Psychology Major Concentration (B.A.) (36 credits)
Offered by: Psychology (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 36
Program Description
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. The B.A. Major Concentration in Psychology (36 credits) provides students with a basic overview, covering the core areas of psychological science as well as more advanced courses in specialized content areas. Students also have the option to complete a research course(s) (see Program Requirements for details). Note: this program may not provide sufficient undergraduate background preparation for certain graduate programs. Students who wish to go on to graduate training in psychology, and those who wish to complete the undergraduate credits in psychology as specified by the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec (which are required by some graduate psychology programs), are advised to take the supplementary Minor Concentration Behavioural Science. This specialization option will give students the space to take the additional courses they may need for such applications.
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites (0-6 credits)
Students planning to enter the Major Concentration Psychology program should have completed an introductory course in general psychology and biology in CEGEP. Otherwise, they can complete them in their first year of study at McGill University (see below).
Introduction to Psychology or General Psychology in CEGEP is equivalent to PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology. at McGill. Students who have not completed either of those courses are advised to take PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology. in their first year.
Students who have completed Human Biology or General Biology 1 or 2 in CEGEP would have the recommended biology background. Students who have not completed one of those courses are advised to complete BIOL 115 Essential Biology. or BIOL 111 Principles: Organismal Biology. or BIOL 112 Cell and Molecular Biology. during their first year.
McGill Freshman students are recommended to complete the following courses in their U0 year:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 100 | Introduction to Psychology. | 3 |
Introduction to Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the scientific study of mind and behavior, including basic concepts and methods in psychology while also highlighting the relevance of psychology to everyday life; attachment, aggression, depression, parenting and personality change. | ||
And
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 111 | Principles: Organismal Biology. | 3 |
Principles: Organismal Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the phylogeny, structure, function and adaptation of unicellular organisms, plants and animals in the biosphere. | ||
| BIOL 112 | Cell and Molecular Biology. | 3 |
Cell and Molecular Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology. | ||
| BIOL 115 | Essential Biology. | 3 |
Essential Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to biological science that emphasizes the manner in which scientific understanding is achieved and evolves and the influence of biological science on society. Topics will include cell structure and function, genetics, evolution, organ physiology, ecology and certain special topics that change from year to year. | ||
Required Courses (18 credits)
U1
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 204 | Introduction to Psychological Statistics. 1 | 3 |
Introduction to Psychological Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The statistical analysis of research data; frequency distributions; graphic representation; measures of central tendency and variability; elementary sampling theory and tests of significance. | ||
| PSYC 211 | Introductory Behavioural Neuroscience. | 3 |
Introductory Behavioural Neuroscience. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to contemporary research on the relationship between brain and behaviour. Topics include learning, memory and cognition, brain damage and neuroplasticity, emotion and motivation, and drug addiction and brain reward circuits. Much of the evidence will be drawn from the experimental literature on research with animals. | ||
| PSYC 212 | Perception. | 3 |
Perception. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Perception is the organization of sensory input into a representation of the environment. Topics include: survey of sensory coding mechanisms (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory), object recognition, spatial localization, perceptual constancies and higher level influences. | ||
| PSYC 213 | Cognition. | 3 |
Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Where do thoughts come from? What is the nature of thought, and how does it arise in the mind and the brain? Cognition is the study of human information processing, and we will explore topics such as memory, attention, categorization, decision making, intelligence, philosophy of mind, and the mind-as computer metaphor. | ||
| PSYC 215 | Social Psychology. | 3 |
Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course offers students an overview of the major topics in social psychology. Three levels of analysis are explored beginning with individual processes (e.g., attitudes, attribution), then interpersonal processes (e.g., attraction, communication, love) and finally social influence processes (e.g., conformity, norms, roles, reference groups). | ||
U1 or U2
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 305 | Statistics for Experimental Design. 1 | 3 |
Statistics for Experimental Design. Terms offered: Summer 2025 An introduction to the design and analysis of experiments, including analysis of variance, planned and post hoc tests and a comparison of anova to correlational analysis. | ||
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Students who wish to apply to the Honours program in Psychology must complete the required courses above, including PSYC 305 Statistics for Experimental Design. in their U1 year to be eligible for admission. Also, all students must complete a minimum of 27 graded credits in the academic year prior to applying (fall and winter terms). For additional information about applying to Honours, please refer to the Honours program description.
