PsychologyCourses for Spring 2023
| Title | Instructor | Location | Time | All taxonomy terms | Description | Section Description | Cross Listings | Fulfills | Registration Notes | Syllabus | Syllabus URL | Course Syllabus URL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSYC 0001-001 | Introduction to Experimental Psychology | TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course provides an introduction to the basic topics of psychology including our three major areas of distribution: the biological basis of behavior, the cognitive basis of behavior, and individual and group bases of behavior. Topics include, but are not limited to, neuropsychology, learning, cognition, development, disorder, personality, and social psychology. | Living World Sector (all classes) | ||||||||||
| PSYC 1210-401 | Introduction to Brain and Behavior | Michael Kane | TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | 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. | BIOL1110401, NRSC1110401 | Living World Sector (all classes) | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202310&c=PSYC1210401 | |||||||
| PSYC 1210-402 | Introduction to Brain and Behavior | M 8:30 AM-9:59 AM | 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. | BIOL1110402, NRSC1110402 | Living World Sector (all classes) | |||||||||
| PSYC 1230-401 | Cognitive Neuroscience | Michael Arcaro | TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | The study of the neural systems that underlie human perception, memory and language; and of the pathological syndromes that result from damage to these systems. | NRSC2249401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | ||||||||
| PSYC 1440-001 | Social Psychology | Coren L Apicella | CANCELED | An overview of theories and research across the range of social behavior from intra-individual to the group level including the effects of culture, social environment, and groups on social interaction. | Society sector (all classes) | |||||||||
| PSYC 1440-002 | Social Psychology | Coren L Apicella | MW 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | An overview of theories and research across the range of social behavior from intra-individual to the group level including the effects of culture, social environment, and groups on social interaction. | Society sector (all classes) | |||||||||
| PSYC 1462-001 | Abnormal Psychology | Colin Xu | TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | The concepts of normality, abnormality, and psychopathology; symptom syndromes;theory and research in psychopathology and psychotherapy. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2240-401 | Visual Neuroscience | Alan A Stocker | MWF 10:15 AM-11:14 AM | An introduction to the scientific study of vision, with an emphasis on the biological substrate and its relation to behavior. Topics will typically include physiological optics, transduction of light, visual thresholds, color vision, anatomy and physiology of the visual pathways, and the cognitive neuroscience of vision. | NRSC2217401, VLST2170401 | Living World Sector (all classes) | ||||||||
| PSYC 2260-401 | Neuroendocrinology | Loretta Flanagan-Cato | TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is designed to examine the various roles played by the nervous and endocrine systems in controlling both physiological processes and behavior. First, the course will build a foundation in the concepts of neural and endocrine system function. Then, we will discuss how these mechanisms form the biological underpinnings of various behaviors and their relevant physiological correlates. We will focus on sexual and parental behaviors, stress, metabolism, neuroendocrine-immune interactions, and mental health. | NRSC2260401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 2300-001 | Human Memory | Michael J Kahana | MW 12:15 PM-1:44 PM | An introduction to the scientific study of humn memory, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between theory and experiment. Topics will include dual store models and the debate over short-term meory, recognition memory for items and associations, the role of time and context in memory formation and retrieval, theories of association, memory for sequences, the influence of prior knowledge on new learning, spatial and navigational memory, perceptual learning, classification and function learning, memory diorders, and developmental changes in memory function. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2314-401 | Data Science for studying Language and the Mind | Kathryn Schuler | TR 12:00 PM-12:59 PM | Data Science for studying Language and the Mind is an entry-level course designed to teach basic principles of data science to students with little or no background in statistics or computer science. Students will learn to identify patterns in data using visualizations and descriptive statistics; make predictions from data using machine learning and optimization; and quantify the certainty of their predictions using statistical models. This course aims to help students build a foundation of critical thinking and computational skills that will allow them to work with data in all fields related to the study of the mind (e.g. linguistics, psychology, philosophy, cognitive science). | LING0700401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | ||||||||
