Cognition encompasses a range of phenomena that define our mental lives. This course considers empirical investigations and theoretical accounts of cognitive issues, including learning and memory, creativity and problem solving, decision making, attention, consciousness, and language.

What do we learn? How do we learn? Why do we learn? In this course, we will study issues of learning, teaching, and motivation that are central to educational psychology. We will explore the shifting paradigms within educational psychology, multiple subject matter areas, (dis)continuities between classroom and home cultures, students' prior experiences, teachers as learners, ethnic and gender identity in the classroom, and learning in out-of-school settings. Requires a prepracticum in a community-based setting.

Examines changes in cognitive, social, and;emotional functioning, including theory and;research that illuminate some central issues in;characterizing these changes: the relative;contributions of nature and nurture, the;influence of the context on development,;continuity versus discontinuity in development,;and the concept of stage. Includes observations;at the Gorse Children's Center.

This course surveys the psychological field of;abnormal psychology. We will explore historical;foundations, theories, research, assessment, and;treatment as they relate to diagnoses included in;the American Psychiatric Association's;Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental;Disorders, Fifth Edition . Throughout the;course, we will critically examine the concept of;abnormality and its intersection with societal;and cultural contexts.

How do individuals differ and how are they the same? What factors shape the development of our personalities? This course will introduce students to some of the major psychological theories of and approaches to understanding personality. We will critically examine theory and research on traits, genetics, neuroscience, self and identity, intrapsychic perspectives, regulation and motivation, and cognition, integrating these views into a more complete understanding of personality.