PSYC 621
Core Proseminar in Psychology II
Catalog Entry
PSYC 621. Core Proseminar in Psychology II
Three hours lecture (3)
Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Psychology or permission of the instructor
Each offering of this course, intended for first-year graduate students in psychology, will present the core theory and principles of two of three specialty areas in psychology: Cognitive, Developmental, or Social Psychology. The two specialty areas chosen will alternate from year to year, and will be based on the needs and interests of graduate students. Students will develop a firm grounding in these areas of psychology through discussion of original writings in the psychological literature as well as through in-class demonstrations of classic empirical findings in psychology.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
The first half of the semester will cover one of the three specialty topics. The second half of the semester will cover a second of the three specialty topics. Topics to be addressed in all three specialty areas are presented below:
I. Developmental Psychology
- Theories of development
- Social development
- Personality development
- Cognitive development
- Language development
- Adolescence
- Adulthood and later life
II. Cognitive Psychology
- Models and theories of information processing
- Attention
- Selectivity
- Capacity
- Vigilance
- Memory
- Primary/working memory
- Secondary memory
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
- Problem solving
- Heuristics and decision making
- Inductive reasoning
- Creativity
- The psychology of language
- Changes in cognitive function across the lifespan
III. Social Psychology
- History of Social Psychology
- Social Cognition
- Attitude development and change
- Group Processes
- Altruism and aggression
- Applications of social psychology
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Students will read several assigned empirical or review articles before class and critically discuss the methods and interpretations of the authors. Students will present articles to the rest of the class and serve as moderators of discussions regarding these articles. Lectures will incorporate and supplement the assigned readings. Whenever possible, widely cited studies in each area will be illustrated through in-class demonstrations of methods and expected results.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
The goal of the course is to acquire a broad background in two of three core areas of psychology: Cognitive, Developmental, and Social Psychology. Selection of core areas to be presented in a given semester will be based on an assessment of student needs and interests. Through discussions of primary sources in the psychological literature and participation in demonstrations illustrating key concepts in each area, students will develop a knowledge of those theories and empirical findings that psychologists, regardless of specialty area, should be familiar with. A secondary goal of the course is to provide students with a knowledge base, as well as with options for classroom demonstrations, that they can use in psychology classes that they might be asked to teach in the future.
Assessment Measures
Graded assignments may include in-class tests, a final examination, pop quizzes, the assignment and presentation of exercise/labs and projects, and class preparation and participation
Other Course Information
1. Primary reading material will consist of original articles in the psychological literature.
2. Students will have the opportunity to participate in computer simulations of classic experiments in cognitive psychology.
DATE ACTION REVIEWED BY
DATE ACTION REVIEWED BY
March 1999
