Psychology
Courses
For course descriptions not found in the 2005-2006 General
Catalog, please contact the department for more information.
Lower-Division
Experimental Requirements
Psychology at UCSD is a laboratory science. We are concerned with
the scientific development of knowledge about human and animal behavior
and thought. Accordingly, experience with experimental procedures
plays an important role in the undergraduate and graduate training
of students. All psychology majors must learn experimental methods,
including basic statistical techniques. Students in the Honors Program
must take laboratory courses and also do a year-long undergraduate
thesis.
ATTENTION lower-division students: Students enrolled in
the lower-division psychology courses must serve as experimental
subjects for three hours per course. The requirement is intended
to be a positive educational supplement to the course work. Part
of each experimental session will be devoted to explanation and
discussion of the purpose and nature of the experiment. This usually
will be done at the end of the experimental session. Students always
have the right to discontinue participation at any point in any
study. Students who are unable to participate or who choose not
to participate will be provided alternate service assignments which
are designed to serve similar educational goals.
1. Psychology (4) A comprehensive
series of lectures covering the basic concepts of modern psychology
in the areas of human information processing, learning and memory,
motivation, developmental processes, language acquisition, social
psychology, and personality.
2. General Psychology: Biological Foundations (4) A
survey of physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying
selected areas of human behavior. Emphasis will be upon sensory
processes, especially vision, with emphasis also given to the neuropsychology
of motivation, memory, and attention.
3. General Psychology: Cognitive Foundations (4) This
course is an introduction to the basic concepts of cognitive psychology.
The course surveys areas such as perception, attention, memory,
language, and thought. The relation of cognitive psychology to cognitive
science and to neuropsychology is also covered.
4. General Psychology: Behavioral Foundations (4) This
course will provide a basic introduction to behavioral psychology,
covering such topics as classical conditioning, operant conditioning,
animal learning and motivation, and behavior modification.
6. General Psychology: Social Foundations (4) This
course will provide a basic introduction to social psychology, covering
such topics as emotion, aesthetics, behavioral medicine, person
perception, attitudes and attitude change, and behavior in social
organizations.
60. Introduction to Statistics (4) Introduction
to the experimental method in psychology and to mathematical techniques
necessary for experimental research. Prerequisite: one year mathematics
or consent of instructor.
87. Freshmen Seminar (1) The Freshman
Seminar Program is designed to provide new students with the opportunity
to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small
seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments
and undergraduate colleges, and topics vary from quarter to quarter.
Enrollment is limited to fifteen to twenty students, with preference
given to entering freshmen. Prerequisites: none.
90. Undergraduate Seminar (1) This
seminar introduces the various subdisciplines in psychology and
their research methods, and also explores career and graduate school
opportunities. This includes informal presentations by faculty,
graduate students, and other professionals.
99. Independent Study (2,4) Independent
study or research under direction of a member of the faculty. Prerequisites:
lower-division standing, completion of at least thirty units of
undergraduate study at UCSD with a minimum UCSD GPA of 3.0; completed
and approved Special Studies form.
Upper-Division
101. Introduction to Developmental Psychology (4) A
lecture course on a variety of topics in the development of the
child, including the development of perception, cognition, language,
and sex differences. Prerequisite: Psychology 60
102. Introduction to Sensation and Perception (4) An
introduction to problems and methods in the study of perception
and cognitive processes. Prerequisite: Psychology 60
103. Introduction to Principles of Behavior (4) An
example of the principles of conditioning and their application
to the control and modification of human behavior.
104. Introduction to Social Psychology (4) An
intensive introduction and survey of current knowledge in social
psychology. Prerequisite: Psychology 60
105. Introduction to Cognitive Psychology (4) Introduction
to experimental study of higher mental processes. Topics to be covered
include pattern recognition, perception, and comprehension of language,
memory, and problem solving. Prerequisite: junior standing.
106. Introduction to Physiological Psychology (4) Intensive
introduction to current knowledge of physiological factors in learning,
motivation, perception, and memory.
107. Lab/Substance Abuse Research (4) This
lab course examines theory and research design and methods for
substance
abuse in adolescent adult populations. This course serves as preparation
for individual research topics culminating in a paper.
109. Lab/Applied Behavior Analysis (4) This
course will provide students with hands-on training in the application
of behavioral research technology to a clinical population. Students
will meet weekly for lecture, discussion, research article reviews,
and specific technique training. In addition, students will work
on a research project. Prerequisite: Psychology 199 in the Schreibman
autism laboratory recommended.
110. Juniors Honors Research Seminars (4) Meetings
consist of research seminars by a range of departmental faculty,
exposing students to contemporary research problems in all branches
of experimental psychology. Class discussions will follow faculty
presentations. Evaluation is based on assigned papers. Prerequisites:
admission by application with a minimum UCSD GPA of 3.3. Department
stamp required.