Advising note for PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics.: CEGEP students are exempt from PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics. if they have completed, with a minimum grade of 75%, the following two courses:
- Quantitative Methods and either
- Advanced Quantitative Methods or Statistics for Social Science.
CEGEP students are also exempt from PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics. if they have completed Probability & Statistics or Statistics with a minimum grade of 75%.
Bachelor of Arts students exempt from PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics. replace this course with 3 credits at the 300 level or above in Psychology (PSYC), Anthropology (ANTH), Linguistics (LING), or Sociology (SOCI).
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
3 credits in Psychology from List A - (Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognition and Quantitative Methods)
3 credits in Psychology from List B - (Social, Health and Developmental Psychology)
6 credits in Psychology at the 300 level or above.
6 credits in Psychology at the 400 or 500 level.
List A - (Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognition and Quantitative Methods)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| NSCI 201 | Introduction to Neuroscience 2. | 3 |
Introduction to Neuroscience 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to how the nervous system acquires and integrates information and uses it to produce behaviour. | ||
| PSYC 301 | Animal Learning and Theory. | 3 |
Animal Learning and Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Contemporary and historical research and theory on animal learning approached from a behavioural, cognitive and biological perspective. Classical and instrumental conditioning, cognitive learning, and biological constraints. The status and history of North American behaviourism will be discussed and compared with cognitive and other approaches. | ||
| PSYC 302 | Pain. | 3 |
Pain. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to pain research and theory, with emphasis on the interactions of psychological, cultural and physiological factors in pain perception. The role of these factors in clinical pain and its management by pharmacological and non-pharmacological means will be discussed. | ||
| PSYC 306 | Research Methods in Psychology. | 3 |
Research Methods in Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The philosophy of science, the methods psychologists use, and how to interpret and evaluate psychological research. The ethical issues in psychological research and how to communicate psychological research in written and visual forms. How to become consumers of psychological science, and to provide building blocks to become expert producers of psychological science. | ||
| PSYC 310 | Intelligence. | 3 |
Intelligence. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the evolution and assessment of intelligence. Emphasizes measurement and correlates of the human intellect and the role of environment and heredity in social and race differences in intellectual and adaptive functioning. Evolution of intelligence in vertebrates and other intelligences including practical and emotional intelligence will be covered. | ||
| PSYC 311 | Human Cognition and the Brain. | 3 |
Human Cognition and the Brain. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course is an introduction to the field studying how human cognitive processes, such as perception, attention, language, learning and memory, planning and organization, are related to brain processes. The material covered is primarily based on studies of the effects of different brain lesions on cognition and studies of brain activity in relation to cognitive processes with modern functional neuroimaging methods. | ||
| PSYC 315 | Computational Psychology. | 3 |
Computational Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Application of computational methods to the simulation of psychological phenomena. Comparison of natural and artificial intelligence. Symbolic and neural network techniques. Methods for evaluating simulations. | ||
| PSYC 317 | Genes and Behaviour. | 3 |
Genes and Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focuses on current techniques employed to study which genes influence behaviour, and how they do so. | ||
| PSYC 318 | Behavioural Neuroscience 2. | 3 |
Behavioural Neuroscience 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The physiological bases of motivational states, with respect to feeding, drinking, sexual behaviour, drug use, and aggression. Physiological bases of learning and memory. | ||
| PSYC 319 | Computational Models - Cognition. | 3 |
Computational Models - Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the purpose, design, and role of computational modeling in the cognitive sciences. Domains examined will include memory, categorization, and language. Focus will be on computational models to attain a better theoretical understanding of human behaviour. New trends, including the use of big data and machine learning. | ||
| PSYC 329 | Introduction to Auditory Cognition. | 3 |
Introduction to Auditory Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Listener's response to sound. Higher-level mental principles including perception, attention, memory, motor control, and emotion. Sensation and perceptual organization of sound. Perception/production of speech, music, and other auditory events. | ||
| PSYC 340 | Psychology of Language. | 3 |
Psychology of Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of issues in psycholinguistics, focusing on the nature and processing of language (e.g., how we understand speech sounds, words, sentences, and discourse). Also surveyed: language and thought, the biological foundations of language, and first language acquisition. | ||
| PSYC 341 | The Psychology of Bilingualism. | 3 |
The Psychology of Bilingualism. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will examine issues in bilingualism, including second language acquisition in children and adults, critical period hypothesis, cognitive consequences and correlates of bilingualism, social psychological aspects of bilingualism, and bilingual education. | ||
