Global Arc

An overview and examination of the cognitive science of human values and applications to contemporary global challenges. Interdisciplinary course highlighting research from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, data science, and public health. Topics include utility and value, reinforcement learning, risky decision making, time preferences and self-control, social decision making, and applications to pandemics, polarization, technology, and the climate crisis.

Attention is a fundamental cognitive process that enables us to select info that is relevant for ongoing behavior. Course reviews the cognitive neuroscience of selective attention starting from theoretical foundations provided by cognitive psychology to the neural underpinnings identified by systems neuroscience, and also includes an intro to the pathology of attention disorders. It presents a hands-on science experience by drawing on current lab research, focusing on the design and analyses of 'real' experiments, with opportunities to attend ongoing behavioral, physiology, and functional imaging studies.

The objectives of this course are to understand the psychosocial processes that influence health and health care delivery. Topics to be examined are the psychophysiological and sociocultural bases of health and illness; pain and healing; adaptation to chronic illness; stress; personality and illness; quality of life; death, dying, and grief; substance use; health promoting behaviors; patient adherence; physician-patient communication; health care; and medical ethics and utilization.

Visual perception is a dynamic and creative process. It encompasses a unique interplay between the physical object characteristics projected into the eye and the numerous subjective factors such as attentional states, previous experience, and emotional states which affect perception. The goal of the course is to expose students to up-to-date knowledge regarding the structure and function of the visual system in humans and non-human primates.

An examination of the major forms of childhood psychopathology. Causal roles played by individual factors, traumatic events, the family, school, and community as well as the prevention and treatment of childhood disorders will also be examined. One three-hour seminar. Prerequisites: 207 and 254. Offered in alternate years.

This course will review key psychotherapeutic skills from dominant therapeutic modalities. We will learn about the theoretical and empirical backing for each skill and then practice applying them to achieve goals in our own lives. Students will gain knowledge of the science and practice of psychotherapy as well as concrete skills in applying therapeutic techniques in their own lives. Lecture and one preceptorial.

A multidisciplinary study of the fundamentals of human-machine interactions from both the human psychology/philosophy side and the machine engineering and design side. Philosophical, psychological, and engineering models of the human processor. Functional differences between people and machines, the nature of consciousness and intelligence, massively parallel computing and neural networks, and the concept of resonant synergism in human-machine interactions. Two 90-minute lectures; three laboratories during semester.

An examination of the relationship between important topics in abnormal psychology and laboratory research conducted in other areas of psychology. Topics will include the ties between laboratory-learned helplessness and mood disorders, human memory research and dissociative disorders, and coping strategies and anxiety disorders. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 101 and 207, or instructor's permission.

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Major issues in social and personality psychology examined from a developmental perspective with emphasis on developmental processes and change. Data on children, adolescents, and adults will be considered. Topics will include: social attachment, stranger and separation anxiety, self-concept, self-esteem, achievement, sex roles, and antisocial, prosocial, and moral behavior. Prerequisite: 252 or 254 or 257 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute seminars.