*Application forms are available from the Student Services Office
and due by the end of October of each fall quarter.
111A. Research Methods I (6) Designed
to provide training in the applications of advanced statistical
methods in the context of initial instruction in experimental design.
Emphasis will be placed on the development of statistical problem-solving
skills, practical computer applications, and scientific report writing.
Prerequisites: minimum grade of B in Psychology 60 or equivalent
and junior standing. Open to honors students or consent of instructor.
Department stamp required.
111B. Research Methods II (6) Designed
to extend the material of Psychology 111A. Focusing on the techniques
developed previously. Participate in data collection, data organization,
statistical analysis, and graphic displays, emphasis placed on developing
scientific report writing, presentations, and critical thinking
about experimental methods. Prerequisite: Psychology 111A or
consent of instructor.
114. Laboratory in Psychophysiological Perspectives on
the Social Mind (4) Lab course
on the use of psychophysiological methods to investigate “the
social mind,” or the cognitive and emotional processes involved
in understanding and reacting to other people. Overview of major
research topics and methods applying selected techniques in actual
experiments. Students will engage in developing individual research
questions to actively participate in designing and conducting the
experiments. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
115. Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology (4) Lecture
and laboratory work in human information processing. Prerequisite:
Psychology 105 and 111A-B or consent of instructor.
118A. Real-Time Examination of Language Processing (4) This
lab course examines the design and methods for the real-time examination
of language processing in normal and disordered (aphasic, dyslexic,
child language impaired, etc.) language populations. This course
serves as preparation for individual research topics in Psychology
118B. Prerequisite: a course in language or cognition (see professor
for exceptions).
118B. Real-Time Examination of Language Processing (4) This
lab is a continuation of Psychology 118A. The introduction to
laboratory
methods is now applied to individual research projects culminating
in a lab presentation and paper. Prerequisite: Psychology 118A
or consent of instructor.
119. Psycholinguistics/Cognition Laboratory (4) Methods
and practicum in experimental study of language, reading, and
related
cognitive processes (reasoning, problem solving) in young adult
populations. Prerequisites: Psych 118A-B or consent of instructor.
Department stamp required.
120. Learning and Motivation (4) Survey
of research and theory in learning and motivation. Includes instincts,
reinforcement, stimulus control, choice, aversive control, and human
application. Prerequisites: upper-division standing. Must be
taken concurrently with Psychology 121.
121. Laboratory in Operant Psychology (4) Lecture
and laboratory in operant psychology. Prerequisite: must be taken
concurrently with Psychology 120.
124. Introduction to Clinical Psychology (4) Introduction
to major concepts and models used in psychological assessment and
psychotherapeutic intervention. Several modalities of psychotherapy
(individual, group, and family) will be reviewed along with research
on their efficacy. Prerequisite: Psychology 163.
125. Clinical Neuropsychology and Assessment (4)
A fundamental grounding in basic neuropsychological
principles and assessment methods, neuroanatomical, and cognitive
relationships, with special emphasis on imaging technologies in
diagnosis and prognosis. Neuropsychological testing methods are
discussed in terms of statistical reliability, validity, and applications
to neurologic/psychiatric populations. Prerequisite: Psychology
60.
127. Methods in Applied Social Psychology (4) Emphasizes
learning of experimental and quasi-experimental methodology applicable
to social problems. Students carry out field research in areas such
as the psychology of law (judicial decision-making), traffic-related
behavior (risk taking), environmental psychology, and other areas
of student interest. Prerequisites: Psychology 104 and 60.
129. Logic of Perception (4) Lectures
will cover three topics: 1) tradition of experimental work on perception
that dates back to Hemholtz; 2) discussion and criticisms of theories
of perception; 3) recent physiological work on the visual pathways
that may give us insights into neural mechanisms underlying perception. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
130. Delay of Gratification (4) This
course will review the research on delay of gratification. It will
cover what makes it in general so tough, what situations make it
possible, who can do it, and what the implications of this ability
are. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
131. Personality: Theory and Research (4) Introduction
to major theoretical approaches to the study of personality constructs
and processes. Disturbances in personality development and functioning
will be discussed and illustrated. The social learning theory perspective
will be emphasized relative to other theoretical frameworks. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
132. Hormones and Behavior (4) A
survey of the effects of chmical signals (hormones, neurohormones
and pheromones) on behavior as well as reciprocal effects of behavior
on these chemical systems. Specific topics covered include aggression,
sex and sexuality, feeding, learning, memory and mood. Animal studies
will be emphasized. Prerequisite: Psychology 106 or consent of
insturctor.
