PsychologyCourses for Fall 2022
| 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 | Andrew H Ward | MW 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 | Nicole C Rust | MWF 12:00 PM-12:59 PM | 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, BIOL1110401, NRSC1110401, NRSC1110401 | Living World Sector (all classes) | ||||||||
| PSYC 1210-402 | Introduction to Brain and Behavior | T 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. | BIOL1110402, BIOL1110402, NRSC1110402, NRSC1110402 | Living World Sector (all classes) | |||||||||
| PSYC 1230-401 | Cognitive Neuroscience | Allyson P Mackey | 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, NRSC2249401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | ||||||||
| PSYC 1310-401 | Language and Thought | John C Trueswell | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course describes current theorizing on how the human mind achieves high-level cognitive processes such as using language, thinking, and reasoning. The course discusses issues such as whether the language ability is unique to humans, whether there is a critical period to the acquisition of a language, the nature of conceptual knowledge, how people perform deductive reasoning and induction, and how linguistic and conceptual knowledge interact. | LING0750401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 1333-401 | Introduction to Cognitive Science | TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | 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, emotion and consciousness. 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. | CIS1400401, COGS1001401, LING1005401, PHIL1840401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | |||||||||
| PSYC 1340-401 | Perception | Johannes Burge | MW 8:30 AM-9:59 AM | How the individual acquires and is guided by knowledge about objects and events in their environment. | VLST2110401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 1440-001 | Social Psychology | TR 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 1530-401 | Memory | Anna Schapiro | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course presents an integrative treatment of the cognitive and neural processes involved in learning and memory, primarily in humans. We will survey the major findings and theories on how the brain gives rise to different kinds of memory, considering evidence from behavioral experiments, neuroscientific experiments, and computational models. | NRSC1159401 | Living World Sector (all classes) | ||||||||
| PSYC 1777-001 | Introduction to Developmental Psychology | Hannah-Lise Schofield | TR 5:15 PM-6:44 PM | The goal of this course is to introduce both Psychology majors and non-majors majors to the field of Developmental Psychology. Developmental Psychology is a diverse field that studies the changes that occur with age and experience and how we can explain these changes. The field encompasses changes in physicalgrowth, perceptual systems, cognitive systems, social interactions and and much more. We will study the development of perception, cognition, language,academic achievement, emotion regulation, personality, moral reasoning,and attachment. We will review theories of development and ask how these theories explain experimental findings. While the focus is on human development, when relevant, research with animals will be used as a basis for comparison. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2220-401 | Evolution of Behavior: Animal Behavior |
Yun Ding Marc F Schmidt |
TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | 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. | BIOL2140401, NRSC2140401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 2250-401 | Drugs, Brain and Mind | Michael Kane | TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | The course will begin with a review of basic concepts in pharmacology including: routes of drug administration, drug metabolism, the dose response curve, tolerance and sensitization. Following a brief overview of cellular foundations of neuropharmacology (neuronal biology, synaptic and receptor function), the course will focus on several neurotransmitter systems and the molecular and behavioral mechanisms mediating the mind-altering, additive and neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia and anxiety with an emphasis on their underlying neurobiological causes, as well as the pharmacological approaches for treatment. | NRSC2270401 | Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only) | ||||||||
| PSYC 2288-001 | Neuroscience and Society | Sharon L Thompson-Schill | TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM | Cognitive, social,and affective neuroscience have made tremendous progress in in the last two decades. As this progress continues, neuroscience is becoming increasingly relevant to all of the real-world endeavors that require understanding, predicting and changing human behavior. In this course we will examine the ways in which neuroscience is being applied in law, criminal justice, national defense, education, economics, business,and other sectors of society. For each application area we will briefly review those aspects of neuroscience that are most relevant, and then study the application in more detail. | Living World Sector (all classes) | |||||||||
| PSYC 2737-001 | Judgment and Decisions | Andrew Meyer | MW 5:15 PM-6:44 PM | Thinking, judgment, and personal and societal decision making, with emphasis on fallacies and biases. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 2750-401 | Behavioral Economics and Psychology | Andrew Meyer | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | Our understanding of markets, governments, and societies rests on our understanding of choice behavior, and the psychological forces that govern it. This course will introduce you to the study of choice, and will examine in detail what we know about how people make choices, and how we can influence these choices. It will utilize insights from psychology and economics, and will apply these insights to domains including risky decision making, intertemporal decision making, and social decision making. | PPE3003401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3231-001 | Consciousness Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience | Russell A Epstein | TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | Consciousness is our subjective experience of the world, including both perceptions and felt internal states. In this seminar, we will explore the the burgeoning