the nature of psychological inquiry regarding the origins, variability, and change of human behavior. As such, the course focuses on the nature-nurture controversy, the processes associated with cognitive and emotional development, the role of personal characteristics and situational conditions in shaping behavior, and various approaches to psychotherapy.

An introduction to the nature of psychological inquiry regarding the origins, variability, and change of human behavior. As such, the course focuses on the nature-nurture controversy, the processes associated with cognitive and emotional development, the role of personal characteristics and situational conditions in shaping behavior, and various approaches to psychotherapy.

A double credit course with department approval. This course is only open to seniors majors who have been accepted in the Political Science Honors program and have departmental approval.

Fall semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Independent research, written work, and oral presentations.

One full course. This course is open only to seniors majors who have been accepted in the Political Science Honors program and have departmental approval.

Fall semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Independent research, written work, and oral presentations.

Independent reading course.

Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Independent research, written work, and oral presentations.