| PSYC 342 | Hormones and Behaviour. | 3 |
Hormones and Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The role of hormones in organization of CNS function, as effectors of behaviour, in expression of behaviours and in mental illness. | ||
| PSYC 352 | Research Methods and Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology. | 3 |
Research Methods and Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to research methods and experimental techniques in cognitive psychology for exploring topics such as attention, memory, categorization, reasoning, and language processing. | ||
| PSYC 353 | Research Methods and Laboratory in Human Perception. | 3 |
Research Methods and Laboratory in Human Perception. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to standard psychophysical procedures and data analysis techniques. Modelling behavioural data using various psychophysical methods. | ||
| PSYC 403 | Modern Psychology in Historical Perspective. | 3 |
Modern Psychology in Historical Perspective. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of the scientific and ideological influences on psychology from its philosophical beginnings through the period of the schools to its modern situation. | ||
| PSYC 406 | Psychological Tests. | 3 |
Psychological Tests. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the theory and practice of psychological measurement in health, educational, clinical and industrial/organizational settings. Attention to procedures for developing and validating tests and questionnaires. Techniques include: intelligence tests, projective tests, questionnaires, structured interviews, rating scales, and behavioural/performance tests. | ||
| PSYC 410 | Special Topics in Neuropsychology. | 3 |
Special Topics in Neuropsychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Developments in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive neuropsychiatry via readings from primary sources. Topics include the neural bases of memory, emotion, social cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases. Integrating knowledge from studies in clinical populations and functional neuroimaging studies. | ||
| PSYC 413 | Cognitive Development. | 3 |
Cognitive Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. In-depth exploration of cognitive development in infants and children including knowledge representation and processing, conceptual development, language development, and theories and principles of cognitive development. | ||
| PSYC 415 | Electroencephalography (EEG) Laboratory in Psychology. | 3 |
Electroencephalography (EEG) Laboratory in Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the use of electroencephalography (EEG) for measuring brain function in behavioural neuroscience experiments. Recording and analyzing EEG data, as well asin designing experiments and interpreting findings using this method. Topics include the neural basis of EEG, recording principles and techniques, EEG data analysis (frequency bands, averaging, sources of noise, filtering, signal to noise), event-related potential analysis (ERP), spectral analysis and time-frequency analysis, data visualization, topographical maps. | ||
| PSYC 427 | Sensorimotor Neuroscience. | 3 |
Sensorimotor Neuroscience. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systematic examination of the sensorimotor system, drawing on models and data from both behavioural and physiological studies. Topics include: cortical motor areas, cerebellum, basal ganglia, spinal mechanisms, motor unit properties and force production, prioception, muscle properties. | ||
| PSYC 433 | Cognitive Science. | 3 |
Cognitive Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The multi-disciplinary study of cognitive science, exploring the computer metaphor of the mind as an information-processing system. Focus on levels of analysis, symbolic modeling, Turing machines, neural networks, as applied to topics such as reasoning, vision, decision-making, and consciousness. | ||
| PSYC 439 | Correlational Techniques. | 3 |
Correlational Techniques. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The statistical analysis of relations among a number of variables in situations common in psychology. Methods include regression analysis, principal components analysis, and other techniques for modelling the structure of correlation matrices. | ||
| PSYC 443 | Affective Neuroscience. | 0-3 |
Affective Neuroscience. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on the neurobiology of emotion, the links between emotion and cognition, and the role of experience and individual differences in emotional states associated with psychopathology. | ||
| PSYC 444 | Sleep Mechanisms and Behaviour. | 3 |
Sleep Mechanisms and Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course covers basic biological mechanisms, possible functions and behavioural aspects of sleep. Additional topics include: disorders of sleep, their effects on behaviour and cognition, and treatment approaches; as well as medical, neurological and psychiatric disorders, and drugs, that affect sleep. | ||
| PSYC 470 | Memory and Brain. | 3 |
Memory and Brain. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Memory systems are studied with an emphasis on the neural computations that occur at various stages of the processing stream, focusing on the hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, cerebellum and cortex. The data reviewed is obtained from human, non-human primates and rodents, with single unit recording, neuroimaging and brain damaged subjects. | ||
| PSYC 502 | Psychoneuroendocrinology. | 3 |
Psychoneuroendocrinology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This advanced seminar course offers an in-depth introduction to current topics in psychoneuroendocrinology. Students will read and discuss original scientific literature from human and animal research interrogating the mechanisms by which hormones act in the brain to influence behaviour in health and disease. Students will gain a refined understanding of key concepts in psychoneuroendocrinology, such as negative feedback control and the key neuroendocrine axes and their role in behavioural control. They will apply this knowledge to critically evaluate original scientific literature and generate hypothesis-driven research questions from the scientific literature. | ||