133. Circadian Rhythms—Biological Clock (4) Examples
and fundamental properties of the daily biological clock in humans,
animals and microbes. Experimental approaches employed to understand
how organisms keep time and how this applies to human health. Prerequisite:
Psychology 106 or BILD 1 or consent of instructor. This course is
cross-listed with BIMM 116.
134. Eating Disorders (4) This course
will cover the biology and psychology of eating disorders such as
anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Abnormal,
as well as normal eating will be discussed from various perspectives
including endocrinological, neurobiological, psychological, sociological,
and evolutionary. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
135. Animal Behavior (4) Mechanisms
that regulate the behavior of animals, including neural, endocrine,
genetic, and environmental mechanisms, with a strong emphasis on
evolution (natural and sexual selection). Topics include communication,
sociality, mating strategies, and parental behavior. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
136. Cognitive Development (4) Examination
of the foundations and growth of mind, discussing the development
of perception, imagery, concept formation, memory, and thinking,
with emphasis on the presentation of knowledge in infancy and childhood.
Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 110B, Psychology 105 or 101.
137. Social Cognition (4) Social
cognition blends cognitive and social psychology to show
how people make sense of the social world. Social perception, inference,
memory, motivation, and affect, understanding of the self, stereotypes,
and cultural cognition. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
138. Sound and Music Perception (4) Topics
include the physiology of the auditory system, perception and pitch,
loudness and timbre, localization of sound in space, perception
of melodic and temporal patterns, handedness correlates, and musical
illusions and paradoxes. There will be a substantial number of sound
demonstrations. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
139. Social Psychology of Sports (4) This
course focuses on the applications of social psychological principles
and finding to the understanding of sports. Topics include the role
of motivation, level of aspiration, competition, cooperation, social
comparison, and optimal arousal, spectators perspective, motivation
and perceptions of success, streaks, etc. Prerequisite: upper-division
standing or consent of instructor.
140. Lab/Human Behavior (4) Laboratory
on the principles of human behavior, including choice behavior,
self-control, and reasoning. Prerequisites: 120 (may be taken
concurrently); upper-division standing.
141. Evolution and Human Nature (4) Can
important aspects of human behavior be explained as a result of
natural selection? Focus on sex differences, selfishness and altruism,
homicide and violence, and context effects in human reasoning. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing and consent of instructor.
142. Psychology of Consciousness (4) This
course will survey research on consciousness from an experimental
psychology perspective. Special emphasis will be placed on cognitive,
neuro-imaging, and clinical/psychiatric investigative techniques,
and on the scientific assessment of the mind-body problem. Prerequisites:
Recommended Psychology 1 (or equivalent) and 60. Psychology 105
and/or 106 are useful but not necessary.
143. Control and Analysis of Human Behavior (4) An
overview of the behavioral approach including basic principles,
self-control, clinical applications, and the design of cultures.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
144. Memory and Amnesia (4) This
course will review basic research into the nature of memory. It
begins with an examination of historical milestones in the study
of memory and then considers research concerned with contemporary
models of memory and amnesia. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
145. Psychology of Language (4) Introduction
to research on language comprehension and production. Focus on brain
basis of language, language origin and universal structure, language
disorders (aphasia, dyslexia), animal language, linguistic community
differences, and the mental processes underlying normal language
processing. Prerequisite: a course in language, cognition, or
philosophy of mind recommended.
147. Gender (4) This
interactive undergraduate seminar will examine biological approaches
to gender differences and sexuality. Do the biosciences further
our understanding of these issues? How are biological claims embraced
or rebutted by other disciplines? Students will read primary scientific
literature and criticism. Prerequisite: department stamp.
148. Psychology of Judgment and Decision (4) Broadly
defined, the field of judgment and decision making examines preferences
and subjective probability, and how they are combined to arrive
at decisions. The course will cover history and current topics.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing
149. Social Psychology of Theater (4) Exploration
of the relationship between social psychology and drama, focusing
on the use of psychological principles in plays (by playwrights)
and their performance (by directors, actors, and choreographers).
Prerequisite: upper-division standing, major in psychology or
theater, or permission of instructor.
151. Tests and Measurement (4) This
course provides an introduction to psychological testing presented
in three components: 1) psychometrics and statistical methods of
test construction; 2) application of psychological tests in industry,
clinical practice, and other applied settings; and 3) controversies
in the application of psychological tests. Prerequisite: Psychology
60.
152. Conceptions of Intelligence (4) This
course will examine the concept of intelligence from several perspectives:
its historical development, its measure in terms of IQ test, and
its role in practical affairs. Also included will be its role
in
comparative psychology and attempts to analyze intelligence in
terms of more fundamental cognitive processes. Prerequisite:
Psychology 60 or consent of instructor.
