Courses and Syllabi
We offer a variety of courses every semester. We provide the information below to assist with course and degree planning. Courses are not offered every semester and some might be offered only every few years. Please consult with an advisor if you have questions about the frequency of courses. Past syllabi can be viewed by going to a past semester in the Howdy schedule, and searching for PSYC courses - all courses offered in that semester, and their syllabus, can be seen there. The syllabus will change every semester and with every instructor, but the past syllabi can give you an idea of what the course will involve. Current syllabi are available in the first week of classes through the HOWDY system.| Course Number | Course Name | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBSI 107 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 | Introductory course dealing with elementary principles of human behavior. |
| PBSI 206 | Black Psychology | 3 | Critical examination of psychological experience, theories, and methods from perspectives grounded in the “Black experience.” |
| PBSI 208 | Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Minority Experience | 3 | Overview of theory and research relating to stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and minority experiences from a social psychological perspective. |
| PBSI 209 | Psychology of Culture and Diversity | 3 | Introduction to various issues surrounding an increasingly interconnected and globalized world by critically examining the dynamic relationship between psychological processes and diverse (e.g., motivation, memory, self, prejudice) socio-cultural contexts. |
| PBSI 210 | Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality | 3 | Interface between human sexuality, reproductive development, and gender roles across the lifespan; theoretical and research literature promotes understanding of hormonal influences, learning processes, cultural differences, sexual response, and love and attraction. |
| PBSI 251 | Survey of Industrial/Organizational Psychology | 3 | Literature and research in the basic theories and practices of I/O psychology including selection, testing, job analysis, performance appraisal, training, employee motivation, job satisfaction, leadership, and group processes within organizations. |
| PBSI 285 | Directed Studies | 0-3 | Directed readings or research problems in selected areas designed to supplement existing course offerings. |
| PBSI 289 | Special Topics | 1-4 | Selected topics in an identified area of psychology. |
| PBSI 291 | Research | 0-3 | Research conducted under the supervision of a chosen faculty member in the department of psychology; involves discussion and weekly presentation of student research projects. |
| PBSI 300 | Psychology of Women | 3 | Theoretical and research literature relevant to psychological assumptions about the female personality. How these assumptions are being questioned or verified by recent experimental studies. |
| PBSI 301 | Elementary Statistics for Psychology | 4 | Practical knowledge of statistics up through analysis of variance. Practice sessions devoted to numerical problems. Will not satisfy mathematics requirement in College of Liberal Arts curricula. |
| PBSI 302 | Research Methods and Design in Psychology | 4 | Research techniques in psychology with emphasis on the experimental method; laboratory exercises applied to specific problems in psychology. |
| PBSI 303 | Psychology of Women of Color | 3 | Interdisciplinary theories to study the unique yet intersectional experiences of women from different racial groups, ethnicities, nationalities and cultural backgrounds; scholarly research from the diversity science field; contemporary topics that have developed in a global context; examination of complex issues, which affect women of color across the lifespan. |
| PBSI 304 | Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity | 3 | The relationship of psychology to sport; topics include history, application of learning principles, social psychology, personality variables, psychological assessment, youth sport, women in sport, the psychology of coaching, sports law and ethics. |
| PBSI 305 | Psychology of Adjustment | 3 | Adjustment problems of normal people; application of psychological principles to family, school and community life. |
| PBSI 306 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 | Survey of behavior pathology; functional and organic psychoses, psychoneurosis, character disorders, psychophysiological disorders, alcohol and drug addiction and mental retardation; therapeutic and diagnostic methods. |
| PBSI 307 | Developmental Psychology | 3 | Growth and development of normal child from infancy to adolescence with emphasis on elementary school years. |
| PBSI 311 | Psychology of Animal Behavior | 3 | Problems, principles, and methods of animal psychology; animal learning, motivation, discriminative processes and abnormal, social and instinctual behaviors. |
| PBSI 315 | Social Psychology | 3 | Social psychological variables operating on the individual; results of experimental laboratory findings; interaction of personality and social behavior. |
| PBSI 319 | History and Systems of Psychology | 3 | Historical analysis of pre-scientific psychology in philosophy and physiology through the period of the psychological “schools.” |
| PBSI 320 | Sensation-Perception | 3 | Review of sensory physiology, sensory and perceptual phenomena and the major perceptual theories; current research in the field. |
| PBSI 323 | Psychology of Adolescence | 3 | Psychological problems of normal teenage individual; ways and means of aiding youth to meet these problems constructively. |
| PBSI 330 | Personality | 3 | Review of personality theories, techniques of assessment and research relevant to understanding individual differences. |
| PBSI 331 | Social Neuroscience | 3 | Integration of biological and psychological explanations of social behavior; recent research and theories in social neuroscience; emotion, motivation, aggression, face processing, empathy, social cognition, and social relationships. |