| PSYC 2314-402 | Data Science for Studying Language and the Mind | R 1:45 PM-2:44 PM | Data Science for studying Language and the Mind is an entry-level course designed to teach basic principles of data science to students with little or no background in statistics or computer science. Students will learn to identify patterns in data using visualizations and descriptive statistics; make predictions from data using machine learning and optimization; and quantify the certainty of their predictions using statistical models. This course aims to help students build a foundation of critical thinking and computational skills that will allow them to work with data in all fields related to the study of the mind (e.g. linguistics, psychology, philosophy, cognitive science). | LING0700402 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | |||||||||
| PSYC 2400-001 | Introduction to Positive Psychology (SNF Paideia Program Course) | Caroline Jane Connolly | TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An introduction to the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and positive institutions. The positive emotions consist of emotions about the past (e.g., serenity, satisfaction, pride), about the future (e.g., hope, optimism, faith), and emotions about the present (pleasure and gratification). The distinction among the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life is drawn. The positive traits include wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality, and the classification of these virtues is explored. The positive institutions are exemplified by extended families, free press, humane leadership, and representative government. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2477-001 | Social and Emotional Development | Sara R Jaffee | TR 8:30 AM-9:59 AM | This course will cover theory and research related to the development of attachment, emotional regulation, peer and intimate relationships, personality, moral reasoning, and emotional and behavioral disorders. The course will emphasize the degree to which family, peer, and community contexts influence development from infancy into adulthood. Efforts will be made to integrate biological and environmental accounts of development across the lifespan. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202310&c=PSYC2477001 | |||||||||
| PSYC 2555-401 | Neuroeconomics | Joseph W Kable | TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course will introduce students to neuroeconomics, a field of research that combines economic, psychological, and neuroscientific approaches to study decision-making. The course will focus on our current understanding of how our brains give rise to decisions, and how this knowledge might be used to constrain or advance economic and psychological theories of decision-making. Topics covered will include how individuals make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, how groups of individuals decide to cooperate or compete, and how decisions are shaped by social context, memories, and past experience. | NRSC2273401 | Living World Sector (all classes) | ||||||||
| PSYC 2737-001 | Judgment and Decisions | Edward Royzman | W 5:15 PM-8:14 PM | Thinking, judgment, and personal and societal decision making, with emphasis on fallacies and biases. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2760-401 | How We Change: Social-Psychological and Communication Dynamics (SNF Paideia Program Course) | Dolores Albarracin | TR 10:15 AM-11:14 AM | Have you wondered why people undergo religious conversion, change their political affiliation, suddenly endorse conspiracy theories, alter their taste in music, or seek hypnosis to quit smoking? What is common to these processes of change, and how does resistance to change play out across these seemingly different contexts? In “Why We Change,” we will ask unique questions such as how religious change might highlight methods of transforming public health communications or how the study of attitude change might yield new theories about the impact of life experiences on personality. Broadly speaking, the class will provide an opportunity for students to learn theories of belief formation, attitudes and persuasion, normative influence, and behavioral change. For example, we will work to understand how specific beliefs, such as group stereotypes, or specific attitudes, such as trust and values, change in response to variations in the environment and communication with other people. We will cover culturally based and professional approaches to change, from fear appeals to motivational interviewing, to hypnosis. Students will read empirical studies and conduct observational projects about potential sources of social, cultural, or psychological change and resistance to change in Philadelphia. | COMM2760401, NURS2760401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3100-001 | Being Human: The Biology of Human Behavior, Cognition, and Culture | Michael Louis Platt | W 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | This course will examine the biological basis of human behavior and culture as an emergent product of the brain and its interactions with the physical and social environment. As we explore this topic, we will emphasize human brain function at the level of neural systems and the neural networks they supply, how these systems may have evolved, how they change depending on experience, and what dysfunction of these circuits as occurs in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopment disorders reveals about human thought and behavior. We will focus on key features of human nature, including language, mathematics, creativity and innovation, empathy, strategic thinking, cooperation, deception, economic behavior, and technology, amongst others. