Gender/Sexual Minority Health

This course is a critical overview and investigation of health as it relates to the experiences of gender and sexual minority people. We will begin with exploring theoretical understandings of health and marginalization, and use those as frameworks to examine various domains of health. Areas of interest will include mental health, sexual and reproductive health, substance use, disability, and issues related to body size and image. We will end by looking at other structural issues that affect gender and sexual minority health, such as access to care, health education, and health policy.

Sem: Counseling Theory/Pract.

This course covers three major theoretical approaches to counseling: short-term psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused. Related to each theory we will explore case conceptualization, therapeutic alliance, treatment planning, and mechanisms of change. We will be examining applications to classes of clinical disorders and empirical support for improvement outcomes. Role-playing will be used to illustrate key concepts and approaches to the counseling process.

Sem: Stress and Neuroticism

This course will explore the relationship between personality and the stress response, in particular, the role of neuroticism in this relationship and its association with health. In particular, we will explore the personality dimensions that play a role in the stress response, the types of stressors and its implication on health, and the techniques to reduce both psychological and physiological stress.

Lab: Early Child Learning/Dev

This course will explore child development in the context of early childhood education. The course will cover topics related to early childhood learning and development including cognition, language and literacy, social-emotional development, and personality development while considering how the early education context supports these developmental processes. Discussion of the early education setting will include the teacher-child relationship, family-school relationships, and curriculum.

Sem in Educ Psych: Motivation

In this course we will examine multiple theories of motivation and their relevance across a range of organizational settings (including corporations, special programs, and schools or colleges). How do we spark interest in a new subject or inspire people to undertake a challenging project? How do we sustain persistence in ourselves and others? This course is relevant for students interested in motivation, whether for attainment (such as within in human resources, talent development, or management) or for learning (whether for students, teachers, or leaders).

Sem: Dev. Language Literacy

This course explores how home and school learning environments influence the development of language and literacy skills of children ages 3-8. It examines situations in which families and schools, although utilizing different languages, dialects, and ways of communicating, can work together to enhance children's language learning. Particular attention is given to children's development of academic language -- the written and spoken language needed to understand and create texts required for success in school.

Lab in Cognitive: Speech

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.

Sem in Cog: Imagination

Our memory systems enable us to imagine things that have never happened or that haven't happened yet. Imagination allows us to flexibly plan for our futures and take new perspectives on our past. As a result, our capacity for imagination contributes to our personal identities and goals as well as our shared sense of history and collective action. In this course, we will investigate imagination and constructive memory processes by discussing and interacting with texts from psychology, neuroscience, history, and documentary.

Sem: Brain Plasticity

How is the brain shaped by our environment? How do everyday experiences affect how we process and experience the world? This course explores the mechanisms of plasticity within the brain from conception through adulthood and the factors that influence them. The course will include topics such as the effects of environmental toxins on the brain, reorganization of the brain following injury, how traumatic events impact neurotransmitter systems, and how these changes affect behavior. In doing so this course will cover developmental, structural, functional and chemical plasticity.

Sem in Psychological Research

This seminar is for students who are completing an honors thesis. The primary purpose of this course is to provide students with constructive support during all stages of their research. In particular, this class will assist students with organizing the various components of their thesis work and help them meet departmental thesis deadlines.
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