scientific literature on the neural basis of consciousness. We will focus in particular on three topics: What are the neural systems underlying visual awareness? What are the mechanisms that control the progression of conscious contents to create our stream of thought? What is the relationship between consciousness and behavior? | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=PSYC3231001 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3233-401 | Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience: Brain Development | Michael Arcaro | T 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | This discussion-based seminar will focus on the neural bases of cognitive development. Each week the class will discuss a selection of papers that consider the roles of genes and environment on topics including the development of perceptual abilities, language, and cognition. The course will cover several aspects of pre- and postnatal brain and behavioral development with particular emphasis on animal models. This course is intended for students interested in neurobiology, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology and development. | NRSC4233401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3301-401 | Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | Mary Ellen Kelly | TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course focuses on the current state of our knowledge about the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. A combination of lectures and student seminars will explore the molecular and cellular basis of learning in invertebrates and vertebrates from a behavioral and neural perspective. | BIOL4142401, NRSC4442401 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3400-001 | Positive Psychology Seminar: Positive Education (SNF Paideia Program Course) | Caroline Jane Connolly | W 10:15 AM-1:14 PM | This intensive, discussion-based seminar will equip you with useful insight and critical analysis about Positive Psychology by emphasizing scientific literacy. The workload for this seminar requires intensive reading. To excel in this seminar, students must be willing to enthusiastically read, dissect, and critique ideas within Positive Psychology. This requires students to articulate various ideas in verbal and written form. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=PSYC3400001 | |||||||||
| PSYC 3441-001 | The Religious Mind: Embodied, Embedded, and Engaged | Gordon Bermant | CANCELED | The purpose of the seminar is to introduce the relationship between psychology and religion in a balanced fashion. I do not assume that either of these two powerful forces in the world has the last word on the other. Not do I assume that they can hide behind their typical assumptions without offering good reasons for them. So the seminar offers the opportunities for a disciplined personal engagement with the material. Almost everyone brings personal background and emotion as well as intellectual curiosity to religion and its relationship to human nature; this is the relationship that we will take seriously, pondering the emotional and immediately experiential as well as the cognitive and distanced aspects of the topics we study. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3461-001 | The Science of Depression and Anxiety | Colin Xu | W 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | Mood disorders are common, sometimes debilitating, mental health conditions with considerable societal costs. These disorders include depression, bipolar disorder, and several variants of these disorders. In industrialized nations, depression alone ranks among the leading causes of disability. Bipolar disorder, while less common, is associated with even more marked impairments. In this course, we will examine mood disorders in depth, covering historical, cross-cultural, diagnostic, developmental, neuroscientific, etiological, and therapeutic issues. Throughout the course, I hope to encourage students to appreciate what we know about problems of mood, how we have acquired this knowledge, and how much we still do not understand. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3462-001 | Gender and Psychopathology Seminar | Elizabeth D Krause | R 12:00 PM-2:59 PM | This course will explore contemporary theory and research on the role of gender in vulnerability to and expression of psychopathology. In the beginning of the course, we will explore and critique definitions of sex and gender and methodological approaches to the study of gender differences. This will include considering strong challenges to our conceptions of identity categories such as sex and gender. For instance, we will examine the evolution and controversies surrounding the diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria. Next, we will explore literature on gender differences in emotional expression, coping, and several forms of psychopathology, including mood disorders, eating disorders, disorders related to anxiety and trauma exposure, substance-related disorders and aggressive disorders. Finally, we will consider the role of gender in help-seeking behavior. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3463-001 | Seminar in Abnormal Psychology: Developmental Psychopathology | Sara R Jaffee | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | 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. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 3730-001 | Seminar in Judgment and Decision Making | Barbara Ann Mellers | This course is designed to help you become a better decision maker. By the end of the semester, you should have the skills to approach decision making from a broader perspective with new tools and a new awareness of many common errors and biases. You will learn about normative decisions (how people should make choices if they want to use principles of rationality, logic and probability), descriptive decisions (how people really do make decisions) and prescriptive decisions (how people can make better decisions given normative principles and what we know about human behavior). We’ll discuss the theoretical foundations of the field, some of the key empirical insights. We’ll discuss what it means to have good judgment and how experts and novices differ. We look at decision making in such as public policy, medicine, the law, business, and intelligence analysis. Decision making is something we do every day, many times a day. It is so natural that some people don’t even realize they are doing it. Many of the insights from this field have real-world implications. | |||||||||||
