This course will serve two primary academic goals. First, to provide students with a contemporary introduction to empirically supported treatments for mental health conditions, with a particular focus on psychotherapeutic approaches. Second, it will teach students how to think about and evaluate research that tests the efficacy of interventions and explore how they work.

The evolution of behavior in animals will be explored using basic genetic and evolutionary principles. Lectures will highlight behavioral principles using a wide range of animal species, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Examples of behavior include the complex economic decisions related to foraging, migratory birds using geomagnetic fields to find breeding grounds, and the decision individuals make to live in groups. Group living has led to the evolution of social behavior and much of the course will focus on group formation, cooperation among kin, mating systems, territoriality and communication.

How do minds work? This course surveys a wide range of answers to this question from disciplines ranging from philosophy to neuroscience. The course devotes special attention to the use of simple computational and mathematical models. Topics include perception, learning, memory, decision making, and language. The course shows how the different views from the parent disciplines interact and identifies some common themes among the theories that have been proposed. The course pays particular attention to the distinctive role of computation in such theories and provides an introduction to some of the main directions of current research in the field. It is a requirement for the BA in Cognitive Science, the BAS in Computer and Cognitive Science, and the minor in Cognitive Science, and it is recommended for students taking the dual degree in Computer and Cognitive Science.

Though almost half a century old, Milgram’s 1961-1962 studies of “destructive obedience” continue to puzzle, fascinate, and alarm. The main reason for their continued grip on the field’s attention (other than the boldness of the idea and elegance of execution) may be simply that they leave us with a portrait of human character that is radically different from the one that we personally wish to endorse or that the wider culture teaches us to accept. In this seminar, we will take an in-depth look at these famous studies (along with the more recent replications) and explore their various psychological, political and philosophical ramifications.

Introduction to the structure and function of the vertebrate nervous system. We begin with the cellular basis of neuronal activities, then discuss the physiological bases of motor control, sensory systems, motivated behaviors, and higher mental processes. This course is intended for students interested in the neurobiology of behavior, ranging from animal behaviors to clinical disorders.

Introduction to the structure and function of the vertebrate nervous system. We begin with the cellular basis of neuronal activities, then discuss the physiological bases of motor control, sensory systems, motivated behaviors, and higher mental processes. This course is intended for students interested in the neurobiology of behavior, ranging from animal behaviors to clinical disorders.

Research has shown that improvisational theater can enhance cognitive processes like creativity and flexibility. This upper-level seminar explores cognitive neuroscience topics through the experiential lens of improvisational theater. Students will learn about the brain – particularly how we understand others’ minds – and apply improv exercises to illustrate and deepen that understanding. The course balances academic rigor with hands-on practice, maintaining an accessible approach to complex concepts. Classes meet twice weekly: the first meeting introduces a neuroscience concept with discussion of research, and the second meeting engages students in applied improv theater exercises related to that concept. Part of this class happens "on stage".
By the end of the seminar, students should be able to explain key principles of social and cognitive neuroscience (e.g. theory of mind, empathy, creativity, communication) and demonstrate them through improv activities. The course is experiential and will be graded through a combination of participation, written reflexion and science based conceptualization of new improv excercises.

How the individual acquires and is guided by knowledge about objects and events in their environment.

Developmental psychopathology has been defined as “the study of the origins and course of individual patterns of behavioral maladaptation, whatever the age of onset, whatever the causes, whatever the transformations in behavioral manifestation, and however complex the course of the developmental pattern may be.” (Sroufe & Rutter, 1984, p. 18). We will read and discuss seminal papers in the field of developmental psychopathology, case studies, memoirs, and sociological writings with the goal that students will acquire a deep understanding of the historical and theoretical origins of the field, key concepts, popular methodological approaches, and well-replicated findings.

Intensive studies of single individuals including interviews, tests, and experiments; also clinical experience at appropriate community agencies.