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Course Spotlight

culture word collage
Psychology and Culture

Psychology 247- Offered Spring, 2017 with Dr. Shannon Lupien

Given the increasing rate of intercultural contact through the media, technological advances in communication, and of face-to-face contact, an appreciation of human behavior as it develops and is understood within diverse cultures is essential. 
This course will explore how culture influences human thought and behavior. For example, students will explore to what extent are our identities and ways of thinking common across the different cultures in our world and to what extent are they unique to our own cultural environments and experiences. In order to thoroughly examine this, the course will include such topics as development, morality, emotion, cognition, mental health and treatment, relationships and attraction, and gender conceptualizations within a multicultural context. Through classroom discussion, students will learn to consider how culture has shaped their own personal experiences and beliefs as well as develop an application of why certain cultures engage in specific behaviors and belief systems. 
behavior
Behavioral Modification

Psychology 316  Offered Spring 2017 with Dr. Joy Hanna

Behaviors are both overt (visible) and covert (private or internal) things that people say or do.  As humans, we engage in a wide range of behaviors, from getting dressed in the morning, to moving our fingers to create a text message, worrying about getting sick, feeding a baby, taking notes in class, dancing at a club, and sleeping for eight hours. Learning and behavior modification within psychological science concern the conditions under which learning takes place, and under which behaviors can be changed.

mental illness word map in the shape of a head
Psychology of Mental Health

Psychology 408- Offered Spring, 2017 with Dr. Denise Emer

The Psychology of Mental Illness (sometimes referred to as "Abnormal Psychology") introduces students to the assumed causes, course, and available treatments for various forms of mental illness. In my course, I want to encourage students to view "deviant" or aberrant behaviors as nonetheless human behaviors, deserving of consideration and respect. 

One of the main goals of this course is to help students to better understand illnesses which are causing suffering and discomfort (physical & psychological) in human beings, and interfering with their ability to cultivate productive and/or satisfying lives. We will focus not only on description/diagnostic symptoms of various behaviors/disorders, but also on proposed etiologies (causes) and treatments, as well as on differing theoretical conceptualizations about causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Also, throughout the course, I will continually encourage you (through readings and class discussions) to critically analyze the “scientist-practitioner” model that the clinical field currently follows.