| 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 Instructor | |||||||||
| PSYC 4780-401 | Social Psychology Capstone: Obedience | Edward Royzman | R 1:45 PM-4:44 PM | 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. | PPE4802401 | |||||||||
| 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 5470-001 | Foundations of Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience | Martha J Farah | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is designed to introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of social, cognitive and affective neuroscience. We begin with the basics of neurons, synapses and neurotransmission and the functional anatomy of the human brain. We then move on to neuroscience methods including cellular recordings, EEG/ERP, lesion methods, structural and functional neuroimaging and brain stimulation. The remainder of the course covers the neural systems involved in emotion, social cognition, executive function, learning and memory, perception and development. We focus on how our understanding of these systems has emerged from the use of the methods studied earlier. | Perm Needed From Instructor | |||||||||
| PSYC 5730-301 | Seminar in Neuroeconomics | Joseph W Kable | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This seminar will review recent research that combines economic, psychological, and neuroscientific approaches to study decision-making. The course will focus on our current state of knowledge regarding the neuroscience of decision-making, and how evidence concerning the neural processes associated with choices might be used to constrain or advance economic and psychological theories of decision-making. Topics covered will include decisions involving risk and uncertainty, decisions that involve learning from experience, decisions in strategic interactions and games, and social preferences. | Perm Needed From Department | |||||||||
| PSYC 6000-301 | Social Psychology | Geoffrey Goodwin | W 10:15 AM-12:14 PM | Choice of half or full course units each sem. covering a range of subjects and approaches in academic psychology. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 6000-302 | Psychopathology | Ayelet M Ruscio | CANCELED | Choice of half or full course units each sem. covering a range of subjects and approaches in academic psychology. | ||||||||||
| PSYC 6000-303 | Judgment & Decisions | Barbara Ann Mellers | TR 10:15 AM-12:14 PM | Choice of half or full course units each sem. covering a range of subjects and approaches in academic psychology. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=PSYC6000303 | |||||||||
| PSYC 6110-401 | Applied Regression and Analysis of Variance | Alexander Vekker | TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM | An applied graduate level course in multiple regression and analysis of variance for students who have completed an undergraduate course in basic statistical methods. Emphasis is on practical methods of data analysis and their interpretation. Covers model building, general linear hypothesis, residual analysis, leverage and influence, one-way anova, two-way anova, factorial anova. Primarily for doctoral students in the managerial, behavioral, social and health sciences. Permission of instructor required to enroll. | BSTA5500401, STAT5000401 | Perm Needed From Instructor | ||||||||
| PSYC 7390-301 | Probabilistic Models of Perception and Cognition | Alan A Stocker | TR 3:30 PM-4:59 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 7470-001 | Contemporary Research Issues in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience | Martha J Farah | W 5:15 PM-8:14 PM | In this seminar, students engage with primary research literature and deepen their understanding of a variety of topics in social, cognitive and affective neuroscience. We begin with the basics of research design and data interpretation, including recent controversies concerning replicability in the neural and behavioral sciences. | Perm Needed From Instructor | |||||||||
| PSYC 8100-301 | Psychodiagnostic Testing | Melissa G Hunt | This course provides a basic introduction to the theories and tools of psychological assessment. Students learn how to administer and interpret a number of standard cognitive, neuropsychological and personality tests including the WAIS-III, WMS-III, WIAT-II, Wisconsin Card Sort, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Millon Index of Personality Styles. Attention is given to serving as a consultant, differential diagnosis, case conceptualization, and integrating test results into formal but accessible reports. | Perm Needed From Department | ||||||||||
| PSYC 8110-301 | Psychodiagnostic Interviewing | Melissa G Hunt | This course, usually taken simultaneously with Psychology 810, provides a basic introduction to psychodiagnostic interviewing and differential diagnosis. Students learn to take clinical histories and to administer a number of standardized diagnostic interviews, including the mental status exam, the SCID I and II for DSM-IV, the ADIS, and various clinician rating scales such as the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Attention is also given to self-report symptom inventories such as the Beck Depression Inventory and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised as well as to computerized diagnostic tools. | Perm Needed From Department | ||||||||||
| PSYC 8150-301 | Introductory Practicum | Melissa G Hunt | Students typically complete 8-10 full assessment batteries on complex patients referred from a number of different sources in the community. This practicum offers intensive supervision, with live (in the room) supervision of every trainee’s first case, and live peer-supervision of their second case. Throughout their time in the practicum they receive close supervision of every case, including checking the scoring of tests and measures, and close reading and editing of every report. Students do a final feedback session with every patient which the supervisor co-leads at the beginning of the year, and observes in the room throughout the rest of the year, thus ensuring direct observation of every trainee throughout the year. | Perm Needed From Department | ||||||||||
| PSYC 8200-301 | Advanced Practicum | Robert J Derubeis | Intensive studies of single individuals including interviews, tests, and experiments; also clinical experience at appropriate community agencies. | Perm Needed From Department | ||||||||||
| PSYC 8200-302 | 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 |