153. Psychology of Emotion (4) Past
and current findings and theories on emotion. Facial expressions
of emotions, psychophysiology, evolutionary perspectives, and specific
emotions: anger, fear, and jealousy. Prerequisites: upper-division
standing and Psychology 104, or consent of instructor.
154. Behavior Modification (4) Extension
of learning principles to human behavior, methods of applied behavior
analysis, and applications of behavioral principles to clinical
disorders and to normal behavior in various settings. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
155. Social Psychology and Medicine (4) Explores
areas of health, illness, treatment, and delivery of treatment,
and social psychological perspectives in the medical area. Prerequisite:
Psychology 60 or equivalent and 104.
156. Cognitive Development in Infancy (4) Examines perception
and cognition in the first year of life. Different theories of
cognitive change in infancy will be evaluated. Prerequisite:
Psychology 60 and either Psychology 101 or HDP 1.
157. Happiness (4) This course will
address the psychology of happiness. The discussions and readings,
consisting largely of original research articles. Will explore such
questions as: what is happiness? How do we measure it, and how do
we tell who has it? What is the biology of happiness and what is
its evolutionary significance? What makes people happyyouth,
fortune, marriage, chocolate? Is the pursuit of happiness pointless?
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
158. Interpersonal Relationships (4) Seminar-style course
to examine theories and empirical work pertaining to interpersonal
relationships; attraction, jealousy, attachments,
love. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
159. Physiological Basis of Perception (4) A
survey of sensory and perceptual phenomena and the physiological
mechanisms underlying them. Prerequisite: Psychology 102 or consent
of instructor.
160. Groups (4) Causes and consequences
of gregariousness, stress, validating attitudes, improving efficiency,
consolidating power, permitting loafing, rejecting deviates, and
insulating group members from unpleasant outside influence. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
161. Introduction to Engineering Psychology (4) Surveys
human perceptual and cogntive limitaitons and abilities important
in designing user-friendly computers and devices, improving
aviation and traffic safety, and other engineering challenges.
Topics
include human vision as it bears on display design (including virtual-reality),
short-term memory limitations, learning and practice, effects of
noise and stress, causes of human error and their minimization. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
162. Psychology and the Law (4) Research
dealing with psychological factors in the legal system will be
surveyed. Particular emphasis will be placed on applying psychological
theory and methods to the criminal justice system in an attempt
to understand the behavior of its participants. Prerequisite:
Psychology 60 and 104.
163. Abnormal Psychology (4) Surveys
origins, characteristics and causes of abnormal behavior and the
biological and environmental causes of abnormality. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
164. Mathematical Ideas in Psychology (4) This
course will survey how mathematical ideas have been applied in modeling
psychological processes and in analyzing psychological data. Topics
include signal detection theory, perceptual encoding, scaling techniques,
and neural models of perceptual and cognitive processes. Prerequisite:
Calculus: one quarter, linear algebra desirable.
166. History of Psychology (4) Surveys
major trend and personalities in development of psychological thoughts.
Emphasis given to such topics as mind-body problem, nativism vs.
empiricism, and genesis of behaviorism. Prerequisite: concurrently
enrolled in Honors Thesis 194A-B-C.
167. Social and Emotional Development (4) Focuses
on topics like attachment, moral development, sex roles, self-definition,
and peer interaction. Prerequisite: Psychology 60 and 101.
168. Psychological Disorders of Childhood (4) Explores
different forms of psychological deviance in children (psychosis,
neurosis, mental retardation, language disorders and other behavior
problems). Emphasis on symptomatology, assessment, etiological
factors,
and various treatment modalities. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
169. Brain Damage and Mental Functions (4) Studies
neural mechanisms underlying perception, memory, language, and other
mental capacities. What happens to these capacities when different
parts of the brain are damaged? What can we learn about the normal
brain by studying patients? Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
172. The Psychology of Human Sexuality (4) Important
issues in human sexuality including sex and gender, sexual orientation,
reproductive technology, and sexual dysfunction. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
175. Psychology and the Arts (4) An
interdisciplinary course focusing on theoretical ideas and empirical
research that relate contemporary psychology (social and cognitive,
psychophysiology, motivation and emotion) to issues in various
aesthetic
and artistic domains, as visual arts, music, literature, criticism,
and the performance arts. Prerequisite: upper- division standing;
major in Psychology, Music, Visual Arts, Communications, Theatre,
or Literature,
or permission of instructor.