| PSYC 506 | Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention. | 3 |
Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to cognitive properties and neural mechanisms of human attention. The material will include an overview of the history of attention research, contemporary theories of attention, the varieties of attention, behavioral and neuroimaging experimental methods, the nature of attentional dysfunctions, and the links between attention and other cognitive functions including memory and consciousness. | ||
| PSYC 513 | Human Decision-Making. | 3 |
Human Decision-Making. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interdisciplinary study of decision-making, covering contemporary approaches to understanding how humans compute values and make choices. Measurement of and techniques for assessing variables such as risk and uncertainty, utilities and preferences, reinforcement learning, heuristics and biases, and self-control. Emphasis on quantitative models of decision-making. | ||
| PSYC 514 | Neurobiology of Memory. | 3 |
Neurobiology of Memory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advances in the understanding of the neurobiological bases of fundamental memory processes, such as memory consolidation maintenance, retrieval, and forgetting. The contribution of their dysregulation to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Consideration of findings from a variety of species, spanning insects to humans. | ||
| PSYC 522 | Neurochemistry and Behaviour. | 3 |
Neurochemistry and Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Anatomical, biochemical and physiological aspects of neurotransmitter systems in the brain, current theories of the function of these systems in normal and abnormal behaviour, and the actions of psychotropic drugs. | ||
| PSYC 526 | Advances in Visual Perception. | 3 |
Advances in Visual Perception. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. We examine in detail the structure of the visual system, and its function as reflected in the perceptual abilities and behaviour of the organism. Parallels are also drawn with other sensory systems to demonstrate general principles of sensory coding. | ||
| PSYC 529 | Music Cognition. | 3 |
Music Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interdisciplinary study of music cognition, with an emphasis on psychological, computational, and neuroscientific approaches. Focuses on listeners' response to sound, including perception, attention, memory, motor control, skilled performance, and emotional response. | ||
| PSYC 531 | Structural Equation Models. | 3 |
Structural Equation Models. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course introduces basic concepts underlying structural equation models (SEM). SEM, which combine regression analysis and factor analysis, are quite useful and are currently very popular in analyzing data that arise in social, developmental and clinical psychology. The students are expected to get first-hand experiences in fitting SEM, and learn how to interpret and report the results from SEM. | ||
| PSYC 537 | Advanced Seminar in Psychology of Language. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar in Psychology of Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics may include: the neural basis of language, evolutionary approaches to language, pragmatics and figurative language processing, disordered language processing, models of spoken word recognition. | ||
| PSYC 538 | Categorization, Communication and Consciousness. | 3 |
Categorization, Communication and Consciousness. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The main challenges that cognitive science faces today, focusing on the capacity to learn sensorimotor categories, to name and describe them verbally, and to transmit them to others, concluding with cognition distributed on the Web. | ||
| PSYC 541 | Multilevel Modelling. | 3 |
Multilevel Modelling. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic concepts of multilevel linear and nonlinear models and applying these methods to empirical data. | ||
| PSYC 545 | Topics in Language Acquisition. | 3 |
Topics in Language Acquisition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Psychological mechanisms and theories of first language acquisition in infancy and early childhood. Topics such as: infant speech perception, acquisition of grammar, word learning, pidgin and Creole languages, critical and sensitive periods, genetic and evolutionary bases of language. | ||
| PSYC 560 | Machine Learning Tools in Psychology . 1 | 3 |
Machine Learning Tools in Psychology . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of various methods for understanding and predicting complex and often large datasets, which have been developed in machine learning and statistics. It focuses on the conceptual underpinnings of popular supervised and unsupervised learning methods and the applications of the methods to various datasets from psychology and closely related disciplines (e.g. neuroscience, consumer behaviour, psychiatry) using existing software packages for the methods. | ||
| PSYC 562 | Measurement of Psychological Processes. | 3 |
Measurement of Psychological Processes. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Intermediate level theory and methods for the measurement of latent variables in psychology and related fields. In-depth coverage of theories of validity and psychometrics as applied in psychology. Introduction to quantitative methods for scale development, use, and evaluation. Discussion of current topics and challenges in psychological measurement and psychometrics. | ||
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- Students who have taken COMP 202 Foundations of Programming. or COMP 204 Computer Programming for Life Sciences. and who have taken freshman linear algebra and calculus might instead consider taking COMP 551 Applied Machine Learning..