| PBSI 332 | Neuroscience of Learning and Memory | 3 | Brain mechanisms of learning and memory from molecular to behavioral levels; synaptic plasticity, model systems, multiple memory systems, diseases of learning and memory. |
| PBSI 333 | Biology of Psychological Disorders | 3 | Neurobiology and clinical explanation of molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders and their drug treatments; depression and bipolar, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychosis and schizophrenia. |
| PBSI 335 | Physiological Psychology | 3 | Physiological bases of sensation, motor functions, emotion, motivation and complex psychological processes. |
| PBSI 336 | Drugs and Behavior | 3 | Physiological, pharmacological and behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs, including short-term and longterm effects of psychoactive drugs, properties of addictive drugs, etiology of addiction, and treatments of drug addiction and withdrawal. |
| PBSI 340 | Psychology of Learning | 3 | Survey of significant concepts, experimental methods and principles of learning. |
| PBSI 345 | Human Cognitive Processes | 3 | Human cognition and information processing: perception, attention, memory, reasoning and problem solving; experimental methods and data, and contemporary theories of human cognition. |
| PBSI 346 | Psychology of Language | 3 | Examines theories of how language is acquired, comprehended, produced, stored and used in normal and brain-impaired individuals. |
| PBSI 350 | Cognitive Neuroscience | 3 | Research in cognitive neuroscience; methodological advances that enable the study of the human brain safely in the laboratory; complex aspects of the mind like emotion, social behavior and consciousness. |
| PBSI 352 | Organizational Psychology | 3 | Literature and research in basic theories and practices of organizational psychology including employee motivation, leadership, job satisfaction, counterproductive work behaviors, organizational commitment, culture, climate, communication, and group processes within organizations. |
| PBSI 353 | Personnel Psychology | 3 | Literature and research in basic theories and practices of personnel psychology including job analysis, testing and validation, selection, performance appraisal, training, and legal issues in employment decision making. |
| PBSI 354 | Conflict and Negotiation | 3 | Examination of the field of conflict and negotiation, including the structure and causes of common interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflicts, effective negotiation strategies, ethics, mediation, and the development of negotiating skills. |
| PBSI 360 | Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine | 3 | Health psychology emphasizing behavioral and lifestyle factors in health and illness, prevention and modification of health-compromising behaviors, health care utilization, and psychological management of chronic disorders and psychological management of chronic disorders and terminal illnesses. |
| PBSI 365 | Psychology of Aging | 3 | Examination of the psychological aspects of the aging process including physiology and health, memory and intellectual functioning, personality and social relationships, emotional health and late life transition. |
| PBSI 371 | Forensic Psychology | 3 | Interface between psychology and the legal system; role of psychological theories and data, as well as mental health expertise, in the resolution of criminal trials and civil disputes; legal system’s impact on the practice of psychology. |
| PBSI 407 | Behavioral Disorders of Children | 3 | Behavior problems related to childhood; psychological aspects of mental retardation, emotional disturbance, physical handicaps and other disorders; causative factors, preventative and therapeutic methods explored; where feasible, practical experience included as requirement. |
| PBSI 411 | Psychology of Self | 3 | Overview of psychological theory and research on issues related to the self, the self-concept and identity, and how these phenomena are integral to the human experience and to mental health and well-being. |
| PBSI 414 | Behavior Principles | 3 | Behavioral analysis of humans’ complex interactions with their environments: how behavioral repertories are constructed during maturation process; how existent behaviors are strengthened, weakened or eliminated; and how features of environment exercise control over behavioral components within a repertory. |
| PBSI 432 | Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations | 3 | Psychological and organizational theory and research on the experience of diversity and inclusion in organizations. |
| PBSI 440 | Hormones and Behavior | 3 | Principles of hormones and the endocrine system; relationships among hormones, the nervous system and a variety of behaviors in vertebrates including humans |
| PBSI 450 | Clinical Psychology | 3 | Analysis of the field of clinical psychology with a particular focus on the theoretical and scientific bases for the practice of clinical psychology. |
| PBSI 470 | Psychological Testing and Measurement | 3 | Theories and techniques of measurement of psychological concepts; a range of measurement models and procedures; critical tasks of evaluating strategies for measuring psychological concepts and drawing inferences and interpretations from commonly used psychological assessments. |
| PBSI 484 | Field Experiences | 0-6 | Participation in an approved mental health, mental retardation, school, industrial or other approved setting; field experiences supervised by an appropriate professor within an area of student interest; course requirements vary with the setting, the supervising professor and the needs of the individual student. May be repeated for credit. |
| PBSI 485 | Directed Studies | 0-3 | Directed readings or research problems in selected areas designed to supplement existing course offerings. May be repeated for credit. |
| PBSI 489 | Special Topics | 1-4 | Selected topics in an identified area of psychology. May be repeated for credit. |
| PBSI 491 | Research | 0-3 | Research conducted under the supervision of a chosen faculty member in the department of psychology; involves discussion and presentation of student research projects. May be repeated for credit. |