Haverford College Psychology Courses

103d Biological Foundations of Behavior NA/SO 1/2
W. Sternberg
Selected core problems in the scientific study of how humans and other animals adapt to their environments. The course includes discussions of the evolutionary functions and biological mechanisms of motivation, perception, and learning.

104e Foundations of Cognition SO 1/2
M. Boltz
General overview of the study of knowing. This course examines how we perceive and attend to environmental events, how this information is stored in memory, and subsequently used for thinking, comprehension, and problem-solving activities.
Prerequisite: Psychology 103 or consent of the instructor. (Not offered in 2001-02)

105g Foundations of Personality SO 1/2
D. Davis
Theories of personality and psychopathology with emphasis on psychodynamic approaches and their applications to psychological development and individual differences.

106h Foundations of Social Behavior SO 1/2
S. Perloe
How we perceive and think about people and social situations. Topics include: social categories and stereotypes, functions and determinants of social attitudes, dealing with uncertain information, interpreting the causes of people's behaviors and forming impressions of people. All of these topics will be applied to the understanding of social stereotypes.
One part of the course allows students to use a series of web pages in place of attendance at regular lectures.
Prerequisite: Psychology 105 or consent of the instructor.

107e Foundations of Emotion
R. Compton
This course introduces the scientific study of emotion from a diversity of viewpoints representing major schools of thought in modern psychology. The course will consider the adaptive function of emotion from an evolutionary perspective; the relation between physiology and the conscious experience of emotion; how emotions are intertwined with other thought processes; and how social roles and cultural norms contribute to the construction of emotional experience. After introducing these major theoretical perspectives, the second part of the course will apply these perspectives to topics such as how emotions develop; how emotional functioning can go awry in conditions such as clinical depression and anxiety; and the relationship between emotions and physical health.
Prerequisite: Psychology 103 or consent of the instructor.

113b Psychological Statistics SO
W. Sternberg
An introduction to principles of probability, central tendency, covariation, and statistical inference applied to empirical work in psychology. Topics include descriptive statistics, z-scores, t-tests and analysis of variance.

200b Memory and Cognition SO
M. Boltz
An examination of knowing processes from various paradigmatic perspectives. Topics addressed include: perception, attention, memory, mental imagery, comprehension, internal representations and use of world knowledge. Special emphasis is placed on evolutionary factors and the cognitive psychology of everyday events.
Prerequisite: Psychology 104 or consent of the instructor. (Not offered in 2001-02)

204d Experimental Psychology SO 1/2
R. Compton
Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory. A general overview of the experimental method and its use in the psychological study of behavior. Laboratory sessions examine topics within the area of cognitive psychology and include experiments on attending and remembering processes associated with naturalistic events.
Prerequisites: Psychology 104 and 113 or its equivalent, or consent of the instructor.

203e Research Methods in Biological Psychology SO 1/2
W. Sternberg
Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory. Both observational and experimental approaches to studying elementary learning processes will be considered. Students learn techniques and collect data with both perspectives in mind.
Prerequisites: Psychology 103 or its equivalent and Psychology 204d.

206g Social Cognition SO 1/2
S. Perloe
Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory. Perceiving, judging, and thinking about people and socially relevant stimuli. Special attention is given to social stereotypes and responses to controversial communications.
Prerequisites: Psychology 106 and 204 or consent of instructor.

214b Psychology of Adolescence SO
D. Davis
An introduction to the psychology of adolescence, with emphasis on personality development and socio-cultural issues in the period from puberty to adulthood. Topics include: theoretical discussions of adolescence by psychologists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists and sociologists, personal and literary accounts of adolescent experience, and cross-cultural studies of the transition from childhood to adulthood. May be counted as one of the required courses for the bi-college teacher certification program.
Prerequisite: Psychology 105 or equivalent or consent of the instructor.

217b Biological Psychology NA
(also called Biology 217b)
W. Sternberg
Interrelations between brain, behavior, and subjective experience. The course introduces students to physiological psychology through consideration of current knowledge about the mechanisms of mind and behavior.
Prerequisite: an introductory course in psychology or biology, or consent of the instructor.

220a Individuals in Groups and Societies SO
S. Perloe
Individual aspects of social behavior. Topics include: the relation between the individual and social levels of analyzing behavior; cooperation, competition and altruism in social interaction, behavior in groups and the influence of evolution on social behavior and culture.
Prerequisite: an introductory social science course or consent of the instructor.

221a The Primate Origins of Society SO
(also called Biology 221a)
S. Perloe
Social systems formed by monkeys and apes examined as a means of understanding the origins of human societies. The course considers the relations among sexual behavior, dominance, territoriality, kinship and socialization in a variety of species as well as the influence of ecology and phylogeny.
Prerequisite: an introductory course in one of the following: anthropology, biology, psychology, or sociology, or consent of the instructor.

225a The Psychology of Close Relationships SO
B. Le
This course is designed as an overview to the field of close relationships. The major theories of close relationships will be emphasized, including examinations of evolutionary, attachment, interdependence, and cognitive approaches. In addition, research related to topics such as attraction, relationship development and maintenance, relationships and health, infidelity, violence in intimate relationships, and jealousy will be explored, with methodological concerns discussed within the context of each topic.