- Students in both psychology and computer science are strongly encouraged to take COMP 551 Applied Machine Learning. over PSYC 560 Machine Learning Tools in Psychology ..
List B - (Social, Health and Developmental Psychology)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 304 | Child Development. | 3 |
Child Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Psychology of children, covering critical issues, theories, biological underpinnings, experimental methods, and findings in perceptual, cognitive, language, emotional, and social development. | ||
| PSYC 309 | Positive Psychology: Science of Well-Being. | 3 |
Positive Psychology: Science of Well-Being. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to positive psychology that is designed toexplore the research behind the concepts, techniques,and exercises that enhance well-being. | ||
| PSYC 328 | Health Psychology. | 3 |
Health Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of major issues in health psychology: historical perspective; health effects of stress and stress management; pain mechanisms and management; prevention and management of chronic diseases, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cancer, and immunological disorders. Behaviour change strategies for smoking, weight regulation, physical inactivity, and sexual risk behaviour. | ||
| PSYC 331 | Inter-Group Relations. | 3 |
Inter-Group Relations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the social psychology of societal groups such as racial minorities, aboriginal groups and women. The ideological biases of current theories is first established. This is followed by a review of current theories and finally current controversies are explored including new forms of racism and affirmative action. | ||
| PSYC 332 | Introduction to Personality. | 3 |
Introduction to Personality. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course examines some of the major theories of personality, e.g., those of Freud, Rogers, and Bandura. Empirical research inspired by these theories will also be examined. Topics include the nature of human motivation, the role of the self-concept, and the consistency and stability of personality. | ||
| PSYC 333 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course builds on and is an extension of Social Psychology (PSYC 215). Traditional approaches to person-situation interactions and a more dynamic approach based on recent research on goals and social cognition. | ||
| PSYC 337 | Introduction to Psychopathology. | 3 |
Introduction to Psychopathology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to major concepts and issues in the study of psychopathology in humans, including major models of etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, assessment, and treatment. | ||
| PSYC 339 | Introduction to Applied Psychology. | 3 |
Introduction to Applied Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of the conceptual frameworks that underlie different applied psychological disciplines (e.g., educational/school psychology, clinical child and adult psychology, health psychology, forensic psychology, vocational psychology), the nature of the problems addressed by different psychological disciplines, and the tools used for assessment and intervention. | ||
| PSYC 351 | Research Methods and Laboratory in Social Psychology. | 3 |
Research Methods and Laboratory in Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the issues, strategies, and applications of various research methodologies in social psychology; methods using both correlational and experimental procedures. Classic and contemporary approaches will be examined. | ||
| PSYC 408 | Principles and Applications of Psychotherapy. | 3 |
Principles and Applications of Psychotherapy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the theories, research, and practice of psychotherapy, with a particular focus on cognitive behavioural and related therapies. Discussion of broad topics such as historical perspectives on psychotherapy, the empirical study of psychotherapy, and ethical issues related to psychotherapy. Traditional and contemporary cognitive-behavioural therapies and their application to mood, anxiety, eating, and personality disorders will be reviewed. Current interest topics in psychotherapy (e.g., neurocognitive correlates of change, technology in treatment) will be highlighted. | ||
| PSYC 409 | Positive Psychology. | 3 |
Positive Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Didactic instruction and experiential learning in its coverage of three issues central to this field: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Topics covered include sensory savoring, expressing gratitude, optimism, identifying and building strengths, kindness, and meaning. | ||
| PSYC 411 | Discrimination & Wellbeing in Marginalized Communities. | 3 |
Discrimination Wellbeing in Marginalized Communities. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of research on the associations between discrimination and health, with emphases on how (1) various types of discrimination (e.g., interpersonal, microaggression, online, institutional) impact health and wellbeing and (2) various factors – rooted in individual’s cultural values and beliefs – help provide resilience against the effects of discrimination. | ||
