Psychology of Women

A multicultural feminist analysis of women's lives around the world. Emphasizing the diversity of women's experience across ethnicity, social class, and sexuality, this course examines existing psychological theory and research on women. In the fall, the course will have a strong international emphasis.

Theories of Personality

How do theorists' ideas about personality relate to their own life experiences? Does the gender of a theorist affect the claims they make about women's and men's personalities? Autobiographical writings of key theorists (Freud, Jung, Horney, Deutsch) are read in conjunction with their classic works, with an eye toward exploring how people are similar to, and different from, one another and how childhood experiences shape adult behavior.

Abnormal Psych: Disorders

This course will provide an overview of psychological disorders and research on the etiology and treatment of these disorders. The course will consider and evaluate the concept of 'abnormality' with particular emphasis on intersections of mental health and disorders with culture, race, class, and gender.

Developmental Psychology

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.

Educational Psychology

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.

Cognitive Psychology

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.

Animal Behavior

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.

Lab: Qualitative Methods

This course offers a hands-on introduction to methods of psychological research that focus on the qualitative description and analysis of human experience. Students learn a variety of techniques of data collection (interviewing, intensive observation, archival research) and methods of analyzing textual sources -- from historical accounts to blogs, memoirs, observational narratives, and interview transcripts.
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