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3230-001 | Seminar in Neuroscience: The Moral Brain | Sharon L Thompson-Schill | R 12:00 PM-2:59 PM | Topics vary each semester. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3230-002 | Seminar in Neuroscience: How Doctors Think | Diego Fernandez-Duque | T 3:30 PM-6:29 PM | Topics vary each semester. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3232-001 | The Social Brain Seminar | Adrianna C Jenkins | T 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | This seminar examines the cognitive and neural mechanisms that enable humans to predict and understand people's behavior. We will be propelled throughout the course by fundamental questions about the human social brain. For example, why are humans so social? Does the human brain have specialized processes for social thought? Consideration of these questions will involve advanced treatment of a range of topics. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3281-401 | Computational Neuroscience Lab | Nicole C Rust | TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | This course will focus on computational neuroscience from the combined perspective of data collection, data analysis, and computational modeling. These issues will be explored through lectures as well as Matlab-based tutorials and exercises. The course requires no prior knowledge of computer programming and a limited math background, but familiarity with some basic statistical concepts will be assumed. The course is an ideal preparation for students interested in participating in a more independent research experience in one of the labs on campus. | NRSC3334401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3444-001 | Evolutionary Perspectives in Social Psychology | Paul Okami | TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | This discussion-based seminar uses evolutionary (Darwinian) perspectives to examine selected topics central to social psychology. Topics will include: Fundamental theories of evolutionary psychology; the self; prosocial behavior and altruism; aggression and violence; love, attraction, and mating; human sex differences in social behavior; religion and morality; and group behavior. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 4290-401 | Big Data, Memory and the Human Brain | Michael J Kahana | TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM | This course fulfills the research experience requirement in the psychology major. Advances in brain recording methods over the last decade have generated vastly more brain data than had been collected by neuroscientists during the previous century. To understand the human brain, scientists must now use computational methods that exploit the power of these huge data sets. This course will introduce you to the use of big data analytics in the study of human memory. Through hands-on Python-based programming projects, we will analyze very large data sets both to replicate existing phenomena and to make new discoveries. Programming experience in python is required for this course. | COGS4290401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 4440-001 | Sexuality and Attraction Research Experience Course | Edward Royzman | R 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | The overarching goal of this course is to offer a practicum (hands-on experience) in designing, conducting, and reporting a piece of psychological research. This objective will be met principally through participation in a group research project, class discussions related to the project and various exercises focusing on individual components of the research process. There are additional goals as well. One is to enable you to think critically (though not disparagingly) about other people’s research, all with the hope of eventually applying the the self-same critical acumen to some future work of your own. This objective will be met primarily through class lectures and discussions of the assigned readings. I also hope that our interactions throughout the course will be conducive to developing (and exchanging) creative ideas of your own. Lastly, the course aims to offer an informal introduction to research design and research ethics. This objective will be met primarily through class discussions, group project, exercises, and some additional readings. | Perm Needed From Department | |||||||||
| PSYC 4462-001 | Research Experience in Abnormal Psychology | Melissa G Hunt | R 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | This is a two-semester course starting in the Fall. Class size limited to 8-10 students. | Perm Needed From Department | |||||||||
| PSYC 4463-001 | Research Experience Course in Clinical Psychological Data Analysis | Colin Xu | W 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | This is a semester-long research experience class on the analysis of data from clinical trials and epidemiological studies to better understand topics relevant to clinical psychology and mental health. The class will primarily focus on practical application of data analytic skills to understand psychological phenomenon, including analysis of existing clinical datasets using statistical analysis tools such as R | ||||||||||
