'This course presents an overview of laboratory methods in cognitive psychology, including: research design, methodology, data analysis, and statistical inference. We will explore these issues through the lens of human communication; specifically, speech. Students will design and complete a research project in which they record and analyze speech to explore questions about how meaning is expressed through spoken language.'

'In the role of a participant-observer, each student studies intensively the social and personality development of the children in one classroom at the Gorse Children's Center at Stonybrook. Students learn how to articulate developmental changes and individual differences by analyzing detailed observations. Topics include social cognition, peer relationships, social skills, concepts of friendship, emotional development, identity formation, self-esteem, and the social and cultural context of development.'

'Students will work in teams to code videotaped observations of romantic conflict discussions. Students will learn to code emotion expressions,conflict engagement and resolution strategies, attachment behaviors, and relationship quality at both the dyadic and individual levels. Students will also write their own coding scales to apply to these observations. Issues of coding bias, construct validity, and intercoder reliability will be addressed.

'Adoption has become a common way to create families in the United States and many other countries. The experience of adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families raise many questions about family relationships, identities, and community membership. In this course we will look how adoption has been studied, with a particular focus on the experiences of adoptees and their adoptive parents. Students will develop research questions, consider different methods and related ethical issues, and analyze survey and interview data.'

'This course is an introduction to research methods in abnormal and personality psychology. Students will work as a class to collect data using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Students will be expected to collect survey- and questionnaire-based data as well as engage in some interviewing projects. We will consider the various stages of research including literature review, design, ethical considerations, data collection, and analysis (qualitative and quantitative), and consider the statistical inference or implications of our findings.

'Examines the development, causal mechanisms, evolutionary history, and function of the behavior of animals. Topics include sensory capacities, predator evasion, reproduction, parental care, social behavior, and learning.'

'Why is it that some people, mostly men, cannot distinguish red socks from green ones? Why does the moon on the horizon appear larger than when it is overhead? How do Magic Eye pictures work? Why does the Mona Lisa's smile seem so elusive? This course addresses such questions by examining biological and psychological studies of the visual and auditory systems. Among the topics we will explore are object recognition; color vision; the perception of depth, size, and movement; the effects of experience on perception; sound localization; and the perception of pitch.'

'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 at Stonybrook.'

'Are children in crisis? Is there an epidemic of mental health disorders within children and adolescents? This course will consider the prevalence, development, and classification of psychological syndromes of childhood and their impact on children, adolescents, families, schools and communities. Attention will be played to theories and research on the causes of childhood disorders and distress. We will also consider how 'abnormality' differs from 'normalcy' and how disorders of childhood differ from adult disorders.