178. Organizational Psychology (4) Examines
human behavior in industrial and organizational settings. Psychological
principles are applied to selection, placement, and training. The
effectiveness of individuals and groups within organizations, including
leadership and control, conflict and cooperation, motivation, and
organizational structure and design, is examined. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
179. Drugs, Addiction, and Mental Disorders (4) Considers
the use, abuse, liability, and psycho-therapeutic effects of drugs
in humans. Lectures are supplemented by guest lecturers from clinical
experts in psychology and psychiatry. Prerequisite: one lower-division
psychology course (1, 2, 3, or 4) or upper-division standing.
180. Adolescence (4) This course
will adopt a multidisciplinary approach toward understanding the
period of human adolescence. A strong focus on the neurobiological
aspects of adolescence will be combined with psychological, anthropological,
and sociological considerations. Prerequisite: upper-division
standing.
181. Drugs and Behavior (4) Psychological
effects, brain mode of action, patterns of use of psychoactive agents,
including stimulants, sedative/hypnotic, hallucinogens, marijuana,
alcohol, over-the-counter drugs, cognitive enhancers, antianxiety
agents, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and basic principles in
psychopharmacology. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
182. Illusions and the Brain (4) This
course explores the bases of illusions in terms of perceptual and
cognitive principles, and the underlying brain mechanisms; extensive
demonstrations are included. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
184. Choice and Self-Control (4) Experimental
analysis of choice behavior, with an emphasis on the types of choice
involved in self-control. Focus on conditions under which decision-making
is optimal. Prerequisite: upper-division students in psychology,
biology, economics, or consent of instructor.
185. Applied Developmental Psychology (4) This
seminar course deals with how developmental psychologists conduct
scientific studies that have direct practical implications for
children’s
well-being. Major issues to be discussed are: child witnesses,
literacy, school violence, impact of media on child development,
and developmental
psychopathology. Prerequisite: upper-division standing and
Psychology 101.
186. Psychology and Social Policy (4) This
course will examine social policy issues from the psychological
point of view. Each social policy issue will be discussed in a descriptive
manner and will include (with student input) an array of both pro
and con arguments. The psychological (behavioral) assumptions in
the pro and con arguments will then be identified and the empirical
evidence for these assumptions will be analyzed. Prerequisite:
Psychology 60 and 104.
187. Development of Social Cognition (4) This
course will examine reasoning about people from a developmental
perspective. Topics will include emotional understanding, achievement
motivation, peer relations, social categories, and culture. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing. Department stamp required.
188. Impulse Control Disorders (4) Problems
of impulse control are important features of major psychiatric disorders
but also of atypical impulse control disorder such as: pathological
gambling, compulsive sex, eating, exercise, shopping. Focus: development,
major common features, treatment, and neurobiological basis of impulse
control disorders. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
189. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution A survey of natural
behaviors, including birdsong, prey capture, localization, electro-reception,
and echo-location, and the neural
systems that control them, emphasizing broad fundamental relationships
between brain and behavior across species. Prerequisites:
Psychology 103 and 106, or permission of instructor. 194A-B-C. Honors Thesis (4-4-4) Students
will take part in a weekly research seminar. In addition, they will
plan and carry out a three-quarter research project under the guidance
of a faculty member. The project will form the basis of the senior
honors thesis. Prerequisite: acceptance to the Honors Program
in the junior year (110A-B) (GPA 3.3), in addition one laboratory
course (114-127) or two 199s which culminate in a research paper
(by petition only) and Psychology 110, 111A-B and consent of instructor.
195. Instruction in Psychology (4) Introduction
to teaching a class section in a lower-division psychology course,
hold office hours, assist with examinations and grading (P/NP grades
only). This course counts only once towards the major. Prerequisite:
junior or senior psychology major with GPA of 3.0 or an A in the
course and consent of instructor.
196 A-B-C Research Seminar (4-4-4) Weekly
research seminar, three quarter research project under faculty guidance
which culminates in a thesis. Prerequisite: one laboratory course,
3.3. GPA , and/or consent of instructor.
199. Independent Study (2 or 4) Independent
study or research under direction of a member of the faculty. Prerequisite:
GPA 2.5 and 90 units completed. (P/NP grades only.) Not counted
for credit towards the major. See Section on 199 information.
2XX. Graduate Seminar We encourage
Juniors and Seniors meeting the suggested criteria of an overall
3.0 GPA to enroll in Graduate Seminars. Check the schedule of classes
and contact the Student Affairs Office on how to enroll.
Graduate
201A-B-C. Quantitative Methods in Psychology (4-4-4) An
intensive course in statistical methods and the mathematical treatment
of data, with special reference to research in psychology. Prerequisite:
restricted to graduate students in psychology.
204. Neurobiology of Social Development (4) The
goal of this class is to acquaint students with research on the
neurological underpinnings of social and social cognitive development.