| PSYC 412 | Child Development: Psychopathology . | 3 |
Child Development: Psychopathology . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the field of behavior disorders of childhood and adolescence, including core issues, theoretical and methodological underpinnings, descriptions and discussions of many disorders, clinical and research data, and treatment approaches. Three major assumptions will be woven through the course. | ||
| PSYC 414 | Social Development. | 3 |
Social Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced study of the development of social behaviour and social cognition in children. Topics include: socialization, attachment, aggression, exploration, role taking, communication, family and peer relations, self and person perception. The development of these social processes within the framework of three general theories of development: behaviour genetics, learning, and cognitive-developmental. | ||
| PSYC 436 | Human Sexuality and Its Problems. | 3 |
Human Sexuality and Its Problems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will deal with typical sexual behavior and its variations. Topics will include the history of sex research, the sexual response cycle, sexual dysfunction, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Current research and theory will be emphasized. | ||
| PSYC 471 | Human Motivation. | 3 |
Human Motivation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course is designed to explore questions such as "Why do people often fail to reach their personal goals?" Current goal-based and need-based theories of human motivation will be reviewed. The instructor will highlight the relevance of motivation research to the domains of education, sports and management. | ||
| PSYC 473 | Social Cognition and the Self. | 3 |
Social Cognition and the Self. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course examines the social psychological literature emphasizing a) social cognition - how people think about and make sense of their social experiences; and b) self theory - how people create and maintain a sense of identity. These frameworks will be applied to social psychological topics including close relationships, attitudes and self-esteem. | ||
| PSYC 474 | Interpersonal Relationships. | 3 |
Interpersonal Relationships. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Psychological science approach to interpersonal relationships. Organized in terms of the development of relationships, focusing first on impression formation as a platform for the development of relationships. Then we focus on close relationships, examining interpersonal constructs (intimacy, trust, commitment) and reconsidering social cognitive constructs (attributions, schemas) in an interpersonal context. | ||
| PSYC 475 | Neuroscience of Social Psychology. | 3 |
Neuroscience of Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The biological underpinnings of human social cognition and behavior, including neural, hormonal, and genetic mechanisms. By integrating multiple levels of analysis (biological, psychological), as well as different perspectives (basic, clinical, applied), the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of classic social psychological processes. Topics will include social cognition/theory of mind, empathy and understanding others, cooperation and prosocial behavior, interpersonal relationships, the self/agency, morality and anti-social behavior as well as basic methodological approaches to the study of social neuroscience and emerging issues in the field. | ||
| PSYC 483 | Seminar in Experimental Psychopathology. | 3 |
Seminar in Experimental Psychopathology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Design of experiments in psychopathology, interviewing techniques and clinical diagnosis. | ||
| PSYC 491D1 | Advanced Study: Behavioural Disorders. | 3 |
Advanced Study: Behavioural Disorders. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A critical examination of topics in abnormal and clinical psychology. Emphasis will be on analysis of theoretical positions and empirical findings as they relate to both etiology and treatment. | ||
| PSYC 491D2 | Advanced Study: Behavioural Disorders. | 3 |
Advanced Study: Behavioural Disorders. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See PSYC 491D1 for course description. | ||
| PSYC 507 | Emotions, Stress, and Illness. | 3 |
Emotions, Stress, and Illness. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Emotional effects on peripheral physiology and the development, course, and outcome of physical disorders such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, ulcers, asthma, and cancer. | ||
| PSYC 509 | Diverse Clinical Populations. | 3 |
Diverse Clinical Populations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Poverty is a significant risk factor for psychological disorder. In this class, we will examine critically research focused on this association, with an emphasis on (a) mechanisms underlying the link between poverty and psychopathology, and (b) development and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for individuals living in poverty. Particular attention will be paid to the research methodologies used to address these questions. | ||