238b Psychology of Language SO
(also called General Programs 238b)
M. Boltz
An interdisciplinary examination of linguistic theory, language evolution, and the psychological processes involved in using language. Topics include: speech perception and production, processes of comprehension, language and the brain, language learning, language and thought, linguistic diversity, and nonverbal communication.
Prerequisite: Psychology 104e or consent of the instructor. (Not offered in 2001-02)

250b Biopsychology of Emotion and Personality
R. Compton
This course investigates the biological underpinnings of emotional behavior and personality. Topics will include a consideration of philosophical issues in relating biology and emotion; the functional adaptiveness of emotion; brain systems involved in fear, depression, and pleasure, the influence of hormones on mood; the roles of the left and right hemispheres in emotion; and biological contriubtions to individual differences in traits such as shyness and happiness. Prerequisites: Psychology 107 or 108 or permission of instructor.

311a Advanced Personality Psychology SO
D. Davis
Psychoanalytic and other theories of personality as the basis for interpreting personal data in cultural perspective. Thematic emphasis will vary from year to year depending on instructor and student interests. One focus this year is "Cyborg Selves," including on-line behavior and self-presentation in Internet chat, role-playing games, and web logs.
Prerequisite: Psychology 105 or equivalent or consent of the instructor.

314i Psychology of Adolescence Laboratory SO 1/2
D. Davis
This laboratory introduces methods and computer tools for the conduct of cross-cultural studies on adolescent identity, leisure use, and computer-mediated communication. Course topics will be developed in part through Internet discussion and chat with youth and with researchers in other cultural settings. Data-collection projects will be designed and completed collaboratively with students at collaborating institutions. Students will be taught statistical techniques for analysis of social data and will present their results on the Web. One focus of the spring 2003 course will be on Muslim youth coming of age in Muslim and non-Muslim societies. Prerequisite: Psychology 214 must have been taken previously or be taken concurrently.

320a Evolutionary Human Psychology
S. Perloe

340b Human Neuropsychology
R. Compton
This seminar investigates the cognitive and emotional consequences of damage to the human brain, and analyzes how such investigation can advance our understanding of the normally functioning mind/brain. Overarching themes include problems in neuropsychological assessment, localization of function, and reorganization and plasticity of the brain. Topics include disorders of the motor systems (e.g., Parkinson's disease), disorders of perception, language, memory, and consciousness (e.g., agnosia, aphasia, amnesia, neglect), developmental disorders (e.g., autism), and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease).
Prerequisite: Psychology 103/104 and either Psychology 217 or BMC Psychology 218 or Psychology 250, or consent of instructor.

351a, b Experimental Research and Fieldwork Projects in Psychology SO
Staff
Advanced level problems of hypothesis formation and definition, data collection, analysis, and report writing in laboratory and field settings. Before taking the course, students must have selected the problem on which they wish to work.
Prerequisite: consent of the instructor.

Theses:

390a, b Senior Thesis
Staff
Open to senior psychology majors.

391a, b Senior Research Tutorial in Cognition

M. Boltz
Open to senior psychology majors. (Not offered in 2001-02)

392a, b Senior Research Tutorial in Personality

D. Davis
Open to senior psychology majors.
Sample Theses in Personality

393a, b Senior Research Tutorial in Social Psychology

S. Perloe
Open to senior psychology majors.

394a, b Senior Research Tutorial in Biological Psychology

W. Sternberg
Open to senior psychology majors. Required for those enrolled in the Neural and Behavioral Sciences program.

395a Senior Research Tutorial in Emotion

R. Compton
Open to senior psychology majors.

460 f, i Teaching Assistance
A half-credit course conducted each semester for a maximum of one course credit for leading discussion sections or helping with other course work in introductory and laboratory courses in association with course instructors. Open to selected majors.

480 Independent Study
Staff
Students should normally plan to take this course for half credit.

The following courses at Bryn Mawr count toward the major at Haverford:

Psychology 101, 102 Experimental Psychology

Complex Human Behavior courses:

• Psychology 208 Social Psychology
• Psychology 209 Abnormal Psychology
• Psychology 210 Theories of Personality
• Psychology 301 Emotion
• Psychology 305 Psychological Testing
• Psychology 350 Developmental Cognitive Disorders
• Psychology 351 Developmental Psychopathology
• Psychology 398 Cognitive Issues in Personality and Social Psychology

Cognitive Psychology courses:

• Psychology 204 Sensation and Perception
• Psychology 206 Developmental Psychology
• Psychology 212 Human Cognition

Biological Psychology courses:

• Psychology 201 Learning Theory and Behavior
• Psychology 202 Comparative Psychology
• Psychology 218 Behavioral Neuroscience
• Psychology 393 The Comparative Psychology of Learning
• Psychology 395 Psychopharmacology
• Psychology 399 Advanced Topics in Learning
• Biology 202 Neurobiology and Behavior
• Biology 302 Neurobiology and Behavior: Advanced Topics

The following interdisciplinary courses offered at Bryn Mawr may be counted as the fourth advanced course in the Haverford major:

• Psychology 203 Educational Psychology
• Psychology 312 Cognitive Neuroscience

Additional courses offered by Bryn Mawr College are open to Haverford psychology students.