Students will be expected to become familiar with the existing research
in the area, and to understand the neural structures that comprise
the limbic system, and their developmental timecourse. Students
will be expected to form hypotheses about the neural correlates
of aspects of social development based upon an understanding of
the development of structures involved in social behavior.
206. Mathematical Modeling (4) This
course is designed to teach the basics of mathematical modeling.
Topics include when, why, and how to use signal detection theory
(an essential theory for anyone interested in attention, perception,
memory, or decision making), how to analyze reaction time distributions
(instead of simply measuring mean RT), how to engage in the fine
art of model comparison, and how to avoid creating models that are
more complex than the data they seek to explain.
208. Seminar on Hormones and Behavior (4) A
survey of the affects of chemical signals (hormones, neurohormones,
and pheromones) on behavior as well as reciprocal effects of behavior
on these chemical systems. Specific topics covered include aggression,
sex and sexuality, feeding, learning, memory and mood. Animal studies
will be emphasized.
209. Topics in Judgment and Decision Making (3) This
seminar examines issues in the psychology of judgment and decision
making. Topics include the heuristics and biases approach, over
confidence, framing effects, intertemporal choice, and rationality.
210. Skill Acquisition and Development of Expertise (4) The
course examines the transition from novice to highly skilled performance
and the transfer of that skill to novel problems and contexts. Emphasis
will be on information processing accounts of learning and performance
for relatively simple cognitive tasks.
211. The Development of Social Cognition (3) This
seminar will cover the development of concepts about people. Topics
include emotional understanding, theory of mind, trait
thinking, social categories, psychological essentialism, achievement
motiva- tion, and social and cultural influences on person perception.
212. Current Topics in Visual Science (3) Each
year a different topic in visual science is selected for in-depth
review and discussion based on current readings. Prerequisite:
consent of instructor.
213. Professional Procedures and Survival in Psychology (3) This
course provides a forum for presentation and discussion of the basic
issues associated with surviving in a professional (particularly,
academic) psychology environment. It covers such issues as: 1) how
to get a job; 2) how to keep a job; 3) general issues in professional
survival. The course will include the presence of a number of the
psychology faculty in topic specific areas (e.g., journal editors
from our faculty; faculty sitting on grant review panels, etc.).
The issue of ethics will be examined and discussed relative to each
topic raised.
214. Applied Developmental Psychology (4) This
seminar deals with how developmental psychologists conduct scientific
studies that have direct practical implications for children’s
well-being. Major issues to be discussed are: child witnesses, literacy,
school violence, impact of media on child development, and developmental
psychopathology.
215. Language Acquisition (4) Discussion
of the acquisition of language by young children, including such
topics as its stages, mechanisms, and relation to nonlinguistic
development.
217A. Proseminar in Developmental Psychology I (3) The
course examines cognitive development through the school-age period.
It begins with an examination of early neurological, sensory, motor,
and perceptual functions and then focuses on issues in linguistic
and cognitive development.
217B. Proseminar in Developmental Psychology II (3) The
course examines social and personality development from infancy
through early adolescence. The class will first discuss general
developmental theory and methods and then topics such as attachment,
temperament, self-concept, aggression, family relations, play, and
peers.
218A-B. Cognitive Psychology (3-3) A
two-quarter survey of basic principles and concepts of cognitive
psychology. This course is intended to serve as the basic introduction
for first-year students. Basic areas include knowledge, memory,
thought, perception, and performance. The areas are taught by faculty
members who work within the specialty. Prerequisite: graduate
status in psychology or consent of instructor.
219. Proseminar in Learning and Motivation (3) An
overview of the experimental and applied analysis of behavior including
topics such as the principles of operant and classical conditioning,
stimulus control, choice, conditioned reinforcement, aversive control,
biological and economic contexts, verbal behavior, and the modification
of human behavior in a variety of applied settings.
220. Proseminar in Social Psychology (3) An
introduction to social psychology. Psychology and the law, health
psychology, attitudes, emotions, person perception and aggression
are some of the topics to be covered.
221. Proseminar in Sensation and Perception (3) Fundamentals
of vision, audition, and other senses. Emphasis will be upon psychophysical
approaches to the study of these sensory modalities, as well as
some essential aspects of their neurophysiological bases.
222. Biological Psychology (3) A
survey of the functional neuroanatomical, neurodevelopmental, neurophysiological,
and pharmacological correlates of psychological phenomena.
223. Advanced Topics in Vision (4) An
in-depth analysis of empirical and theoretical issues in a specialized
area of vision or visual perception. Emphasis most likely will be
on a topic of ongoing vision research at UCSD. Prerequisite:
Psychology 212 or special consent of instructor.