| PSYC 512 | Advanced Personality Seminar. | 3 |
Advanced Personality Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced topics in personality. Focus on power, status, and dominance and how these are manifested in social behavior. Dominance in nonhuman species, biological substrates of dominance, relations of status and dominance to social cognition, affect, and health; gender, role and cultural influences on dominance. | ||
| PSYC 528 | Vulnerability to Depression and Anxiety. | 3 |
Vulnerability to Depression and Anxiety. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will examine in depth cognitive, behavioral, biological, and developmental psychopathology models of the etiology of depression and anxiety. Within each theoretical perspective, core issues, theoretical and methodological underpinnings, and research data will be examined. | ||
| PSYC 530 | Applied Topics in Deafness. | 3 |
Applied Topics in Deafness. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Covers fundamental topics in deafness (sensory, perceptual, cognitive, social, linguistic, education and health issues) from an applied psychological perspective. Lectures and seminar presentations plus field work involving ASL/LSQ. | ||
| PSYC 535 | Advanced Topics in Social Psychology. | 3 |
Advanced Topics in Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Classic and contemporary readings in a specific content area within social psychology will be assigned in order to examine the sub-area in depth. The focus will vary depending upon the specialty area of the instructor. These areas include interpersonal relationships, intergroup relations, the self, and social cognition. | ||
| PSYC 539 | Advanced Topics in Social Psychology 2. | 3 |
Advanced Topics in Social Psychology 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Classic and contemporary readings in a specific content area within social psychology. The focus will vary depending upon the specialty area of the instructor, including interpersonal relationships, intergroup relations, the self, and social cognition. | ||
Unclassified Courses
Students may also select complementary courses from the research and topics courses below:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 385 | Independent Research Project 1. | 3 |
Independent Research Project 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised research project with a final written report. | ||
| PSYC 450D1 | Research Project and Seminar. | 4.5 |
Research Project and Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Under supervision of an adviser approved by the Department, students design and carry out a research project. Students report their research in seminars throughout the year, in a final written report that takes the form of a data-based APA style manuscript, and in a poster presentation at the departmental poster session. | ||
| PSYC 450D2 | Research Project and Seminar. | 4.5 |
Research Project and Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See PSYC 450D1 for course description. | ||
| PSYC 484D1 | Independent Research Project 2. | 3 |
Independent Research Project 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised research project. | ||
| PSYC 484D2 | Independent Research Project 2. | 3 |
Independent Research Project 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See PSYC 484D1 for course description. | ||
| PSYC 485 | Independent Research Project 3. | 3 |
Independent Research Project 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised research project with a final written report. | ||
| PSYC 492 | Special Topics Seminar 1. | 3 |
Special Topics Seminar 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. These seminars are offered by special arrangement between interested Psychology staff and students. Note: A written proposal detailing the plans for the seminar must be approved by the Department Curriculum Committee before the student is permitted to register for this course. This proposal must be received by the Departmental Curriculum Committee well before the beginning of the term for which the seminar is proposed. Consult the Departmental Handbook for additional information. | ||
| PSYC 493 | Special Topics Seminar 2. | 3 |
Special Topics Seminar 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. These seminars are offered by special arrangement between interested Psychology staff and students. Note: A written proposal detailing the plans for the seminar must be approved by the Department Curriculum Committee before the student is permitted to register for this course. This proposal must be received by the Departmental Curriculum Committee well before the beginning of the term for which the seminar is proposed. Consult the Departmental Handbook for additional information. | ||
| PSYC 499 | Reading Project. | 1 |
Reading Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Under the guidance of an instructor with the relevant expertise, the student explores the literature on a special topic. | ||