| PSYC 4997-001 | Senior Honors Seminar in Psychology | Coren L Apicella | M 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | Open to senior honors candidates in psychology. A two-semester sequence supporting the preparation of an honors thesis in psychology. Students will present their work in progress and develop skills in written and oral communication of scientific ideas. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Honors Program in Psychology. | Perm Needed From Department | |||||||||
| PSYC 5390-401 | Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience | Vijay Balasubramanian | TR 8:30 AM-9:59 AM | This course will develop theoretical and computational approaches to structural and functional organization in the brain. The course will cover: (i) the basic biophysics of neural responses, (ii) neural coding and decoding with an emphasis on sensory systems, (iii) approaches to the study of networks of neurons, (iv) models of adaptation, learning and memory, (v) models of decision making, and (vi) ideas that address why the brain is organized the way that it is. The course will be appropriate for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. A knowledge of multi-variable calculus, linear algebra and differential equations is required (except by permission of the instructor). Prior exposure to neuroscience and/or Matlab programming will be helpful. | BE5300401, NGG5940401, NRSC5585401, PHYS5585401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | ||||||||
| PSYC 5510-001 | Eye Movements in Perception, Language and Cognition | John C Trueswell | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | In this course, we examine how the recording of eye movements can provide a moment-by-moment record of perceptual, cognitive and linguistic processes. Four areas of research will be discussed: (1) task-based scene perception; (2) language processing (in both reading and spoken language); (3) category learning, and (4) decision making. In all of these domains, eyetracking research has led to a greater understanding of how attention and information selection supports real-time cognitive processes. Students will have access to eyetracking systems, giving them hands-on experience in designing, running, and analyzing eyetracking experiments. By the end of the semester, students will have collected pilot eyetracking data. Projects will be done individually or within small research teams. Requirements: Weekly readings; class presentations and discussion; and a paper. | Perm Needed From Instructor | |||||||||
| PSYC 6000-301 | Psychopathology | Ayelet M Ruscio | M 12:00 PM-2:59 PM | Choice of half or full course units each sem. covering a range of subjects and approaches in academic psychology. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 6000-302 | Behavioral Neuroscience | Jay Gottfried | TR 1:45 PM-3:44 PM | Choice of half or full course units each sem. covering a range of subjects and approaches in academic psychology. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 6090-401 | Systems Neuroscience |
Maria Geffen Franz Ludwig Weber |
This course provides an introduction to what is known about how neuronal circuits solve problems for the organism and to current resarch approaches to this question. Topics include: vision, audition, olfaction, motor systems, plasticity, and oscillations. In addition, the course aims to provide an overview of the structure of the central nervous system. A number of fundamental concepts are also discussed across topics, such as: lateral inhibition, integration, filterting, frames of reference, error signals, adaptation. The course format consists of lectures, discussions, readings of primary literature, supplemented by textbook chapters and review articles. | NGG5730401 | ||||||||||
| PSYC 6120-401 | Introduction to Nonparametric Methods and Log-linear Models | Wei Wang | TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM | An applied graduate level course for students who have completed an undergraduate course in basic statistical methods. Covers two unrelated topics: loglinear and logit models for discrete data and nonparametric methods for nonnormal data. Emphasis is on practical methods of data analysis and their interpretation. Primarily for doctoral students in the managerial, behavioral, social and health sciences. Permission of instructor required to enroll. | STAT5010401 | Perm Needed From Instructor | ||||||||
| PSYC 7390-301 | Advanced fMRI Data Analysis | Russell A Epstein | T 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | Probability theory has become an increasingly popular and successful framework for modeling human perceptual and cognitive behavior. This course will provide a careful introduction to probability theory and the various ways it has been applied in psychology and neuroscience. Goal is to make students understand the most important state-of-the-art probabilistic models in perception and cognition, what they reveal about the brain's underlying computations and strategies in dealing with uncertainty, and how such computations can potentially be performed by populations of neurons. | Perm Needed From Instructor | |||||||||
| PSYC 8200-301 | Advanced Practicum | Melissa G Hunt | Intensive studies of single individuals including interviews, tests, and experiments; also clinical experience at appropriate community agencies. | Perm Needed From Department |