224. Parental Behavior: Evolution and Mechanisms (4) This
course will broadly address evolutionary, endo-crine, psychological,
and neurobiological aspects of parental behavior. Topics will include
the social/environmental factors which promote parental care, the
role of steroid and peptide hormones in parental care, and the evolutionary
forces that promote different patterns of paternal and maternal
investment in young. Prerequisite: a basic understanding of brain
function.
225. Topics in Neural Timing (4) This
seminar will introduce fundamentals in chronobiology research and
then address specific problems in greater detail. Proposed topics
include oscillator coupling, masking, circannual rhythms, photoperiodism,
and non-photic influences on circadian rhythms. The seminar will
read classic and contemporary literature.
226. Color Appearance Models: Cognition and Perception (3) This
course covers color appearance models (e.g., CIE models, OSA, etc.)
and their use in perception and cognition research. Emphasis will
be given to the theories underlying color appearance spaces; the
derivation and interpretation of corresponding metrics;
color-difference tolerances; plausible linking propositions for
color models and neurophysiology; and the ways these models are
used in psychological and psychophysical experimentation.
227. Gender and Development (4) Topics
will include methodology, gender differences, culture, the development
of knowledge of sex roles, stereotype formation, gender as a social
category, and the role of gender in peer relationships, family relationships,
and achievement motivation. Gender development will be approached
from different perspectives within psychology, including developmental,
cognitive, and social. The course will draw from areas outside of
psychology, including anthropology and sociology.
228. Conceptions of Intelligence (3) This
course surveys major issues in the study of intelligence. Issues
to be considered are the structure of intelligence, its heritability,
and significance for real-world behavior. Special emphasis will
be given to accounts of intelligence based on elementary processes.
229. Happiness (4) This course will
address the psychology of happiness. The discussions and readings,
consisting largely of original research articles, will explore such
questions as: What is happiness? How do we measure it, and how do
we tell who has it? What is the biology of happiness and what is
its evolutionary significance? What makes people happyyouth,
fortune, marriage, chocolate? Is the pursuit of happiness pointless?
233A. Topics in Learning and Motivation (3) Advanced
topics in learning and motivation, with special emphasis on current
research. Prerequisite: Psychology 210.
234. Memory and Amnesia (3) This
course traces the history of research into animal and human short-term
memory. Classic models, current viewpoints, and their attendant
epistemological presuppositions will be considered. The relationship
between empirical analyses of memory in animals and humans will
also be reviewed.
236. Substance Abuse (3) Theory and
research on the development, progression, and resolution of substance
use and abuse will be reviewed and evaluated. Normal and abnormal
patterns of substance involvement will be contrasted across the
life span.
237. Human Rationality (4) The traditional
view of rationality is based upon abstract, content-independent
rules for behavior. People sometimes violate these rules in a laboratory
setting, but the violations are often systematic and appear to reflect
adaptation to the environment outside the laboratory. Such findings
raise questions about what it means to be rational. Readings will
be empirically oriented and cover the areas of deductive reasoning,
inductive reasoning, and choice.
239. Psychology of Sport (3) This
seminar will focus on the applications of social psychological principles
and findings to the understanding of sports.
241. Groups (4) This course examines
the role of groups in buffering stress, validating attitudes, improving
efficiency, consolidating power, permitting loafing, rejecting deviates,
and insulating its members from unpleasant outside influence. Prerequisite:
consent of instuctor.
242A-B-C. Research Topics in Developmental Psychology (4-4-4) Advanced
seminar concentrating on methods of research and current experimental
literature. May be taken by undergraduate senior majors concurrently
enrolled in Psychology 194. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
(S/U grades permitted.)
243. Sound and Music Perception (3) This
course will deal with anatomy and physiology of the ear, central
auditory pathways, and neurological disorders of sound and music
perception.
244. Special Topics in Psycholinguistics (4) Discussion
of the psychological reality of grammatical models, competence versus
performance, learnability and innateness in theories of language
acquisition, and questions of autonomy of modularity
of grammatical versus semantic processing. Studies of lexical accessing,
sentence comprehension, sentence production, and acquisition will
all be considered, as well as some recent work in aphasia.
245. Aphasia (4) Research and theory
on language breakdown in brain-damaged adults is surveyed. Topics
include an historical overview from linguistics, psycholinguistics,
and neuroscience (especially brain imaging techniques). Credit may
not be received for both Psychology 245 and Cognitive Science 251.
247. Neuroendocrinology of Social Variation (4) Students
will read and discuss primary literature on the general topic of
how steroid and peptide hormones contribute to the production of
social variation and diversity. This diversity includes seasonal
variation, intersexual variation, and divergence between species
in patterns of sociality and space use, pair-bonding and mating
tactics, aggression, and use of communication signals.
249A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Applied Behavior Analysis (3-3-3) Research
and discussion on selected topics in applied behavior analysis.
251. Advanced Topics in Learning and Motivation (3) Weekly
meetings for graduate students actively engaged in research on conditioning.
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
252. Seminar on Cognitive Neuroscience (3) This
is a series of weekly seminars on current trends in neuropsychology.
The seminars will deal with the concept of localization
of function in different parts of the brain and the effects of damage
to these parts on cognitive functions such as perception, memory
and language. Active student participation will be encouraged in
preparing these seminars
253. Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroimaging (4) This
seminar in cognitive neuroscience focuses on modern approaches to
cognitive psychology as revealed through cognitive neuroimaging.
A major goal of the course is to evaluate what (if anything) neuroimaging
evidence has added to classic cognitive models/evidence in major
areas of cognition (working memory, categorization, executive processes,
decision-making, emotion, and memory).
254. Functional Brain Imaging (3) Principles
of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human brain, focusing
on recently developed techniques for brain activation on mapping.
Includes principles of NMR and imaging, anatomic MRI, and a detailed
survey of functional imaging techniques and data analysis.
255A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Biological Psychology (3-3-3) Research
and discussion on selected topics in biological psychology.
258. Delay of Gratification (3) This
course will review the research on delay of gratification. We will
cover what makes it in general so tough, what situations make it
possible, who can do it, and what the implications of this ability
are. We will draw from research in social, personality, and animal
psychology as well as economics.
259. Social Psychology/Psycho-aesthetics (3) This
course will be an intensive examination of social psychology (legal
decision-making, emotion, aggressive behavior) and the psychology
of visual art and music (psycho-aesthetics).
260. Cognitive Subcultures: Methodologies and Analysis
(3) Several methods of systematic data
collection (e.g., judged similarity, paired comparisons, direct
scaling) and analysis (e.g., consensus modeling, principal components
analysis, multidimensional scaling) are explored in a hands-on computer
lab and reading seminar. The ways in which these methodologies and
data handling techniques bear upon basic research issues in psychology
will be illustrated, and differences in data structures arising
from qualitative variation in subjects will be explored.
261. Proseminar in History of Psychology (3) This
course will consider the intellectual context in the nineteenth
century from which psychology developed as an independent discipline.
Emphasis will be on early German psychology and evolutionary theory.
The second part of the course will consider the histories of different
areas of psychology (e.g., behavioral, cognitive).
262. Functional Construction of the Vertebrate Brain’s
Social Behavior Network (4) The
vertebrate brain contains a network of strongly interconnected structures
that play essential roles in the regulation of social behavior.
In this seminar we will read and discuss primary literature that
details the structure and behavioral functions of this network.
263. Psychopharmacology (3) This
course will explore the basic neuropharmacological mechanism of
action of the major classes of drugs, including neuroleptics, stimulants,
anti-depressants, minor and major tranquilizers, and sedative hypnotics.
It will focus on the use of behavioral techniques for evaluating
the neural mechanisms by which these drugs act.
264A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Language Processes (4-4-4) Research
and discussion on selected topics in language processes.
267A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Behavior Medicine (3-3-3) Research
and discussion on selected topics in behavior medicine.
268A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Experimental Psychopathology (3-3-3) Research
and discussion on selected topics in experimental psychopathology.
269A-B-C. Advanced Topics in Sound & Music Perception (3-3-3) Research
and discussion on selected topics in sound and music perception.
270A-B-C. Introduction to Laboratory Experimentatoin (1-4) A
basic laboratory course, designed to introduce first-year graduate
students to experimental methods in psychology. The student will
select a research topic, do a thorough literature review of the
area, design and carry out new, original studies of problems in
the selected area, and prepare a final formal report of the study
at the end of the spring quarter. This course is required of all
first-year graduate students in the department. Prerequisite:
first-year psychology graduate students only.
272. Selected Topics in Cognitive Psychology (3) An
in-depth analysis of selected empirical and theoretical topics in
cognitive psychology. The course will focus on areas where notable
progress appears to be taking place in contemporary research.
280. Seminar in Communication and Information Processing (1) (S/U
grades only.)
296. Research Practicum (1-12) Research
in psychology under supervision of individual staff members. (S/U
grades only.) (F,W,S)
298. Library Research (1-12) Reports
and surveys of the literature on selected topics. Prerequisite:
graduate students in psychology. (S/U grades only.) (F,W,S)
299. Independent Research (1-12) Independent
research and thesis research. (S/U grades only.) (F,W,S)
500. Apprentice Teaching (4) Required
teaching practicum for students enrolled in graduate program in
psychology. One four-unit course per year for four years. (S/U grades
only.)
Psychology Courses
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